Chapter 11: The library
The Alphas prize
His hand continued to make its way down my body, all the way to the seam of my pants. Cain traced his fingers along the waistband of my pants, ever so gently, teasing and toying with my hot, sensitive skin.
Cain then reached under my pants and glided his fingers along the seam of my underwear, causing me to tremble and squeeze my thighs together. Next, he rubbed my hot, soaking core over top of my underwear with his index finger. The friction made everything more intense; my pussy was throbbing, swollen and aching for more. My juices were soaking through my underwear, which made him groan with approval upon feeling the thin fabric that separated his hand from my folds.
He continued to rub circles on my clit, which was becoming agonizing now. Still, even through my lust-
filled haze, something in the back of my mind was telling me to stop this, as I havenât entirely accepted Cain as my mate yet, but there was also a voice telling me to continue, to accept my fate with him. I didnât know whether to stop or to keep going.
My mind was becoming a blur; I was becoming lost in this moment with him; it felt so right, yet so wrong. What the fuck do I do?
Cainâs fingers slipped under the fabric of my underwear, and he slid them along my wet, pulsating folds, pushing two fingers inside of me. âHoly shit, Freja, your so fucking wet.â He groaned, his low, deep voice reverberating throughout my body and sending shivers down my spine. He picked up his pace, pumping into me even faster, his kisses now intoxicating, and my moans filled the room. Then, just as I was about to cum, we heard a bang come from the hallway, causing us both to freeze.
âWhat was that?â I asked him.
His eyes were intently locked on the door as he shook his head. âI donât know. Stay here.â
He removed his hand from my pants, got off me and strode towards the door. Cain flung the door open and stepped out, disappearing into the dark hallway.
I stood up from the carpet, feeling a little ashamed of myself but happy with our conversation and heated moment. For those few moments, Cain made me feel good. I raised a hand to my lips, rubbing the swollen flesh and smiled at how good he made my body feel.
A moment later, Cain came back into the room. âThere is no one out there; Iâm not sure what that was.â
I pursed my lips. âWell, we should be getting back to bed anyways.â I quickly said as the moment we were just sharing was now ruined.
He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. âYea, you are probably right. Come on, letâs go.â
Cain reached out his hand to me, gesturing for me to take it. I smiled and willing held his hand in mine.
I didnât know how to feel when he held my hand, it felt foreign, and I wanted to let go, but I also didnât, as it felt right.
We walked down the hall and to our room. As we entered, Cain closed and locked the door behind us before the both of us climbed into bed; he actually flopped. We both lay there, the silence consuming us both. So, I rolled over, facing away from him.
I felt him shifting his weight on the bed âGoodnight, Freja, I had fun earlier.â I could practically hear the smirk on his face.
I rolled my eyes. âGoodnight, Cain.â I simply said.
As the night continued, Cain had fallen asleep relatively quickly and was snoring loud enough to wake the damn dead. But, on the other hand, I couldnât sleep if my life depended on it; there was too much going through my mind between the nightmares and Cain.
Earlier, the way he made me feel, the way I felt for him. I didnât know what to think about any of it. I didnât know how to deal with this, as Iâd never felt this way about someone before. I felt safe with him, comfortable, wanted, no, needed and cherished. Is it possible that he is my mate? That I am destined to be with him?
Trying to clear my mind, I got out of bed to go to the bathroom. I peeked out of the balcony curtains and noticed that the sun was coming up. Great!
I went into the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. I stared in the mirror at myself, unsure who I was anymore or what my future held. I always believed that I was fated to be with Erik, to one day have a family with him and help in protecting our pack. However, that future was no more. So, what is my destiny?
What about the dreams? What did they mean? Why did they feel so real? Am I going to die? Then, I remembered Calyx talking about Cainâs enemies. So, many more thoughts were consuming my mind now. I splashed more water on my face and decided to sneak around, more like snoop.
I walked back into the bedroom, and Cain was still fast asleep. I opened the bedroom door and walked out into the hall, leaving the door open just a bit. As I walked along the empty corridor, I started to take notice of all the paintings; could they be past Alphas and Lunas?
