Chapter 6: She's getting wetter

Alaric:

Alaric had faced down rival packs, survived assassination attempts, and watched his father die in his arms.

But sitting across from this tiny human woman who was glaring at him like she wanted to set him on fire was somehow more unsettling than all of that combined.

The cottage was small, too small for three Alpha wolves and a mate who didn't want them. Kieran had sprawled in the armchair by the fireplace, his restless energy filling the space like static electricity. Caspian leaned against the kitchen counter, arms crossed, watching Elara with an intensity that would've made a lesser woman flinch.

But Elara wasn't flinching.

She was sitting ramrod straight on the couch, her arms wrapped around herself like armor, her dark eyes blazing with fury and fear in equal measure.

They'd shifted clothes....well, "shifted" was generous. They'd grabbed spare clothing they kept stashed in various locations around their territory for exactly these situations. Kieran had pulled on worn jeans and nothing else, because of course he had. Caspian had managed jeans and a dark henley. Alaric had gone for jeans and a simple black t-shirt, though it felt strange to be clothed when his wolf wanted nothing between him and his mate's skin.

Mate.

The word still felt surreal.

They'd been waiting for her for five months, ever since their father had died and they'd finally opened the sealed letter he'd left them. The one that explained the debt. The one that told them a woman would be coming to the cottage, and when she did, she was theirs.

Their father hadn't explained why. Hadn't explained what made her so important that he'd bartered for her twenty-three years ago. Just that she was owed to them, and they were to claim her.

Alaric had assumed it would be simple. A werewolf woman from another pack, perhaps. Someone who understood their world, who'd been raised knowing this day would come.

Not... this.

Not a human girl with terror in her eyes and a grandmother who'd apparently kept her completely in the dark.

"Let me make sure I understand this correctly," Elara said, her voice tight. "My grandmother made a deal with your father. Twenty-three years ago. And the payment for whatever protection he gave her was... me."

"Yes," Alaric said simply.

"Even though I was a baby."

"Yes."

"Even though I had no say in it."

"Yes."

Elara's hands clenched into fists. "And you think that gives you the right to just... what? Keep me here? Claim me like property?"

"It's not about rights," Caspian said quietly from the kitchen. "It's about the bond."

"I don't care about your bond!" Elara's voice cracked. "I don't care about deals made before I was born! I'm not responsible for my grandmother's debts!"

She smells like wildflowers and fury, Kieran's voice echoed through the mind link all three brothers shared. And I want to taste both.

Focus, Alaric shot back, though his own wolf was making similar demands.

"Your grandmother came to our father seeking protection," Alaric said, keeping his voice level. "She was running from something...we don't know what. Our father granted her sanctuary. Hid her and you in the human world where whatever she was fleeing couldn't find you. In exchange, she promised that when she died, you would come here. To us."

"Why?" Elara demanded. "Why would he want me? What could a human possibly offer three...." She gestured at them wildly. "Three werewolf kings?"

The title sounded bitter in her mouth.

"We don't know," Alaric admitted, and it grated at him to say it. "Our father died before he could explain. All we know is the debt exists, and you're the payment."

Elara stood abruptly, her whole body vibrating with rage. "Well, here's the thing about debts made by dead people: I don't owe them. My grandmother made that deal, not me. If you want payment, you can wait until the next life and ask her."

Kieran laughed....a sharp, surprised bark of sound. I like her, he said through the link.

Of course you do, Caspian replied. You like everything that tries to bite you.

Elara turned her glare on Kieran, who just grinned at her, utterly unrepentant.

"This isn't funny," she snapped.

"It's a little funny," Kieran said, his amber eyes dancing. "You're about five-foot-nothing, telling three Alpha wolves that you don't owe us anything. That takes guts, tesoro."

"Stop calling me that."

"Make me."

The air between them crackled with challenge. Alaric could see Elara's pulse jumping in her throat, could smell the spike of adrenaline in her scent. She was terrified, but she wasn't backing down.

It was... intoxicating.

Focus, he told himself again.

Elara's hands were shaking as she pointed toward the door. "Get out."

Nobody moved.

"I said get out!" Her voice rose. "This is my house! My property! And I want you to leave!"

Alaric rose slowly from his seat.

He was careful not to move too fast, not to trigger her flight instinct again. But he also didn't soften his approach. She needed to understand....needed to know....exactly what situation she was in.

He walked toward her with deliberate, measured steps.

Elara backed up until she hit the wall.

And Alaric kept coming until he was standing directly in front of her, close enough to see the silver flecks in her dark eyes, close enough to smell....

Fuck.

Do you smell that? Kieran's mental voice was practically a growl.

Yes, Caspian replied, his usual smooth control fraying. Holy hell, yes.

Arousal.

Sweet and intoxicating and utterly undeniable.

She was scared, yes. Angry, absolutely. But underneath it all, her body was responding to them. To him. The mate bond pulling at her whether she wanted it to or not.

Alaric's wolf snarled in satisfaction.

MINE. She wants us. Claim her. Mark her. Make her OURS

He shoved the wolf down with brutal force.

Elara was staring up at him, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her cheeks flushed. "I want you to leave my property," she said again, but her voice came out breathy, shaken. "Right now."

Alaric felt his lips curve into something that wasn't quite a smile.

"Your property," he said softly.

"Yes."

"This cottage."

"Yes."

He leaned in closer, bracing one hand on the wall beside her head. Not touching her. not yet....but close enough that she'd have to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact.

"Do you know who owns this land?" he asked quietly.

Elara swallowed hard. He watched her throat work, watched her pupils dilate.

She's getting wetter, Kieran practically whined through the link. Fuck, I can smell it. She smells so good!

Control yourself, Alaric snapped, even as his own control threatened to slip.

"I don't care who...." Elara started.

"I do," Alaric interrupted. "I own this land. This cottage. This entire mountain range. Every tree, every rock, every blade of grass for fifty miles in any direction." He paused, let that sink in. "You're standing on my property, Elara. Not yours."

Her eyes flashed with fury. "You might as well say you own the goddamn universe!"

"If I could, I would."

The words came out rougher than he intended, and he saw her breath catch.

Careful, Caspian warned. She's close to breaking.

But Alaric wasn't sure if his brother meant breaking down or breaking free, and he wasn't sure which one would be worse.

"The deed..." Elara tried.

"Was a formality," Alaric said. "Something my father arranged so your grandmother would feel secure. But the land has always been ours. Our pack has held this territory for three hundred years."

"That's...." She shook her head frantically. "That's not legal...."

"Human laws don't apply here." He let his hand drop from the wall, stepping back slightly to give her space. "You're not in the human world anymore. You're in ours."