The Alpha didn’t hesitate to nod in response to Mallory’s wishes. Eero expected that she would need time to register the emotions that he sent her way. He knew that they were not only overwhelmingly powerful but such a vast mixture. There wasn’t an atom in him that didn’t scream to preserve all that she was and even though he had never imprinted, never romantically loved or even liked anyone before, it all felt familiar to him thanks to his wolf lineage. And as for Mallory? She was not a wolf. She did not have the ability to imprint.
“Take all the time you need, Little Red,” he expressed lowly from behind her, his blue gaze following the curve of her body as she removed her gown. They grazed over the faint sun-kissed freckles that dotted the tops of her shoulders and faded down her shoulder blades. He wanted to press his lips to each and every one of them.
The two of them migrated to Eero’s bedroom once Mallory was in dry clothes and he now stood slightly inside of his walk-in closet, unbuttoning the white dress shirt that clung to his body. Behind him, he could hear the rustling of Mallory moving about his room. Dropping his shirt to the floor, he glanced over a shoulder, one brow raised when he caught sight of the auburn-haired girl dragging his bedspreads and pillows clean off his mattress and toward the crackling fireplace. A quietly huffed laugh escaped him and he continued changing.
Now in a white t-shirt and black sweatpants, Eero reemerged from the closet, coming to a stop at the edge of the nest of blankets, pillows, and furniture that she had created with astonishing swiftness. One corner of his lips twitched at an amused smile and he lifted his eyes to meet her own, finding her already beaming up at him, hand outstretched. The wolf couldn’t deny the huntress and made himself comfortable beside her, he had felt rather content for a moment, at least until a few specific words came spewing from her. A mixture of emotions swirled through him and though he understood what she was saying to him, he refused to let her go on thinking at least one thing.
Eero’s brows knitted as she held his face, “You’re right. We do mate, and it is a sacred occurrence, but you’re wrong about one thing.” his hand rose up to capture hers as her thumb stroked his cheek.“I imprinted on you the night of the Harvest Ball, but that wasn’t when I I started falling for you, Mallory.” his eyes searched hers for a long moment and he briefly wet his lips before continuing.“It was the night we camped in the mountains, on our travels here.” his thumb brushed along her bottom lip softly. “You were shivering horribly and your lips were the darkest shade of blue I’d ever seen, yet when I went to help you, all you could do was scold me. I didn’t close my eyes until the color came back to your lips and you stopped shivering, and when I woke up to you wrapped around me still sleeping, I saw you for the first time. No anger. No defenses. Just you. And I liked what I saw.”
He wasn’t sure who leaned in first, but their lips met and he found himself savoring the soft, plush feel of her mouth against his own. He didn’t open his eyes as she whispered against his lips and then the bond pulled taut, allowing Mallory to display her own feelings and memories to him. His body stiffened initially and then relaxed as he felt the whirlwind of emotions and moments they shared, even some he had no idea existed until now. Those quiet admirations and subtle blushes blossomed over her cheeks in his presence. He drank them all in and clung to them until they were fading from him slowly, along with the feeling of her kiss. Opening his eyes, Eero curled his finger beneath her chin.
“I don’t know if you know this about me, but I can be a rather patient man,” Eero said quietly, a faint smirk playing at his lips.
* * *
A few hours passed by and the two of them hadn’t budged from their spot in front of the fireplace. Eero was now sprawled out on his back, his legs propped up on the edge of his bare bed as he peered over at Mallory. “You’ve utterly destroyed my bed, and not even in the fun sort of manner,”he rumbled out, his lips quirking at the sound of her laughter. However, when she was ready to spew out her own snide remark, he was quick to reach out his arm, tipping her over onto the pile of blankets. A playful growl escaped the Alpha and he was hovering over her quickly, his fingers prodding a rather sensitive part of her ribs. His brows rose as he realized that he had found a place where she was ticklish and a dark entertainment flashed in his sea-blue eyes. The horror that filled Mallory only fueled his mischief and his fingers were quick to dive back into her ribs, his ears shortly becoming graced by the sound of her fits of laughter.
