Alpha, King, Mate

The King

Again I did not sleep. I sat on the edge of my bed staring into the distance, thinking about how I f****d up. I should not have said that to Nickolas. He is going to hate me for the next few years, probably taking me out of my leader-ish role while he is at it. In my mind I was doing the right thing by trying to stop this stupid deal from happening. I should have realized that the deal would happen regardless of my low blow. All I did was hurt my friend.

I was going to have to make it right. I still didn't feel that this deal would benefit us, but I would be damned if I just let my people die. I'll stand by Nick and lie, saying I support the deal as much as they do. But mostly I will go to the front line with the rest of my people. We live together and we die together. If this war was supposed to be the one to take my life, so be it.

A knock landed on my door, disturbing the quiet in my room. I hoped it was Nick, so I could apologize straight away. After I opened the door however I saw that it was the last person I expected to see at my door at this time of night.

The king.

"May I come in?" He asked. He was still wearing his suit, this time with the jacket on. I stepped aside, completely in shock. He had... something. Something that made my body want to go to him even though my mind told me to run away from that strong of an enemy. He walked to the centre of my room and glanced back at me as I closed the door behind him. 

"Do you feel it?" He asked me. His voice was... different than from in the meeting. Softer in a way, though it still carried itself around the room and held my attention. 

"Yes." I heard myself say. I did not even think twice about what he meant with 'it'. Somehow I knew he was talking about the pull I felt towards him. He hesitated for a second, but finally crossed back through the room, standing closer to me than any werewolf had before. He placed one of his hands on my cheek, his thumb lightly touching my lips, while his other hand rested on the door behind me. A happy feeling started to rise up in the pit of my stomach, like the butterflies but... Amplified. 

"Mate." He eventually whispered, looking into my eyes. With my back pressed against the door I took his words in. 

Mate. To a werewolf. To the king of the werewolves. The guys who murdered my friends. The people who separated me from my family. Those assholes. 

"You're scared." He stated. 

"You're rather intimidating." I answered. A smile crept up on his lips. He instantly looked younger and far less tired. Would other people also notice that? I wanted to slap myself. Of course they do, they have eyes just like me. He took a few steps back, though rather reluctantly, and held out his hand for me to shake.

"Aris." He said, still smiling. 

"Victoria." I answered, taking his hand. He felt rather warm. If he was human I would've been worried about him being ill. I guess dogs are just generally warmer than humans. 

He held my hand longer than necessary, granted I didn't complain, and eventually pulled me to the two chairs that were in my bedroom, separated by one round table. He sat down on one side, letting go of my hand, allowing me to sit across from him. It felt odd. I felt like he was supposed to sit on some high throne, being adored by countless beautiful women. Instead he was sitting across from me, in a crappy wooden chair that looked like it would break in half any day now.

"You are upset." He stated yet again. Could mates read each other's minds? I should look into that. As far as I knew mating was a rare thing for werewolves. Maybe two couples out of five hundred found their mate. But then again, what did I really know about wolves besides how to dodge them?

"Were you in the same meeting I was?" I said with a faint smile on my lips. "I f****d up."  

"You spoke your truth." He answered, his beautiful eyes following my every movement. We were like magnets, I found myself moving with him even though I did not want to. It made me both nervous and happy, yet I knew it should horrify me. God this was all too confusing already.

I did not dare give him a proper response. What even is a good response to this entire situation? Am I supposed to listen to my body and jump into his arms or am I supposed to ignore it and listen to my rational mind telling me to be careful what you say around a werewolf king. I saw him open his mouth but I beat him to the punch.

"Yes, I feel worried." I said. "I don't know anything about werewolves except how to dodge them."

"You will learn. " His hand covered mine entirely. "I wish we could have met under less... Chaotic circumstances. I understand that this is different for you than it is for me. What you feel towards me... I feel that a hundred times more intense when I look at you." He smiled faintly, drawing a circle on the back of my hand before looking back into my eyes. "I only have one friend who has found his mate. I never understood how he could be so entranced by one woman. I understand now." 

"It's good to know the great Alpha King knows as little about this as I do." I laughed. His laugh was something magical. It made me feel incredibly happy just knowing I made him smile like that. 

The word ‘mate’ was pumping through my veins like adrenaline. My mind had been kicked into overdrive by it and most of the room seemed to vanish around me. The only thing I could relate it to was the feeling of coming across a wolf in the woods. The adrenaline of running away made me forget about any pain, any worry I had felt before. He felt the same, but instead I knew I was running towards pain and worry.

"Ask me something about werewolves." He said. "Anything. I'll answer." 

"Can you read my mind?" I asked him immediately. It was a stupid question but a rather pressing one. Besides, I needed him to be in a good mood when I ask my stupid questions.

"No." He answered, not even smiling at my stupidity. "I can feel what you feel if the emotion is powerful enough." I struggled not to roll my eyes. Just my luck that I can't feel it back.  "I can feel that you are exhausted, yet you weren't asleep when I knocked."

"Can't sleep." I answered. "Bed's too soft."  He looked at me confused. 

"Too soft?" He asked back. 

"I am used to sleeping on dirt. That thing feels like… like a cloud. If I lay down on it for too long, the mattress will swallow me whole." I explained. He stood up from his seat and took off his jacket, folding it over his chair. "What are you doing?" 

"My presence will relax you enough to sleep." He answered back, as calm as ever. 

"I met you two hours ago. What makes you think that I will let you sleep in my bed." I objected. He sat down on the side of the bed and took off his shoes.

"Like I said. You are exhausted. You haven't slept much getting here, and you clearly haven't slept in this bed yet." He said standing up and grabbing my hand, pulling me closer to him. "I can't neglect my mate this early on." With his touch I felt the need to sleep kick in more and more. He was right. He relaxed me. Still my logical mind was struggling against it. "Just relax." He whispered. 

His eyes were begging me, my own body was begging me, but I could not give in to him. It would be a long time until I trusted him enough to be near me at my most vulnerable. He had to learn to understand my past.