Alexander & E


    Alexander


    E’s scent hit me like a freight train the moment I pulled her into my arms.


    Cherry and vani-but stronger now. The fear that had been threading through it was already beginning to fade, reced by something else. Something that made my wolf go wild.


    “Mark her,” he growled. “She’s ours. She’s right here. Mark her now.”


    The urge was so strong that I nearly gave in. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to sink my teeth into the delicate curve of her neck, to finallyplete the bond that should have been sealed years ago. My canines actually extended somewhat, their sharp points pressing against my lower lip.


    But I forced my canines to retract. No, I would not mark her. Especially not here and now, in the middle of an abandoned barn in the woods, a dead body going cold beside us, ring in the distance.


    “Alexander?” E’s voice was muffled against my shoulder. “Is he really dead?”


    and sirens


    I nced at the crumpled body of her attacker, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Blood had pooled beneath him, dark and thick in the shlight’s beam.


    “Yes. He can’t hurt you anymore.”


    She shuddered and pressed closer against me. Her scent had begun to fade, which came as both a relief and a disappointment. The loss of it felt like a warm nket had been ripped from me, but it also made my wolf calm.


    The police arrived shortly after that. I managed to extract myself from E long enough to handle everything, coordinating with the officers and exining what had happened. Gabriel showed up at some point, along with what seemed like half of the territory’sw enforcement.


    While the police taped off the crime scene, I watched the paramedics work, noting the cuts on E’s arms, the bruises forming on her skin. She looked so small sitting there in the back of the ambnce, her dress torn and dirty, her hair tangled with leaves and debris.


    “We need to take her to the hospital for observation,” one of the paramedics said. “She’s showing signs of being drugged, and we should run some tests-”


    “No.” E’s voice was stronger now, more like herself. “I’m not going to the hospital. I’ve spent enough time theretely.”


    “E,” I started, but she cut me off with a raised hand.


    “I’m fine, Alexander. I just want to go home.”


    C


    The paramedic looked between us. “Luna, given what you’ve been through-”


    “I said I’m fine.” She lifted her chin and shot me an imploring nce. “I want to go home.”


    I studied her face, noting the stubborn set of her jaw. She was scared of hospitals right now, I realized. After everything that had happened with her condition, she associated them with being sick and helpless. She wanted to feel safe, not like a patient.


    “Alright,” I finally said. “We’ll go home. But I don’t want you to leave my sight tonight. Not for a second.”


    A flush crept up her neck at my words. I hadn’t meant them to sound suggestive, but there was something about the way she looked at me that made my wolf purr with satisfaction.


    E


    Back at the mansion, Alexander insisted on carrying me inside despite my protests. I was perfectly capable of walking, even if my legs were still a little unsteady from whatever that monster had put in my drink. But Alexander wouldn’t hear of it, scooping me up in his arms like I weighed nothing.


    I had to admit that it felt good to be held like this. Safe. Protected.


    In our bedroom, he set me down gently on the edge of the bed and knelt in front of me, examining the cuts and scrapes on my arms and legs. His touch was gentle as he turned my wrists to check where the duct tape had been, then probed gently at the bruise on my shoulder.


    “These need to be cleaned,” he said, frowning at a particrly nasty scratch that ran from my elbow to my wrist. “And you need to get out of these clothes.”


    I looked down at my ruined dress, which was torn and stained with dirt and blood. The sight of it made me feel sick. “I can manage-”


    “No, you can’t.” Alexander’s voice was firm but not unkind. “E, you’re shaking. You just went through a near-death experience. Let me take care of you.”


    Something about the way he said he wanted to take care of me made my heart leap with an emotion I dared not name. But from a practical side of things, he was right. My hands were trembling so badly I could barely pick anything up, and every time I tried to stand, the room spun slightly,


    X