Chapter 7
DPOV
I don't think she knew how amazing she looked riding her wolf.
I knew she needed to connect with her wolf again. The fact she was able to chain her wolf inside of her for a full year showed me how strong she was. But she was already connecting to her again. They looked so natural together and in sync.
"Now, let's get her cleaned."
My wolf was already in the water. The water was clear and rather cold. But he didn't feel it. His fur was thick. We originated from the snowy plains of Siberia. Our coat had adapted to it, both the color as well as its thickness. I was built for the cold and could blend in with the snow well enough.
The King's palace was further south but it could still get cold in the winter. I loved the fresh snow. It reminded me of a home I never knew, but was somehow ingrained into me. I wondered what part of the world Rose originated from. Her exotic coloring already hinted to warmer climates and as I took in her wolf, I knew that to be true. Her wolf's coat was darker and thinner than my wolf's. It was made to blend in lush forests and the darker coat protected against the heat. The lighter colored eyes stood out against her dark coat. Somehow I doubted the combination was found a lot. It made for one stunning wolf.
I wouldn't have expected anything less seeing who her master was.
I got sprayed with water as my wolf shook his fur coat. I looked at him fouly, as I heard Rose laugh beside me. I wasn't drenched, but I was rather wet. I knew he had done it on purpose.
"I guess I have to get in now too." I took my shirt off. Laying it out in the field to dry. When my eyes met Rose's, my breath caught in my throat. She was looking at me with big brown eyes, a contrast to her wolf's color. Her eyes were fixated on my body and the emotion in them stirred something inside of me I didn't know I had.
Sure there was lust in them, which wasn't anything new, but there was also something… possessive. I liked it. In a different life she could have belonged to me and I to her.
I turned around as I got rid of my boots and pants. In this life however, we didn't have a claim over anything.
I let the cold water brush away the depressing thought. Any lingering heat from her gaze was cooled as well.
I heard her strip behind me. Her wolf had entered the water a moment earlier. She would need help getting all the blood from her fur. And if Rose washed herself, it would wash the wolf as well now that she was closer to the surface.
I had half a mind to turn around to stare at her body the way she had stared at me. I didn't know if she would strip all the way like I had. But I was killing myself wondering and this time the cold water did nothing to alleviate the pressure.
The water created ripples as she entered and when I did turn around she was covered by the water. Her wolf was close by as if shielding Rose's full form from me. She started washing her fur. She was turned at such an angle that I was looking at her back. The water came high up her hip. Her full back was bare. I could see the side of those perfect globes as they moved up and down as she cupped water from the lake and deposited it higher on her wolf.
A low groan escaped me as I turned around and headed towards my own wolf. I ran my hand through his fur. I might as well clean his fur out too. A downside to the warmer climate than our heritage was that he tended to shed a lot.
He seemed to be fixated on her wolf. "I know okay. I like her too, but we both know this will only end in disaster. They need our help. We offer what we can, not what we want to."
He growled, but if it was still because he wanted to chase a little tail, or because he was frustrated I couldn't tell. My wolf has never reacted to another's wolf. Granted not many of the women I have been with had their wolf out. And when I was intimate I never let my wolf out either. It meant I always had to hold a piece back. It was frustrating in its own right.
I grabbed a few more pieces of fur as they came out of his coat. "I need to comb you when we get back or else you will get those mats again."
"Are you grooming your wolf now?" I turned around to answer her. Rose's modesty was still protected by her wolf. Her large head was positioned perfectly, which made me believe it was deliberate. Although I don't think Rose noticed. My wolf had its own personality but there were no secrets between us. It seemed Rose's wolf was still protecting her. Rose felt comfortable around me. Her wolf would need some convincing. Seeing as the last time they had been together she had protected her from being assaulted by two males, it was only natural. Her wolf would protect her, from anyone.
"Downside of having such thick fur. You need some maintenance."
She laughed as she stroked her own wolf. The moment was so pure and so natural it hurt a little.
"Well, I think I am done. She is all clean. No more blood." Her wolf shook her fur out and we were both showered in a blanket of droplets.
My wolf had just got rid of his own last droplets when the shower had hit. He growled at his counterpart. She in turn growled back. Even if my wolf was bigger she wasn't taking shit from anyone. A true Alpha. But so was my wolf.
He accepted her challenge and took advantage of her inexperience and had her wrestled to the ground on the edge of the lake in mere seconds. He kept his snout on her neck, he wasn't hurting her, he was controlling her. His body shifted so it was mostly covering hers.
