Alastairion's POV
I felt their penetrating gaze at the back of my head while I stood there like a statue, my gaze fixed on the strange woman lying on the rug.
I couldn't get my mind off what had happened out there, no matter how hard I tried.
There had to be a reason I felt desire from her when I was the one that was nearly unconscious.
Yes, I was attacked unawares. Because for all of Atticus' worrying, I wasn't going to let a mere curse stop me from going out in the rain when I felt like it.
I hadn't smelled or heard the attackers approach before they ambushed me.
I was even weaker directly under the rain. What I had done was a very miscalculated risk that would have cost me my existence.
Atticus will definitely give me a stern talking to once I am back in the study.
After they had left me for dead in the wet grass, I was ready for them to come rip me apart.
But then, as if a salve from the moon goddess...I smelled this strange woman.
I wasn't supposed to smell anything but I smelled the woman.
And she smelled like Jasmine. My most despised scent.
When she drew closer and hovered above me, she reeked of something so potent I couldn't ignore it in my vulnerable state.
I'd felt my loins come to life.
I shook my head as I stared at her, the fire stoking my memories.
Her skin felt incredibly soft against my rough hands. When I grabbed her for the kiss the heavy rain no longer felt like a burden, but like a fresh beginning.
I wasn't sure what she was but whatever made me react like that meant I had to keep her by my side so I could be more powerful than I already was.
She might be some kind of life source or essence.
"Is she even alive?" Ashu's voice broke through my trance. He was hovering near the girl, his face a mask of worry.
I stepped closer to the hearth, as the heat of the flames began to dry my wet hair.
"She is alive," I finally spoke.
Ottomir straightened up from the wall, his eyes narrowing as he looked from me to the girl. "You still haven't explained why she is here, my King. This is our home, not a sanctuary for strays."
I turned my head slowly to look at him. "I want a live-in cook and housekeeper. You dogs have been so lazy and all the other human women we hired ended up trying to seduce us. You know no women from the packs would willingly take up such task."
Atticus narrowed his eyes at me but I pretended not to notice. My answer was very close to the truth.
Ashu let out a short, surprised bark of a laugh. "And it never worked so they decided to steal from us..." Ashu added jokingly, scratching the back of his neck. "Remember that one from the city? She tried to make off with the silver candelabras."
"I'll never fall for a human whore," Ottomir joined in disdainfully, his lip curling in a sneer.
I chuckled drily.
Ottomir hated humans.
"That, you won't," I agreed with him.
"Then why bring her here? How is she different?" Ottomir asked, his voice sharp with suspicion.
My eyes warmed as I watched him.
The young pup I had saved all these years ago was always looking out for me.
I remembered the smell of the log he'd hidden in, the tragedy in his eyes when I tore that human apart after his family was killed.
"Do not worry about her, Ottomir," I tried to reassure him. "She is homeless and needs a place to stay. She'll not break any rules," I supplied earnestly, even though I wasn't sure.
"She doesn't look like much of a cook," Ashu remarked, leaning down to poke at the wet fabric of her diner uniform. "She looks like she'd break if the wind blew too hard."
"She is stronger than she looks, Ashu," I countered. "She faced a monster in the dark and tried to save it instead of running. That is more than I can say for most of the humans we encounter everyday."
Ottomir scoffed, pacing the perimeter of the rug. "Compassion is a human weakness, not a strength. If she's here, she's a liability."
"She will not be a liability" I snapped, my patience thinning. "Is that clear?" I looked at Ashu and Atticus.
Ottomir bowed his head slightly, though the tension didn't leave his shoulders. "As you wish, my King."
I turned my attention back to the woman.
She was not going to leave this premises, not unless I ordered it.
And no harm will come to her, unless she crosses me.
Her jasmine scent was beginning to fill the room, pushing back the smell of woodsmoke and old stone.
It was intoxicating but I no longer found it awful.
If she could make me a god in the rain, she was worth more than a thousand Alphas.
Because Ottomir wasn't the only person in the room who hated humans for what they did to him in the past, I was just secretive about it.
I looked at my hands, still faintly stained with the blood of the wolves I had slaughtered.
My mind drifted back to the simpler times, long before these humans understood their existence.
The goddess had sent this one my way, perhaps as a way of telling me that my patience would soon be rewarded.
While I don't plan to have a war with humans, I've been waiting for a time where I'd be in full control of myself.
A time where I'd no longer be cursed or affected.
And as for this strange woman the goddess had blessed me with, I would use her to get what I want.
And I would drain her of whatever essence she possessed, ensuring that no storm would ever make me weak again.
I would not only get control of all the humans but I could extend my power across all other continents, being lord supreme of every were and other.
"Atticus," I called out.
"My King?"
"Get her in a room. The one with the reinforced locks."
"Understood."
