"He says he's not interested, and yet his pulse, his scent, and the way his eyes track me like I'm the last drink of water in the desert all tell a different story."
Alaric's POV
The forest had a strange way of telling me secrets. Most people only hear leaves rustling and owls hoot out here, but me? I hear heartbeats, the snap of a twig that has been stepped on, the change in the wind when something or someone moves through it, and tonight, it was singing one name to me.
My wolf was restless under my skin. "You're taking too long."
"I'm savoring," I muttered aloud, stepping over a mossy root. The air was cool, damp, and carried the scent I had been chasing for days. Citrus and pine, cut with something sharper, something electric.
"You sound like a creep," He pointed out.
"Better a charming creep than a boring king," I responded in defense.
Vayne snorted in my head, but his focus was locked ahead. So was mine, and I had left Marcus sleeping back in the cabin. He is the type who snores like he is being strangled, so I doubt he even noticed me slip out. If he did, he assumed I was hunting deer or assassins, and, in a way, I was just not the kind he would expect. The moonlight cut silver paths through the trees, catching the frost on branches. My boots barely made a sound, but I knew he would hear me before I wanted him to. When Vayne reached out to Elias, Omega wolf, I never expected a response, but hearing it had me wound time and anxious, hoping he would come. It was a long shot but one could only hope right?
After half an hour or so, I scented Elias before I saw him; his scent hooked onto me, pulling me through the shadows until there. He stepped out from between two pines like a scene the gods staged for me. Lean, strong lines, dark hair slightly mussed, that sharp jaw I wanted to run my thumb along just to watch him flinch. His eyes found mine immediately, and every part of me lit up like I had been doused in gasoline and handed a match.
"Little wolf," I spoke up, because if I could not touch him yet, I would at least get under his skin.
His frown was small but satisfying. "Don't call me that."
"Fine," I said, strolling closer like we were about to exchange pleasantries instead of whatever this was. "How about 'my wolf'? That has a nice ring to it."
"You're trespassing, Alpha King" He snapped, and his tone was laced with irritation.
"And you're glaring at me like you don't know what else to do with me." I let my smirk curve slowly. "Shall I give you some ideas?"
"Alaric—"
"Yes, Elias?" I interjected and took another step, slow enough to watch his breathing change.
"This is my territory," he said, voice like gravel and warning. "You don't just walk in here and—"
"—claim what I want?" I finished. "Correction: that is exactly what I want to do."
His jaw worked, and I knew I was pushing every wrong button. Or right one, depending on how you look at it. "You're impossible," he muttered.
"True. And yet here you are."
"That doesn't mean—"
"Oh, it means something," I cut in, tilting my head like I was studying prey. "You could have stayed away. You did not. So, tell me, Elias… what pulled you here tonight? Curiosity? Or me?"
"Neither." His response was too guarded that it made me smile, and most of al,l he produced a beautiful, infuriating lie. His pupils had blown wide, and his pulse had quickened enough that Vayne let out a satisfied growl in my head.
"Maybe you just like the chase," I said softly. "Lucky for you, so do I."
I closed the last of the space between us. The air between our bodies tightened, magnetic. His scent hit me harder now, threaded with something warm and desire barely restrained.
He held his ground, though. "I don't want you."
I let my gaze roam over him, deliberately slow. "Then you should stop looking at me like that."
"I'm not—"
"You are." I leaned in just enough that my breath brushed his ear. "And I like it."
He shivered, and I caught it, and fuc,k he hated that I caught it. "I should have just reported you for trespassing," he said, low.
"You could try," I murmured. "But then you'd have to put your hands on me, and I don't think you trust yourself with that yet."
He scoffed, but the sound wavered. "You think too highly of yourself."
"Someone must, and frankly, I think you do too. You just do not want to admit it."
His lips pressed tight, and for a second, I thought he would snap. Instead, he stepped back half a pace then stopped, like even that much distance felt wrong. We stood there in the moonlight, staring each other down. My wolf pressed against the inside of my skin, wanting me to close the gap again. I wanted to. Gods, I wanted to. But Elias was wound tight, ready to bolt if I pushed too hard.
So, I softened, just a fraction. "I'm not here to hurt you," I said quietly.
"I love peace, to be left alone and mind my business." He raised his chin.
I smiled faintly. "So do I, Elias, but it seems I was not cut out for peace and a quiet life."
He shook his head, half in frustration, half in disbelief. "You're ridiculous."
For the first time, his mouth twitched just enough that I knew there was a laugh in him somewhere. I would get it out eventually. Along with everything else, he was holding back. I reached up and brushed a stray curl from his forehead. He froze; eyes locked on mine, but did not pull away. My fingers lingered for the barest moment before I let them fall.
"How about we meet up again Tomorrow," I said. "I'll give you tonight to think about how much you don't want me."
He rolled his eyes, but his breathing betrayed him. "You're insufferable."
"Absolutely," I said, grinning. "That is what everyone tells me, especially Marcus, my Beta."
And after that, the forest was silent but for the heavy thrum of my heartbeat, wild and relentless as the scent of pine and earth filled my lungs. The forest had folded around us like a shroud, yet between Elias and me, the air was electric with something far more dangerous: a bond neither of us had asked for, and neither of us knew how to control.