Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Morwen
“So far, we’ve done this the wolf way,” I say while we’re sitting at dinner, drinking the smoothest, fruitiest wine I’ve ever tasted. “Now, it’s time to do it the human way.”
Alaric looks at me curiously, one dark brow lifting. “Your people have courting rituals?”
“We do.”
“What are they?”
I grin as I stare him down. “Questions. The women ask questions.”
“Oh,” he says, leaning back in his chair, amusement flickering across his handsome face. “Questions.”
“Yes,” I say, nodding eagerly. “Questions. And I have a lot of them.”
He reaches for the bottle and tops off my wine before settling back and folding his arms across that broad chest like he’s bracing himself. “Proceed,” he says gravely. “Please.”
I don’t waste a second.
“Morning or night person?”
“Night,” he answers immediately. “The kingdom is quiet then. I can think. But I don’t sleep too much either way, so I’m up early as well.”
“How many hours do you sleep?”
“Four.”
“Four?!”
“On a good night.”
“A good night?” I say, staring at him in horror. “Oh my gods, you’re going to think I’m hibernating. I can sleep ten hours easy.”
I love how his smiles keep reaching his eyes. He looks so handsome when he’s all stern and king-like, but the relaxed, stress-free version of Alaric is pretty gorgeous too.
“I think I’ll quite enjoy watching you sleep,” he says.
“Oh no,” I say, laughing. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“What am I thinking?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s a lot of twisted blankets, far-flung legs, an open mouth, and lots of drool on the pillow. It’s not pretty. Or very queen-like.”
He grins. “It sounds quite entertaining.”
I let out a dramatic little huff. “Moving on. What do you do when you’re not ruling a kingdom?”
“I’m always ruling a kingdom.”
“Of course,” I say, rolling my eyes. “But when you’re not in king mode.”
He just stares at me.
“When you’re off. When you’re relaxing.”
More blank staring.
“You have to let loose and unwind somehow,” I say. “Do you dance, or play an instrument, or drink with friends? Anything?”
He lets out a long, heavy breath. “Being a king is all I know.”
My heart aches for him. I can see the pain in his eyes. The pressure. The intense burden he holds every second of every day. It must be so hard. I don’t know how a man can handle such strain without being crushed by it.
I make a vow to be that release for him. To help him get in touch with the real Alaric. The man without the ‘King’ title attached to his name. Relaxing a little won’t harm his kingdom. It will make him a more well-rounded, thoughtful, patient ruler.
And it won’t kill him to have a little bit of fun.
“Do you feel lonely as king?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I’m around people and wolves all of the time.”
“Right…” I lean in, lowering my voice. “But that’s not the same thing, is it? No one talking to you like you’re an equal. No one teasing you or telling you the truth when it’s uncomfortable. Every interaction must feel so…” I search for the word. “Performed.”
His jaw tightens—not defensively, but thoughtfully.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like,” I continue softly. “To walk into a room and know everyone has already decided who they need to be before you even speak.”
People must become different versions of themselves around him. His reality must feel so warped. So unnatural.
For a long moment, he says nothing.
Then, quietly, “They look at me like I’m not one of them. Like I’m one of the Gods.”
Something in his voice twists my heart. The poor guy.
“They choose their words carefully,” he goes on. “They agree too quickly. They smile too much. Even disagreements feel rehearsed, like they’re afraid to be on my bad side. I never get to see the real them, and they never get to see the real me.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is.” His gaze drops to his wine. “There are days I wonder if I’ve ever truly known anyone.”
He sighs. “My mother. I did know her.”
I lean forward, resting my chin on my hand. “Can you tell me about her?”
“She was a wonderful woman. Kind and always smiling despite the pressures of her crown. One time when I was young, my father brought me along as he settled a particularly bloody border dispute. I was too young to witness such things and it upset me greatly.”
I reach for his hand before I think better of it, resting my fingers lightly over his. He stills at the contact, then turns his palm up, letting me lace our fingers together.
“She found me sitting alone in the training yard,” he continues quietly. “I kept seeing the bodies in my mind. I watched my fellow shifters bleed for lines drawn on a map, watched grief ripple through families.”
He lifts his gaze to mine, something softer there now. “I asked her how she could smile in such a sad world. How she could bear it.”
“And what did she say?” I ask gently.
“She sat beside me and took my hands, just like this,” he says, turning his palm up so I can feel the echo of the memory.
“And she said that the world has never needed more darkness,” he continues softly.
“It has plenty of that already. What it needs are those willing to carry the light when others no longer can.”
His thumb brushes over my knuckles, slow and absent, lost in the memory.
“She told me that smiling isn’t pretending the pain doesn’t exist. It’s choosing not to let the pain win. That joy, when it’s chosen in the face of suffering, becomes a shield—for yourself and for everyone watching you.”
My chest tightens.
“She said a Wolf King’s happiness is never just his own. It becomes permission. Permission for the pack to choose joy, laughter, and kindness over hatred, fear, and darkness.”
