Alpha Loren novel Chapter 72

November 19th

The next day there was a frost which left the forest bitterly cold. 

"Do you want to go on a walk?" Leo asked as I sat at the table drinking hot chocolate.

"Depends which Leo I'm going with..." I muttered. "Old Leo or whoever inhabited you two days ago..."

He was stood washing up the breakfast plates and at my comment he threw the sponge into the sink, splattering soapy water everywhere.

"Let me rephrase that. We are going on a walk," he replied.

"Silly of me to think I actually had a choice..."

"Enough with the snide comments," he snapped. "Now get your shoes and coat. We're going in five minutes."

As we walked through the forest, I kept my arms folded and refused to hold his hand. The fresh air was nice and if we weren't in a raging fight, I could have enjoyed his company but there was a tension between us even bitterer than the winter air.

We eventually reached a lake having exchanged very few words and just stood by it silently.

It was then that he pulled my hand from where it had been firmly in my pocket and held it tightly.

"Nice view, isn't it?" he said as I tried to pull my hand out of his.  

He completely ignored my futile attempts.

"The water is so calm...and still...and tranquil," he added as I started hitting his chest.

"Get off me!" I growled.

"And listen to the birds sing and the leaves rustle in the breeze. The forest really is the most peaceful place," he added.

"Leo!" I shouted and he finally looked down at me.

"What is it, my dear," he asked.

"I apologise profusely for not being the obedient Luna you had imagined. But I am not going to change. So give up and let go of my hand."

"And I apologise profusely for not being the soft and charming mate you had imagined. But I am not going to change either. So give up and hold my hand."

At that, I tried to launch my leg towards him but he caught it and shoved me up against a tree.

"You are just so resilient," he said with a laugh.

I smiled, "Don't I just drive you up the wall?"

He grabbed my face with one hand whilst still keeping me firmly against the tree.

Completely unexpectedly, he then leant forward and roughly kissed me. Pressing his lips hard against mine.

He ran his fingers down to my mark and a shudder slipped down my spine.

He then pulled his lips completely away and I found myself gasping and leaning forward to kiss him again.

He laughed complacently.

"You want it, huh?" he said, his hand resting on my arse. 

I made no reply but when he slowly brought his lips close to mine and just paused there, only an inch away, his breath fanning across my face, the anticipation was unbearable and I had to lean forward and close the gap.

"I knew you'd give in," he whispered before kissing me back.

I wanted to stop and refuse to give him the satisfaction but the way his fingers laid on my mark and how he held me firmly against the tree unexplainably stopped me. I was trapped and I didn't exactly hate it.

A few minutes later, he slipped his hand inside my pants and I let out a deep moan as his fingers made their way into my panties.

He smiled again and the longer his hand stayed down there, the more I relaxed into his arms and just let him hold me there. 

Every time I realised what I was letting him do, how I was letting him win, there'd be another wave of pleasure or he'd flash me another handsome smile. It wasn't long until he unzipped his pants and hitched me up against the tree before he entered. I clutched his back as the pleasure got intense but it was only five minutes before I reached my climax and by the groan he let out, he did too.

Despite the cold air, I was in sweats of heat as he pulled out and wiped his brow.

"Victory," he whispered in my ear. 

I closed my eyes, still catching my breath.

Regret was already beginning to set in. All my efforts to stand up to him and now I've let him win just like that.

"Feels right, doesn't it? To follow your instinct," he added. "To let me be in control. It feels natural."

I had nothing to say to that.

So I just let him kiss me once more.

"Leo?" a voice said from what sounded like only a few metres away.

He quickly pulled his lips away and turned round, zipping up his pants as he went.

"Oh, hey Lia," he said, wiping his lips and running his fingers through his messy hair.

"Hey, Leo," she replied. "...hey Ella."

I forced a smile through my blush as I fumbled with the buttons on my shirt.

"Were you...?" she said.

"Yes," Leo replied. "Did you need me?" he added quickly changing the subject.

She nodded, "I wanted to talk to you about Haden but if you're busy-"

"No, we're done," Leo said taking my hand. "Come back to my house. We'll talk there."

After an awkward return home, in which no one spoke but Leo just held my hand as Lia walked silently next to us, Leo made coffee.

"So what's up?" Leo asked, handing her the mug.

"Apart from the fact that I just stumbling upon my brother screwing in the forest?" she asked with a grimace.

Leo rolled his eyes, "Yes apart from that."

