“For all the years I have known you, Alpha, I would never think that you would insult me in such a way.”Alpha Novus glances up from the paper that lies before him, and at his Beta that stands by the large doorway. Both of them still wear their suits from the party but Hadrius’ top button is undone, tie resting on his shoulder. He watches the Alpha with a look of respectful contempt.“You insulted my mate as well.” The warlord continues, unable to rid himself of the expression that crossed her face when Alaina, the Alpha’s daughter, kissed his cheek.Alpha Novus remains silent and immobile, like a column of water, cold and straight, sufficient to himself. His jaw clicks and his pale lips curve into the tenderest of smiles; “I apologize if that is not how you wished to meet Alaina, the girl is rather brazen,” a sigh as he flattens a palm on the papers, “I will pass on the message to her father, should she choo

“Thank you,” Hadrius speaks at the maid, watching as she bows low before him with River’s dirty bloodied clothes in hand, before stepping out of the room. That had been the last of them.Slowly shutting the door, the warlord cracks his neck to the side then knuckles. His body is rigid and sore, a phantom ache between joints from the unrestrained shift that briefly surfaced whilst subduing the wolves. The wolves that dared harm her. It had left him fatigued but alert.Hadrius walks across the room and lingers by the bathroom’s doorway.Large and utterly decadent, as nearly everything pertaining to the warlord’s lifestyle is. Smooth grey marble and a lot of glass and mirrors lend the large room a somewhat surreal quality, steam from the hot water and lit candles only added to the effect.There are two lit candles, glowing against the steam from the heat of the water that hung heavy in the air. Through the mist, he sees his huma

Shuffling sounds is what rouses River from her deep, fatigued state of slumber. Vaguely, she hears Hadrius drifting about the room, slipping into the bathroom only to return. For a terrible moment, she believes it is dawn and fears he would wake her for class but a quick parting of her eyes to gaze at the dark sky beyond the parted curtains tells her otherwise.With a satisfied sigh, she begins to sink back beneath the dark waves when suddenly, the blankets are pulled from her curled form.“Wake up,” Hadrius does not wait for a reply. His large scalding hand closes around her ankle and drags her towards the foot of the bed.A spark of irritation surges through River and her lips curl in a scowl, “It’s not morning.”“It is.”“It’s still dark,” she protests with eyes shut as he flips her onto her back. Something touches both her ankles, slipping up past her knees and cum crusted thighs. Rive

All Hadrius sees is red.His hands clench into fists whilst striding down the hallway, blunt nails digging into the flesh of his palms, drawing rivulets of blood that slip from between his fingers like fine sand.Behind him trails his mate in silence, aware of his tensed, livid state, yet seeming indifferent to it. He smells the intoxicating wine that stains her lips, and beneath her scent is the Alpha’s son. Atticus. It stains her skin, her shoulder which he had touched, her forearm where he had pressed upon while they sat side by side.Pressure rises in the warlord’s mouth and a muscle leaps in his cheek at how he had found them.Atticus, the young ignorant brat of a pup, and his arrogant blatancy as he dared lay claim to his human.Hadrius cracks a knuckle and continues, unwilling to look over his shoulder. His teeth grind like motors and despite the cool night air that brushes past his coat, billowing it behind him, his skin tingles

They came for him at dawn.River expects it, or so she tells herself. Much to her dismay, Hadrius had been insistent on waking her at three AM, not that she was able to sleep.His words run deep into her skin, withdrawing all heat until all she feels is cold. Hadrius somehow maintains his natural tranquil behavior whilst training her. While her heart judders and gut clenches in fear, his simply is; there is no disturbance in his features, or perhaps his calmness was a facade to keep hers in check.But it was dark, and she could not see his face whilst he fixed her grip on the sword, and taught her how to rotate her hips enough to draw momentum from them. When her lessons are over, River is sleek with sweat despite the frigid cold, and her muscles scream from the exertion.As they walk back in silence, her steps falter in the slightest, inadvertently creating distance between the two, and she gazes at his broad back with a sense of foreboding desperation.