"Is there anything else you want?" The Alpha asked as I passed through the door he held open for me. It led out of the clothing store in which he had bought me everything I so much as glanced at and anything he thought would look good on me, which unfortunately for his wallet was practically everything.

"No, I think you already bought enough." I said and he nodded, walking so close to me his arm kept brushing my side and he had to hold the bags precariously so they wouldn't bump into my legs. I was relieved when we got to the car and he had to step away to place all the bags in the trunk. I made my way over to the passenger side, glancing up as I reached for the handle, unable to stifle my gasp of awe as I caught sight of the chocolatery across the street.

Once when my dad had to go up north for work he had gotten permission to take my mom Nora and I along and we had gotten chocolates from a chocolatery that had been so good that even years later I still remembered them. It had been too far to ever go back, but it seemed they had opened a location in Alpha Idrei's territory we hadn't known about.

"What is it mate?" The Alpha asked instantly appearing next to me and placing his hand on my lower back as he stooped down slightly to try to follow my line of sight.

"Did that man do something to you?" He asked in a growl, apparently focusing on the man standing outside the glass display of the shop and not the giant chocolate fondue fountain behind him that I was.

"No, behind him. The chocolate shop." I said, unthinkingly grabbing onto his arm and pulling him towards the store.

"We have to go." I said glancing both ways to cross the street, unconcerned about being caught for jaywalking when I had a giant Alpha trailing after me. Naturally he had to ruin my fun and furled his arm around my waist, tugging me back into his side.

"From the crosswalk." He said, and I followed his gaze to look at the nearest light which was all the way down the street.

"They're probably close to closing, there's no time."

"Fine, just let me make sure there's no cars coming." He sighed, tugging me behind him as he glanced both ways in the most dramatic fashion, reminding me eerily of how mothers would teach their children to cross the street. I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for him to finish analyzing the empty street.

Finally satisfied that there were no cars he allowed me to come forward but wrapped an arm around my waist and huddled me in close to his side. We crossed the street in that ridiculous manner and I weaseled my way out of his hold the moment we were on the sidewalk, pulling open the door myself and walking in.

"We have to get a box for Nora as well."

"Of course, you can get a box for Nora and I will also get a box for her. I've heard little siblings expect gifts from their older brothers and sisters."

Sometimes the way he spoke made me feel like he was an alien or raised in isolation and pretending to be a functioning member of society. Come to think of it he had never mentioned any siblings or even parents.

"Welcome, how can I help you today?" A young woman with a sweet smile and eyes the colour of the milk chocolates in the glass display in front of her asked.

"We'd like to get 3 boxes of assorted chocolates."

"Absolutely, would you like them mixed, or would you like to choose?" She asked.

"We'll choose if that's alright." I responded, unable to resist inhaling deeply and wanting to moan out loud at the sweet smell of chocolate in the air but holding myself back for fear of looking insane.

"Let me know if there are any you would like to try as you choose." She said and I nodded, glancing over the hundreds of types of chocolates, feeling completely overwhelmed by the variety. The one I had been to had been a smaller location with much fewer flavours, and it had been years since then.

"Can I try the milk truffle?" I asked, though I remembered having gotten it last time but just the sight of the little chocolate square with a white swirl down the middle was making my mouth water.

She picked one up from the pile with a little spatula and placed it in my outstretched palm. I took a bite and could not help the small smile that bloomed on my face in response as the rich cocoa and creamy texture hit my tongue, the fudge like milk filling less sweet than the chocolate on the outside and contrasting wonderfully with it.

"Let me have a bite." The Alpha mumbled from right next to my ear, startling me as I turned slightly to see him so close. Without giving me a chance to respond he grabbed my hand and steered it towards his own mouth, eating it directly from my fingers and discreetly licking the melted chocolate off my fingers. I was caught between disgust at his actions and sadness at the loss of the other half of the chocolate which he seemed to have gauged based on my expression.

"Don't be upset sweetness, I'll buy you fifty of them." He promised quietly.

"Can I get four of those in the first two boxes please." I said to the woman, ignoring him. I wiped my fingers on my pants as she placed them onto the tray she had gotten out for each of the boxes. I was thankful for her doing so considering I wasn't sure what size of boxes I wanted yet.

