-Priscilla-
The name came from the lips of the wolf petrified in front of the frozen body on the ground. His eyes were fixed on her and even though he called out to her through the lasso he got no response again. Her chest began to pound in panic.
He clicked his teeth and dropped to his knees. His fingers trembled slightly as he gently touched her man. He received no response. Rather, his body was as cold as the ice around him.
-KEI- she cried out and looked over her shoulder as her beta peeked out but did not enter- Prepare my bath tub with the hottest water they can-
-Yes, alpha- replied the shoulder and quickly disappeared.
Layan turned his focus back to the she-wolf and swallowed dryly. He hoped it wasn’t what he imagined. He had only left her for a short time locked up. She couldn’t be dead. His chest tightened so much that the air was knocked out of him.
But this was no time to freak out.
He touched her again. He wasn’t freezing but still the frost on her skin hurt his fingertips, as if they were protecting her. Some even began to grow even more pointed.
Layan narrowed his eyes. If her power was reacting like this it meant two things. First, she was still alive and second, she was seeing him as an enemy.
-Priscilla, let me help you. I’m not going to hurt you,- she declared in a soft voice.
He stood still for a few seconds but nothing happened until the ice beneath him rattled and cracked. Suddenly, thin pointed spears shot out in his direction from various sides and stopped a few millimeters away from Layan’s body. The tip of some grazed his skin leaving drops of blood to run down his skin.
The alpha did not move and remained static kneeling. Yes, he was convinced, her power didn’t want him to touch her. But somehow it wouldn’t kill him. He didn’t know if it was because he couldn’t do it or because he didn’t want to.
-Priscilla,- he said her name again and the ice around him twitched. A bead of sweat ran down his temple but he didn’t pull back, -I know I shouldn’t have locked you in. Let’s talk first.
Three long minutes passed without any movement until the ice spears retracted into their positions. Slowly, almost in a torturous process the layer of ice blurred into a dense icy mist.
Layan let out a sigh and looked at the she-wolf. The frost on her body was subsiding but her fur still remained almost blue and extremely moist. He brought his hand to her neck searching for her pulse and it was there, almost imperceptible.
Carefully he laid her body on its back and carried her in his arms. She was very cold, so much so that it seeped into her it reached her skin. He didn’t care, he needed her to warm up fast because even though the ice was thawing, her body didn’t seem to recover.
With a quick step he left the room, appearing out of the mist that had filled the room and obscured the view of those outside.
-Alpha,- exclaimed those who were still there, and everyone’s gaze fell on the she-wolf in their arms.
-Is she alive?- one of them wondered.
-Yes- Layan answered squeezing her tighter to his chest in an attempt to give her warmth- -Warn no one to approach or touch anything until the ice melts completely and no comments about what happened here to the rest of the pack, understood?- he almost growled.
The guards nodded their heads.
-Alpha,- Kei came running over, -The water is ready now.
Layan walked to his room and kicked open the door and went straight to the bathroom. He only took off his shoes before dropping into the tub and settling the she-wolf against his chest.
The water was really hot and hurt his skin but he could take it. That Priscilla was in that state was largely her fault. He hadn’t thought about the fact that she had been locked up for quite some time.
What the hell was going through his mind to lock her up again?
It had been so stupid. What if she had died? How would he tell her parents and family?
… How would he have reacted?
He didn’t know. He didn’t want to know. But it was no lie that he had been scared to death to see her lying there, not breathing.
His arms wrapped around her slender waist and he pulled her tight against him trying to warm her too with his body until he felt her heartbeat slowly grow louder. He sighed in relief.
Priscilla had just awakened a new power. Now she would have to deal with something new. He would need to send a message to Litus for help on the subject. He had some knowledge but not to the level where that same power had almost a mind of its own. He had even defended the same she-wolf from him. From him.
Priscilla must have been really upset to be rejected like that.
Though she couldn’t be upset given the condition of her emotions. It was something so complicated that he couldn’t even analyze it. This she-wolf was going to send him to his grave if he kept giving her those scares.
He patiently removed her clothes and then as best he could his own, practically tearing them off. He ran his fingers down her arm.
The skin was already warmer and regained its color. He took a cloth close to him and ran it over the she-wolf’s face, brushing back her bangs. Her face was completely bare and thus relaxed Layan had a full view of the beauty that belonged to the she-wolf.
