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Chapter 13

"I was scared last night."

Aylmer started, glancing at Becan, who was looking up at him with big, round eyes. "Why were you scared?" He felt the beginnings of a growl rise in the throat. "Did they try to hurt you again?"

Becan blinked, his ears flipping back. "No...you didn't come back. I was gonna cry, but then Dylan played hide-an'-seek with me, an' said you'd come back tomorrow." The puppy stopped and furrowed his brows. "But you're here today. Why did he say you'd be here tomorrow if you're here today?"

Aylmer chuckled. "Tomorrow is what you call the day that comes after you go to bed. When it's here, then you call it today."

Becan wrinkled his muzzle. "That's weird."

Aylmer could see Rorc and Dylan straining to hold in their laughter. Giving a huff, he glanced at the stairs. Seeing no one, he turned back to Becan, leaning down. "So, what else did you do yesterday?"

The wolf pup thought a moment, than bounced up. Aylmer jerked his head back as the pup nearly collided with his nose. "Ooh! Rorc let me help him polish his dagger! He showed me how when he polished his sword, and then he let me try on his dagger! Then he practiced, and I watched him!" The pup was dashing around the table now, nearly running into other tables and chairs, and nearly tripping anyone that walked past him. "He was like, whoosh! And then he jumped and went clang, bang, smash! Then he rolled and threw his dagger, the one that I polished, and it went bang! and stuck in the wooden man's head!"

Dylan caught the pup's arm as he dashed past and guided him to his seat. "Woah, Becan! Slow down, you're gonna knock someone over!"

Becan said something in reply, but the words washed over Aylmer's ears without registering. His mind was currently captivated by something else entirely. Walking, no, gliding down the stairs, was Ayala. She was wearing a different dress than the one he had first seen her in, a less fine one, but it's simplicity merely added a mysterious quality to her beauty. Pushing out his chair, Aylmer stood, gesturing to the seat next to him, the one Becan had recently vacated.

Ayala smiled shyly as she made her way around the table, not turning away, yet never fully meeting his gaze. Pulling out the chair, he guided it in as she sat down. Reclaiming his own seat, Aylmer turned to her.

"Sorry for walking out on you like that. The entire day had put me on edge, and the ambassador's early arrival distressed me. However, that is no excuse for poor manners to a lady."

She laughed, a beautiful sound. "Prince Aylmer, why do you call me a lady? I was most certainly not playing the part, what with the state of my dress when we met."

Aylmer felt his eyes narrow slightly, ears perking as a smirk danced across his lips. "Ah, but you are a lady to me, Lady Ayala." He could feel his possessive instincts rising within him. It was getting increasingly harder not to ask her right then to be his mate. Gods, he would have, had it not been for the logical voice inside him screaming at him that if he did he would cause a war.

Despite the voice, he did open his mouth to ask her if she was spoken for, but before he could utter a sound, Matron appeared again and began asking everyone what they wanted. When all had spoken, the doe pranced back to the kitchen, and the urge to ask that question was gone. However, he was still curious about her past. Tired of the noise, he stood motioning her to do the same. Taking her hand, he turned to his guards.

"I am going to take Lady Ayala outside in the square. I wish to ask her some things, and it will be easier to talk out there. Rorc, Thrunor, Thurgis, please come with me."

The trio nodded and stood. Bowing to Ayala, he gestured to the door. "Come M'lady, we have much to discuss, and our food will take a bit."

Ayala nodded and allowed him to lead her out of the tavern. Crossing the courtyard, they took a seat on the edge of the fountain. The three guards spread out, giving the couple enough space to talk without being overheard, but stayed close enough to respond quickly in something happened.

Aylmer sighed. "As you know, my father signed me off already. The dowry is large, so I expect the kingdom involved desires my union to their princess greatly. I don't want to be traded like merchandise, but to back out now might start a war." Seeing Ayala's face fall, he hurried to reassure her. "I'm telling you this to let you know why I can't ask you to be my Mate yet. I haven't seen the contract yet, and I want to gauge how much collateral damage I can expect if I break off the engagement."

Ayala looked confused. "Oh...so that means?"

"That I'll need to see the contract before making a final decision. I'll also need to check the likelihood of the other party retaliating." He cocked his head. "So, where are you from? I didn't get around to that question last time."