"Four in the last one as well." The Alpha added.

"I'll try a dark chocolate with salted caramel truffle." The Alpha said, taking a bite after he was handed it, and holding the other half out to me but I shook my head.

"I don't really like dark chocolate, Nora doesn't either."

"We'll take two of those in the first box." The Alpha said making me frown, I wasn't aware I had to share. Why couldn't he get his own box? Since he was paying I chose not to say anything.

"Can I try the London Fog latte balm?" I asked, putting the whole thing in my mouth once she handed it to me, uncaring about the chipmunk cheeks it gave me. I chewed on the delicious chocolate that had a hint of my favourite tea infused perfectly into it, unwilling to risk having the second half stolen.

"Can I get two of those in the first box please, and two raspberry domes in the second two boxes." I said, helping fill the box he was getting for Nora since I knew what she liked better than he did.

By the time I had picked out all the ones I thought looked interesting and tried them I was already so full that when she started suggesting chocolates I just told her to add one of each into the boxes. The Alpha had only asked to try a couple, seemingly more interested in watching me than in the chocolates.

"That'll be one large box and two medium boxes then." The woman said as she weighed the trays carefully.

"I'll also get a box of ten strawberries dipped into the chocolate fondue up front." The Alpha said and the woman nodded finishing tying off the boxes with pretty bows before getting a fresh tray and placing ten ruby red strawberries on it. I watched as she took them over to the chocolate fountain up front that had caught my eye from across the street, allowing the milk chocolate to drench each strawberry she held skewered on a stick.

Had I not been nearly sick with how much chocolate I had eaten I may have asked for a cup full of that melty chocolate even if it came at the price of being judged by the woman and the Alpha. We had to wait as the chocolate on those set, and I walked around the shop looking at the gift boxes and baskets to pass the time.

"Is there anything else you want?" The Alpha asked.

"No, thank you." I said, earnestly grateful for once for him letting me get Nora chocolates as well.

As she finished packaging the strawberries as well she rang us up at the register, the total coming to an obscene amount for just chocolates but the Alpha didn't so much as flinch. Taking out his card and swiping it before grabbing the boxes from her, stacked according to their size, the one with the strawberries much smaller than the others and sitting at the top.

The boxes she chose for the others were gold, and she had put black and brown ribbons but the one on the top was a red box with a matching red ribbon which I couldn't help but think was a very deliberate choice.As we left the store after I had thanked her, the Alpha handed the smallest box to me.

"Although we bought them together, consider these chocolate covered strawberries a gift from me." He said.

I accepted the box from him gingerly, surprised he was giving them to me since I had thought he had bought them for himself.

"Thank you." I said quietly, letting him lead us down the street to the light since I was in no rush to get home anyway. Walking around in the cold autumn air with the stars out was a lovely change from the four walls of the Alpha's room.

I looked around as we walked watching other people as they hurried out of the closing shops and to their cars, couples and young families looking blissfully happy at the start of the holiday season. We probably looked like just a normal couple to them, a werewolf and human pairing out to do their holiday shopping. It made my heart clench to think of last year when Ethan and I had gone out shopping just around this time. Hunting high and low for the obscure series merchandise Nora had asked for as her Christmas gift. I had been resigned to buying her something else but Ethan was adamant that we had to buy it since it was the first Christmas after our engagement and them consequently becoming family.

"Do you miss your family? We can go see them tomorrow." The Alpha said, shifting the chocolate boxes over to his other arm and placing his hand on my upper back as we walked.

"Great, we can give Nora her chocolates then." I said, hoping it would distract him and he wouldn't press on why I had become sad.

"Perhaps I should take something for your parents as well."

"There's no need." I said quickly, afraid my dad would throw it back in the Alpha's face and anger him.

"I should have taken something last time, I just wasn't thinking straight then."

"What do you think they would like?" He asked.

"Really there's no need. I know my parents and they wouldn't feel comfortable receiving a gift since they haven't bought you anything. Buying chocolates for Nora is more than enough."

"If you insist, but I will buy them Christmas gifts. There will be no debate about that."

