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Chapter 10

Cedric tightened his grip around the shivering pup. "Hush now, you're safe here, I will never leave you." He was suddenly attacked by a flurry of licks as Aden assaulted him, unable to speak as he showed his gratitude in the only way his subconscious knew. Cedric tried to pull away, but this only caused Aden to whine and redouble his efforts. Cedric sighed and contented himself with stroking the top of Aden's head reassuringly and waited for the wolf to settle down. Eventually the licking slowed, then halted as Aden contented himself with nuzzling the underside of Cedric's muzzle.

Sighing, the smaller wolf rested his head against Cedric's neck. It made him feel powerful, and a little nervous, to have the wolf depending on him like this. There were so many ways he could fail the pup, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Alpha, what were you talking about?"

Cedric's ears laid back, not that Aden could see them from his position. His mind was racing as he tried to decide what he should say, his cousin's words echoing through his head as if they had just been spoken.

You looked like you were about to breed him there, Cedric. Is that why you haven't taken a mate yet, despite what your mother wants?

What in the world was he going to say? He couldn't possibly tell the truth, from the little he had found out about the wolf's past, it was clear that he hadn't had the best experiences with sex, and. He couldn't just brush it off, or Aden might feel that his suspicions were confirmed. Biting his lip, he decided to go with the most relevant topic, their recent sparring session.

"He was just commenting on how good you looked there in the ring, pup. He said that it looked like you almost beat me there."

Aden's muzzle rubbed his chestfur. "Oh, no, I don't think I was very close at all. I don't think I could do that well again even if I tried."

Cedric cursed mentally. Now that Aylmer had told him that it looked like he was attracted to the little wolf, everything he did seemed to make his sheath thicken. Like right now, the small muzzle running through his chestfur felt so good. He had always thought that he had just been waiting for the perfect mate to come around, but was it possible that he had been looking in the wrong place? That...that would be...

Pushing it out of his mind, he stood up, cradling Aden in his arms. It wasn't something that he needed to worry about now, it would only make Aden tense. "Why don't we go take that bath now, Pup? There's a warm pool that will help you relax."

The wolf curled into a tighter ball. "Thank you, Alpha."

Cedric nuzzled the top of Aden's head, before glancing over at Aylmer, warming him with his eyes to stay silent on what he had said before. The last thing Aden needed now was the stress of having his protector after his tail. He bit his tongue as he suppressed a growl, he was already taking the suggestion seriously! Of course he wasn't after the wolf's tail, even if he was that yaw. Glancing down, he had to admit that it was a rather nice tail. Slamming his eyes shut, the tried to clear that image from his mind.

It was only a short walk to the bathhouse, but Cedric felt it stretching longer and longer the more he tried to keep that image out of his head. In desperation he turned to Aylmer. "So how are things back in the capital?

The other wolf shrugged. "Same as usual, father is his usual secretive self, keeping everything to himself and then springing it on me at the last moment. I didn't even know I was engaged until two days ago, and I still haven't seen the contract."

Cedric chuckled, "That sounds like his highness alright. So, have you met her? Is that why you came to Port Ceodre?"

Aylmer needed, "Yeah, I met her. There's no way I'm mating her."

Cedric chuckled, "Is she that ugly?"

Aylmer cursed under his breath, his voice rising as he answered. "You don't understand, it's not that she's ugly, blazing hellfires, she's a cat! Do you know the ridicule I'm going to get when I come home with a cat as my mate? People are thinking that I'll have some beautiful wolfess, or at least a candid of some kind, but no, my father wants to hook me up with a cat." He placed a paw over his eyes. "I might still be tempted to, just for the money, and lock her up someplace once a couple of months had passed, but then I met..." Aylmer paused, hindpaws grinding to a halt as he blushed.

Cedric glanced over his shoulder, ears cocked. "Well, who did you meet that would entice you to give up a princess's dowry?"

Aylmer blushed and looked down at the grass that poked between the pads of his hindpaws. "Ayala." He whispered, speaking the word as if the very mention of it evoked the mysterious female's presence.

"Well, what is she like?" Cedric pressed, noting his uneasiness with interest. "Is she a peasant or low-born, that your father would throw a fit if you mated her?"

Aylmer scratched at the back of his head. "Well, I don't know, she seems refined enough, it's just..." He sighed, "She's...er..." He growled, shaking his head. "She's human, alright?"

