Loved So Fondly

Chapter 1: RSVP

Giverny, France, June 12th, 1999

Antoinette ran through the fresh warm meadow, her white summer dressed stained from the grass and some flower pollen but the 6 year old girl didn't mind one bit. She was terrified. Something was chasing her, something that had just killed her brother and she was scared. He had told her to run, run and not look back and she listened. She didn't see him die but she heard his scream and it was echoing around her head repeatedly.

Her feet were being soothed by the dewy grass, the scratches she received running through the forest feeling non existent against the cool ground. She tried her hardest not to look back. Her brother told her not to and he was never wrong. Never ever wrong.

So she stared at her feet, scared to trip and meet the same fate as her brother. But then she slammed right into something hard. She fell right on her butt, tears glistening as she tried not to let them fall. She wasn't a cryer, she had gone through so much already at such a young age and she had already come to the conclusion that crying would not fix anything. So she didn't let a single warm salty tear fall.

Antoinette glanced up at the person she had ran into, she had realized they were a person and not a tree when the man had worriedly asked her if she was okay. Then she disobeyed her brother and looked behind her. Her answer was an immediate yes but Alaric knew it was a lie.

It was her. His mate. He knew it the moment she had made contact with him. She was human he realized. No older than 8. Scared. She looked so scared and all he wanted to do was hurt whoever or whatever had made his mate so terrified.

Then he smelt it. Rouges. Rouges on one of his packs land. What the hell was the Alpha doing, making fucking tea? He mind linked the Alpha of the pack warning them of the rouges as he picked up the young girl, placing her on his hip.

"What's your name?"

She glared at him slightly, sizing him up, "You can call me Toni." Her French accent was thick causing Alaric to smile slightly, "I need to go home mister, my frere is dead." Alaric's  French was dreadful but he recognized the word as brother and stared down at his mate in front of him in shock. She was so calm. How? Why?

"Toni-"

"I have to go!" She insisted, squirming around in his arms. She was fighting back tears, her tiny fists pounding against his chest furiously.

"Toni." Alaric started, "I'm going to put you down okay? But you can't run off."

"I have to go home!" She insisted. Her fists not letting up.

"Toni." He urged, his voice growing stern.

She glared at him and he flinched slightly before she finally nodded in agreement.

"I need a verbal answer."

"Va te faire foutre."

Again his French was bad but he was pretty sure the little girl he was holding just told him to go fuck himself.

He just put her down. She went to run but he caught her arm gently, "Toni I need to give you something."

"No."

"Yes,"

"No."

"Toni..."

"Fine." Antoinette pulled her arm out of his grasp and glared at him.

"Here." He pulled  bracelet from his wrist and wrapped it around hers, pulling the strings to tighten it. It wasn't the gift he wanted to give his mate but it would make due. People would know she was his and not to mess with her.