“What’s wrong?” he asked and then she was finally gaining the upper ground, pinning him to the blankets instead. He let out a chuckle and stared up at her, one finger twirling a strand of her hair.“I taught you that move,” he winked and his head turned to glance toward one of the windows, letting the darkness remind him of what hour it was.
“Since you went through all this hard work,” he gestured to the nest they had made themselves rather comfortable in.“I think it’s only right that we sleep here,” he insisted and once Mallory had made herself comfortable against him, Eero pressed his lips against the top of her head, his arm wrapped around her and their voices and laughter slowly faded into the popping fire in front of them and then, he wasn’t sure exactly when, but he had fallen asleep against her.
* * *
Deep auburn strands of hair tickled the tip of Eero’s nose, stirring him awake earlier than he intended being up. He rubbed the back of his hand against his nose, tired eyes peering over to find Mallory’s hair stretching out across his entire chest as her cheek pressed itself against his bicep. A slow smile curled against the Alpha’s lips as he examined her sleeping figure and slowly he began untangling himself from her, making sure to replace his body with a couple of pillows to keep her head propped up in his absence.
Eero padded lazily through the sitting room toward the kitchen, still shirtless, and his hair still a tousled mess from his sleep. Upon entering the kitchen, Eero found Tahtia perched on the island table at the center of the room, her focus entirely on Regis who was cooking up breakfast at the stove. The sound of sizzling bacon filled the air around them and the Alpha reached over his packmate, snatching two pieces, earning a soft growl from Regis.
With a smirk on his lips, Eero pulled a plate and two mugs free from the cabinets. Regis watched as his Alpha began prepping a breakfast on the plate with precision and care. His brows knitted with confusion and a hint of concern and even Tahtia craned her head to watch quietly. Eero ignored them, continuing to fill the mugs with freshly pressed coffee. After watching Mallory make herself coffee in the morning, Eero had successfully memorized the way she liked it. How much creamer to add and how big of a pinch of nutmeg.
“Okay, who are you and what have you done with Eero?” Tahtia finally said when he finished sprinkling in the nutmeg.
Raising an eyebrow, he glanced between Regis and Tahtia who were gawking at him. “What?”
“You never make a plate of breakfast, you just steal bacon from the pan and have a piece of toast. And even if you did make a plate, it never looked like that.” Regis gestured to the breakfast which was plated carefully. The toast was perfectly golden on each side, the eggs seasoned with salt and pepper and the bacon decoratively placed on the side. In the center was a packet of butter and jelly.
“It’s not for me,” Eero shrugged and Tahtia blinked.
“You wouldn’t even get me a beer from the fridge when I asked one time.” She glared and Regis burst out laughing.
Azalea and Thomas entered the kitchen a moment later and their eyes landed on the plate and mug in Eero’s hand, the same confusion painting their faces. Eero rolled his eyes and went to move past them when Mallory entered next, her eyes still sleepy looking. His eyes softened upon landing on her and he gestured for her to take a seat at the table, setting down her breakfast and coffee.
“Good morning, did you sleep okay?”he murmured and every packmate glanced between each other then back to the two of them, obviously taken aback from Eero’s sudden bedside manner that they’d had yet to ever truly see.
“Did he just say good—” Azalea whispered and Thomas nudged her.
“Morning, Mallory.” he cleared his throat. “Azzy, how do you want your eggs, let Regis know.” Thomas nodded and redirected his mate and the others so they would stop watching them like they were zoo animals.
Finding his spot beside Mallory, Eero took a sip from his mug of coffee, his shoulders slumping slightly when he could finally think through the fog. He quickly came to realize just how out of character he was acting, and part of him was just as horrified as his packmates must have been, but the other half, all it cared about was making sure that Mallory was happy and content and that part of him was far stronger than he anticipated it being.
“You have sleep lines on your cheek,” Eero noted, his thumb brushing her cheek gently, a grin on his lips.“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sleep that deeply,”he paused, an impish glint in his eyes.“You know you snore?” he teased playfully and captured one of her swatting hands, pressing his lips to the back of it.