My heart sank at the thought of all this going on until Christmas. I hated thinking about the future but any reminder of how he thought this was permanent felt like a kick to the gut.

He placed the boxes into the backseat carefully as we got to the car, holding open the passenger side for me to get in.

"What do you want for dinner?" The Alpha asked as soon as he got in making me grimace, his obsession with feeding me was terribly annoying.

"I'm too full for anything after all that chocolate."

"Then we won't eat anything here, we'll get something close to home. It's a long drive, you can decide on the way."

I doubted I would be hungry enough to eat anything for the rest of the night but chose not to argue, glancing out the window instead at the starry night. The moon was full and high up in the sky, radiating a soft luminescence that bathed everything in it's white light. I hoped this was the extent of the lunacy it caused in the Alpha and I could go to sleep tonight incident-free.

The Alpha turned the radio on without me having to ask, filling the silence in the car with pop and the chatter of the radio show hosts. I allowed my mind to shut down focusing on just the radio and the view out the window as we merged onto the highway.

After days of sitting around doing nothing, a day of shopping had absolutely exhausted me, my eyelids were growing heavy but my body was on high alert sitting next to him. Unwilling to fall asleep and be vulnerable when so close to him.

"We're almost there." The Alpha said and I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Is there anything in particular you want to eat?" He asked.

"How about shawarma wraps?" I asked, it was the first thing I could think of that I would be able to force down quickly and would qualify as 'real food' to him.

"Sure, there's a good place near the house. You can order online. Here, take my phone and place the order." He said, sliding his phone out of his pocket and handing it to me.

"What's it called?" I asked as I took his phone, typing in the name he told me to his web browser and pulling up the website. I browsed the menu, deciding on a simple chicken shawarma wrap.

"What do you want?"

"A beef shawarma wrap and a lamb shank rice plate with grilled potatoes on the side." He answered and I couldn't help the way my eyebrows raised in response.

"I'm an Alpha, a couple chocolates do nothing for me." He said without even looking at me.

"It's done." I said after placing the order, handing his phone back to him. Now that we were off the highway again I rolled down my window, wanting to feel the cold night air against my skin again. The Alpha sighed but blasted the heat instead of arguing which I was counting as a win.

I waited in the car as he went inside to get our order, craning my neck to look around as a rowdy group of teenagers went by, werewolves by the size of them. I watched as one of the young boys nudged another and pointed to the Alpha's car. I sat up quickly and checked to make sure the doors were locked as they changed direction, suddenly coming towards the car.

They swarmed all around it, leaning down and trying to peer through the heavily tinted windows. I tried to stay as still as possible knowing they would be unable to see anything but the vague shape of me and that the doors were locked but that didn't stop my heart from racing as though I were under attack. I couldn't help the yelp that escaped me as one of them knocked on my window.

A ferocious growl sounded out through the quiet murmurings of the teenagers surrounding the car and had them scampering away from it. I watched as the Alpha grabbed the one who had knocked on the window by his collar and dragged him close, snarling something into his face making the boy grow ashen before releasing him. They all bowed deeply, saying something unintelligible to my ears to the Alpha, and bowing towards the car as well before trampling over one another to get into the restaurant away from the Alpha's glaring eyes.

"Are you okay mate?" The Alpha asked as soon as he had sat down in the car, grabbing my shaking hands between his warm steady ones.

"Fine, they just startled me." I said, trying to get my heartbeat under control as his gaze landed on my chest right over where my heart was still racing.

"I'm sorry that they scared you. They just wanted to get a look at you, I scolded them well enough to make sure no one in the pack would dare do such a thing again."

"It's fine, they're just kids." I said, pulling my hands out of his hold and turning to look out the window again. Suddenly grateful that he had never forced me to meet his pack and didn't seem to have the intention of doing so anytime soon.

We drove in silence until we got home, carrying the bags into the house all by himself as he wouldn't let me carry anything except for the chocolates. I was happy enough to be ensuring the safety of those. He followed me to the room up the stairs placing all the bags by the door that led to the closet, telling me to meet him in the kitchen for dinner before finally leaving the room and me alone.

I headed to the washroom, catching sight of my reflection in the mirror. Dark hair windswept and cheeks flushed from the cold, it was the first time in a long time that I looked a little like myself, less like the corpse-like creature being captive had turned me into.

