Strange Love

CHAPTER 8: Run away with my heart

There had been little surprise to Cam seeing that most of the party guests had left by the time she and Ales had made it back to the ballroom. The real surprise had come in seeing Fern's angry glare follow them through the back balcony doors and seemingly every step they took once inside. She'd grown accustomed to his judgmental glares on the rare occasion she saw him, but there was something about his eyes tonight that had frightened her. She tried to shake away the paranoid fear as she quickly shoved as much of her belonging as she could into one of the bags, she'd brought the first day she'd moved into the palace. A strange thump against the wall brought her wide eyes away from the task at hand and to the dresser opposite her bed. She forced her nerves down and straightened her shoulders as she shoved the lid closed and forced the latches shut. The many bumps and bangs of this room were one of the few things she wouldn't miss about leaving the palace.

She glanced toward the clock on the mantle of the fireplace in her room. It was nearing the time she and Ales had agreed to meet. Eager to take a leap of fate with the person she loved, Cam dragged her bag to the door and carefully pushed it open. Peeking out to make certain the halls were now empty, she held her breath as she stepped out into the hallway and began tiptoeing toward the stairs.

She had made it down the wide elegant stairway leading into the grand front entrance when movement from the shadows cause a shiver to run down her spine. She forced herself to swallow down her fear and turn. "Ales? Is that you?" She struggled to adjust her eyes against the faint light of the dark night as a shadowy figure pushed away from the wall beside the stairs. She sucked in a surprised breath as she took an involuntary step backward. Cold, muddy green eyes met hers from the darkness.

Fern's angry, cold eyes moved from her riding habit to the bag she was trying to hide behind her back. "Going somewhere, Princess?" He bit out the title. "It's frightfully late for such a young girl as yourself to be out alone, wouldn't you agree? Monsters lurk in the dark of night." He taunted as he stalked toward her not stopping until he had her pinned against the closed door of the palace. He pressed a palm to the door on either side of her face. "That is unless you're not planning to leave alone." He snarled as he bent to look her directly in the eyes. When she whimpered and tried to turn her face away from his hot breath, he caught her chin painfully between his fingers and forced her face back around to his. "I should be glad the two of you plan to run away together. With you both out of my hair, I could have the palace to myself and a new more suitable bride... but you see, I can't risk an uncertain future with the two of you or your spawn plotting against me and possibly trying to take my thrown in the future." He gritted his teeth as he glared down at her. "As I see it my best option now is to claim you and kill my worthless brother."

Cam's eyes widened, and she pushed hard against his chest. "NO!" She yelled out right before a hand clamped down over her mouth. She struggled against his grip, but Fern held her tightly pinning her in place with his knee between her legs. He dug his fingers into her cheek as he jerked her head to the side and yanked at the fabric of the high collar of the riding jacket. Realizing his intent, Cam shoved harder against him, managing to call out again this time to Ales before the hand clamped over her mouth again. Her eyes widened as a dark blur sailed over the railing of the second floor and landed with a light thud behind Fern. When Fern ignored the thud and continued struggling to brand Cam's now bared throat, the beast cried out in an outraged growl that rumbled the glass all around them.

It was Fern's turn to freeze. His eyes widened as he slowly released his hold on Cam and turn. Expecting the see the massive black wolf hybrid of his father, his eyes widened further when a chestnut brown wolf hybrid stood before him instead. Instinctively he took a step back away from the beast but unintentionally stepped on Cam's foot in the process causing her to cry out in pain. This caused the beast to snarl more as it stalked toward them. Its angry red eyes tracked his every movement, sharpening when those movements were close to Cam. {Cam?!} Fern quickly turned and grabbed the girl, forcing her in front of him as a shield hoping he could push her into the beast and make a hasty escape out the doors her trembling body blocked. The second his back was turned and his hands were on either of Cam's arms the beast released a blood-curdling howl milliseconds before springing forward and catching hold of Fern's thin neck.

All the commotion from downstairs had woken Reighley from a sound sleep. She quickly tossed her dressing robe on and headed for the hallway. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the beast hurl her oldest son through the air like a rag doll. Just as she was about the hurry down the stairs, strong hands caught her upper arm. She whipped worried eyes around to see her husband staring intently down below.