He exhales, a quiet, steady breath. “Then she leaned in and pressed her forehead to mine and told me something I have never forgotten.”
His voice drops.
“Alaric, your empathy makes you strong. You will be a good king because you care.”
I swallow hard.
“She told me that when the crown feels too heavy, when the loneliness cuts too deep, when the darkness threatens to swallow me whole, I must remember who I am. And then she told me words I live by. Words I say whenever I’m struggling.
Whenever I feel like I can’t take one more second of this world. ”
He lifts my hand and presses it to his chest. I can feel his heart beating.
“I am alpha,” he whispers. “I endure.”
The words settle between us as I feel the rhythm of his heart, strong and true.
“She sounds very wise,” I whisper.
He nods once. “She was.”
“I’m sure she’d be very proud of you,” I say, removing my hand.
His eyes meet mine. They’re shining in the candlelight. “Thank you. Although, I haven’t been smiling very much in the past two decades.”
I lift up my wine and smile shyly at him. “I guess we’ll have to change that.”
He smiles and it makes my whole body fill with warmth.
The royal servants bring the food, setting it down in a dramatic fashion.
I’m in awe of all of the meat, vegetables, and dinner rolls on the table.
It’s enough to feed half my village. I’m thinking they made a mistake until I look over at my dinner companion and once again, marvel at the size of him.
I keep peppering Alaric with questions as we begin eating, but he doesn’t seem to mind. I keep getting the sense that he’s very intrigued by me. Like he can’t wait to hear the next thing to come out of my mouth.
I try to lighten the mood and get this serious man smiling, so I switch to some silly questions.
“Has anyone ever fainted in front of you? I feel like the answer is yes.”
He chuckles. “Many times.”
“Oh man,” I say, laughing. “I know I shouldn’t laugh, but I can totally see that. You look so intimidating with that crown on. Do you practice looking intimidating, or does it just happen naturally?”
His mouth curls up in a grin.
“You totally practice it!”
He shakes his head and laughs low. “When I first got the crown—”
“I knew it!”
“—I may have practiced it once. Or twice.”
“Or a hundred times,” I say, giggling.
“No more than ten.”
I point at him as we both crack up. “Well, you’re a professional now!”
It’s not just me asking the questions. He asks me all about my life in the village, my personal history, and my candle-making business. He leans forward and listens attentively, asking me follow-up questions and listening like he can’t get enough of the words coming out of my mouth.
He runs a whole kingdom and I run a tiny candle-making operation at the village fair, but he makes me feel like it’s the most amazing thing in the world.
Alaric eats an incredible amount of food as we talk. I finish way before him, but I don’t mind. We’re having a great conversation and I like watching him eat. I can’t get enough of the sight of that big, masculine jaw chewing.
The servants take away the dishes when he’s finally done, refill our wine, and then bring us dessert—a delicious warm berry pie that makes my toes curl when I have the first bite.
“Can I ask you something?” I say softly between licks of my fork.
He nods. “You can ask me anything.”
“What happened to your wolf?” I ask. “You said you nearly lost him to grief? What does that mean? How do you lose him if he’s inside you?”
Alaric lowers his gaze to the table and I notice his breathing becomes slower and heavier. When he speaks, his voice is quieter, like he’s letting me see him at his most vulnerable.
“He went silent,” he says sadly. “Over the past year, I just… I stopped feeling him at all. No pull during the full moon. No instinct. No growls or howls. Just… emptiness.”
I reach across the table without thinking and place my hand over his.
“It’s been horrible,” he whispers. “A Wolf King cannot rule a pack without his wolf. Shifters would instinctively rebel. It would be unnatural for them. Over the past few weeks, I could feel the whispers starting. They were beginning to doubt me. I feared the rebellions were about to commence. And I had nothing to fight them with.”
My heart aches.
“My whole kingdom would have been in ruins. Packs fighting packs. No one would have been safe.”
And the Wolf King, my mate, this amazing man, would have been the first one killed. I shudder at the thought.
“And now…” I say, afraid to ask. “Is he back?”
Alaric’s shoulders rise as if he can feel the power within. He smiles as his eyes fill with pride.
“He is,” he says confidently. “You brought him back. The moment I scented you, it was like he roared awake. Like he’d been lying in grief waiting for his mate all this time, and once you appeared, the nightmare was over.”
My cheeks blush shyly. I can’t believe I brought his wolf back to life. I can’t believe any of this is happening.
“Have you let him out?” I ask, replaying the day in my head. Has he had time to release his wolf? I don’t think so…
“Not yet,” he says. “I wanted to get ready for our dinner.”
I jump up from the table so fast and hard my chair screeches across the floor. “Let’s go now.”
“Now?” he says, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes,” I say with my pulse racing. “I want to see him. He won’t hurt me, will he?”
“Never,” he says fiercely. “He would die to protect you.”
“Then let’s go outside,” I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. “Your wolf has waited all this time to meet me. Let’s not make him wait a second longer.”
Alaric grins as he lets me pull him up to his feet.
“Very well,” he says, following me to the door. “Be prepared for a lot of licking.”