I was woken by a soft knock on the door, and I opened my eyes, shivering into the covers I pulled them up to my chin, huddling into them. I blinked rapidly, my vision blurry with the lingering haze of sleep.

I was knocked out of my sleepy haze when I saw Alaricus Knight open the door. I blinked a few times rapidly, hoping the image I was seeing would change and it would be one of the house help instead.

"Morning love." He said softly walking towards me, a small smile on his face as he sat down on the edge of the bed. I yanked the covers higher, my eyes widening drastically as I felt the soft material of the comforter against the bare skin of my stomach. I had fallen asleep in only my bra and panties, and was now sitting on the same bed as the werewolf dangerously misled to believe we belonged together forever. This was a horrible way to start my day. The mating bond made the attraction of a werewolf to their mate very strong, so even though I was pretty plain looking especially in comparison to Alaricus, to him I was still like honey to a bee.

A squeak escaped me as he shifted, causing the comforter to be dragged down just a few inches, exposing the thin straps of my bra on my shoulders. I clenched my eyes shut tightly at that, my heart pumping so quickly in my chest it felt as though it was going to burst out of my rib cage and be bloodily sprawled over my bed for all to see. My fingers were becoming numb due to how tightly I was clutching the comforter, expecting an attempt to be made to snatch it from my hands. My strength was nothing compared to a regular werewolf's, let alone Alaricus Knight's. My stomach clenched painfully and I felt as though I would throw up. As time ticked by and I didn't feel any force tugging on the comforter or any cold morning air on my body, I peaked one eye open.

I was surprised to see Alaricus standing facing the wall with his hands covering his eyes. His ears had turned a bit red at the tips in a way that was almost kind of cute, if that was ever an appropriate word to use to describe Alaricus Knight.

"I should have asked if you were decent before entering, forgive me love." He said, his voice a little shaky.

"A bit early to be questioning my morality don't you think?" I asked, mentally face-palming myself as soon as the words were out of my mouth. How dense could one possibly be?

Alaricus let out a little surprised chuckle at this, his laughter as husky and alluring as his voice.

"I got it as soon as I said it." I murmured distractedly, clutching the covers to my chest tightly as I got out of the bed, and made my way to my wrinkled clothing. Straightening it out quickly, I tugged the clothing back on, not bothering to smooth out my now static-y hair before letting him know he could look now. My chest was aching terribly, the effect of sleeping with a bra on. Normally I was unable to do so but I guess I was so tired last night that sleeping uncomfortably was better than spending a moment to take my bra off.

"I do apologize for that, I didn't look I assure you." I blinked deliberately in surprise not at his words but at the fact that I believed him. He just seemed like a man of honour.

"Did you want something?" I asked.

"I was hoping you would join me for breakfast, tell me what you thought of the book you were reading last night." He asked.

"But aren't you busy, after all you are in a way the king right?" I asked curiously, and his soft expression hardened. The sudden switch in him was terrifying. It was as though I had pressed some invisible button and made him transform from snuggle bunny to strict alpha wolf.

"No, I am not the king." He said sternly. His eyes were dark as he gazed over my head out the window, his aura now cold. He seemed so cool and collected all of a sudden, I would never believe he was the same man who had been blushing just moments ago if I had not seen it myself. Even then I couldn't help but wonder if it was just the light playing tricks on me.

"And I never will be." He continued his voice dark and despite the fact that I knew who he truly was, I couldn't help but cringe back slightly. My movement broke him out of his dark trance and he looked down at me, his eyes melting into the soft honey I was used to.

"I'm so sorry love, I didn't mean to frighten you." He said and I nodded awkwardly not knowing what to say but he stared at me, waiting for a response.

"I-it's fine." I stuttered out, and a crease appeared between his brows.

"It is not fine for me to upset you, to lose control that way." He said. His assessing honey gaze turning sad, repentant.

"You're still afraid of me." He said a deep sadness in his voice.

"Shouldn't I be?" I questioned brazenly, my mind still to too hazy to have a proper filter. Not that I normally had a very functioning one.

"Shouldn't you be?" He repeated incredulously.

"You, afraid of me? You are the only one who never has to be afraid of me." He said a raw primal pain in his voice.

"Why?" I asked.

"You are my mate Amara." He answered simply.

"So I should bet my safety on the fact that some biological instinct of yours makes you think you love me?" I said my voice louder than I wanted it to be. I had always been cranky in the morning.

"It is not merely a thought, I do love you. You are mine, my mate and I will forever keep you safe, not only from others, but from me too." He told me. If the word king had been triggering for him, than the word mine could be considered my trigger. It angered me so much that this insufferable brat of a werewolf thought I was his because of some rubbish bond. People didn't just become yours because you felt some biological bond connecting you to them, people became yours when you won over their heart. So far he had no such luck.

"A man like you doesn't even know what love is." I muttered under my breath, but of course him being a werewolf, he had heard it. I heard a loud riveting sound and looked up to see a hole in the wall where his fist had just been, he stood there fuming his fists clenched at his sides.

"You thinks it's just a biological instinct? You think I can't help but notice every single little thing that you do and just keep growing increasingly fond of you for every little quirk and habit? You think my moods don't depend entirely on yours? You think I don't feel hurt every time you reject me this way? You think every time I look at you I don't ache to touch you, every time you frown I don't know that I would do absolutely anything to make you smile again?" He growled out his eyes flashing with anger, nearly black.

"I would do anything for you, anything for your happiness except let you go, like it or not you are stuck with me." He said and I trembled in fear, but the revulsion took over at his words. His obsession was overwhelming.

"I will get away if it's the last thing I do." I yelled.

He made his way towards me, the soft gold in his eyes now completely gone but he didn't shake with anger, no he was calm, and it was so much worse. It was the calm before the storm. He wrapped his arm around my waist making me let out a loud gasp, and his eyes raked over my form possessively, training on my lips when he heard the gasp, his fingers coming up to slowly trail over my lips.

"No you won't baby, you know why? Cause you're mine, all mine, and I will never let you go. You try to run and I will come after you, hide and I'll find you. I can sense you, I would tear apart this entire world piece by piece to get to you. No one can keep you away from me." He drawled out slowly. His voice menacing and low, not the soft velvety voice I had grown accustomed to. He allowed his eyes to trail over my trembling form once again, his eyes coming up to meet my own which were now shining with tears, and the darkness in his eyes faded, the harsh scowl on his face turning to something so vulnerable it had me confused.

He looked disgusted with himself. He looked away as if unable to meet my eyes, gently pulling away from me. He mumbled out a small shaky apology. Turning away from me abruptly he rushed out the door, leaving me there a confused trembling mess.