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "And here you were horrified that your father wants you to mate a cat? Aylmer, mating a human is seen just as bad in most places."

"I know!" Aylmer shouted, waving his paws. "But this is different! I wouldn't mind what people saw behind my back if it was her."

A soft snore made Cedric look down, smiling softly as he noticed Aden sleeping in his arms. The wolf's lips were parted just enough to form a small 'O', and each breath whistled slightly.

"I think you know what I mean, Cedric."

The soft tone of Aylmer's voice made him look up quickly. "Huh?"

Aylmer gestured to Aden. "If people started saying that you were in love with the pup, would you give him up? Even if they told you that it was wrong for you to have him as your mate, that he's too young?"

Cedric's hackles raised slightly, "First, I never said that he was my mate, you were the one who suggested it. And second, he's been abused too much to be comfortable with the duties being my mate wold entail."

Aylmer smirked, "You can't tell me you're not attracted to him. You're mind went straight to 'bedroom duties', didn't it?"

Cedric blushed, they had, but he refused to acknowledge it. "You're reading into it too much."

By now they had arrived at the bathhouse. Cedric opened the door and stepped in, around for any potential threats. "By the way, where are your guards? Shouldn't they be with you?"

Aylmer shrugged, "Your trusted more than you give yourself credit for among them, Cedric. They're staying up by the gate, keeping a lookout for anyone coming along the road. They trust you to keep me safe." He pulled his pants off, rubbing the newly exposed fur, relieving it from it's compressed state. Cedric crouched down and leaned Aden up against the corner, ignoring the pup's whimpers as he pulled his own pants off. He blushed as he noticed his tip poking from within his thickened sheath, betraying all he had attempted to deny throughout the day. Aden whines began to grow louder, and he began to shift about grasping with his paws. Cedric looked at him, unsure of what to do in his current state.

He heard a sigh behind him. "Hold him, he's obviously more comfortable in your arms than out of them, and it should be the same even in your current state."

Cedric blushed again as he picked Aden up, the pup's whimpers subsiding as his alpha's arms enveloped him. Cedric licked between his ears as he walked over and slipped into the warm water of the pool. While he would've rather had a quick plunge into the cold pool first, that would be a rather rude awakening for Aden.

Settling down, he looked over at Aylmer. "So, what do you plan to do about Ayala?"

Aylmer looked over at him, smirking as he slipped into the water himself. Aden could only imagine what it looked like, him sitting on a raised ledge of the pool, high enough the the top of his chest was out of the water, enough that Aden could still use him as a pillow. "I'm not sure. I want to take her as my mate, but that depends on whether she'll have me. I'll need to delay sighing the contract for a couple days at least. Enough that I can get in touch with her again."

Cedric coked his head, shifting so that his tail could swish through the water to wrap around Aden's legs. "Don't you know where she is?"

He grimaced. "The last place I saw her was at Matron's. We had just eaten lunch when work came that my 'fiance' was docking. I..." He looked down, embarrassed. "I panicked. I rushed out of there so fast, I'm not sure I even said goodbye. I'm not even sure I paid!"

His works were greeted with a shrug. "I have a tab to pay as well, we can go there a little later today. I can pay my tab, and you can check to see where she's gone." feeling a lick across the bottom of his muzzle, he looked down, receiving the next one across his nose. Jerking back, he found his eyes caught in Aden's own. Thy gazed up at him, full of a trust an innocence that showed nothing of the abuse they had seen and endured. Those memories seemed far away.

"Alpha?" Aden asked softly, still staring into his eyes, "Where am I?"

"Home." was the only thing he could think to say.

Aden's eyes misted over. Burying his face in Cedric's chest, he took a deep, shuddering breath, coughing as he inhaled some water. Cedric rubbed his back soothingly. "Hey now, pup, settle down. We came here to relax, don't tense up." Aden nodded, and Cedric could feel the wolf forcing himself to relax, muscle by muscle.

"Th-Thank you." He whispered, breathing deeply.

Cedric felt the water swirling around him. Curious, he dropped a paw down, only to have it batted by Aden's tail. Chuckling, he pulled his paw back up, happy that he had given the pup some happiness so soon.