"Baveris. The human kingdom." She hesitated a second, then continued. "My family belongs to the higher ring of society, so I can understand your dilemma. I'm...I'm to be married off to someone as well, although my father hasn't told me who the man is, or where he's from yet."

Cedric raised a brow. "Is that normal there? Here, all my friends, or at least the ones that had mates chosen for them, knew who they were supposed to mate. My father didn't even tell me that I was engaged until he sent me here. I think the only reason he didn't explain it by messenger when I got here is because my mother thought that would be going too far."

She shrugged. "Most know whether or not they were spoken for, but it isn't uncommon for them not to know who it is. My cousin didn't know that she was being married to her best friend until she saw him at the wedding. It was quite a shock for her, and provided much laughter for her parents. She hadn't wanted to marry whoever it was, but she was fine with marrying Brian."

Aylmer chuckled. "Well, too bad it didn't turn out like that for me." He gazed into her eyes, reaching out a paw to caress the side of her face. "I wish it had."

He had to suppress a triumphant grin as she blushed and pulled back, stuttering as she looked down at her hands. Toying with a tassel on the belt of her dress, she stayed silent for a moment. When she glanced up again, she met his eyes for only a moment before she began to blush again. Looking down again, she took a deep breath before speaking.

"Promise me that if you sign the contract, you'll find someone to take me home. I probably should've done that with the money I got from my necklace, instead of trying to impress him..." The second part was softer, spoken to herself, but she was used to human hearing. Aylmer's ears picked it up perfectly, and his confidence soared. She was trying to impress him? He felt his tail give a few short wags, and he straightened up a little. He glanced around the square, trying to gather his thoughts. He was pretty sure that she had bought the dress, so he should compliment her on it. But...what if he was wrong, and it was something else? Would she think that her money had gone to waste? He didn't want that.

Squashing his nervousness, he turned back to her. Compliments were good, even if he missed what she had really spent the money on. "You look beautiful today." He cringed mentally, that could've come out better. "I mean, you looked great when I last saw you too, but that dress fits you well." He grinned, inspired. "It really allows you to shine."

Ayala blushed. "Thank you. I bought it with Matron down at the-"

"Hey, you!"

Thrunor's shout made them both look around. The wolf captain was striding towards the other side of the fountain, eyes narrowed. Reaching down, he pulled a grimy-looking weasel from behind the wall. The weasel's tattered clothes wrapped around him, obscuring most of his features. Thrunor shook him.

"What are you doing there?"

"Sleeping, what did it look like?" Hissed the weasel.

Thrunor shoved him away. "Well, go sleep someplace else. The Prince is having a private conversation!"

Aylmer stood up. "We just finished, Captain. I can see Becan waving at us from the tavern, our food must be ready."

The weasel scurried off as they walked over to the tavern. "Come on, the food here, and Dylan won't let me eat until you get here!" Becan whined as Aylmer approached. "I'm hungry!"

As the tavern door closed, the weasel ducked into a nearby alley, walking over to a black-furred fox. "They didn't have anything to say about our target, but I did learn that the Prince is inclined to take the human girl as his mate instead of the princess."

Lokisson blinked. "Really? Now that does complicate things. Tylan, what do you think? Should this change our target?"

A large form stirred against the wall, and the wolf leaned forwards. "You know the Night's priorities. Having the Prince mate the cat is essential to weakening the royal line. However..." He furrowed his brows. "Who is the human?"

Lokisson shrugged. "Zypher? Did they say anything?"

The weasel shook his head. "Not much. She's someone important in Baveris though. We shouldn't risk it. She could have influence with the king there, and that would cause trouble."

Tylan grunted as he stood, pushing himself away from the wall. "It's too bad...I was looking forward to trying out that tail..."

Zypher toyed with a dagger, picking dirt from beneath his claws. "We can always take both of them if the opportunity arises."

"Come." The fox said, pulling his hood up. "We have preparations to make. If we do capture her, we'll need to take her to the Master himself."

The other two nodded, wrapping their cloaks around them as they sank back deeper into the darkness of the alley.

