From the first ti Aila t Aldric, she knew he was special among the lycans. Besides being the first to reveal he could converse with her, he also had authority over the others, yet he never argued against her. It made her wonder about his life before he’d beco the beast standing tall before her.
Aila waved her hand. "Please, this is a celebration. You do not need to always be so formal with . I’d like to think we are friends?" She leaned against the tree Aldric had ultimately been using for cover.
A low rumble in Aldric’s chest responded instinctively before he replied, "I could not dare be friends with soone of such-"
"Pfft, haha!" Aila couldn’t help but burst into laughter, eyes sparkling with unrestrained amusent. "Aldric.. I lived the life of a human six months ago. I’ve been a Queen for less than two months, six weeks of that ti, I was away from my packs. Please do not put
on a pedestal. I am nothing special.
I haven’t even graduated yet."
She really needed to check to see when that was or if she’d missed her graduation as well.
Aldric shook his head and lowered to her height. "You are a gift to the people. It might not seem like it now, but change is coming, and you and Alpha Damon will be the ones to direct us into it."
This ti it was Aila who shook her head. Aldric thought too much of her. It was her fault he was stuck in that form in the first place. "You saved us," he replied, making Aila realise she’d spoken aloud her thoughts. "And you’ve already shown vampires, werewolves and us that the hunters, though they’ve waged war with us for centuries, can also work on the side of the supernatural creatures.
It’s possible to work together."
"Yeah, well, I think Chase Hunt deserves more of the praise for that one.." Aila murmured.
Chase was the one who had gone up in the ranks. Sure it helped that Silas was his father, but within such a short ti, he managed to find hunters that thought alike.
It was only a brief amount of ti since she saw it, but the hunters followed Chase’s orders, and although they seed wary of the supernatural creatures around them, they did not look at them with such disdain in their eyes as they’d been accustod to.
Aldric’s chest rumbled again like he disapproved, but he must have figured out she was a lost cause. Though the way his eyes twinkled, looking at her with such hope made her chest swell and stomach twist into knots. Changing the subject quickly, Aila asked if his accommodation was okay.
"That was la," Malia muttered. Yes, it was, but it was the best she could do. Plus, she really wanted to make sure the lycans were not without anything. Their comfort was prioritised, especially after being tortured and left in dungeons for so long. It wouldn’t make up for that, but hopefully, it would help with their recovery process, beast or not.
"I wouldn’t expect any less. If I am honest, though.." Aldric hesitated, making Aila pause the red wine glass to her lips.
Yes, she’d started drinking red wine, taking a liking to it after spending ti with Cassius. It really did curb so of her cravings for blood, and possibly the drink’s colour did so trick on the mind as well. That’s what she told herself. It was delicious and ward her up, though, as well.
"You can always be honest with , Aldric. I want you all to feel comfortable and satisfied," Aila replied instantly.
"We appreciate everything you have done for us, your majesty. But being here.." His eyes returned to the partygoers dancing near the bonfire. But that wasn’t what he was looking at. Actually, in his beastly form, his sharp crystal blue eyes had softened, looking at two kids arguing over a toy and the parents separating them from fighting.
They squird in the mother and father’s arms until they were forced to apologise.
"It makes
want to return ho in my normal form."
Aila watched the family a mont more before returning her attention to the large lycan. "Do you.. have a family to return to?" They hadn’t discussed his life beforehand in all the ti she’d spent in the castle with him. It was sad, but now there was no threat; she could chat freely with him.
Aldric nodded. "A boy and girl, like those two. My wife.."
Wife.. Not mate? Aila didn’t ask the question. She would be too nosy to ask sothing so personal. But as though he had read her expression, Aldric added, "My mate is human. I didn’t understand marriage as we don’t hold such traditions.
Being mates was soul binding, but it was what my Agatha wanted."
Aila placed her hand to her heart as it swelled. "I bet you must miss her dearly. I know I did with Damon.." Her eyes road the woods only for a mont, looking for her mate. She knew through the bond he was safe and a little tipsy. A smile ford softly on her lips as she watched Damon, Kane and Finn chatting, joking and drinking rrily with one another.
"I do."
"I need to discuss with Damon what needs to be done next. A lot is happening right now, what with the world knowing about our existence, but I have not forgotten the promise I made. We will find a way for you to return to your human form. If soone like Harry can shift in and out of that form, then it’s definitely possible." The dig at Harry made the lycan chuckle.
"Hey, Aila. We haven’t had a chance to et your other friends yet!" Finn called to her as the trio wandered over to the shadows where Aldric and Aila had been talking. Though her white locks and strong aura would never let her blend into the darkness. Even without the bond to the pack, Aila Cross would always be noticed.
Finn grinned more as he took in the sight of the looming lycan they’d once fought against. He was in awe of the power radiating off him and how Aila was so nonchalant with such a beast by her side.
"Oh, hey. You guys probably only t briefly, but this is Aldric. He’s been with
the entire ti I was.." Aila trailed off, but she didn’t need to fill in the blanks. "Aldric, this is my mate, Alpha Damon. And Beta Kane and Delta Finn."
Aldric couldn’t mind-link with the others like it seed Aila and the beast had been the last ten minutes standing in silence, but he bared his head at Damon and nodded at Kane and Finn. Damon slung his arm over Aila’s shoulders sowhat protectively still, though Aila nudged him in the ribs and most likely scolded him in a mind-link.
"Aldric’s going to check on so of the wounded," Aila explained as the beast went on all fours and ran off into the woods at speed similar to a vampire’s. "Where’s Ajax? I kind of miss his hi-mmph!"
Damon covered her mouth. "Don’t say it! You might conjure him up."
"Aww, don’t act like you don’t like him. It will hurt his feelings. You two got close over the last few weeks," Kane smirked. Finn snickered as his eyes searched the shapeshifter in question.
"Looks like he’s begging our Gamma for forgiveness," Finn announced, pointing his bottle of beer in the direction of the small arena set up for fighting.
"Ohh, this should be good," Kane smirked, and all of them, like-minded, without discussing it, started walking in their direction.
"What did he do this ti?" Aila questioned, then gasped, jumping on the spot at Es’s sudden appearance. She landed beside her out of nowhere.
Finn looked up at the sky, trying to see where the little she-wolf ca from. She was always so agile, quiet and ready with that knife of hers. It always brought a cold sweat to the back of his neck and a shiver running down his spine.
Finally, his eyes rested on a thin branch that swayed slightly. It was higher than what was possible to leap from without injuring themselves, even for werewolves.
"Hmm, he said hello to ," Es answered in amusent. She didn’t seem to be offended by the Gamma’s disdain for her. Maybe as a rogue, she was used to it. Or, given her attitude, she didn’t care.
Reviews
All reviews (0)