"Quick! Fern! One of the guests must have..." Her words died off as her sleep-fogged mind began to clear. Only faint wafts of the guests remained, leaving only those familiar smells of family. Her shocked eyes moved to her husband's face for confirmation. "Ales..."

Lyko nodded as he watched the one-sided fight below. "Ales has taken the alpha form. He is an alpha... and my successor." They both watched in quiet anticipation as the wolf hybrid stepped away from the still body now laying on the floor to the girl shaking in fear by the door.

Cam closed her eyes and tried to keep from screaming when the beast came toward her not stopping until it was directly in front of her. She squeezed her eyes tighter together as the cold, damp nose of the beast pressed against her hair and sniffed deeply. "Cam..." Her name came out as a snarled growl from deep within the vocal folds of the creature.

She slowly forced one eye open, sucking in a harsh breath as the creature began to shift back into Ales. She could hear bones crack and pop as the huge body of the creature slowly crumpled to the floor leaving behind the familiar but n.a.k.e.d frame of Ales. His long dirty blonde hair clung to his sweat-soaked forehead and his body trembled with the exhaustion of the massive shift. Cam swallowed hard as she pushed away from the door and cautiously approached his crumpled body. "Ales?" She whispered as she lowered onto her knees beside him. She brushed the hair away from his brow before urging his eyes up to meet hers. Her eyes widened in shock as brightly glowing red orbs met hers. "Oh Ales... I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around his neck and held tightly until his unsteady arms finally circled her waist. She pulled away slightly without releasing him. "Are you alright?"

Ales nodded as he cleared his throat several times. "Are... are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?" his voice came out a low, hoarse growl rumbling deep in his throat.

Cam nodded as she forced a smile. "I'm safe... because of you." Her eyes searched his as a new wave of happiness came over her. "Ales... do you know what this means?" Before she could say anything else, a deep clearing of a throat sounded from the stairs.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lyko tried to mask his pride and excitement as he addressed his son, his attention only briefly passing over Fern.

Ales watched in horror as his mother knelt beside his brother's crumpled body and pressed her fingers to the side of his neck. She looked up to her husband and nodded before moving her gaze to Ales and Cam then to the bags by the door. She tilted her head. "Ales? Camilla, dear?"

Lyko removed his dressing robe and handed it down to his son as he forced a stoic expression. "One or both of you were planning on leaving here tonight." He said matter-of-factly. "In light of new findings, I hope that plan has changed?" He tilted his head slightly as he studied his son. "As you are my new heir." He moved his gaze to Cam and arched a brow. "Will you still have a need to leave if your intended is now Ales?"

Cam swallowed hard as the king voiced her own thoughts. When his stern gaze still moved back and forth between her and Ales, she finally found her voice. "N...no sir... I only ever wanted to be with Ales..."

Lyko smiled. "A sign of strong blood indeed. Your wolf recognized him as your mate straight away, as your alpha. If only we would have been as observant to detect it." The king finally let the smile he'd been fighting to hide shine through. He lifted his hands and clapped them together and a servant appeared as if from nowhere. "Please see that Fern is taken to the infirmary and when you are finished, I will need you to send word to the records keep. I will be needing several changed and shall start straight away." He smiled down at his son as he clamped a hand to the boy's shoulder and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "You'll make an excellent king my child. I have no doubt, but there is much training that must be started straight away. We have little time to waste as much will need catching up on."

Ales nodded as he clung to Cam who was still holding him tightly. He tried to respond but couldn't find his words. He could only pant on the floor as he watched the servants carry away his brother's unconscious form and his mother finally lifted from the floor. Before she could turn her attention to him, his father was shuffling her back toward the stairs. He paused in his list of instructions for her only long enough to call out to another passing servant. "Please see Ms. Camilla's bags back to her rooms." He waved toward the door as he turned his attention back to his wife and continued with their one-sided conversation.

