Chapter Eleven

Ulric’s POV

She has read it by now. I can feel it in my bones as Fenrir paces restlessly in my head, silent but impatient since she woke.

Fenrir, down! I growl in my mind.

Fenrir claws at my conscience. I am not your dog. I am your equal. Remember, Ulric. I will not warn you. We are both one Alpha.

I submit silently.

Since Maya entered my territory, the air smells different, her scent attaching itself to every corner of my house. I can sense the shifts in her emotions, and I no longer smell fear.

I stand by the tall window of my study, looking toward the guest wing where she is staying, the distance meaningless to my senses and changing nothing about what she is to me.

She is mine.

I say it softly because speaking it aloud would be dangerous; someone could sense weakness and strike.

A knock at the door confirms what I already know.

“Enter.”

Derick Blackwood steps inside. My Beta doesn’t bother with formalities when we are alone, closing the door behind him and leaning casually against it.

To my pack, this might seem disrespectful. To me, Derick and I were raised like brothers. His father was my father’s Beta. Our mothers used to joke that we learned to walk by trying to outrun each other through the corridors of the pack house. We fought together, trained together, bled together. He was there through the darkest times of my life, and we faced countless battles side by side. Some bonds are chosen. Ours has always existed.

“She woke?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“And?”

I do not answer immediately.

Derick studies me, smirking. “You have that look again.”

“What look?”

“The one where you’re pretending you’re fine while your wolf is clearly planning something violent.”

A breath escapes me, almost a laugh. Almost.

“I gave her the rules.”

Derick exhales sharply through his nose. “You gave your mate a rulebook?”

My eyes cut toward him. “She is not my mate.”

Derick lifts his hands in surrender. “Right. And I suppose the sky is green too.”

“My wolf believes she is,” I say.

“And you?”

I turn back to the window. That is irrelevant.

Derick pushes off the door and steps further into the room. “Has she rejected you yet?”

“I did not ask.”

A small laugh escapes him. “That might be a first. The great Alpha Ulric Wolfhart, afraid of an answer.”

“I am not afraid.”

“No,” Derick says calmly. “You’re cautious, which is worse.”

I say nothing. He isn’t wrong.

“You did not see her in that room,” I say quietly, fingers curling slightly against the stone frame. “The way she stood there, terrified, but still fighting it.”

I exhale slowly. “Most humans break long before that point.”

Derick nods slightly. “And you?”

I stare out at the courtyard. “I nearly did.”

The amusement vanishes from his face. “Ulric.”

“I wanted to kill every man in that room,” I say, my voice is calm. “Their heartbeats. Their breathing. The way they looked at her.”

My wolf shifts beneath my skin again.

Derick folds his arms. “She affects your control.”

“Yes.”

“That is inconvenient.”

“No,” I correct quietly. “It is dangerous.”

“For her?” he asks.

“For everyone.”

Silence falls.

Then Derick sighs. “You always did pick the complicated path.”

“This was not a choice.”

“Nothing ever is with you.”

Before I can respond, my wolf suddenly goes still, and my body follows instantly.

Derick notices. He always notices.

“What is it?”

I inhale slowly. Her scent. Closer now, moving through the corridor.

“She is leaving her room,” I say softly.

Derick blinks. “You can tell?”

“She touched the sunlight in the corridor. I can smell the warmth on her skin.”

He stares and shakes his head slowly. “You’re completely finished,” he mutters, unaware of how right he is.

A soft knock at the door makes us both silent. We both know.

Derick steps aside without being asked, relaxed yet alert. “Well, let’s meet the girl who has the Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack gripping furniture like he’s surviving a storm.” I didn't even notice how I was holding on to the back of my desk chair. My knuckles are white.

“Enter.”

The door opens. She is there. Tall, facing us, full of confidence and fearlessness.

Claim her. She is ours! Fenrir pushes insistently, or perhaps lustfully. I don’t know

.

“I read your rules,” she says, looking straight at me

.

“Oh, you did now?” I say, smirking.

“Yes. I did.” Her brow furrows.

“I don’t believe you,” I say, stepping closer.

“Why would I lie?”

“Because if you did read my rules, you would not be standing here so defiantly. You would know to address me as Alpha, speak respectfully and humbly in my presence.”

Her breathing changes slightly. Her scent shifts. Is she also aroused by this?

“Well, Alpha Ulric,” she says, sarcasm dripping from her voice. I gesture toward the door. “Derick, give Miss Reynolds and me some space.”

He leaves without argument.

Now I am alone with her.

Her mouth opens, but before she can speak, I gently take her face in my hands. Instinct takes over.

“Maya, do not mistake my kindness for weakness. I am, above all, your Alpha. You will treat me with respect. Do you understand me?”

I drop my hands. Her face flushes red, but she remains still.

“The right thing now,” I say firmly, “is to answer your Alpha when he asks a question.”

She gathers herself quickly. The faint, musky scent of her arousal does not escape me.

“Alpha, I have decided to marry you,” she announces.

Fuck.

Her words steal the air from my lungs. I did not expect her to decide so quickly. I gather myself and meet her gaze.

“Maya, if you marry me, it will not be easy. I am warning you,” I say sternly.

“I know. But first, I want to know, are you really a wolf? Or was that just a metaphor?”

“Maya, I am a wolf. An actual wolf.”

She seems taken aback.

“I will shift for you,” I say.

“No. No, it’s fine,” she says anxiously. “I believe you.”

“Just tell me what you mean by saying it will be hard for me.”

“If you marry me, I will have to claim you. I will have to mark you. And I will have to mate with you,” I say, my voice dropping almost too seductively. I pull her gently to my waist and bring my lips close to her ear. Before I can stop, I whisper, “Oh, how I would love to mate with you.”

A small gasp escapes her mouth. Her arousal is too much for Fenrir. I release her and step back before I lose control and devour her in my office.

Shaking, she meets my eyes. “Alright then. I will be your wife in three weeks.”

She turns and exits the room.

I sigh deeply.

This poor girl has no idea what she has just agreed to.