Aylmer rubbed his paws together, looking over the food with delight. Running his tongue over his fangs, he picked up his bread. Dipping it in the bowl in front of him, he waited a few seconds for it to become thoroughly saturated. Satisfied, he tore off the chunk with his fangs, rumbling softly in appreciation as he chewed. Glancing over, he noticed Ayala sitting ruler-backed in the chair beside him, daintily sipping the soup off her spoon.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Ayala set her spoon down. "Why is there another spot set? Are we expecting someone?" Cedric muttered something, blinking hard as he looked down at his soup. Looking concernedly across the table, Ayala asked softly, "Lord Cedric, is something the matter?"

Aylmer looked at the wolf just in time to see him flinch, setting down his spoon. His soup was untouched, aside from being thoroughly stirred. Cedric's paws clenched as he rested them on the table, his ears flattened. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with, Lady Ayala."

Pushing her bowl away, Ayala set her hands in her lap. "Something's bothering you, Lord Cedric. Is it something I said? If so, I sincerely-"

Cedric growled as he stood. "Aylmer can explain it to you, I'm going to get some fresh air."

Ayala watched as he walked away, blinking as if she suddenly realized that she had just chased him off. "Oh..." She turned to Aylmer. "I'm sorry, I didn't know!" She chewed softly on her bottom lip as she stared after the retreating wolf.

Laying a paw on her shoulder, Aylmer shook his head. "You had no way of knowing." He sighed. "Cedric's a little distressed right now. He met someone a few days ago and I believe he asked said person to be his mate this morning, but was refused. Aden, the one he asked...he has had a rough time, and I don't think he is comfortable with what being a mate inevitably entails." He blushed slightly at this. "Anyways, Cedric tried to settle for having Aden be his Beta instead, but I think Aden was feeling bad about refusing Cedric's advances before. Matron took him upstairs to lie down and think."

Ayala glanced at the stairs, "He must be hungry, missing lunch and all..."

Aylmer understood her thoughts immediately. "I don't think it could do any harm to try to talk to him. Maybe he needs a female's input, instead of a testosterone-charged male's. Why don't you take his meal up to him?"

She stood up, "I think I will." Walking around the table, she stopped for a moment to pick up the unclaimed bowl of soup. Glancing back at Aylmer, she made her way through the crowd to the stairs. Reaching the top, she looked down the hallway, only just realizing that she had no clue which room Aden was in. Luckily, she had only been standing there for a few seconds before Matron exited one of the rooms and came towards her.

The doe looked her over. "What, already tired of him?" She asked teasingly.

"Wha? No! Er..." Ayala blushed. At a loss, she held up the bowl.

Luckily, Matron knew what she was thinking. "He's in the room I just came out of, dear. Third one on the left. It has a nice balcony that I thought he'd like to sit on, although right now he seems to enjoy the bed more."

Ayala nodded her thanks and went to the door, still blushing from the encounter. Pausing, she took a couple deep breaths to collect herself. Satisfied that she could speak without stuttering now, she reached forward and tapped lightly on the door.

"What..."

Ayala felt her heart ache at the despondent tone. "Aden, I brought some food for you. Matron told me what room you were in."

"It's open..."

Ayala was surprised. Matron always locked the doors on her way out, especially when the room was occupied. Aden must've asked for it to be left open. Was he hoping that Cedric would come looking for him? She smiled at the thought.

Twisting the knob, she pushed the door open, closing it behind her as she stepped through. The black-furred wolf on the bed look at her, but continued to stare across the room and out the doors onto the balcony. "I brought you some soup."

A paw waved limply at a table set against the wall of the room. "I'll eat it later..."

Ayala walked over and set the bowl down. A sudden yelp from behind her made her jump and spin around. Aden was pressed back against the headboard of the bed now, staring at her with wide eyes. "W-What are you?" He said quietly.

Ayala was a little taken aback. "You mean you've never seen a human before? Don't you ever go anywhere?"

The wolf cringed. "A...Alpha...." The word seemed to make him drift off, pain and guilt drifting across his features before he continued. "He's allowed me to see more things than I ever had before. Whenever I went someplace with...Him...I never had time to look around. I was always doing...other things." He shook his head and seemed to consciously focus on her. "So you're a human? How do you stay warm when you have no fur?"

Ayala chuckled. "Before you ask too many questions, do you mind if I sit on the end of the bed?"

Aden sniffed the air. "Are you male?"

"Uh..." The question completely threw Ayala. "No, I'm a girl. I hope that isn't a problem..."

The wolf suddenly grinned. "Nope, you can sit wherever you want. I haven't talk to many females. They all ignore me, except for Alpha's..." He whimpered, then continued. "Alpha's cook, and Matron of course."