Cam waited until the room was empty before she finally leaned back to fully take Ales in. Her wide eyes held his. "Ales, you're an alpha... you're the alpha... we... we can be together freely now." Happy tears streamed down her cheeks as a light laugh escaped her. "I can't believe it, we can finally be together!" She tightened her arms back around him. "It feels like a dream... I feel like I should pinch myself or something. Ales?" She asked when she realized he was still not moving and hadn't lifted his gaze to her once since everyone left. "Ales?" She released her tight hold on him and moved her hands to either side of his face. Lifting his face to meet hers, she gasped. "Ales?! Your eyes, they haven't shifted back yet." When he only nodded without saying anything, she continued to search over his body trying to recall everything that had been shifted in his hybrid form. She tugged one of his hands free and brought it in front of her to inspect. Sharp claws were still extended. Her wide eyes moved back up to his face as she lowered his hand and pressed her thumb into his mouth feeling the length of sharp canines. Her brows knitted in concern. "Oh Ales... Can you not shift back? Why is it still like this?"

His frightened eyes met hers and he shrugged. He'd never had trouble shifting back and forth between the human and wolf form before. He buried his face against her shoulder wanting to comfort the both of them, but something caught his attention. A sweet honey and roses scent filled his nostrils his red tented vision narrowed in on the warm pulsing of the vein running the length of her neck. Following it down his eyes landed on the slight glimpse of her shoulder. He licked his lips, running his tongue over the long-jagged canines. When he realized he'd already begun opening his mouth widely and intended to bite her, he quickly pushed Cam away and scooted backward across the floor until his back came in contact with the far wall.

Cam furrowed her brows as she began to follow after him on her knees. "Ales, what's wrong? Talk to me, please." She pleaded with him.

He shook his head rapidly as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and clenched his fists tightly letting the long length of claws dig into his palms. He let out a troubled grunt as her hands tried to tug his face around to hers.

"Ales stop fighting against me and just look at me. What's going on? Didn't you hear me, we can be together now! Come on just fight it. You can switch fully back, I know you can." She tried to coax him when she noticed his body was still slightly shifted.

Ales shook his head fervently again. "Can't... want to bite... you..." He bit out in pants around the sharp canines. His head was still turned away from her and his eyes still squeezed tightly shut.

Cam's eyes widened and her breath caught in her chest. "Bite me then..." She whispered on a barely audible breath. She knew well what a bite from a man meant... especially from an alpha. Young wolf girls were taught that early in life, she had been in preparation for the move here and meeting her future husband. Cam unbuttoned the top buttons of the blouse she wore and tugged the neckline away exposing her shoulder. She brushed her hair back and bent closer to him, bringing her bare shoulder level with his mouth. "Bite me, Ales. Mark me as yours..." Red eyes shot open and met hers in horrified surprise. She tried to hide the discomfort his alarming red eyes caused or the idea of his sharp teeth sinking into her flesh was invoking, instead, she smiled up at him as she pressed her shoulder closer to his mouth. "Ales, I love you. I am yours... bite me..."

The beast needed no further invitation. His arms shot out and gripped her tightly as his teeth sank down into the tender flesh of her pale skin. He could feel himself growing hard as the beast claimed what was his. He tugged her onto his lap with one arm wrapped around her waist and tugged her head to the side with the other giving himself better access to her shoulder. An animalistic growl rumbled his throat as he sank his teeth deeper into her tender flesh all the while flexing his h.i.p.s against the tight pants of the riding habit she wore.

Cam released a distressed m.o.a.n as the pain of the bite mingled with the strange build of heat and emotions his movements below her were causing. "Ales!" She whimpered his name as she dug her own nails into the hard muscle of his shoulders.

Ales's cheeks blazed with embarrassment as he found release into the material of the dressing robe that had been tossed over his n.a.k.e.d body. His canines retracted shifting back to normal along with the long claws of his hands and feet. His eyes widened in horror as he took in the bloody bite left on Cam. Her head was resting against his hand, her own hands still clinging tightly to him. Her tired clouded eyes met his as she panted, her cheeks completely flushed. "I'm sorry." His cheeks heated and he wanted to jump up and leave the room but couldn't bring himself to move her, instead, he held her against him until her breathing leveled out and the bleeding of her shoulder slowed.