"I wanted to ask if maybe possibly it would be okay if you could release Haden in the next couple of days?" she said nervously.

Leo's expression changed to serious as he looked his sister directly in the eye.

"Why now?" he asked folding his arms.

"It's been weeks and I can't bear to be away from him any longer," she explained.

"Do you plan to leave the territory with him?" Leo asked.

"Yes."

"You can wait another two weeks until you turn 18."

"That's too long," she protested.

"I'm not stopping you from visiting him whenever you like."

"Imagine if your mate was locked away and you could only 'visit' her!" Lia argued raising her voice slightly.

"My mate isn't a psychopath," Leo stated in a deep tone.

Lia quickly diverted her eyes to the ground where she paused and swallowed.

"Fine. Imagine if you were locked away and she could only 'visit' you," She said, looking back up.

Leo's face hardened even more than previously thought possible.

"You are just as bad as him."

"Don't argue with me, Lia. I will not release him until you are 18," he said sternly.

"What difference will two weeks make?" she asked.

"You know exactly what he will do to you the second he is away from here and off the Wolfsbane. Are you ready for that yet, huh?"

"He wouldn't do that," she replied quietly.

"You have no idea what he will do," he said, "You don't know him like I know him."

"This is still my decision," she replied.

"Well excuse me for not jumping at the chance to let you get hurt. I have the power to override your decision and I am going to use it to protect you," he said.

She opened her mouth but Leo interupted before she could get a single word out.

"I'm not changing my mind," he declared crossing his arms.

"Haden is my mate and I have the right to be with him. Ella help me out here," Lia said looking at me for help.

I hesitated for a moment not quite sure what to say.

"I think that you should listen to your brother Lia. He's only thinking about what is best for you," I replied.

She looked at me a bowl of disappointment on her face with a side order of shock and a sprig of betrayal to garnish.

"Ella!" she exclaimed. "Tell him!"

"She's not going to tell me anything, Lia," Leo snapped. "I've made my decision and as my Luna she's agreeing with it."

"Ella?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"As your brother, Leo has the right to be concerned," I said. "Haden is a bad man."

"I know but-"

"There are no buts, Lia," Leo said, "Not until you are 18. Then we will revaluate."

"Age didn't matter when it came to Ella," she replied, "Was she 'ready'?"

"Go home," Leo ordered.

She turned and quickly left the house, a sob undoubtedly begging to break free.

After she had left Leo leant over the back of the sofa and gently kissed me on the lips.

"Good girl," he whispered in my ear before jumping over the sofa and joining me to finish the movie. 

"You were harsh on her," I pointed out.

"Because I love her and I won't have Haden mistreating her,"  Leo said.

I nodded and rested my head on his chest. He placed his hand on top of my head and began stroking my hair.

"But what she said about me, you know it's true, don't you?" I said. "You feel exactly how Connor did only he didn't have the power to stop you."

He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my head, "Perhaps I shouldn't have been so harsh on him for just wanting to protect you."

"It's not too late," I said.

"Hmm," was all he said and I decided not to pester him anymore. 

"Are we gonna talk about what happened in the woods?" he asked a few minutes later.

"We had sex," I said. 

"And you know what that means?" he asked. 

"I gave in and you won, I know," I replied. 

"And now we've got everything to how it should be, we don't need to talk about it anymore. We can move on and be happy," he said. "I'm sorry if this was harsh on you but it'll work out better for everything in the long run. You, me and the baby."

I nodded, "I hope you're right."

At 5 o clock, it was already completely dark and Leo had to go out for some important meeting with some of his allies at the base.

"Due to Luca's lifelong babysitting ban, Mateo will be joining you tonight," Leo said walking down the stairs in his suit and tie.

Who are these allies? Royalty?

"When are you going to stop getting your friends and brothers to 'look after' me when you're out. I'm big enough to be left in a house alone," I replied.

"But you're not big enough to fight off a nasty rogue," he answered kissing my forehead as the doorbell rang. 

After Leo had left Mateo did his typical raid of the fridge. Luckily, we went to the grocery store last night so there was some actual food in there.

"So how come Luca has been banned?" he asked with a slice of ham in one hand and a pancake in the other.

"He took me to Macdonalds against Leo's orders. Then Leo punched him, twice, delivered a whole load of threats, banned him from babysitting duty and here we are," I explained briefly.

"Right..." Mateo said. "I'm hoping that out loud that sounded much worse than it was."

"Probably better out loud actually," I countered.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. "...like with him?"

I nodded, "He's been in a bad mood for a few days. We're through it now though."