I used the washroom quickly before heading to the kitchen to get dinner over with so that I could be left alone to sleep off the day in peace. My eyebrows flew up in surprise when I walked into the kitchen to see the Alpha opening up a bottle of wine with a cork.

"Werewolves usually drink to celebrate full moons, it also subdues our wolves a little." The Alpha explained.

"Would you care for a glass?" He asked but I shook my head, werewolf alcohol was much higher in alcohol concentration. A human girl back in high school had drank a werewolf vodka cooler on a dare and ended up unconscious for the next three days.

"It's human wine, I wouldn't give you anything intended for werewolves."

"I'm okay." I said, not wanting to be at all drunk while in his presence.

I watched as he poured himself a glass and took a sip, grimacing at it in a way that almost made me laugh in my exhausted state but I managed to hold it in.

"Human wine tastes like dirty water, there's no alcohol." He said looking to me as though it were my fault he was drinking it.

"Drink werewolf wine then."

"I'd already opened this and it would have been a waste if you weren't gonna drink it."

Ignoring him I went to open the bag of food, pulling out the takeout boxes and peeking inside to see which one was my chicken wrap until I found it, placing the others on the other side of the table so he would take the hint and sit there. For once he did as asked and sat across from me, digging into his own food as I got started on my wrap, having to turn down offerings of his food between bites.

The wrap was giant, filled until nearly exploding with shredded seasoned chicken, vegetables and spicy, garlicy sauces. I was still slightly full from all the chocolate so could only get through half before I had to set it down.

"Have some potatoes then if you can't eat more of that." The Alpha said, pushing the container filled with garlic butter roasted potatoes towards me. They were so hot they were still steaming and his fork stood stabbed into one of them which I couldn't help but make a face at. It disgusted me that he ate from my plate, the thought of eating off his might have really made me throw up.

"I'll eat a little more of this." I said, picking up the wrap and forcing down a couple more bites before setting it down, prepared to fight him on this one if he said anything else. Fortunately for both of us he simply finished off the lamb shank and rice he had been eating before picking up my wrap and finishing it in just a few bites, chasing his giant meal down with the glass of wine.

"I'm really tired, I'm gonna go to bed." I said as soon as he had finished, rising up off my chair but before I could take as much as a step he had rounded the table and now stood so close I had no choice but to stumble back down into my seat. I leaned back into the chair, as far from him as I could get, wondering if he was planning to force me to eat something or if this was some sort of full moon lunacy. Perhaps getting up from the table before the Alpha had offended his wolf.

"I have to talk to you about something." The Alpha said filling me with dread, nothing good ever came out of his talks. They usually ended with me in tears and him snarling and growling in rage.

"As I told you, on the full moon our wolf is closer to the surface than ever and that makes all their urges harder to control." He said looking at me in a way as though he expected that to mean something to me. I didn't understand why he would be asking permission to go run in the woods or howl at the moon though.

"Including the instinct to protect your mate and be close to them."

The way he emphasized the word close made me feel as though it weren't a matter of mere proximity. I gulped nervously, worried about the direction this conversation was going.

"I've spent all day with you." I reminded him, hoping that would be enough.

"I can't be away from you tonight, I could lose control of the wolf." He said making a shiver run down my spine at the memories of what happened when he lost control of his wolf.

"If you stay with me tonight I can keep him under control and fight off the urge to mark you."

"I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you." I said, not realizing I had clenched my fists and was digging my nails into my palms until he rested his hands over mine, ignoring the way my body jolted at his touch and gently coaxing my fingers to unfurl.

"I won't do anything, just let me hold you. I would never want to put you through that again, you have no idea what I went through seeing how miserable you were, what the scent of your anxiousness and discomfort around me does to me."

"Then why are you forcing me to do this? Can't you just lock yourself in a room?" I asked, a hint of hysteria colouring my voice since I could sense this was a loosing battle.

"I'm an Alpha, Athena, nothing short of death could keep me away from you." He said and though he didn't mean the words as a threat they sounded like one to me, I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, shaking my head. The whole day had been fine, but it was all a ruse. Letting me go out, feel the fresh air, be amongst other people, talk to them only to get me to be complacent for what he had planned for the night.