He was dominating her, but there was something very intimate about the exchange. I had to avert my gaze. This is what I wanted with Rose. I wanted her so bad. But where our wolves were free, no trace of either of them being slaves, their human versions were far different.
So I tucked that primal part of me away. I rained in the controls on my wolf and he let her go. He wasn't happy I could tell. Hell, if I had given him a few more moments I am sure he would have mounted her. I could feel his arousal and frustration because it mirrored my own. The evidence of that was painfully obvious through the clear water.
"I think we should head to the palace. Kirova will want you back." The frost in my own voice surprised me. I wasn't used to feeling so...much. Of wanting so much. I grew up with nothing. Was grateful for anything that was handed to me out of kindness, or obligation. But I never wanted anything. I didn't let myself. It was dangerous as a slave to want things. As I grew through to the ranks that stayed the same. I only ever wanted one thing, but I knew I would never get recognition.
But now I wanted something else. Something so close within my grasp I could taste it. Because I could have a bit of her. As a concubine I could have her physically. But it was a shadow of what I truly wanted. It would never be enough.
I moved to get out of the water. I couldn't see Rose anywhere. Did she already get out, was she getting dressed behind some trees? The water around me moved and I turned around. She emerged from the water only a few inches from me. It was deeper here. The water came up to my ribs, which meant it came to Rose's clavicle.
Her hair was slick against her face, but danced around her like fire where it touched the water. Her hair obscured just enough for me to focus on her face and not on other parts of her. Her eyes held a vulnerability I hadn't seen since the first night she was chained to my bed.
"What will happen to me now?" It was a valid question. One I had no real answer to. But I knew one thing for certain. The moment someone knew she was alpha, her life would be over… one way or another.
"Your wolf needs to stay hidden, unless you are with me, or alone. I will help you connect with her and control her, so you can hide yourself. But it will be hard." It will be almost impossible, I knew because I had done it for years until I couldn't anymore and I had been much younger. "If anyone asks, you are Beta. It will gain you some status, explain some of the power and I can spin that to Kirova. But it will not threaten them in the same way as you being alpha."
She nodded, but I could tell she was apprehensive. Rose was a warrior, she would rather fight her way out. Not play these games. I had learned the hard way that everyone played games at the palace. It was her new life and she would have to learn.
With a heavy sigh I turned around and left the water.
RPOV
I saw him retreating from the water. All of his six foot seven naked frame. It was a sight to behold. The water cascaded off of him as he left the water, dripping off of his muscles, all of them hard earned. The scattered scars told the story of a warrior that had either been in battle or training his whole life.
But the scars in his eyes were what affected me the most. The heat in his eyes had been evident as he had taken me in, but that fire had been put out with the heavy burden of his past. I had been a slave my whole life, but I had never felt chained. I would not be contained. Maybe because at Madame Petrov's, I wasn't. She never treated me like I was less than human. It wasn't until I reached Sorokin's pack that I was considered something else. But by then my mind had been solidified that even if they didn't want to give me my freedom, I knew I did deserve it.
I have no patience for political games and coasting through the middle. Lissa had once compared me to a whirlwind. I knew the same violence rested in Dimitri, but he had learned to tame it, hide it. I don't think that was a good thing. Sure, his mouth probably didn't get him in trouble all the time, I definitely had more lash scars than he did, but I knew fighting who he was all the time was killing off a little piece of him inside every time.
And now he expected the same from me. To hide who I was. I was finally whole and I had no intention of giving that up.
I looked towards my wolf as I got dressed. She was magnificent. And she had the biggest crush on his wolf. I nearly giggled. They really were a mirror of us, but without the inhibitions. I had seen Dimitri's wolf dominate her, nudge her and groom her. If Dimitri only felt a fraction of that for me we were in big trouble.
The ride to the palace was silent. We rode our wolves side by side. He set a brisk pace but it wasn't the same carefree and exhilarating run as it had been on the way to the lake. It was as if he had rained in any and all emotions and all that remained was the serious General that didn't let anybody in.
I got so close to his true heart. I hoped I would see that again.
I was dry when we stopped a little bit away from the palace.
"We have to do the rest on foot. They can't see your wolf."
I knew why he wanted me to hide her. I would, for now. But that didn't mean I had any idea of how to do it. I would have to practice both letting her out and railing her in.
"Okay, So how do I do that?"
