When I trotted out the front door, I allowed myself one brief moment to admire the massive platinum wolf staring at the still rising half-moon, his muzzle raised in a silent howl. I knew from the twitch of his ears that he heard me approach, but his gaze didn't leave the sky until after I headed for the trees and he rose to lope along behind me. I sighed at the awkward interaction as I picked up speed, my paws bouncing across the packed earth as I raced along the moonlit path, wishing that I knew how to establish a more comfortable relationship with the werewolf who was easily keeping pace with me.
As usual, Alrick followed at a distance, allowing me to lead him where I would. That evening, we found ourselves on the shore of Topaz Lake at the pinnacle of the mountain, drinking deeply from the sweet, icy water.
I stepped back from the edge and shook the thin layer of snow from my back, my body shimmying as my feet stayed in place, and froze when a sound – something between a growl and a chuff - came from behind me. Startled, I whipped around and my heart leaped into my throat at the feral set of the werewolf's face. His violet-rimmed black eyes were narrowed and his body stiff as he advanced toward me.
Terrified, I backed away, my wide eyes locked on the Alpha. When my back foot slipped on a rock, I fell, tumbling down the rocky incline the led to the water. I scrabbled for purchase on the thin layer of slick snow but couldn't stop my descent. I had just caught my breath and braced myself for impact with the frigid water when strong jaws gripped the scruff of my neck, jerking me to a stop.
I was carried back to the path I had fallen from and gently placed on my feet. Then, to my utter shock, Alrick's voice came through my mind, speaking directly to me for the first time since we met.
"Sebastian? Are you hurt?" The werewolf sounded worried, his nose poking and prodding me, his cheek and shoulder pressing against my body as he checked me for injuries, rubbing his scent all over my fur and leaving me with the overwhelming desire to purr at the contact.
"N..no," I denied. "A..at least, I d..don't think so." I took a step away from him, then another; checking my mobility at the same time that I tried to place myself further away from him, wincing as I felt my right hind leg give, causing me to limp. "I'm just sore, I..I promise." I chanced a look at Alrick's face, but instead of the threatening beast I had tried to run from seconds earlier, his brow was furrowed with concern, and his body had relaxed to his usual state of readiness. Relieved, I drew in a deep breath. "I..I think I should get back."
Alrick nodded, stepping off the path to allow me to pass as I began to limp back down the trail.
Chapter Four
Alrick
Scheisse! From the moment that I'd heardmyOmega talking to Spencer about returning to the Coruscation lands that lay thousands of miles from my current post in Terena de Dragoni, I'd found it hard to focus on much else. Except, of course, Sebastian wasn't mine. While my human half knew that, my inner beast, fixated on claiming him, refused to accept it.
I'd almost approached Sebastian a dozen times in the hours since I'd overheard his distressed words. To tell him I didn't dislike him. That I regretted how I'd treated him. That I loved him. Each time the small voice in my head had laughed, reminding me of just how much I had to offer toanyOmega, much less to one as amazing as Sebastian. Nothing.
The forests surrounding Blackwell Castle reminded me of my home in Germany, so, when Harry had asked for someone to guard the werewolves on nightly runs through the forest, I'd volunteered immediately. What I hadn't realized, what I couldn't have foreseen, was how distracting it would be to be exposed to Sebastian's shifted form.
His Omega wolf was compact but powerful, his eyes a startling bright blue against his absurdly kitten-soft black fur, and his scent - the sweet woodsy fragrance that always clung lightly to his human form – wafted free, wrapping around my body and creeping up my nostrils to tease my senses, driving me nearly crazy with a need that I knew would never be met. It was reducing me to near primal reactions on a disturbingly regular basis.
As Sebastian moved gingerly down the trail, favoring his hind leg, I forced my mind to go blank, not wanting to frighten him any more than I already had. Instead, I berated myself for my loss of control that had resulted in the injury.
I'd been drinking from the water's edge, forcing back the inconvenient reaction that my body was having to being alone with my..withtheOmega, when the sudden shimmy of his body had caused his lean muscles to dance, briefly ruffling the glossy black fur beneath his tail, giving me a glimpse of exactly what I was desperate to claim.
I'd tried and failed to swallow the groan of frustration and when Sebastian turned to stare at me, terror in his eyes, I knew my face was screaming out every lust filled thought I had.
If that wasn't enough, the erection that I had been fighting could no longer be contained; my cock had immediately hardened and I stiffened my posture, hoping that by tensing my muscles I would draw it up high enough along my stomach to be hidden by my fur.
I was trying to think a way to defuse the situation, trying to find an adequate apology for responding to him like I had, when he began to back away. His sudden fall took me by surprise, and I barely managed to catch him before he plunged into the frigid Canadian water.
The adrenaline rush did defeat my sudden onset arousal, but that was small comfort knowing that Sebastian was injured and it was going to be a long trip down the mountain at a slow walk.
We were still miles from the castle wall, high on the hill in the thick spruce forest when Sebastian's body suddenly jerked and fell to the ground in front of me. I managed two strides before a sharp pain hit my hip, and then one more before I dropped to the ground beside him.
Chapter Five
Sebastian
The shooting pain in my right hip caught me by surprise, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it before my legs went numb and buckled beneath me. When I came to, I was naked and hogtied on a cold concrete floor with my bodyguard’s hot back pressed tightly against my own. A low groan from beside me announced that Alrick was also returning to the land of the living although, if he felt anything like I did, there was no guarantee that that was necessarily a welcome change. Between the shakes ravaging my body, the bone-numbing lethargy, and the roiling in my belly, it was a thousand times worse than the worse hangover that I had ever experienced.
“Sebastian?” Alrick’s raggedvoice was barely a whisper but still managed to echo through my pounding head.
“Yeah,” I tried to answer. It came out more of a pitiful whimper, but Alrick must have heard me, because he continued. “Hold still; I’m going to try and cut these ropes.”
I could tell from the expanse of hot flesh pressed against me that he was just as naked as I was. Still, as curious as I was about how he planned to accomplish such a feat, I was in no shape to ask. As it turned out, I didn’t need to. I caught the faint cracking bone-shifting noise, felt a sudden twinge of pain across my wrist, and the tightly cinched rope fell away, leaving me free.
Alrick flexed his hands, his claws quickly reverting to human fingers, and gently stretched my limbs, massaging my aching muscles until they relaxed enough to be usable, then drawing me to my feet. Once I was upright, he surprised me by running his tongue lightly over the scrape on my wrist, cleaning off the thin line of blood left by his claw and depositing the enzymes that would speed healing.
“Thanks,” I croaked out, overly conscious of his naked body still touching mine as he held me up. His muscular body was dripping sweat, his impressive cock was fully erect and tight against his abs, - side effects, I assumed, of whatever drug was kicking my butt. “What happened?”
“I’m not exactly sure,” Alrick admitted, his face stormy. I would have pulled away, but he was holding me tight. “It looked like you were shot, but before I could get to you, I was hit as well.”