Mateo examined my face before forcing a smile, "Okay," he said with a nod, "But if there's anything, you know you can talk to me right?"

I gave him a half-smile, "I'm fine Mateo. Don't worry."

"Okay...well," he said, "Quick Loren update: Maria and Elena are up to something and I'm trying to find out what. I'm pretty sure Allison is involved too so I might try seducing her into telling me."

"You're still hooking up with Allison?" I asked.

"Yes and Marco and Carlos still have absolutely no idea," he said with a grin, "I've now been fucking their best friend for three months and they didn't even figure it out when Carlos literally walked in on us."

I let out an abrupt laugh, "What did you tell him you were doing?"

"We told him she was straddling me because she was plucking my eyebrows," he said. "He just shrugged, told her not to miss my unibrow and left."

I shook my head in disbelief, "How are they that dumb?"

"Maybe it's because they had Leo and me as their older brothers," he replied, "When we were little we used to smash each other's skulls in regularly."

I rolled my eyes, "You still do," I said, "I've seen the way you 'play' fight."

He grinned again, "Anyway, Maria and Elena keep going on late night walks in the woods. If I suggest going with them, they are always very opposed to the idea and come up with some excuse."

"Maybe they just don't like you?" I asked trying to distract him off the trail to discovering Elena and Maria's female training secret.

"Hmmm possible," he said, "Elena and I fight but Maria and I are normally good."

I shrugged, "Who knows..."

"Oh I will very soon. I can assure you of that," he replied, "And anyway. Lenny turns 16 next week and Mom wanted me to invite you and Leo while I'm here."

"I'll pass the message along."

A few hours later, we were watching some crap film (what my day has mostly consisted of) when the doorbell rang.

"Stay here," Mateo said before going to the door as I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, Mateo! Is Ella in? I have something for her," I heard Luca's voice say. Definitely not a scary rogue then.

"Luca, I'm pretty sure the Alpha told you to stay away from his Luna," Mateo replied.

"Yeah he did but this is important," Luca said not sounding that threatened by Leo.

"Are you some sort of twat?" Mateo asked in a serious tone. 

I stifled a snort as I continued to listen to the conversation unfolding at the door.

"You still have the black eye from last night yet you continue to go against his orders. Sometimes I wonder how you are even still alive," Mateo continued.

"He loves me really just sometimes he...forgets I guess," Luca replied still upbeat and no doubt smiling.

"Well it's your funeral," Mateo said shortly before Luca's beaming face appeared in the living room.

"When I got home yesterday I realised I still have your socks," he said throwing me my favourite bumblebee striped socks.

"I threw yours in the trash sorry," I replied through gritted my teeth.

"Why?" He questioned his facial expression instantly changing.

"They were more hole than sock and they stunk like mouldy meatballs," I explained.

"I was going to put them in the laundry today."

"They wouldn't have survived even one spin in a washing machine, Luca darling."

His jaw dropped in offence.

"Don't 'darling' me. I've had them for years!"

"I could tell."

"The audacity! You owe me a pair of socks Ella," he said crossing his arms and sitting on the sofa.

"Would someone like to tell me what is going on?" Mateo asked.

"Basically last night in the Macdonalds waiting line Luca spotted my rather fetching bumblebee socks and wanted to swap...so that's what we did...." I explain.

"Oh right. Of course."

"Fuck me," Luca cursed as we heard footsteps come down the drive.

"Um fuck no," Mateo scoffed.

"Is that Leo back already?" I asked as Luca, having ignored Mateo's comment, marched across the room to the back door.

"Where's the key?" he questioned after he discovered it was locked.

"I don't know. That's not the sort of thing I usually get told," I replied sardonically.

"Well guys this is it," Luca said turning to us.

"Don't be melodramatic," I replied in a pragmatic tone. "In the downstairs bathroom, the window lock is broken. Leo hasn't bothered to fix it because 1. he doesn't know that I know and 2. It's small and high.  If you breathe in and jump you should be alright."

"If the Alpha thinks it's too small for you to fit through what makes you think this is a feasible escape plan for me?" Luca asked and I rolled my eyes.

"You have 10 seconds to get out of here with all your vital organs intact so stop arguing and go," Mateo replied shoving him in the direction of the bathroom and the window.

Just as Luca disappeared the door opened. Mateo went to greet Leo and strangely left pretty much immediately.

My mate came into the kitchen and leant on the kitchen counter with his head bowed down before letting out a groan.