There was a ghost of a smile on his lips. He shook his head as he demonstrated it in slow motion for me. "There is a part of you that now lives outside of your body. You just have to put it back in." He closed his eyes and his wolf started to disappear into magical tendrils. Those tendrils touched his body and disappeared into it. Absorbed by his skin.
I looked towards my wolf. This was a little easier. You have done this for a year. Hold her inside you. I realized my hesitation wasn't because I didn't know how to do it, but because I didn't want to chain her up again. I didn't want her to be trapped, didn't want me to be trapped again.
As if reading my emotions so clearly even if I never let them show, he placed a hand on my shoulder. "The moment you are alone you can let her out. Practice a few times, so you both know that if you do recall her, it will not be forever."
I nodded as I closed my eyes and recalled my wolf. I could feel the moment she became part of me again. A lone tear fell from my eyes before I could stop it. 'It is not forever. We won't be trapped again.' I silently told my wolf.
When I opened my eyes I was determined to find a way for her to be free. Even if I wasn't. I was glad I had Dimitri. I wouldn't have to hide with him. And I could tell Lissa. Or at least the slightly censored version.
The goodbye was quick and awkward. In the end we had been too busy to discuss the actual concubine aspect of things. I wondered if I would get the chance again. And Kirova would want to know what happened. I doubt 'he was fine, but a bit serious' would work here.
I was led back to the concubine garden. There were a few eyes on me, probably wondering if I was still walking after spending the full moon with a client. I paid them no mind and left for my own apartment. If anyone would want to see me they can find me there.
I wondered if Lissa would be here today. She was here regularly, but not all days. But that question was answered when I walked into my apartment and Lissa was there.
"Oh God, Rose are you okay?" She looked me over. What she was trying to see, I didn't know. I wasn't wearing the dress Kirova had provided but the leathers Dimitri had given me. But I had seen concubines return with other clothing. It wasn't uncommon for a concubine to 'lose' their clothing apparently.
"I am fine Liss."
"How was the full moon? Did you? "
Lissa knew I had been struggling with the full moons, she simply thought it was because I was close to transforming. She said she had felt a little 'iffy' a couple of full moons before transforming. I hadn't. My wolf was born out of need, blood-born. I think if I hadn't been sold as a concubine that night it would have taken months for her to come out herself.
I pulled Lissa aside. I knew we were in my apartment and nobody could hear us, but the need for me to be quiet was there.
"Yeah Liss, I transformed." She put her hand to her mouth, excitement evident in her eyes. "Show me."
I hesitated for a moment. It would be a shock. But I trusted Lissa and I had already withheld so much from her because I didn't want her to worry. Or have to lie for me causing her to be punished like I was.
I felt inside of me, glad to find my wolf so close to the surface. There had been a moment of suffocating fear when I wanted to pull her to the surface, a moment where I didn't know if she would be there. But I knew now… she would always be there.
I saw the tendrils of magic resinate from my body. It flowed out of me like the gentle waves of water as it columnated into a dark creature in front of me. The eyes were what struck me. Everything else about my wolf's appearance mirrored my own. But her eyes were light, whereas mine were near black. I wondered if my mother was to blame.
I heard Lissa gasp beside me. "Rose, she is…"
I moved towards my wolf and petted her head. "Beautiful isn't she?"
"I was going to say huge. But yeah, beautiful would also fit." She moved beside me and looked from me towards my wolf. "Rose, does this mean?"
She couldn't find the words. But part of me had always known. Maybe that is why I wasn't surprised.
"Yes, I am alpha. But if anyone asks, I am Beta. No one can see my wolf."
I didn't have to tell Lissa why. She understood the life of a slave just as much as I did, even if I was able to shield her from the worst horrors.
"Who were you sent to, didn't they see your wolf?"
I sat down on my bed and let myself fall back. My wolf curled up beside the bed. "I was sent to General Belikov. He did see my wolf. He is helping me with her. I was lucky Lissa. Because he is Alpha too, he understood."
I didn't know if Lissa had already learned that he was a slave, that couldn't be a secret, but that wasn't what was important now.
"Did he? I mean during the full moon, two alphas, I hear it is kind of inevitable."
I nearly choked on my laughter. Not this full moon, I had been in too much pain. I hoped I had till the next full moon to find out.
I could imagine it too. If he unleashed his true self on a full moon in the bedroom, what a sight it would be. But he would have to get his head out of his ass first. Because I had known him for three days and I knew he wouldn't permit himself to lose control easily.
"No, Liss. The transformation sort of got in the way. Besides, Dimitri isn't like everyone else. He will only take what is freely given."
