Lockwood City: The Tale of Eloise

Two

I Prevail- Hurricane

Elias:

Morning patrols are on the move today. The alpha and the luna just headed out and my dad is held up in the pack's main building. I have to watch the tower. Kids are coming out of it. The alpha guard and their kids all live here. This is the safest building in the entire city and the most luxurious. This is the home of our very own Rapunzel.

"Elias, Daddy put you on princess duty?" I looked over at Jax.

Jax is the son of the man who runs the entire alpha guard. His mother, Victoria, is devoted to making sure Rapunzel gets everything she needs or wants. This guy is the heir to the war that is the Lockwood family name and one of my closest friends.

"Yeah," I smile at him.

"I'll stay here. Go around," he orders. I pushed off the wall stepping into his space. His gaze diverts to the ground as I step around him not liking his tone. No one talks to me like that. I don't care what rank they are.

"I'm not one of your little lap dogs, Jax. Don't talk to me like that. You ask politely. I am your superior," I warn him. He bows his low.

"Yes, sir. My apologies," he says clearly with a slight tremble in his tone. I give his shoulder a light squeeze before heading around the building. After all, my dad asked me to come personally. I'm not getting paid for this. I'm a volunteer, technically.

I pass a few of the other guards and greet them. There's no one behind the building. There hardly ever is. It leads to the backwoods. The only time anyone ever goes back there is to make sure rogues aren't camping out. So it surprises me when a black dog rushes out of the tree line going after a thick toy rope. The rope lands near the exit of the building. The little dog picks it up in its mouth and shakes it as he tries to run back toward the building.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that thing is a pup but the collar around his neck tells me he isn't one of ours. It runs back into the tree line where a little giggle rings in my ears piquing my wolf's interest.

"You need to come out of there. No one's allowed to be back here," I call out. The dog growls at me as the sound of footsteps coming over to me crunch over the dry leaves on the ground.

"I didn't know that," she says.

My heart begins to race in my chest as a woman steps out from the morning darkness of the tree line. I can't make out her face, she's wearing a bright red sweater and black yoga pants. The hoodie is covering her head pretty well. I don't recognize her scent despite how mouth-watering it is. This is not what I expected at all when I got up this morning and headed over here. I didn't expect this to ever happen. I'm well over the age limit for it.

"Take your hoodie off, let me see your face," I demand.

She sighs heavily before pushing the hoodie off her head revealing two long French braids and a set of black headphones around her neck. There's a scar going down the right side of her face from the middle of her forehead, over her eyelid, and down her cheekbone stopping by the edge of her lip.

She's as beautiful as the rest of her. A part of me feels like I know her from somewhere but the beta in me is crying out intruder with the smokey rogue scent around her. She stuffs her hands in the front pocket of her hoodie. Her eyes are meeting my challenge as I get closer. Once I'm a couple of feet away from her she steps back letting out a warning growl. I put my hands up showing her I mean no harm.

"You shouldn't be back here. This building is off-limits to anyone who isn't a Lockwood or a guard,"

"Are you a guard?" she asks. "You live here?"

"No, I'm the beta. The alphas are out so we put extra protection on the princess,"

"The princess?" she asks with a smirk.

"Princess Rapunzel at the top of this tower," I point up. She laughs looking down at her dog. She tosses the rope. The pitch is in perfect form. The rope flies pretty far into the tree line and the dog rushes after it. "Who are you? I haven't seen you before and I know just about everyone in this pack,"

"Princess Rapunzel," she laughs.

"I'm sorry?" I ask. My stomach clenches tightly.

"Eloise Lockwood. It's nice to finally see you again, Elias Graeson,"

I don't know what to say or what to do. She smiles taking in my reaction. She whistles loud enough to make my ears ring. The dog comes back with the toy in its mouth before dropping it at her feet.

"Alpha, I am so sorry for the disrespect. I didn't know," I finally say snapping out of it.

"It's fine. It's cute," she shrugs.