Again. The Pack blinked at them, this time Thomas included. Eero could feel it and had half a mind to snarl at them all — in fact, he was about to when a knock sounded on the threshold of the kitchen.
It didn’t take more than a second for Eero to be standing in front of Mallory, his eyes shifting from blue to gold as he stared down Ahren who leaned against the wall, his lips curved upward with amusement. The entire pack stopped what they were doing, canines elongating and low growls rumbling from their chests.
“What? You don’t have room for one more?” Ahren clicked his tongue.
“What are you doing here?” Eero demanded.
“Well it’s not every day we have a traitor return to claim his throne, is it?” Ahren muttered, straightening the lapels of his jacket.
“And this conversation couldn’t wait?”
“Afraid not.” Ahren’s gaze shifted to Mallory and Eero’s muscles tensed instinctively, his body shifting further in front of her. “Especially not with your pretty little witch friend here. It would be a shame you know. If the others found out you were harboring our kind greatest enemy. You’re not only putting your pet in danger but your entire pack. I wouldn’t say that’s a very High Alpha thing to do.” The dark-haired wolf said, eyes returning to Eero whose hands were curled into fists, the veins in his arms protruding.
“If I didn't know how much of an asshole you are, I'd say you almost sound concerned,” Eero growled out and Ahren chuckled, nodding softly.
“Give up the throne, Adrastos. It’s that simple.” Ahren’s tone became more stern and Eero took a step toward him, his canines bared.
“Get the hell out of my estate, Ahren, and if you make any threats toward her or my pack again, the next thing your tongue will be used for is to strangle you, do I make myself clear?”
“You’re making a mistake, Eero,” Ahren growled and looked between before before shifting in the doorway. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you." He finished, turning on his heel and storming out of the estate.
“He is a power-hungry dick,” Tahtia mused.
“Eero, if he says something to any of them. . .” Azalea piped up, her voice full of concern.
“You think I don’t know?” Eero snapped out and they fell silent. His eyes closed for a moment, he had to protect his people, his pack, but most importantly, his body screamed out for him to protect her. It would always be her.
The Alpha didn’t hesitate to nod in response to Mallory’s wishes. Eero expected that she would need time to register the emotions that he sent her way. He knew that they were not only overwhelmingly powerful but such a vast mixture. There wasn’t an atom in him that didn’t scream to preserve all that she was and even though he had never imprinted, never romantically loved or even liked anyone before, it all felt familiar to him thanks to his wolf lineage. And as for Mallory? She was not a wolf. She did not have the ability to imprint.
“Take all the time you need, Little Red,” he expressed lowly from behind her, his blue gaze following the curve of her body as she removed her gown. They grazed over the faint sun-kissed freckles that dotted the tops of her shoulders and faded down her shoulder blades. He wanted to press his lips to each and every one of them.
The two of them migrated to Eero’s bedroom once Mallory was in dry clothes and he now stood slightly inside of his walk-in closet, unbuttoning the white dress shirt that clung to his body. Behind him, he could hear the rustling of Mallory moving about his room. Dropping his shirt to the floor, he glanced over a shoulder, one brow raised when he caught sight of the auburn-haired girl dragging his bedspreads and pillows clean off his mattress and toward the crackling fireplace. A quietly huffed laugh escaped him and he continued changing.
Now in a white t-shirt and black sweatpants, Eero reemerged from the closet, coming to a stop at the edge of the nest of blankets, pillows, and furniture that she had created with astonishing swiftness. One corner of his lips twitched at an amused smile and he lifted his eyes to meet her own, finding her already beaming up at him, hand outstretched. The wolf couldn’t deny the huntress and made himself comfortable beside her, he had felt rather content for a moment, at least until a few specific words came spewing from her. A mixture of emotions swirled through him and though he understood what she was saying to him, he refused to let her go on thinking at least one thing.