Aylmer shifted, sliding off the bench of the pool and lying back to float on the water. "Hey Aden, do you know how to swim?"

Aden glanced at him, before looking back into Cedric's curious eyes. He was wondering also if the pup knew how to swim. He didn't want to accidentally let go of him and give him a scare. The water was deep in the middle of the pool, well over his head. Aden's ears flattened and he looked away, blushing.

"No..." He curled up on himself, his nosetip touching the water as he stared at it.

Cedric growled softly, licking his pup's head. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, pup. We can teach you."

Aden glanced over, as if sizing up the pool. "I don't know..."

Cedric pulled back, realizing how much he was nuzzling the smaller wolf. He was almost pushing his nose into the water. "We won't let you go under."

Aden stretched after his muzzle, whining softly. "All right..."

Gently taking hold of Aden's hindpaws, he guided them to the ledge. Once they were firmly settled, he pushed off, ducking under the surface to get his head wet before turning around. "OK, here's what you do..."

Aden grinned as he pushed away from the side, kicking through the water towards Cedric, who was halfway across the pool now. Over the few hours they had been in the water, he had been stretching the distance between them bit by bit. Aylmer had replaced him for awhile, but it wasn't the same as when his destination was his Alpha. His stokes began to grow sloppy as he tired, they really had been in the water a long time. Gasping, he gulped down water. All thoughts on technique left him as he clawed at the water. It had changed, no longer was it something he had to cross to get to his Alpha. It was something that was trying to keep him from reaching him...permanently.

Just as his head was about to slip under, he felt warm paws grim him. Seizing them in turn, he scrambled up them, trying to get away from the water. In his blind panic, he didn't recognize who was holding on to him. All he knew was that this creature's scent was not his Alpha's. Catching a whiff of his Alpha, he plunged off in that direction, towards his only safe place. There was shouting, and then he was enveloped in his alpha's arms. Shivering, he closed his eyes as the fog of panic lifted from his mind. Opening them, he looked up into his Alpha's concerned gaze. A wet tongue brushed across his forehead.

"You alright pup? I think we should rest now, you're too tired to continue." Aden nodded, he wanted to get away from the water. "We'll stay in the water though, just for a little bit longer."

Aden whined. He began to speak, but his Alpha pressed their nosetips together, and he stopped.

"No, if we get out now you'll be afraid to get back in the water later. You don't need to be afraid of the water, you just need to know your own abilities. If you are sure of them, than you can swim safely."

Aden whined again. He tried to look away, but Cedric's yellow eyes locked on his own. Unconsciously, his tongue flicked out and lapped across Cedric's nosetip. They both froze in surprise at the contact. Aden's chest tightened. He began cursing himself mentally. Why in the world was he making advances on this big, hulking male? He couldn't possibly want him to be his mate! He didn't want to be a bottom, it...it hurt...

Cedric coughed. "I think it's time to get out of the water. We can get dressed, and find you some dry clothes Aden, and then we can go into town. You were sleeping when we discussed this, but Cedric has someone he needs to look for in town, and I have a debt that needs to be paid."

Aden nodded, pushing away from him and grabbing the side, the insides of his ears a bright red while his body quaked with fear. Pulling himself out of the water, he looked down at his pants. He wondered if Cedric had any that would fit him. These were the ones he had worn when he ran away. They were tattered and torn, just like his old life. Maybe he could get some new ones. It would feel nice to be rid of them. He didn't blame his Alpha for not noticing the stains, there were so many that it just looked like the fabric came like that.

The was a splash of water, and he turned around. He blushed and looked away at the sight of Cedric. "Alpha...you're not...you don't...." As he spoke, his ears became redder and redder.

Cedric seemed not to understand. "What's the matter, Aden?" Aden could imagine him cocking his head, looking quizzical as he stood there in all his glory. And what glory it was. Despite himself, Aden felt a strong urge to glance over. He tried to convince himself that he was just making sure that the wolf kept his distance, but in his heart he knew it was a lie. He'd be nervous if Cedric walked over, but he wouldn't run. He wasn't sure he could run. The wolf had him trapped better than he had ever been. He wasn't chained, wasn't threatened with beatings if he ran away, but the wolf had become the only place he felt safe. He couldn't imagine running anywhere else, in his Alpha's arms was the only safe place.