"Don't make me do this." I pleaded without looking at him. Hoping he would find even a shred of mercy within that stone cold heart of his.

"Athena I'm asking you to do this for me. I'll give you anything you want in exchange for this, we can go out every week like today if you want."

I glanced up at him, making up my mind in a matter of seconds and condemning myself to be at the mercy of his will.

"Tomorrow when we go to my parents you will drop me off and leave." I said, my mouth spitting out the words before I could think too much about the price I had to pay.

"I'm not leaving you alone there, that's out of question." He said immediately.

"Then I'm not sharing a bed with you. I'll kick, I'll scream and I'll cry until you get so annoyed you sleep in the woods."

"I can't trust you not to run away. If I'm not there what if you run away and get hurt? It's not like your parents would stop you."

"I won't run away, I promise I won't so much as step foot outside their house. You can hear my heartbeat can't you? I'm not lying."

"What if you talk to him?" The Alpha said, twisting me around so I sat facing him instead of towards the table, my knees almost touching his torso. Without him specifying I knew exactly who he was talking about, the spiteful tone his voice took on only when speaking about that one person making it all too evident.

"I know what you would do if I did." I said, hoping he wouldn't catch on to my careful wording.

"My pack knows I'm mated, they wouldn't just let me go if they saw me running away." I added in an attempt to convince him because he still looked unwilling.

"Look me in the eye and promise me you're not gonna run away from me."

"I'm not going to run away, when you come to pick me up I'll be there waiting." I promised, forcing myself to look straight into his darkened eyes.

"I'll drop you off tomorrow and leave once I've said hello and given Nora her chocolates." He said, and I sat back in relief that was cut short all too soon by what he said next.

"If you let me kiss you tonight."

"No." I said instantly, going to turn away from him but he stopped me by placing his hands on my knees, the heat of his palms searing through the dark denim of the pants I wore.

"Just once Athena I promise I won't do anything else, I just want to kiss you."

I glanced up into his eyes, wishing I could hear heartbeats the way he could so I would know if he was telling the truth. His eyes looked sincere but I didn't trust him enough to believe it. As much as I didn't want to do it, I couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. There was no way I could escape without the help of someone else, and certainly not from his house. If tomorrow went well maybe he would allow me to do this regularly. To get away I would have to make some sacrifices.

"One kiss." I said sternly, watching as a smile bloomed on his face as he nodded, a deep dimple popping into his cheek.

"Come on, let's get ready for bed. I'll clean this up tomorrow." He said, standing up from his crouched position and holding his hand out to me. Reluctantly I placed my hand into his, allowing him to pull me along as he made his way through the house and up to his room.

I was about to go into the closet to get a pair of pyjamas but he wouldn't let go of my hand until I stopped and turned to look at him. Releasing his hold on my hand he stepped back and to my alarm began unbuttoning his shirt.

"W-what are you doing?" I asked, stumbling back a step. Gulping as his broad chest came into view with each button he opened, yanking it off revealing his rippling muscles beneath gleaming tan skin, strong arms flexing with the motion of peeling off the black button up.

"Can you wear this tonight?" He asked holding the shirt out to me.

"It'll lessen the urge to claim you if you have my scent on you." He added as I began to shake my head. I sighed deeply, looking at it and glancing up to him before I grabbed it from him, reminding myself why I was doing this.

"I'll go change in the other room." The Alpha said and I turned to go into the bathroom without saying a word.

Stripping off my clothes I pulled on his button up, doing up all the buttons relieved at how large it was, ending just a couple inches above my knees and so baggy it was impossible to tell what my body looked like beneath it. I washed my face and brushed my teeth quickly before making my way out to see the Alpha sitting on the bed in just a black pair of pyjama bottoms holding the little red box of chocolate covered strawberries in his hand.

I swallowed thickly as I made my way over to the bed feeling the heat of his gaze looking me over. Forcing myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other as he stood from the bed to tower over me.

"Black suits you." He said, grabbing hold of my hand once I was in within reach and tugging me over to himself, causing me to collide with his chest. I instantly regretted taking my bra off at the way his body tensed when my chest pressed into him.