Eero’s brows knitted as she held his face, “You’re right. We do mate, and it is a sacred occurrence, but you’re wrong about one thing.” his hand rose up to capture hers as her thumb stroked his cheek. “I imprinted on you the night of the Harvest Ball, but that wasn’t when I I started falling for you, Mallory.” his eyes searched hers for a long moment and he briefly wet his lips before continuing. “It was the night we camped in the mountains, on our travels here.” his thumb brushed along her bottom lip softly. “You were shivering horribly and your lips were the darkest shade of blue I’d ever seen, yet when I went to help you, all you could do was scold me. I didn’t close my eyes until the color came back to your lips and you stopped shivering, and when I woke up to you wrapped around me still sleeping, I saw you for the first time. No anger. No defenses. Just you. And I liked what I saw.”
He wasn’t sure who leaned in first, but their lips met and he found himself savoring the soft, plush feel of her mouth against his own. He didn’t open his eyes as she whispered against his lips and then the bond pulled taut, allowing Mallory to display her own feelings and memories to him. His body stiffened initially and then relaxed as he felt the whirlwind of emotions and moments they shared, even some he had no idea existed until now. Those quiet admirations and subtle blushes blossomed over her cheeks in his presence. He drank them all in and clung to them until they were fading from him slowly, along with the feeling of her kiss. Opening his eyes, Eero curled his finger beneath her chin.
“I don’t know if you know this about me, but I can be a rather patient man,” Eero said quietly, a faint smirk playing at his lips.
* * *
A few hours passed by and the two of them hadn’t budged from their spot in front of the fireplace. Eero was now sprawled out on his back, his legs propped up on the edge of his bare bed as he peered over at Mallory. “You’ve utterly destroyed my bed, and not even in the fun sort of manner,” he rumbled out, his lips quirking at the sound of her laughter. However, when she was ready to spew out her own snide remark, he was quick to reach out his arm, tipping her over onto the pile of blankets. A playful growl escaped the Alpha and he was hovering over her quickly, his fingers prodding a rather sensitive part of her ribs. His brows rose as he realized that he had found a place where she was ticklish and a dark entertainment flashed in his sea-blue eyes. The horror that filled Mallory only fueled his mischief and his fingers were quick to dive back into her ribs, his ears shortly becoming graced by the sound of her fits of laughter.
“What’s wrong?” he asked and then she was finally gaining the upper ground, pinning him to the blankets instead. He let out a chuckle and stared up at her, one finger twirling a strand of her hair. “I taught you that move,” he winked and his head turned to glance toward one of the windows, letting the darkness remind him of what hour it was.
“Since you went through all this hard work,” he gestured to the nest they had made themselves rather comfortable in. “I think it’s only right that we sleep here,” he insisted and once Mallory had made herself comfortable against him, Eero pressed his lips against the top of her head, his arm wrapped around her and their voices and laughter slowly faded into the popping fire in front of them and then, he wasn’t sure exactly when, but he had fallen asleep against her.
* * *
Deep auburn strands of hair tickled the tip of Eero’s nose, stirring him awake earlier than he intended being up. He rubbed the back of his hand against his nose, tired eyes peering over to find Mallory’s hair stretching out across his entire chest as her cheek pressed itself against his bicep. A slow smile curled against the Alpha’s lips as he examined her sleeping figure and slowly he began untangling himself from her, making sure to replace his body with a couple of pillows to keep her head propped up in his absence.
Eero padded lazily through the sitting room toward the kitchen, still shirtless, and his hair still a tousled mess from his sleep. Upon entering the kitchen, Eero found Tahtia perched on the island table at the center of the room, her focus entirely on Regis who was cooking up breakfast at the stove. The sound of sizzling bacon filled the air around them and the Alpha reached over his packmate, snatching two pieces, earning a soft growl from Regis.
With a smirk on his lips, Eero pulled a plate and two mugs free from the cabinets. Regis watched as his Alpha began prepping a breakfast on the plate with precision and care. His brows knitted with confusion and a hint of concern and even Tahtia craned her head to watch quietly. Eero ignored them, continuing to fill the mugs with freshly pressed coffee. After watching Mallory make herself coffee in the morning, Eero had successfully memorized the way she liked it. How much creamer to add and how big of a pinch of nutmeg.
“Okay, who are you and what have you done with Eero?” Tahtia finally said when he finished sprinkling in the nutmeg.