Her voice is deep. Tight, like she rarely ever talks to anyone but the alpha pride in it, is there. For someone who lives in isolation, she's fit. Her long legs are layered thickly with muscle. The way she threw that rope indicates that she's used to using her arms heavily. I don't know what I expected the princess to be but the wolf in front of me isn't it.

"I-"

"I don't like the way you're looking at me," she growls.

I look away. Of course, she doesn't. I've heard the stories and if half of them are true my life just hit a wall. A thick heavy wall I'm going to have to get through the hard way.

"Forgive me. It's just that I didn't expect to meet you. Ever," it's not a lie. "My dad, he told me that you stay in your home,"

"My dad got me Sasuke. He's little now but he's going to be big and he shouldn't be indoors all the time," she explains. I nod watching the little dog wag his tail waiting for her to pick up the toy and throw it.

"What kind of dog is that?" I ask. She smiles, and the hostility around her dampens a little.

"He's not a dog. Sasuke is a wolf. My dad said they found him last night while he was out on patrol. He thought I might like it,"

Once again my mouth falls open. This time I don't stare at her like I had before but I want to. I never want to look away. When she doesn't pick up the toy again, the wolf takes it and brings it over to me. I kneel down in front of him and take it out of his mouth. He lets out a little excited bark. I throw the rope and he rushes after it. She lets out a sigh of frustration.

"He's beautiful. You taught him how to play fetch overnight?" she shakes her head stepping further away from me.

"It took me a couple of hours. I think I should go back inside now," her smile fades. Her flustered cheeks are pale now. I step a little away from her. Just a few steps.

"You don't have to. I can stand at a distance and make sure no one else comes back here," when she looks over at me, I almost fall apart. I want to go over to her and offer her some kind of comfort but we know nothing about one another. Not anymore.

"You would do that?" she asks. Her beautiful voice is thick now. Heavy with emotions. Her expression is hard. She's fighting the urge to attack and it kills her to feel that hostility. I can see the conflict in the way she's struggling to stand still.

"That's what betas are for. You don't have to talk to me or regard me if that makes you feel better," it's best to approach her cautiously. She pulls her phone out of the pocket on her thigh and tosses it at me. I catch it with ease.

"You should put your number in it," it isn't a request, it's a clear order. I smile at her. "So I can let you know when I'm coming down,"

"Perfect," I do as she asks. "You can call or text me whenever you need me here,"

"Thank you," she whispers. I stepped closer to her, holding out her phone so she could take it from me.

She stares at me for a little while before she pulls her hand out of her hoodie's front pocket. She opens and closes her hand a couple of times before it comes up shakily. The tips of her fingers grip the end of the phone. She pulls away taking deep breaths as if it's the hardest thing she's ever had to do. My chest is tight and I have a feeling it's going to remain that way for a long time.

"Hey," I try reaching for her. She growls at me.

The sound that comes out of her makes me step back. The little wolf rushes out from the tree line jumping between us protectively. She kneels down on one knee gripping her left arm. She's fighting her shift. I've never seen anyone do that before.

"Take him into the elevator," she growls. I reached for her wolf gripping him by the scruff on his back. She removes the headphones around her neck tossing them aside, and the hoodie follows. There's scarring everywhere. Along her arms and back.

"Beta Elias," someone calls out behind me.

"Stay back," I demand as the other guards surround us. I push the little wolf into one of them. "Stay back, no one gets near her,"

I take my windbreaker off and slowly begin to approach her. I kneel down in front of her as she cries. The sound her wolf is making isn't normal. None of this is normal.

"Who is that?" someone asks.

"Rapunzel, you need to calm down. You have to give in to the pain. Your wolf is going to tear you up on the inside if you fight," I whisper.

"She'll hurt you," she cries out angrily. She looks up at me. Her eyes are completely blacked out. The alpha red of her eyes is shining bright. No. Please, god no.

"She won't. She can't," I promise.

"You don't know that," she growls. I didn't flinch back this time.