"You didn't have any dessert so I thought we'd have some of these."

"I already brushed my teeth." I said, having no appetite for anything.

"Have at least one today, they're fresh." He insisted and not wanting to argue I conceded with a nod.

I sat down on the bed, shifting away slightly when he sat down right next to me. Pulling on the bow to make it unravel he opened the box revealing the glistening strawberries coated in creamy milk chocolate.

I took one when he handed it to me, biting down through the hard shell of the sweet chocolate into the soft ripe strawberry beneath. The contrasting taste of the tart fruit and creamy chocolate filling my mouth as some of the strawberry juice dribbled down the side of my mouth. I swiped at it with the back of my hand, making the mistake of glancing at the Alpha to see his darkened gaze fixed intently on my mouth, his lips parted slightly.

"I want what I was promised." The Alpha said, cupping my jaw in his palm and tilting my face up to him.

I swallowed down the strawberry I had been chewing, placing the other half down into the box. I fisted the shirt I wore in my lap, trying to prepare myself for what was to come. He leaned in slowly, eyes flickering between my mouth and eyes before he pressed his lips to mine in a suddenly desperate motion as though unable to control himself any longer. His other hand snuck around my waist flattening itself to my back and pushing me up into him making me gasp lightly.

He moved his lips gently against mine, the heat of his enveloping my own making an unwanted electric thrill shoot down my spine. My head went light as his tongue darted out to lick along my lower lip, slipping past my parted lips and into my mouth, tasting of the bittersweet wine he had been drinking. His tongue moved over mine as though chasing the flavour of the strawberry through my mouth, a rumble sounding deep in his chest that reminded me of how desperately I needed to breathe.

I pushed against his chest, having to try twice before he finally pulled away from my mouth. I panted desperately for air when free, inhaling sharply as he licked up the side of my mouth where the strawberry juice had left a sticky trail despite me having wiped it.

"You taste so sweet, I could kiss you for hours." He groaned, pressing feather light kisses along my jaw.

"You promised you wouldn't do anything else." I said, heart racing in my chest at the hungry look on his face.

He sighed before pulling away from me, grabbing hold of my tightly fisted hands from my lap, raising them up in his own so we could both see the way they trembled.

"A kiss for each hour I have to be away from you sounds fair to me."

"An Alpha going back on his word sounds dishonorable to me." I countered still a little breathless.

"I'm not going back on my word Athena, I'm merely elaborating on the terms of the agreement."

I had to resist the urge to call him a rat but couldn't hold back the scowl on my face. It only seemed to amuse him, whisky eyes twinkling with mirth as he smirked down at me.

"Adorable." He mumbled with a breathy laugh.

"You can get yourself a longer visit, all you have to do is kiss me."

"Goodnight." I said instead of responding, making a move to lie down but was stopped by him catching hold of my shoulders.

"Don't get mad, have a couple more strawberries."

"An extra hour per strawberry?" I asked.

"That can be the deal if you let me have just one more kiss before you fall asleep."

"Fine." I relented.

I finished the strawberry I had been eating before grabbing another, frowning in confusion as he grabbed one as well.

"Well I'm not going to let it get to ten hours."

"It's my gift, you can't have any." I said, going to grab the strawberry from him but he took a big bite out of it before I could, the juice dripping down the corner of his mouth looking all too close to blood for me to be comfortable.

"We're mates, mates share everything and you can't not give a wolf a fighting chance to decrease the amount of time he has to be away from his mate."

I ate the next strawberry quickly, resolved to simply eat them faster than he did but he seemed to have caught on and was doing the same. We both scarfed down chocolate covered strawberries, not enjoying them nearly as much as a treat this delicious and expensive deserved to be relished until only one remained.

I made a grab for it before he could and he seemed to pull back to avoid hurting me. I brought it up to my mouth but before I could take a bite he leaned in and ate it whole right from my fingers, tugging the strawberry out my grasp with his lips.

"You didn't even take the leaves off." I complained, disgruntled by his antics.

"I'd do anything for another hour with you." He said making me grimace. I mostly just sat around disgusted or frightened by him, I wasn't sure what exactly amongst those two had impressed him so.