Yes, she was beautiful, truly beautiful. Without a flaw, to the point of being unreal. Did this she-wolf really want him as her own? It sounded like total madness. His fingers trembled on her chin that had run him backwards.
He knew he was making a big mistake when his body moved on its own and he let his lips touch hers. It was a soft, delicate touch, but one that set every nerve in his body aflame.
Damn it. If it had been a mistake to have done that.
Priscilla was someone he couldn’t deal with. Besides, she was the daughter of that she-wolf. What was she thinking and besides, she was too young.
Excuses that were given but it was what kept him sane and not let him fall straight into his own doom.
Priscilla felt on a cloud, light, soft, comfortable, mostly comfortable and protected? It was strange, the last thing she remembered was her being alone inside a room and very cold before everything went black. Her mind was fuzzy.
Her eyelids were heavy but she still forced herself to open them. Darkness loomed over her although behind her the moonlight was coming in through the balcony. It was nighttime. She stirred slightly finding that her head was on a hard chest that moved steadily.
She raised her head slightly. He knew who it was, he would recognize both the scent and Layan’s body anywhere, but at that moment he didn’t want to be near him. So she pulled away causing his arm possessively around her waist to fall to the other side, waking him up.
While he was waking up she covered the nakedness of her body with a sheet and sat on the edge of the bed looking up at the moon. It soothed her. That night it was high in the sky. She remembered liking it when her older brother, Rodrigo would sneak her up to the roof of the mansion and they would stay up late into the night. He would tell her many stories. Stories she couldn’t remember now. Too bad.
-You’re awake,- Layan rubbed his eyes, -How do you feel?
She didn’t answer him. Her back was completely turned to him. Layan sighed and sat on the bed, leaning his back against the back of the bed. The quilt only covered him up to his hips, equally as naked as she was. The body-to-body warmth had helped to finish regulating his body heat.
-Priscilla,- he called to her. She didn’t move until after a while she looked over her shoulder at him. Her silver eyes looked like two translucent diamonds amidst the trail of dark hair.
-Don’t ever lock me up again- she told him in a flat voice- I’ll kill you if you do it again- and she wasn’t playing.
He could be her wolf but he would not allow her to treat her as she pleased. He might be an alpha, but she was no less than him.
Layan didn’t expect those words and they sounded sincere so he took them seriously.
-I won’t do it again. Then let’s talk and make everything clear so we don’t have any more problems. You are going to be in the herd for a whole month and yesterday you awakened a new power. We must be careful with that, for the herd and for yourself.
She nodded her head slightly and slowly turned to him keeping her legs bent on the bed.
-What can I or can’t I do?- she bowed her head.
Layan was grateful that she was willing to hear him out and pushed her hair back. It was a mess but nothing compared to the she-wolf’s long mane that brushed the bed, around her body, which had dried as she wished. The image was somewhat soothing to look at and made him look younger than his appearance.
He realized what he was thinking and shook his head. He had priorities.
-You must not go out without someone to accompany you. You must notify me of what you are going to do. My pack is very large and I need to know where you are at all times. Look at what happened today. It could escalate to something bigger and you can hurt innocent wolves without meaning to-
She didn’t nod but her gaze was fixed on him.
-Don’t read wolves’ minds unless you have to. For you it may be a normal thing but not everyone likes to have their private things snooped on. You can go for a run with Kei or me in the mornings, that will help strengthen your wolf and from tomorrow you will start a new training. We must strengthen your body.
When she finished she nodded but she had one question left.
-Can I continue sleeping here?- She didn’t use her usual mocking or demanding tone.
-Do you want to sleep here so much? I already told you Priscilla. That won’t change anything between us.
She blinked slowly.
-Do you think I lied when I told you I’ve never slept alone? -Layan this time was the one who remained without saying anything- I always slept with my brothers or my parents. And before you ask, no, I didn’t do it just because I wanted to. I had to.
-Why?
-It’s the only way the voices in my head quiet down a little. When I sleep my subconscious takes control of me and I am very vulnerable. If the voices get louder it’s really painful- -It’s just that Layan understood her.
Now it was that Layan understood her a little more and her insistence.
-If that works with your family, why do you insist on sleeping with me?
She wasn’t sure if she should tell him but at this point she didn’t really care.
-Because when I touch you, all my powers are nullified and I can be a normal wolf.