The Alpha and the Princess

One-to-one

Anger and hate we're all over his face but I wasn't a girl who turns down a challenge or gets scared easily. This is what I wanted after all. I took a few steps back. I adopted a defensive stance and made a pull sign with my finger for him to come at me.

Victor charged so strongly that dust was flying from beneath his feet with each step. I charged as well, I dropped down avoiding the arm going forward and pushed my shoulder against his torso and tackled his feet. It was an  infallible judo move, but he was quite heavy so I had to use more force than usual to bring him down.  The moment he touched the ground I heard cracking. I was terrified that I used too much strength and might have broken his bones or maybe he landed on a rock or something. 

I was going to regret what I did, I didn't want to hurt him badly. I froze and he took advantage of it to flip me in the air. Now I was the one laying on the ground with my hands pinned above my head. I looked up at Victor's face, he was different. His eyeballs  had turned all black. His ears became pointy and he had canines coming out of his mouth. I looked down at his body, he was growing bigger that even his shirt was stretching and tearing up.

I closed my eyes, this was certainly my imagination, must be a side effect of withdrawal. Or maybe the symptoms of schizophrenia are coming back fast. I chased the hallucination out of my head then I opened my eyes again. Victor was still on top of me, pinning my wrists with his hands and my hips between his knees. His shirt was ripped open and I could see his abs. I trailed my eyes on his torso and back to his face.  His eyes were the color of gold again. We locked our gaze on each other and I forgot everything I just saw.

I tried to control my breathing, like I did during training to calm myself. He was so close that I could feel the heat radiating off his body. I felt a tingling sensation like electricity where our skin made contact. His eyes shifted like he was exploring every inch of my face, to my neck, to my chest. His gaze was piercing through my clothes and burning my skin. This was not the kind of action I had in mind! I could only dream of having a man like him. Not to mention that he's gay. That thought was good enough to break the trance.

"It's your win"  I wasn't used to tap out first but I had to end this fight.

Victor’s clenched jaw relaxed and he loosened his grip.

"You are strong and fearless, I like that" He leaned and whispered in his husky voice. The unexpected declaration made blood rush to my face and my heart started beating fast. A grin stretched on his face as if he could read my mind. 

Victor stood up and held his hand to help me to my feet. I was going to get up by myself but unconsciously my hand reached to him and he pulled me closer to him leaving a thin space between our bodies.

"You can train with the women from now on, if that's what you want"

"I want to train with the guys"

"That's not option"

"And why is that? You don't get to decide for me!"

"I can decide for them. They know better than to go against my orders and lay a hand on you."

"You don't owe me! I'm not an object or a property of yours to order your men not to touch me" I felt like I escaped one prison for another. I wasn’t going to let him dictate my life for me.

"I care about your safety, I don't want you to get hurt" Despite the sincerity in Victor's voice I couldn't accept his explanation.

"Why would you care? You're not my father, you're not my brother , you're not my boyfriend. What makes you think that you can decide for me what I can and can't do?"

"I'm your m..." He mumbled and I couldn't figure out the rest of the sentence.

I didn't want to argue more and become more frustrated than I already was. I shoved him out of my way and started running.

I focused on my surroundings to clear my head and forget all about my worries. The sound of the leaves dancing in the breeze, the chirp of birds happy with the near arrival of spring.  The natural beauty of this forest was so soothing that I didn't know for how long I was running. When I stopped to catch my breath I didn't recognize where I was.

The trees seemed different and the air was heavier, and the happy chirp of birds was gone. I'm not easily scared, but I felt something lurking in the distance looking at me which gave me goosebumps. Then, I heard the growling of an angry creature. The bushes moved and a wolf came out. Grey and black fur, red eyes and razor sharp canines. It was bigger than normal wolves and looked like he was getting ready to attack.

I stepped back slowly as he was getting closer, then I turned on my heels and sprinted away. I didn't know the way back to the compound but I had to make a distance between me and the wolf. Suddenly I am pulled by my arm and I'm slummed against a tree. I looked up and it was Victor. He had put a hand on my mouth before I could say anything and signed me to be silent by pressing his index finger on his mouth. I nodded my head and he let go of my mouth. 

His hands were resting on my shoulders, when I heard a howling not far away. We stood there silently, him looking around for any sign and me noticing every detail of his face. Being this close to him again in such a short time was going to make me addicted to him. How could he look so cute and dangerous at the same time was beyond my understanding. 

He had a bad boy vibe but he was also a gentleman. The moment I started to immerse in fantasy he pressed my shoulders slightly and brought me back to reality.

"I think we're good now. It's time to go" he whispered.

He grabbed my hand and led the way slowly, watching his steps. He was trying not to make any sound so the wolf won't find us. When we reached a familiar part of the forest he stopped, he held my hand tighter, then pulled me so I was facing him. Even though only our hands were touching, the proximity was making me nervous.

"What were you thinking running off like that. You don't know these woods.  There are wild, dangerous creatures out there. What if I didn't get you in time? What if something happened to you? Do you realize what you just did?" 

"I'm sorry. I wasn't running away. It's just running helps me calm down when I’m upset. "

"What's wrong, is it because of our argument earlier? I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to be over controlling. You don't know what the males are thinking when they look at you. You're young and beautiful and I won't let them get a chance to lay a hand on you or hurt you. It's my responsibility to keep you safe."