I stopped at one painting, particularly the one that Calyx had focused on the other day. It was of an older man; he had short gray hair, brown eyes, a sharp jawline and high cheekbones. The man seemed to resemble the boys slightly, but not by much. I wondered who he was and why Calyx stared at it with so much venom.
I also noticed a door on the other end of the hallway, a large wooden door with beautiful flower carvings on it, and I decided that was my destination tonight. I reached the door, and I was surprised that it was unlocked. I stepped inside just a bit, and a small amount of light protruded from the room, just enough for me to barely see around. Upon fully entering the room, I realized it was a library, an extensive beautiful library.
It was like a dream, such a wide variety of books, neatly placed on the wooden shelves. The entire room was wood, with an iron, spiral staircase in the far corner. A large fireplace, chairs and small sofas all around. There were also paintings throughout the room, two in particular that caught my eye. Two very large paintings hung above the fireplace, one of a man and the other of a woman. I stood there inspecting the paintings; the man looked familiar, almost resembling Cain. But I didnât recognize the woman in the other painting. However, she was gorgeous and appeared so graceful and confident, something I envied. But, on the other hand, the man gave off an intense, powerful and intimidating vibe. How can you get that from a painting?
I continued to stare when I heard the door creak open. I whipped around to find Calyx standing there.
âWhat are you doing in here?â He questioned in a sharp tone.
I shrugged. âI couldnât sleep. So, I was snooping around and found this beautiful place.â I said, gesturing around the room.
His expression turned neutral. âYou shouldnât be snooping around, especially by yourself.â He attempted to assert himself.
I waved him off. âYea, yea. Who are these people?â I pointed towards the portraits above the fireplace.
Calyx sighed. âThose are mine and Cainâs parents. My mother Kasdeya, and my father, Langston. They died a few years ago during a battle with another pack.â He stood there for a moment, staring longingly at the painting of his mother; a look of sorrow featured his expression.
I glanced between him and the paintings. âOh, Iâm sorry to hear that. What were they like? If you donât mind me asking.â
He gave me a half-smile âMy mother; was amazing, radiant, classy, strong, beautiful and everything in between. But, my father was the complete opposite; he was powerful, strong and an all-around asshole.â Calyx stared at the painting of his father, and his lip began to twitch into a snarl.
I could see the pain on his face and the hurt in his eyes. âI see. Do you miss them?â
Calyx looked at me for a second before looking back at the paintings. âMy mother, yes. My father, not so much.â
âI couldnât imagine losing any of my family members; they mean everything to me,â I said truthfully; just thinking of them made me miss them even more and had me wishing that I could see them again.
He turned to me, âIâm sorry you were taken from them, Freja.â
I sighed. âYea, what are you doing up, by the way?â
âMy room is next door; I heard noises, so I got up to see what it was. Plus, I couldnât sleep either.â He shrugged.
âAhh, makes sense.â I nodded, knowing someone probably would have heard me.
He glanced around the room and smiled. âThis was my motherâs favourite room in the house; she could sit in here all day reading by the fire. She would get lost and entranced by whatever she was reading.
After she died, this room became a painful reminder.â
Calyxâs face dropped, and he was overcome with despair; I placed my hand on his shoulder to comfort him and gave him a warm smile.
A deep, angry voice came from behind us as I was about to say something. âWhat the hell is going on here?â
Cain! Oh, great, and he appears cranky; what else is new.
I rolled my eyes. âI couldnât sleep and was snooping around. Calyx heard me and came in to see what it was. Then I asked him about the portraits; he was just kindly telling me about your parents.â I told him the truth, knowing we had nothing to hide.
Cain stood there quietly, looking back and forth between Calyx and me.
After a moment of awkward silence, Calyx cleared his throat. âWell, Iâm going back to my room.â
Calyx then quickly left the room, and I wanted more than anything to be hot on his heels, but judging by the look on Cainâs face, he wasnât going to let me away so easily.
I pursed my lips. âHow come you are awake?â I asked.
He rubbed the nape of his neck. âI rolled over and realized you werenât there, so I came looking for you.â Although the expression on his face told me he was a bit embarrassed to admit that to me, I smiled inwardly at that.