"Leo? You look like you're in pain," I said approaching him slowly. "And why did Mateo leave so soon?"

"I'm fine," he grunted. "And I told him to."

"Leonardo," I said sternly.

"I said I'm fine," he replied even more gruffly.

"You are definitely lying," I stated.

"Luca's been here, hasn't he?" Leo asked sniffing the air.

"Yeah..." I said.

"Is he asking for another fist in his face?" Leo cursed as he winced again.

We stood in silence for a few moments. I watched my mate as he clenched the worktop tightly and screwed up his eyes. His tie was loose and wonky, his shirt was half untucked, his hair messy and his face pale.

I slowly approached him even more and placed my hand on his shoulder. He winced even more and I immediately withdrew my self. 

"Have you injured your shoulder?" I asked.

"It will heal."

"You don't look well, Leo. I think that you should let me look at it," I suggested and he reluctantly removed his jacket.

"Shitting fuck Leo," I cursed as he revealed the arm length gash along his left shoulder. "How did this happen?"

"Young lady, 'Shitting fuck' isn't a nice expression," he replied with spite in his voice.

"Take your shirt off. The fabric is sticking to it," I said reaching for his tie. 

He then peeled off his shirt, wincing and grimacing as he did to reveal the raw red skin underneath.

"We should call Doctor Amanda. It doesn't look like it's healing at all and it needs cleaning," I said after chucking his, once white now red, ripped shirt straight in the trash can along with Luca's socks. 

"I don't need a doctor," he said standing up from where I had instructed him to sit.

"Sit," I ordered whilst passing him a glass of water. "If you are not going to let me get professional help then I guess you are stuck with me."

He looked at me with a dark stare, "Don't tell me what to do."

"Leo, please," I said putting my hand on top of his, "I'm just trying to help because I care about you. So where's the first aid kit?"

"We don't have a first aid kit," he replied.

This is the point where he was meant to realise that Amanda is a much better option and give in. I can look at it without throwing up but touching it? No thanks.

"Who doesn't have a first aid kit?" I questioned.

"Someone that doesn't ever need one," he snapped.

Ten minutes later I had gathered a clean towel and a bowl of hot water. I had also persuaded Leo to go upstairs and lie on the bed which I believed was the best thing for someone losing so much blood and getting paler by the second.

He breathed heavily as I cleaned the wound after putting all squeamish thoughts aside. I used to want to be a nurse but this well and truly reminded me why I changed my mind.

Afterwards, I left him to sleep as I paced the room biting my nails. He was white as a ghost and feverish. Sweat kept dripping down his brow but he shivered and groaned in his sleep. 

"Blair?" I said after my calls were finally answered.

"What's the matter?" he asked sounding like he'd just been woken up. It was midnight so that's quite reasonable actually.

"It's Leo. He was injured by a rogue and it's not healing and he's looking really sick and weak," I explained.

"Have you called Amanda?" he asked.

"I can't find her number and he told me not to. He says he doesn't need a doctor," I replied.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," he said before hanging up.

I sat beside Leo and gently stroked his hair.

"Blair's on his way," I whispered softly.

After about ten minutes, he arrived.

"This isn't normal Ella," he said after looking at the wound and then Leo's paled and sweaty face. "Yeah it's a big cut but it shouldn't have this much of an effect on an Alpha."

"What do you mean not normal?" I asked.

"There's wolfsbane in that wound," Blair replied. "That's why he is so weak and unable to heal."

"So as soon as it wears off he should be fine, right?" I questioned still concerned.

"Probably," Blair replied. 

Probably as in probably? As in more than maybe but not definitely? As in there is a chance that he could not?

"Did he say the rogues who did this died?"

"I don't know how many there were but the one who actually did it definitely did," I answered. "Why?"

"Because if they know the Alpha is this weak, it is their perfect chance to attack the pack," he said. "He was right when he said he doesn't need a doctor. The wolfsbane should wear off within the next 24 hours and then he will be fine. For now, keep him hydrated and if you have any worries, call me again. I need to go and warn his men and prepare for an attack."

He then turned to leave, "Blair wait. Leo tells me not to worry about this rogue problem...should I be?"

Blair looked at me but refused to answer, "This isn't a matter I can discuss with you," is all he said before continuing to the door and then out of the house.

I lay down next to Leo and ran my fingers through his hair before kissing him softly on the head.

"Please be alright Leo," I whispered.

A sum up of our situation: Alpha knocked out, pack probably under attack, we're all going to die.