"I do. I know she won't because I'm her beta. I'm here for her. Just give in to her. Take her out into the tree line. I'll be with you the whole time. Not too close, not too far. Does that sound okay?"

For a moment, her icy gray eyes search my face before she nods.

I picked up her hoodie and the headphones and handed them to Jax, who's holding the struggling wolf in his arms without looking away from her.

"Look away, she doesn't like it," I growl at all of them. They revert their gaze from her as the sound of her bones readjusting echoes loudly along with her cries. I've never seen anything so violent in my life and I've been present during the first shifts of several pups. "Take care of the pup. Take him up to Victoria. It belongs to the alpha. Make sure nothing happens to it,"

"Yes, sir," he nods sneaking a glance back at Eloise. I growl at him.

"Back to your stations," I order. They leave us alone once again. "Not a word about this to anyone,"

It takes her almost three hours to shift. By the end of it, the wolf is panting. She's tired. Her fur is as black as her natural hair. She's big. As big as an alpha wolf should be. The wolf hasn't been let out in a long time but the healthy physique of the host allows for it to survive this long without any complications. Thank the moon for that.

"Painful the first couple of times," I speak up. Her ears perk up. She sits up, setting those red eyes on me. They're still lined black. f**k me. She's not there. "It gets better with practice. We can do that too if you like,"

The wolf stands up abruptly. I step back and stay very still as she moves around me, sniffing me out. Her snout presses into my belly. She stretches her neck up to sniff my chest then my neck. I shiver. My entire body trembles and my knees give out. I kneel down in front of her keeping my back straight and neck exposed to her to show submission.

She blows out of her nose making me jump. I reach for her when she stops in front of me. She lets me bury my hands in her fur. She pressed her head into me liking the feel of my hands scratching into her neck and behind her ears. Her wolf responds to me or rather the wolf inside of me. Does she know what that means?

"You're a beautiful beast," I whisper. She pushes me back playfully liking the compliment. "You want to go for a run?"

I look over to the trees. She jumps back bouncing around excitedly. I smile at her as she waits for me to shift. I take my shirt off and give in to her demand. I shift. She keeps her eyes on my wolf. She comes over and continues to sniff me. It's not long before she starts rubbing her body against mine trying to leave her scent on my fur.

The wolf knows what I am to her. I feel it in the way my wolf is reacting to her affection. I can also feel the deep aggression she's suppressing. I can feel the anger under the excitement she feels about finally being let out. It's bad. What's worse is that I can't sense Eloise in her at all. The beast is completely in control and that's not good. Not for an alpha like her.

The wolf follows me. I keep her within the borderlines of the pack and make sure her scent doesn't linger anywhere. By the time we get back to Lockwood Tower, she's tired. The wolf slowly pats over to the shade the building is providing. Huffing with her tongue out.

Victoria comes over to us from the side of the building with a blanket and a sports bag. She tosses the bag at me and goes over to her. I rush back into the tree line and shift back into my skin. I put the shorts and T-shirt inside the bag, on. I hurry back to find Victoria singing to her stroking her head gently. After a while, the wolf turns back into Rapunzel. No, Rapunzel turns back into Eloise. Victoria is quick to cover her in the blanket.

"I can't carry her," she says looking up at me. "I haven't been able to since she was fourteen,"

"She's very well built," is what comes out of my stupid mouth. She laughs looking down at Eloise and then back up at me.

"Oh, god, Elias," she covers her mouth making the connection. "Sweetie, I am so sorry,"

I don't say anything to her as I go over to them and pick her up off the ground. She fits in my arms perfectly. She curls into me probably liking the feel of my bare skin against hers. Good. I'm going to need her to respond to me.

This penthouse is a haven dedicated to keeping her sane. I set Eloise down on her bed. I push a few strands of her hair away from her face.

Even in her sleep, there is no peace in her features. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. Those big silver eyes, her sharp features, the raven black hair. This woman is an alpha. Everything about her screams dominance.

Princess Rapunzel in her tower is exquisite and best of all. She's all mine.