âOh, I see. This is a beautiful room.â I looked around the room again, marvelling at its beauty.
Cain took careful steps towards me. âYou shouldnât be running around here at night by yourself, and yes, it was.â His expression turned neutral with his last words.
I shrugged. âYea, yea, I already know, and I donât really care. So what do you mean, was?â
He looked away from me and glanced around the room. âI hate this room and would love nothing more than to burn it to the ground; it holds nothing but painful memories.â Cain looked at the painting of his mother. âIt was her room, she cherished it and everything in here, now itâs justâ¦â¦empty.â Cainâs words held so much pain as he talked about his mother and the room that was now a painful reminder of her memory.
I walked over to him, and I donât know why, but I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him, squeezing with all my might. I felt him freeze, his arms stretched out at his side, not knowing what to do or what the hell was going on.
âIâm sorry for your loss Cain. I would have loved to have had the pleasure of meeting your parents, especially your mother.â I told him honestly.
He relaxed a little and placed an arm around my back while the other stroked my hair. âMy mother would have just absolutely adored you. To be honest, you remind me of her in some ways, strong, confident, beautiful and doesnât take shit from anyone. Unfortunately, my father was the opposite; I donât think he even loved my mom; their marriage was arranged, they werenât mates, and because of that, they despised each other.â His tone was now filled with hate and venom as he spoke of his parents.
I didnât know what to say as I stood there reeling in his words. I thought about how I knew, how Cainâs mother felt, in some ways. I began to wonder if Cain and I would be like that, stuck together, hating each other, would we turn out like his parents?
âOh, I see. Thatâs awful.â I released him and turned around to stare into the painted eyes of his mother as numerous thoughts circled in my head.
I could feel his eyes on me, watching me carefully. âYea, anyways, letâs go back to our room. We both need to freshen up, get dressed, and then we will head downstairs for breakfast.â
I looked away from the painting and turned to face Cain with a half-smile âMmm, breakfast. That sounds great.â
Cain chuckled at my words, and then we started to leave the room side by side; Cain closed the door and locked it behind us.
We walked together through the empty halls, no words between us. I could feel Cain glancing at me every few steps, with a questioning look on his face. We finally reached the room, and Cain gestured for me to enter first.
I went into the closet and grabbed some clean clothes. âIâm going to jump in and have a quick shower.â
Cain snorted. âQuick, my ass. No woman that Iâve ever known has had a quick shower.â
I scowled at him. âJust for that remark, now Iâm going to have a nice, long bubble bath.â That bastard could suffer and wait longer now.
Cain grunted. âFine, Iâm going back to bed. Wake me in 3 hours when you're finally out,â He said with a cheeky smirk.
I grabbed the closet thing, a book, threw it at him, then quickly went into the bathroom, chuckling like a child.
I could hear him laughing. âYou missed, sweetheart.â He shouted at me through his laughter. That man is a jerk!
After some time had passed, I was finally finished in the bathroom, and I made sure to take my sweet time in there. As I entered the bedroom, Cain was lying face down on the bed, with nothing on but his boxers, very thin boxers! My breath hitched as I took in the sight of him.
I had to admit it to myself; he was a gorgeous man. His back was beautifully toned, his skin had a hint of tan to it, the tribal wolf tattoo on his left shoulder blade and his dark hair all tussled gave him that extra bit of ruggedness.
âSee something you like, my love?â He said before slightly opening his eyes and looking at me.
âNope, I just see a lazy man lying on the bed instead of getting into the shower,â I said, hoping to hide my arousal.
Both of his brows shot up. âOh, are you finally finished in there?â He looked at his watch. âYou were only an hour and a half in the shower.â He smirked.
I rolled my eyes. âI was not! Now, come on. Hurry up cause Iâm starving, and I will leave without you.
So, move your ass.â I was starving, but I also needed this man away from me right now.
Cain got up from the bed and sauntered towards me. âYour wish is my command.â He said in that sultry tone. He then slowly walked past me, rubbing his body against mine. What a fucking tease!