31. Weston

Chapter 31

Weston

M y wolf lay on the castle greens, trying to keep his composure. We both were. I'd known the ladies were going to the towns and villages and had prepared, but when the worst happened, the pack wasn't there in time.

Again.

It had happened twice—once in the castle, and now this. It would not happen a third time.

There would've been no point in sprinting through the wood trying to get to her. By the time we knew something was happening, it was a moment from being over. A mad flight to her location would've been seen for what it was: panic. That wasn't something an alpha should show his people, not in this situation. It would make them worry our perimeter wasn't secure and their loved ones were in jeopardy, and for what? Our mate was fine. There had been no pain, no real fright. There had been a thrill of surprise, determination, and a cool-headed decision. She and the queen had handled it.

Instead, out of respect for Aurelia, we'd stayed right here, now facing the direction where she would likely emerge from the wood.

She trotted along in wolf form. I felt each member of the pack drawing close to her and then pulling away again once they reached the edge of their security zone. With each greeting, an offer was extended for her to join them, to join the pack. They really shouldn't have. That wasn't something a pack extended to an alpha; it was something an alpha extended to potential members of a pack.

It was especially risky because she was considered a lone wolf. Usually, lone wolves would either leap at the opportunity to join a pack or vehemently reject it, choosing to stay on their own.

She did neither, politely refusing with a soft touch. No hard feelings. Even after a situation where it would've been safer had she been in the pack, able to call people to her aid immediately, she was careful not to damage our internal structure. She did what was necessary to preserve it.

Finley's dragon appeared over the tree line. She caught sight of us and blew a puff of fire before circling, fluttering her wings to land beside us. She reduced down into a woman and brought over the sack that had been in her dragon's mouth.

"Here's her clothes." Finley dropped a messy pile beside my wolf, who didn't bother getting up. "She was fine. She was in no danger."

She told me what happened, surprising me with the details about Aurelia's magic. I'd felt her panic, and then her confusion. That must've been when it happened. Like how she reacted with Nyfain, she seemed to reach for the fairy magic when she was at her most terrified.

"She has great instincts, Weston. I know you want to wrap her up in a blanket and lock her in a gilded cage to keep her safe, but that's impossible with your position—and her personality. She'll be safer with training and the ability to use it."

Now I was thankful to have stayed in wolf form to monitor our mate. I wouldn't have to be obvious about refusing to answer Finley. She was right, I knew, but still... Stashing Aurelia away in safety sounded so much better.

"Overall," Finley went on, crouching down beside my wolf, "she did well today. She even created a story about a sort of... quest for redemption that people seemed to buy. We might try to build a strategy around that, because—and I've thought a lot about this, and talked it over with the others—we're going to release some of her products. Just a couple to start, but Vemar has been right all along. The things I asked her to do weren't solutions, they were patches, and not enough to put Granny out of business. It's time we think differently about this."

She pulled her own clothes out of the sack.

"I haven't told you this because I wasn't really supposed to get involved, but..." Finley shrugged into her shirt. "She's fucking amazing , Weston. She's as hard to ruffle as you, with company as easy to keep as yours. She's much, much smarter than you, though. Good thing for you everyone in her life has always taken that for granted, or it might've been a problem. A beautiful, intelligent, hardworking woman with a knuckle-dragger like you? Someone got lucky with their true mate."

My wolf growled softly with the dig, showing his teeth. Finley laughed delightedly as our whole world lit up in pride. I'd known all of that, of course, confident in how incredibly lucky we were to have been paired with such an intelligent, enchanting woman. Hearing the queen say it, though, hearing her compliment our mate, knowing she could see the things we always had but that Granny had taken for granted or ignored... It was beyond special. Beyond magical. It felt like Aurelia was coming home.

"But seriously, she is really, really fucking smart, and she really wants to help people. After all she's been through, that's an admirable quality. It's an alpha's quality. I hope it works out for you, Weston. I really do. You both deserve to see some happiness."

She paused there for a moment, watching the emberflies float over the grounds.

"Okay, seriously, did these bugs just start heavily procreating for her specifically? How are there now so many?"

I would've laughed if I could've.

She pushed to standing, finished dressing, and gave her farewell.

Aurelia's wolf came jogging out of the woods not long after Finley had said her goodbyes. Her wolf's tongue lolled from her mouth and she panted, having run hard. My wolf rose to his feet, eager to see her but holding his position only because her clothes waited beside him. She caught sight of him and put on a burst of speed, closing the distance quickly.

Her smell hit us when she neared; it was mouth-watering. My wolf ran his face along her neck and over her shoulders, breathing her in, feeling his ardor rise. She stood still as he nibbled along one of her shoulders, able to claim her right now if he wanted to. Wolves could do it as well as humans. He wanted the pack to bear witness, though. He wanted to make his choice—and her choice—known for all to see.

Instead, he pushed in close behind her, feeling the warmth of her body. Her tail swished and she moved, looking back over her shoulder.

"She's not in heat," I said as he pushed his upper body closer.

"I don't care."

I did. I knew this was inevitable if I ever took a mate, but now wasn't the best time. But up he went, his paws on her back. He wasn't quite lined up, but it didn't stop him from ramming home. I could feel Aurelia's confusion as her wolf shoved backward against him, and then her extreme discomfort. I would've laughed if I could've. Being a dragon for this part would be so much better. They got to at least fly really high and then tumble through the air. We just had to sit here on the ground as our wolves rutted away.

"Don't knot her," I told him. "I want to talk with the human."

"You'll wait your turn."

Super.

