Filed to story: Wolf Crying Mate of the Alpha by Jazz Ford
‘Really?’
‘Yes, but as long as I am with you, I know we will be fine.’ He reassures me. My hands gently squeeze his tighter, and we silently watch the moon for a while.
Alec approaches, ‘Nina, will you dance with me?’ He says.
‘And here I thought you were coming to ask me for a dance,’ Magnus smirks.
‘In your dreams,’ Alec says.
‘We should have another dance,’ Magnus says to me.
‘It’s my turn. You already had a dance with her!’ Alec snarls.
‘Well, I want another dance,’
‘Get in line then,’
They glare at each other, growling and snarling. I roll my eyes and stand between them, ‘Gentlemen, I will dance with you now, Alec, then I will dance with Magnus,’ I say.
They both gaze at me and instantly relax.
‘Okay?’ I say,
‘Okay,’ they say and nod.
Alec and I dance throughout the hall. He smiles endearingly at me, but I can’t help but feel something is wrong.
‘Is everything okay?’ I ask Alec.
‘Mhmm,’ he mumbles, not giving me a proper answer.
We finish the dance, and he kisses my hand, ‘You go and find Magnus and give him his dance,’ he says.
‘Oh, okay, are you sure you’re okay?’ I say, his forehead is sweating, and he looks more off-colour than usual. He nods and walks away, leaving the hall. Instead of finding Magnus, I follow Alec but lose sight of him.
‘Reaper, can you fly ahead and find Alec? I think there is something wrong,’ I mind-link.
Reaper launches from the chandelier and flies out into the garden. I can’t see Alec anywhere.
‘This way,’ Reaper says. I see him flying in the distance to the right. I race towards him and find Alec on his knees, pulling at his hair, fighting himself.
‘Alec?’ I whisper.
He jerks his head back and looks at me in surprise. He has taken on the wild appearance when deprived of blood.?
‘Alec, you said that you had been living off the blood of deer. I don’t understand why you are like this?’
Alec struggles to speak, ‘Not working,’ he manages to say.
‘If drinking animal blood isn’t enough to sustain you, then what is?’ I ask.
His eyes briefly gaze at my neck.
‘You have to have my blood, don’t you?’ Alec gives me a look of worry. ‘You know you can-‘
‘No!’ He says, ‘Worried, I won’t stop.’
Reaper mind-links me.
‘Luna, vampires can only drink from their blood flames once mated. Any other blood is equivalent to starving themselves. He hasn’t been able to stop thinking of drinking your blood, the taste and the adrenalin it gave him since the moment he first tasted you. He is afraid of harming you and may kill you if he cannot control himself while drinking from you. It has happened with many blood flames before, where half of them have died, drained of blood,’
Reaper’s words send a shiver down my spine, but I love Alec too much for him to starve himself.
‘Alec, look at me,’ I say, gripping his face in my hands, ‘You can’t control yourself as it is unless you have my blood anyway. I will stop you from taking too much, okay?’
Alec gives me another worried look but nods hesitantly. I can see he is in pain as he holds his head again. A moment later, his face draws closer to my neck. His hands wrap around my waist, and he pulls me in against his body as his fangs sink into my neck. A minute goes by, and I feel faint, but Alec isn’t slowing down. My hand reaches into my pocket, and I pull out my wand, ‘Repeliate,’ I say, an invisible force repels him back into the air, and he lands a dozen metres away. He sits up in a panic and wipes the blood dribbling down his chin.
‘Nina! Are you okay? I’m so sorry,’ he says, and with great speed, he appears right in front of me. I sway a little.
‘It’s okay. You couldn’t help it,’ I say, falling to the side. He catches me and discreetly carries me upstairs to my chambers. I’m placed gently on the bed. Alec then fills a cup with water and helps me sit up and drink.
‘Thank you,’ I say.
‘You shouldn’t thank me, Nina. I didn’t want this to happen,’ he frowns.
‘I know, Alec, but you should have told me that mating only then allows you to drink my blood. If you drink a certain amount each day, perhaps it will be easier to control, rather than starving and making a glutton of yourself?’ I joke, but he doesn’t laugh. Instead, he kneels by the bed and clasps my hands in his.
‘Why are you so forgiving? I could have killed you. Why have I been blessed with the most loving soul as my blood flame?’ He asks, ‘Sometimes. I think I don’t deserve you,’
‘Alec, sometimes I think I don’t deserve you, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love you, Alec.’ I smile.
His face lights up, and he kisses me passionately as Magnus walks into the room.
‘I was looking for you everywhere, hoping for my other dance,’ Magnus says, leaning against the doorway.
‘Sorry, Magnus. It’s been a big day, and I think I’m going to retire for the night,’
‘Great, bedtime it is,’ he smiles, unstraps his leather armour vest, and tosses it onto the armchair by the fireplace. He then begins to remove his belt.
‘At the very least, wait until I leave the room,’ Alec growls. ‘I don’t want to see you disrobe,’ he says, disgusted.?
‘Then don’t let the door hit you on your way out,’ Magnus replies as Alec storms out the room.
Left in nothing but a long tunic, Magnus climbs into bed, pulls me into his chest, and falls asleep.
Reaper squawks and caws perched on the stone window sill. Magnus throws his straw-stuffed pillow, hitting Reaper. He falls out the window to avoid being struck by the pillow flying toward him. I sit up to see a few black feathers floating in the air and hear wings fluttering outside the window. Reaper flies back up onto the sill, displeased.
‘Don’t look at me like that, Reaper. I’ve already told you to stop behaving like a rooster. Be glad I didn’t also throw my pillow at you,’ I tell him.
Magnus puts his trousers and brown leather armour vest on while I skip out the door to find Alec in a dark passageway staring out the window.
‘Good morning, Alec,’ I smile.
He kisses me tenderly, ‘Are you feeling better after your sleep? Do you feel recovered enough to travel to Emerald Island today, or we could stay another night here if you haven’t regained your strength?’
‘Why would Nina need to regain her strength?’ Magnus asks, approaching us with a look of confusion.