Prove it, Alpha

Five

Eve Hoall

He lifted her with ease. Her body was entirely wrapped in him--his scent, his muscle, the pressure of his body against hers. She wanted nothing more than to take him right there, right then--show him exactly who he belonged to, to make him promise to never leave her. But more than that--she wanted him. His words, his thoughts, his feelings. She wanted him to love her, unconditionally. She wanted, needed that connection--but she had no idea how to get it. So, she started with the basics. 

"I am Eve Hoall. You may call me Eve," She said, and she felt her cheeks heat. It was a strange sensation, and she had no idea why such a thing might occur. She raised her hands to them, to cool them, but was no less perplexed by the uniquely human bodily function. 

"You're blushing," her male said, and his lips curved slightly. "It's cute." Then he smiled, and Eve's world began to revolve entirely around that smile. "I'm..." his smile died, and he looked weary. "You might have heard of me. I am Alpha Dante Chardonnay." 

"Alpha Chardonnay," Eve said, blinking while her head spun. There was no way she could bring an alpha back to her pack with her. Who would take care of his pack? And she would not stay in the South, not when her pack needed her. Mother Selene--She who gave and took away--had decided to test her. But why? Hadn't Eve suffered enough in her life? Hadn't she been faithful for all of her years? Eve was tired of these tests, these games--tired and angry. 

Just to put it out in the open, in case anyone would correct her, she whispered: "My male is an...alpha?" 

"Your male," Alpha Chardonnay quoted her, nuzzled her neck. The absolute bliss of it all numbed her senses in a way which frightened her, and a growl unintentionally rumbled in her throat. Her male tensed underneath her, and raised his head to look her in the eyes. 

"Did I hurt you?" His brows furrowed, and before Eve had a chance to deny it, he set her down. His eyes wouldn't meet hers again. "I'm sorry, I should be more careful." 

"There is no need," Eve said, "I was just..." But the word evaded her in his strange Southern language, and the silence hung between the two of them. His eyes drifted down her body and the irises darkened an impossible amount. 

"You're...naked." He mumbled, but it seemed that he was only speaking to himself. "You were naked in front of my Beta Mate and the mutt." He swallowed and his gaze trailed over her body, resting finally on her feet. He knelt in front of her. "What happened? You hurt yourself?"

"The human skin is weak," Eve said. "And I am unused to dirt underneath my skin." 

"You...what?" 

"Can you not tell, mate? I am a Northerner, and I have traveled South for you." 

_______________________________________________________________________________

The Southern pack was strange to Eve. Nothing about the environment was familiar, and she found herself gravitating to the position between Brutus and Alpha Chardonnay. Her mate had procured a pair of pants and wore them. Their presence seemed to make him feel better, but Eve felt only discomfort when she looked at them, so she preferred to look only at her mate's face. The criminal was still being dragged along the ground, but his weight was being shared by both of the males. 

Again Eve looked at Alpha Chardonnay. His dark hair was shocking. It was as black as the shadows the regularly fought to protect her pack, and yet it shone bright in the sun. She wanted to brush through it with her fingers, to see how it felt, but she could not reach, and somehow understood that this was not the time to get physically closer to her Alpha Chardonnay. Shame. 

She would have loved to refer to him as Dante, but he had not yet given her permission to do so. And, sting her though it might, she was a true Northerner, who would only call a wolf what they allowed. If her mate chose to remain Alpha Chardonnay, then he would remain as Alpha Chardonnay. 

"That's the Pack House," Alpha Chardonnay's voice rumbled through the air. "That's where we will try the criminal tomorrow. You can come if you wish." Eve looked into his eyes--so deep, so foreign to her--and could detect a trace of carnal want, physical desire. She hoped he saw hers as well. 

She wanted nothing more than his body pressed against his, trusting each other and laying each other bare while they whispered promises of together and forever until the sun rose. She wanted him to tell her over and over again that she was his and that he would love her and only her until the moon died--that he would never betray her and that he would follow her to the ends of the earth. After all, even a monster such as Eve Hoall was allowed to have romantic dreams about her mate. She was dying to know what he wanted, to fulfill his desires, to see him happy for the rest of her days. 

"I will come if you wish," she said. He smiled again, and she tried her best to mirror the expression. It felt strange on her face, unfamiliar. Her mate seemed delighted by it, though, and so she vowed to smile as often as possible when he was around. 

"Those are the pack member's houses," he said, gesturing to the east. "Each male built his own house to raise his family in. It's our tradition--to show that we as males are able to care for our females." 

"And what are the expectations of the females?"

Her mate looked down at her, as if shocked that she would even ask such a thing. 

"Eve," Brutus chimed in from her left side. "Remember what I told you before."

"Oh, that's right," Alpha Chardonnay mumbled. "You're both from the North. Did you know each other before? Is that how you met?"

"No," Eve hummed. 

"I was from the GlassSnow Pack. Eve is from the BloodSnow Pack." 

Eve watched Alpha Chardonnay's face carefully, to see if there was even a glimmer of recognition of the name. 

"What?" Alpha Chardonnay asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You have never heard of BloodSnow?" Eve questioned. 

"Well, word between the North and the South is little to none, thanks to you Northerners," Alpha Chardonnay said seriously, but his grin made Eve wonder what exactly he was feeling. "I haven't heard of any pack beside's Bruce's, and I doubt you've heard of the IronHill Pack." 

"Who is Bruce?" Eve looked between the males sandwiching her. "Oh, yes. That is what you call Brutus Nightshade. I am curious. What do you know of the North? And what do you think you can expect of me?"

"No beating around the bush with you, is there?" Alpha Chardonnay raised an eyebrow. 

"What bush?" 

"Ah, it's an expression--it just means that you get directly to the point without any useless words in between," Brutus said. 

"Interesting," Eve frowned slightly. 

"Alpha, should we take the criminal to the dungeon? We can tell Honey to bring some ice down and settle Eve in for the night." 

Alpha Chardonnay grimaced. "Right." He spoke again to Eve. "Our dungeon is behind the Pack House. Its dark and far away from everyone else, but its cold enough. I know you'll need that for a few more weeks at least. That's one thing we all learned from Bruce when he first came. 

"And about your earlier question...honestly, I'm not too sure what to expect from you, Eve. You're...not Bruce."

"No," she said, smiling once again. She wasn't Brutus Nightshade. She was something different, a whole new caliber of wolf that Alpha Chardonnay had best brace himself for. She had six months for him to love her. She didn't plan on wasting a single moment. "I'm something much...more."