58 | SMOOTHING WRINKLES

“You’re the Alpha?” I squeak out, my whole body tensing as the shock of it all hits me.

And then it all makes sense. Everything - from the weird way the Azures have been acting, to the way I had been kept out of the territory recently - and I feel like the world’s most stupid Wolven ever. *How could I not have sensed it or smelled it on him?* The Alpha in him should be one-hundred-percent more assertive than before, but I guess I had just chalked it up to Blue being *Blue*. He’s always been powerful, not that he’s really ever flaunted his abilities, just the opposite. It also explains why he blocked me all those months ago. He’d been keeping the truth from me. Keeping me from finding out. But why?

The urge to bolt flickers across my mind, spiking the adrenaline already coursing through my system and making my muscles tense. Blue growls, the sound reverberating in his chest as his nose twitches, and silvery-grey eyes blaze.

“Don’t.” He warns, clearly sensing the fight-or-flight response in me has flared. I hesitate, my mind going between my two options - of staying here to talk to him about this - or bolting…like I’m used to doing…and avoiding this mess before I implode or explode or whatever the hell is next on the self-destructive meter. My breathing hitches as my body seems to remember the usual response- but before I can even twitch and inch something grabs me. I’m suddenly enveloped in Blue’s parchment and pine scent.

The air around the room rushing along my skin and I get the distinct impression of moving…though it’s more like I’m being carried. The feeling lasts only a second before I’m unceremoniously dropped onto a plush, yet firm surface. I blink, frowning as I look around a new room, a bedroom…from the vantage point of a large bed. *What the…?*

I stare up at Blue, an odd familiarity at this situation fluttering to the surface in the back of my mind. His eyes are blazing a shiver-inducing mix of liquid silver and the darkest of greys, a million and one expressions flickering through his suddenly predatory gaze as he stares back at me. And then his form blurs and he’s pacing the length of the room like a caged animal. I watch him for a minute, my own fluttering emotions rolling through me with all their usual force and passion.

“You know, most girls would have been pissed by now at being kidnapped twice by the guy they like.” I tell him off-handedly, my eyes narrowing at his pacing form across the room. He doesn’t stop the rushed movement, his silvery-grey eyes flashing at me as he lets out a snarl of annoyance. Really *I’m* the one who should be annoyed. I’m the one he kidnapped. Again. Cause he’s very clearly blocking the way out with his body, even if he’s not stationary. Still…I find myself oddly calm and…not exactly happy but content, at the moment. “You’re not gonna shoot me again, are you?” I half-joke, cracking a smirk as that comment finally seems to snap my mate’s mind back to me.

“That-” He begins indignantly, his eyes widening as my words make him stop pacing mid-stride and almost have him stumbling. Almost. But his Alpha grace helps him easily smooth out his halting gait as he takes a slightly unsteady step towards me. “That-” He starts again, looking directly at me this time and seeing my playful expression. A flicker of annoyance at my teasing flutters across his face before a smirk of his own eases the crease between his eyebrows. Blue lets out a huff somewhere between a chuckle and scoff as his shoulders slump and he runs a hand through his already wild hair. My eyes track the movement, the rough force with which his fingers all but rip at the mess of ink that is his now getting-a-little-long hair. “You tried to kill me first.” He finally mutters defensively, his lopping saunter of a pace making him look more like a hunting predator than Wolven.

I can smell the slight change in his scent, the fiercer feral air of the wild calling to me - to my wolf. I try to hide the slight shiver that rolls down my spine as it wraps around me. Now that I notice it, it’s all-encompassing. Like the world’s best weighted blanket wrapping around me and coaxing my defenses lower…and lower still. At the same time, the primal attraction between us isn’t ebbing, and maybe it’s the fact that we’re both so tense at the moment or the inevitable pull of our bond, but my traitorous body’s humming at his closing-in proximity. I close my eyes to avoid his the moment he’s within touching distance, trying desperately to keep what’s left of my control as his already mouth-watering scent seems to trigger my heart into attempting to gallop out of my chest. I clench my hands into fists on my knees, feeling a slight tremor - that has nothing to do with any negative emotions I may have been experiencing a second ago - quivers through every tense muscle in my body.

“Red,” Blue’s voice is right in my ear now, the warmth of his body not at all helping my reaction to him. A zing of electricity dances along my skin when the gentle feel of his rough hand skates over my cheek. “Red,” Blue murmurs again, the coaxing dark rumble of his voice and accompanying growl reverberating in his chest somehow bypassing my common sense and unlocking my eyelids. There’s a slight rasp of fresh stubble from his jaw as he rubs our cheeks together - normally something I’d think was entirely platonic - but feels closer to a much, much more risque touch as it sends jolts of heat through me. My raging hormones all but explode and my eyes flash open. “Don’t look at me like that.” He warns, releasing my face suddenly when our eyes meet.

“Like what?” I hear myself ask, my voice heavy and breathy as I try to breathe in air that doesn’t make me want to pull my mate onto this bed with me. I grip my knees to stop my hands from moving to do just that.

“Like you want me to join you on my bed.” Blue clarifies in a monotone, taking a huge step away from me, but I don’t miss the flare of heat in his own eyes or the tips of his tongue gliding along his bottom lip as his eyes do a brief sweep over my body. “What were we talking about?” He frowns as his eyes seem to catch on my white-knuckle grip on my knees. I let out a shaky half-laugh, half-groan as I force my emotion into a simmer. *Fuck, right. We’re talking about some really important shit. Focus, Scarlett!*

“You’re the Alpha now.” I mentally applaud myself for the coherent recall of the topic, giving myself a mental pat-on-the-back to boot. But my mind threatens to take a gutter-detour as Blue’s eyes loose some of the silvery brightness and go a darker shade of grey for a moment. His jaw works and I don’t miss the slight increase of his breathing rate as his eyes force their way back up from my hands, lingering over my torso for a second too long, before locking on the mark on my neck.

“Yeah.” Blue mutters wearily, his eyes flickering back to their usual silvery-grey sparkle as they lock with mine and hold. “Feels kind of great now that you know.” He adds when I don’t say anything else. I crack a smile, despite the spike of annoyance at the cold-water reminder of his eight-month secret.

“I also know about Mom.” I croak bitterly, the slap of reality hitting me again as my hands smooth over my knees ad start to rub at the fabric of my leggings as a flaring ache of pain spikes through my heart. “Fucking cancer.” I hiss out as Blue’s eyes widen and he bridges the space between us. His arms wrap around me again, this time he keeps them around me and buries his face into the side of my neck as my body begins to quiver.

“She didn’t want anyone to tell you yet-” Blue murmurs against my skin, the pressure of his strong arms around me not soothing the aching pain inside, but almost holding the fracturing pieces together somehow. I take a hitching breath and nod into his shoulder, ignoring the sting in my eyes as fresh tears threaten to cloud my vision. I swallow repeatedly as his hands rub up and down my back comfortingly, their steady pace keeping the overwhelming feelings back. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” He adds to me after a moment, and I can feel his mental presence on my side of the bond, seeing where most of my morning had been spent and the subsequent fallout of a day. “You know I’m here if you need anything.”

“I know.”