Raising an eyebrow, he glanced between Regis and Tahtia who were gawking at him. “What?”
“You never make a plate of breakfast, you just steal bacon from the pan and have a piece of toast. And even if you did make a plate, it never looked like that.” Regis gestured to the breakfast which was plated carefully. The toast was perfectly golden on each side, the eggs seasoned with salt and pepper and the bacon decoratively placed on the side. In the center was a packet of butter and jelly.
“It’s not for me,” Eero shrugged and Tahtia blinked.
“You wouldn’t even get me a beer from the fridge when I asked one time.” She glared and Regis burst out laughing.
Azalea and Thomas entered the kitchen a moment later and their eyes landed on the plate and mug in Eero’s hand, the same confusion painting their faces. Eero rolled his eyes and went to move past them when Mallory entered next, her eyes still sleepy looking. His eyes softened upon landing on her and he gestured for her to take a seat at the table, setting down her breakfast and coffee.
“Good morning, did you sleep okay?” he murmured and every packmate glanced between each other then back to the two of them, obviously taken aback from Eero’s sudden bedside manner that they’d had yet to ever truly see.
“Did he just say good—” Azalea whispered and Thomas nudged her.
“Morning, Mallory.” he cleared his throat. “Azzy, how do you want your eggs, let Regis know.” Thomas nodded and redirected his mate and the others so they would stop watching them like they were zoo animals.
Finding his spot beside Mallory, Eero took a sip from his mug of coffee, his shoulders slumping slightly when he could finally think through the fog. He quickly came to realize just how out of character he was acting, and part of him was just as horrified as his packmates must have been, but the other half, all it cared about was making sure that Mallory was happy and content and that part of him was far stronger than he anticipated it being.
“You have sleep lines on your cheek,” Eero noted, his thumb brushing her cheek gently, a grin on his lips. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sleep that deeply,” he paused, an impish glint in his eyes. “You know you snore?” he teased playfully and captured one of her swatting hands, pressing his lips to the back of it.
Again. The Pack blinked at them, this time Thomas included. Eero could feel it and had half a mind to snarl at them all — in fact, he was about to when a knock sounded on the threshold of the kitchen.
It didn’t take more than a second for Eero to be standing in front of Mallory, his eyes shifting from blue to gold as he stared down Ahren who leaned against the wall, his lips curved upward with amusement. The entire pack stopped what they were doing, canines elongating and low growls rumbling from their chests.
“What? You don’t have room for one more?” Ahren clicked his tongue.
“What are you doing here?” Eero demanded.
“Well it’s not every day we have a traitor return to claim his throne, is it?” Ahren muttered, straightening the lapels of his jacket.
“And this conversation couldn’t wait?”
“Afraid not.” Ahren’s gaze shifted to Mallory and Eero’s muscles tensed instinctively, his body shifting further in front of her. “Especially not with your pretty little witch friend here. It would be a shame you know. If the others found out you were harboring our kind greatest enemy. You’re not only putting your pet in danger but your entire pack. I wouldn’t say that’s a very High Alpha thing to do.” The dark-haired wolf said, eyes returning to Eero whose hands were curled into fists, the veins in his arms protruding.
“If I didn't know how much of an asshole you are, I'd say you almost sound concerned,” Eero growled out and Ahren chuckled, nodding softly.
“Give up the throne, Adrastos. It’s that simple.” Ahren’s tone became more stern and Eero took a step toward him, his canines bared.
“Get the hell out of my estate, Ahren, and if you make any threats toward her or my pack again, the next thing your tongue will be used for is to strangle you, do I make myself clear?”
“You’re making a mistake, Eero,” Ahren growled and looked between before before shifting in the doorway. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you." He finished, turning on his heel and storming out of the estate.
“He is a power-hungry dick,” Tahtia mused.
“Eero, if he says something to any of them. . .” Azalea piped up, her voice full of concern.
“You think I don’t know?” Eero snapped out and they fell silent. His eyes closed for a moment, he had to protect his people, his pack, but most importantly, his body screamed out for him to protect her. It would always be her.