"I still have six hours tomorrow." I reminded him, having earned myself quite a few by grabbing a strawberry in my other hand as I ate the first.

"And I have another kiss owed to me if you want those six hours."

"I'm gonna go brush my teeth." I said quickly, hoping he would do the same so I wouldn't have to kiss someone who likely had strawberry leaves stuck in their teeth.

"I will too." He said, and was already back in bed smelling slightly of mint along with his usual heady spicy scent by the time I got out of the washroom.

He lay back, spread out on one side of the bed, tan skin glowing in the moonlight that filtered in through the window, looking completely at ease if one were to miss the look in his eyes, gleaming with predatory anticipation. Looking every bit the apex predator he was as he lounged on the bed, waiting for the prey to get close before he pounced.

I ignored the near painful way my heart thumped against my chest cavity as I walked over, laying down as far from him as I could manage. My attempts to maintain distance between us proved futile as he wound his arm around my waist and yanked me closer to him. He hovered over me, lowering his head until his nose was right above the silky black fabric over my chest bone and inhaling deeply, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as though he had smelled the most appetizing of sweets and not the girl trembling in his arms.

"You smell so good as it is, but covered in my scent you smell downright edible." He growled, his voice taking on a low husky tone.

"You said you wouldn't do anything." I said shakily.

"Appreciating the scent of your mate doesn't count, other than holding you and kissing you once more I will not do anything else." He promised, nuzzling his nose into the dip between my collarbone.

"This is something." I said, managing to weasel my hands in between us and push at his shoulders before he grabbed hold of both my wrists in one of his hands.

"This is cuddling and part of our agreement."

"I'm tired." I said and he hummed lightly in acknowledgement though did not stop his movements as he rubbed his stubble covered cheek back and forth against the sensitive skin of my throat. The feeling of his lips ghosting over my pulse point making me gasp and unintentionally arch into him, afraid he would bite down and mark me.

"Relax sweetness." He murmured against my skin.

I couldn't help the way my entire body trembled, suffocating memories of the last time he had held me like this flashing in my mind and making adrenaline course through my veins though I was too afraid to so much as move.

I tried to regulate my breathing, focusing on inhaling and exhaling for a set amount of seconds to distract myself from the way his body pressed against mine, the searing heat of his palm from where it rested on my lower back, the brush of his soft lips that contrasted with the bristly stubble of his cheeks when he kissed my skin as he scented me.

"I want to drench you in my scent. Rub it into every inch of your skin so that no one can deny that you're mine. Mine to claim, mine to kiss, mine to protect and mine to keep."

"I'm exhausted from today, I want to sleep." I tried again, hoping he would stop his administrations. He sighed, pulling away from my neck after placing one last kiss to the sensitive and surely pink skin.

"It has been a long day for you. I'll let you sleep now." He said and I nodded in agreement grateful he had stopped.

"As soon as I get my kiss."

I glanced up into his eyes furtively, hoping he would make this a quick one as he leaned down and captured my mouth with his. Moving his lips against mine leisurely as though he had all the time in the world, moaning deep in his chest as I let his tongue in and it touched mine. He licked over my lips as though I were something decadent, kissing me deeply before finally pulling away.

"Sweet dreams mate." He said, wrapping both his arms tightly around me ang tugging me onto his chest so that I was laying on him instead of the bed.

"Alpha put me down." I demanded, avoiding meeting his gaze as he stared up at me.

"Call me Onyx and I will." He said, reaching up to nudge my cheek with his nose.

"Alpha Onyx put me down." I said and he shook his head teasingly, a crooked smirk forming on his face whisky eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Just Onyx, you're my mate, Athena, you should be able to say my name."

"Onyx please." I mumbled quietly and he groaned aloud as though wounded. My eyes widened as I felt him harden against my thigh.

"So fucking sweet." He rumbled against my hair as he shifted to the side so that I was at least laying on the bed though both his arms held me constricted to his chest. I shifted my hips backwards as far as I could manage so that I was no longer pressed against the evidence of his arousal.

"Go to sleep Athena."

I closed my eyes, having no choice but to rest my head against his chest. I didn't know how long I laid there before sleep finally took over though I could tell he was awake.