I felt Aurelia sink down into the wolf body, grumpy, clearly trying to get away from something she hadn't been prepared for. Still inwardly laughing, I pulled her tighter within the bond, feeling her emotions as though they were mine. The pleasure of our animals pulsed through the bond. I cuddled close, letting it all seep through us. My wolf hit his stride, then his finish, and Aurelia's wolf followed not long after.

"I am not cutting it short for you," my wolf said, standing on his own again. "I am doing it for her."

He didn't elaborate, and I wondered which her he meant.

"That was... strangely erotic, but also gross," Aurelia said when she was back in human form. She reached down between her legs. "Yes, it was gross. I don't care about it being natural for you—I was not prepared." She paused again, obviously speaking with her animal. "I don't want to think about that right now. I'll deal with that when or if it happens." Her fingers came away wet, and I gritted my teeth against the wave of arousal.

She lifted her brow at me.

"That was my first time," I told her, because for some reason, that seemed important. "His first time, I mean. My first time witnessing him do that."

Her gaze dipped to my hard length.

"This is a result of you, uh, checking things out." I motioned to her fingers.

She dropped her hand. "Sorry, I just didn't know that was a thing . I mean, I wondered after the first shift, but... It makes me wonder what they were actually doing on their hunting trips in the woods when they came back without a kill."

"Usually it's only when the female goes into heat."

"Am I in heat?"

"No, you'll know when you are. I guess maybe true mate pairs do it any time? I don't know. I hadn't heard."

"Surprise," she muttered, lifting her fingers to look at them again. "Do I need to. .. Does that count as something that'll get me pregnant?"

"Yes. It's a wolf form originating from a human mind and body. Our shifted forms aren't actually animals, they are humans with magical shape alteration. If that makes sense. Same heart, same liver, stuff like that, just different placements. Same semen."

"Huh." She went about getting dressed. "It is kind of remarkable how curious I have not been. I never even thought to ask more about shifting and stuff."

"You never thought you'd do it, so why would you ask about it?"

"Yeah, I guess."

I couldn't help myself—I pulled up her hand slowly and sucked her two fingers into my mouth. They were just as sweet as I was expecting, and her eyes flashed with sudden desire.

"Because he's hot and not even remotely as hairy," she whispered, moving in close and tilting her head for a kiss.

"You realize you're talking out loud, right?" I murmured against her lips.

"Yes. My wolf was saying some very dirty things when your wolf was going at her, and now I just kind of want to keep everything above board for a moment. I just want to be a little more public about thoughts and feelings for a short time."

I laughed and pulled away, heading to the place where I'd set my clothes. "Now I'm curious, but fair enough."

"It's too soon to talk about."

"I understand."

"Maybe I'll say some of those things to you later tonight. Then maybe it won't be so weird."

"I support that decision." After getting dressed, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the head. "I heard what happened. Finley filled me in."

She sagged a little. "I probably shouldn't have chased him. She said you'd be mad."

"I'm not mad." And I wasn't. Scared for her safety, yes. Angry at myself for failing to keep danger away from her, absolutely. But I couldn't fault her for what Finley deemed were good instincts. I wouldn't want the inverse to be true. "I would like to ask you to stay out of the towns and villages, and especially the city, until I can get everything set up, though. There are too many holes in our?—"

"Of course," she said. "But this wasn't your fault. It is nearly impossible to lock down a whole kingdom. The people shouldn't be penalized for my troubles."

I walked her back to the castle. "I won't be locking things down—I'll be setting up better guards and patrols. That drunk shouldn't have been able to urinate up against a shop after such loud and drunken behavior in the tavern."

Finley had knocked him out before helping Aurelia, and my people had dragged him back to the castle to lock him up for public indecency. Tomorrow he could clean up his mess and do a little community service to atone for his crime.

"It was long overdue. I'd gotten complacent, having spent too much time chasing Granny's drugs. The people like to feel safe. They'll appreciate my providing that for them. The criminals... Well, I couldn't give two shits if I fuck up their day."

She bumped into me as we walked toward the castle steps, a pleasant hum in the bond.

"My whole life, I've longed for that," she said softly as the guard at the entrance looked us over. His eyes snapped straight in acknowledgment of who we were before he opened the door. "I've longed for that kind of protection. Granny traded me for it by using me. She gave me what I ultimately wanted, but in a roundabout way—you. Because of her, I got you."

Her voice drifted off as I scanned the interior of the castle, checking to make sure everyone was in their correct places. All the stationed guards inclined their heads at me.

We wouldn't need such extreme protocols after Granny was taken care of, but this was a very good test for any problems in the future. Given the sort of splash the dragons were making in the markets and with other kingdoms politically, I had a feeling we'd eventually need it.

"I do it because it is my duty," I told her, entering the hallway leading to each of our chambers.

"You do it because you enjoy doing your duty. You enjoy making sure your kingdom is safe."

"Yes."

"I love you for that. It's one more thing on the list of reasons I appreciate you. I feel like I've found my dream man."

I waited by her door as she opened it, and took her hand as I led her inside. Only Leala's scent filled the air, but I kept Aurelia by the door as I checked the interior anyway, ensuring there were no surprises.

"And I feel like I've found true love," I told her when I returned, wrapping her in my arms and kissing her deeply. "I love you."

She squeezed me tight, the feelings mirrored in the bond and overflowing.

"Just give me a few minutes, okay?" she said, backing off a little. "I just need to write in my journal and get ready and all that. I'll just be a moment." She gifted me a saucy smile. "And then you can take me back to your chambers, and we can give my wolf a run for it when it comes to talking dirty."