"You have a good point. I’m sorry I overreacted" I admitted with difficulty because I was also trying to accept the fact that no one had ever cared for me like that before.

"Then why are you still upset? What's bothering you?"

When he said those words, his voice was soft and he had a kind look on his eyes. It was like a trigger and I told him everything. How I was abandoned as a baby and because of mental disorders no one wanted to adopt me. How I was moving between foster homes and the horrible life in the system. How it was hard for me to stay in school because I was always fighting and getting in trouble. 

I told him about the past few days that led to meeting him. I don't know when tears started flowing but by the time I finished talking my eyes were burning and I was gasping for air between sobs. I knew that my face was ugly when I cried so I leaned my forehead on his chest to hide my face.

Victor was caressing my head with one hand and patting on my back with the other. I felt something pulling my body to his like a magnet. At first I was clinging to his shirt but then my arms curled around him and he held me tighter. It was so comforting that I already forgot what I was crying about. I turned my head and rested my cheek on his bare skin where the shirt was torn. I could hear his heart beat a regular and strong sound like rhythmic music. Every time I was close to him I lost the sense of time. And I was beginning to lose sense of myself. I was feeling so cozy and comfortable, like hugging a huge teddy bear, but he was warm and ripped and he could hug me back. 

Too bad Victor was gay. Or maybe it's for the best. I always wanted to have a gay friend. No drama or rivalry like with the girls and I could feel safe around him. His heartbeat started to get faster and the warmth started to turn into burning heat. Suddenly, he pushed me away and stepped back.

"Are you sick? Do you have a fever or something?"

"I need to cool down" Victor looked flustered and was blushing.

He looked everywhere but at me. I felt he was ignoring me like I wasn't even present. He turned to his left and started jogging away without saying another word.

I was curious to see where he was going and didn't know the way back to the house so I followed him. When I got out of the woods, there was a beautiful lake, the water shimmering under the sunlight. Victor was already in the lake with water reaching above his waist. He had such a perfect sculpted body. So this is what he meant by “cool down”. It was still too cold to swim but looked like fun so I decided to join him.

I didn't think twice about it, I took off my clothes and my underwear followed. I didn't want to ruin such expensive lingerie and Victor wasn't looking anyway. I hurried up in the water quietly. It was freezing but I made sure not to make a sound that could startle Victor so he doesn't turn around and see me naked. I kept moving quietly while Victor was standing still. I swam towards him and splashed him playfully.

 "What do you think you're doing"

"The same as you, skinny dipping YEAH!"

"Claire, get away from me" He snapped at me scowling..

"Fine I will swim away from you."

"GET OUT OF THE WATER NOW" Victor growled startling me.

"I'm sorry for bothering you. You don't have to yell." I apologized and cowered back.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell. Can you please give me ten minutes? I need to be alone for now"

"Okay, I'll go. Just look away, don't peek?"

"I won't look if you promise not to run off again. I don't want you to get lost."

"Okay" I gave him a sign to turn away and I swam towards the shore. 

Before I left the water I looked back to make sure that Victor wouldn't see me naked but I couldn't find him. When I stepped on shore, the cold breeze hit me and I hurried to get dressed before freezing to death.

I took a walk around the lake trying to stay in the sun to warm up my body and ruminating about what just happened. Even if he had such a short temper, I didn't know what I did or said to make him so angry. I had opened up to him about my past and he listened patiently to everything I said. He didn't judge me or blame me. He offered me a shoulder to cry on and comforted me, which he didn't have to do. Unless he truly cared about me like he said earlier. 

After a few minutes, I saw Victor emerging from the lake. My eyes followed the  trail of water that was dripping off his hair and running on his beautifully tanned skin, amplifying the details of his carved chest, his six packs abs, his deep V line... OMG! I didn't want to see that!

It was the first time I saw a naked man in all his glory. I turned away but not fast enough because he caught me looking. Somehow he wasn't even slightly shy standing naked in front of me. I couldn't speak a word after that and we walked back to the house in awkward silence.

"Go find Hannah in the house. You can hang out with her. I have business to deal with". He still looked upset but I couldn't figure out the reason. Once again, he didn't wait for an answer and ran off , Clark Kent style. 

I went inside the house, I didn't know what I was looking for, Hannah or something else. I opened the unlocked doors giving myself a tour of this huge residence. There was an inside swimming pool, a gym, a game room, a mini cinema, and God knows how many rooms all on the first floor. I finally reached a big double door with intricate carvings depicting wolves and men in the woods. My fingers trailed the details before I pushed the door open. It looked like a study, and there were bookshelves on all walls up to the ceiling. 

On the right, sat an imposing presidential desk in front of a large window allowing light inside the whole space. On the left there was a meeting table and a comfortable sitting area. I noticed there was a narrow opening in one of the corners. As I took a closer look, it looked like a pathway or a hidden door. I slipped inside and climbed the spiral stairs.

I reached the top of the tower, it was a comfy and cozy little room, with a comforter and dozens of cushions laying on the ground. The view on the surrounding forest was breathtaking. I found a pile of books. I picked a random book, sat down and started reading. I read stories and legends about faraway kingdoms in time and space, about werewolves, vampires, dragons and mythical creatures. I felt like Alice in Wonderland falling in the rabbit hole.