Giving in to temptation, he glanced over, his blood bounding in his ears. He was sure that it was visible even through his black fur now, and he could see the smirk on his Alpha's muzzle that told him the wolf knew exactly how he was feeling. Glancing down, Aden gulped at the swollen and sack that rested between the wolf's legs. He glanced away again when he noticed an inch of blood-red shaft poking out of the brown-furred sheath. A very thick red inch. Laying his ears back, his tail tucked between his legs and he grabbed the tip with both paws. "You're showing, Alpha."

He heard Cedric growl behind him, and he jumped, facing him and shrinking back. It wasn't an anger-growl, but something else. It held a tinge of the lust-growl that his last master had used just before taking him, but it wasn't the same. Maybe it was just because it was from his protector, Aden didn't know, but he felt that it was a much more caring growl. He still wasn't ready for that though, and not with someone so big.

Cedric's eyes followed him, filled with lust and desire. Aden bumped into the wall and glanced back, his eyes catching a towel hanging nearby. Grabbing it, he wrapped it around his body, hiding it from that gaze. He tried not to glance over at Cedric, but he couldn't help it. He needed to know if the wolf was coming for him. He knew his fear was showing in his eyes, and that always just made them more riled up, more likely to take him without any regard to his comfort, as if the pain was supposed to make him feel safe. It always hurt more when he was scared, but he couldn't help but look anyway.

When their eyes met, the lust faded from his Alpha's replaced with shame and something else...pain? His paws dropped to his groin, hiding the now three inches of wolfmeat that had slipped out of his sheath, and he turned away, ears pinned to his head.

"I'm sorry Aden...I..." He paused whining softly. "I was supposed to make you feel safe, and now look what I've done!" Sitting down heavily on the side of the pool, he put his head in his paws as his tail curled around him tightly. Aylmer stood off to the side, looking unsure of what to do.

Aden watched the wolf, confused. He wasn't coming for him? When he was fully displayed in his weakness, the wolf hadn't taken him? This was something new that he had never experienced before. Never had a person larger than him left him alone when he had cringed away. He had tried to break his habit of hiding so that it wouldn't happen that way, but they still took him anyway, or beat him for not 'showing them proper respect'.

Uncurling, he stood up, still holding onto his tail. He could see the brown wolf's shoulders shaking slightly, but he still wasn't sure. Was he supposed to apologize for being scared of his Alpha, or was he supposed to comfort the wolf? Choosing the safe option, he padded over softly and knelt, clasping his paws in front of him and bowing his head. He was a mere foot away from the wolf's back, close enough that he wouldn't be able to get away if he tried something, but that was part of the apology, to accept any punishment deemed necessary.

Gulping, he began. "A-Alpha? S-Slave is sorry for being afraid of Alpha. It was w-wrong of slave, and he knows it. S-Slave w-will gladly accept any p-punishment or beating that can redeem his-"

Strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him close to the wolf, and a muzzle was pressed against his ears, wet with tears. "No, Aden there will be no punishment. I will never punish you by hitting you. I-I'm the one who needs to apologize. I don't know what you've gone through entirely, but the last thing you need is me bedding you. I...I hope that you'll be able to forgive me, but I understand if you want to spend the rest of the day with cook or somewhere else away from me." Fresh tears began to fall on Aden's head, who sat frozen in shock. Cedric seemed to feel his tense muscles. Loosening his arms, he began to move Aden off of him. "Here, Aylmer will take you to cook, I'll...be around in the grounds somewhere."

Aden dug his paws into his Alpha's fur when he tried to move him off his lap. This was they way he had dreamed to be treated, but he never thought that it would come true. He wasn't going to let one scare deprive him of the comfort his had experienced over the last day. Burying his muzzle in Cedric's chestfur, he remembered the promise the wolf had made after they had finished sparring. "You said you wouldn't leave me, Alpha!"

Cedric paused, then pulled Aden back against himself. "If you don't want me to leave, I'll be glade to have you by my side." Aden only gripped him tighter.

Aylmer pushed away form the wall, walking over to them. He was fully dressed, and had Cedric's clothes thrown over his shoulder. Reaching down, he helped Cedric to his hindpaws, Aden rising as well, clinging tightly to the wolf's sides. "It seems that the best thing for you both is some bedrest. Let's get you to your room, and you both can have a nice, long nap."