Ayala sat on the edge of the bed. "Really?"

Aden scooted forward. "Yeah. They didn't pay any attention to me, but I think that's because He told them not to."

"Who's 'He'?"

Aden's ears immediately flattened, cringing as he wrapped his arms around himself. "Not saying. The less people know, the better. I'll die before I go back there."

"Okay, I won't ask again." Ayala said.

The wolf relaxed, scooting forward again until he sat right next to her. Leaning forward, he sniffed her neck. "You smell funny."

"And you aren't being very nice."

"Sorry..." Aden whined. "I haven't smelled human before, you have a different scent then anyone else I've met...although..." He furrowed his brows. "There's something familiar..." He sniffed her again. "Oh, you smell like the Prince! That, and salt. Where did you get so much salt?"

Ayala chuckled. "You're pretty good with that nose of yours. I was sailing on the ocean when my ship was attacked and I escaped in a small boat. I don't know what happened to the crew, but I hope they're alright. Aylmer found me in the market later that day, shortly after I wandered into the port. He saved me from this dog that was trying to...er...you know."

Aden's eyes darkened. "Yeah, I know well enough."

"Anyway." Ayala changed the subject. "How did you meet Cedric?"

"Pretty much the same way you met the Prince." Aden said softly, looking down at the ground. The floodgates seemed to break, and his tale of the past few days came pouring out, the near-rape, the life-bond, the time they had spend together over the past few days, sleeping, training, bathing, and just walking around. He had wounded the wolf, but hadn't received any punishment for it. Finally, he came to the end of his tale.

"He...he asked me to be his mate this morning. I wanted to say yes, I really did! But..." He looked up, tears streaming down his muzzle. "They always hurt me...Every single one of them hurts me. I don't want to be anyone's mate. They always get all the pleasure, and it only leaves me sore and bleeding, with bruises all over..." He started crying in earnest now. "Alpha's been so kind, why would he want to hurt me like that? Why does he act so nice, when all he wants it to get pleasure from my pain?"

Ayala pulled him into a hug, resting his head against her breast. "Shh, you're safe here, no one is trying to hurt you." She continued to sit there, waiting for him to calm down. Eventually his sobbs shuddered to a stop, although his sniffling continued. Tears had soaked her bodice, but Ayala didn't care. Sitting him up, she rubbed his back.

"Are you calm enough to listen to what I have to say? Or do you need a little more time?"

Aden shook his head. "I can listen."

Ayala took his paw in her hands, and looked into his eyes. "You do know that he doesn't want to hurt you, right? He is distraught at the very idea of you being uncomfortable around him."

Aden whimpered. "Then why does he want to mate me?"

Ayala cocked her head, watching him in confusion for a moment. Then, suddenly, what he had been saying finally clicked. She felt her breath catch in her throat. "You mean...you've never gotten any pleasure from sex?" Aden shook his head. Stunned, Ayala looked at where her hand held his paw, trying to understand exactly what that meant. Back home, she had known a couple men who had male mates, and she tried to remember anything they had said about their bedroom activities. Thankfully, they had still had the minds of boys, and after finding that it grossed her out, they talked about it all the more. Wait, thankfully? Well, she supposed she should be thankful for it in this case. Shaking her head, she brought her eyes back up to Aden's. The wolf was looking away, ears flat against his head, tail curled around his side.

"Didn't they let you adjust when they took you? Let you stretch a bit first?"

"No." A single tear rolled down the wolf's muzzle. "They said that it felt better if they fucked me right away, and that what I felt was irrelevant. I'm supposed to provide pleasure for them, not the other way 'round. It's all I'm good for..." He began to curl up on himself.

"That's wrong."

Aden froze, looking over at her through tear-blurred eyes. "W-What?"

Ayala could feel her eyes blazing with the conviction she felt in her heart. "That's wrong. Sex should be pleasurable for both parties, not just one. If anything, the top has the responsibility of making sure his submissive is happy. I guarantee you, Cedric understands this. I doubt you could find a better mate than that wolf." She decided to go out on a limb. "Think of the way he holds you, the comfort and safety you feel there. It should feel like that, but even better, when you're mating."

Aden's eyes glazed over as he thought about it. "A-Are you sure? It's n-never been like that b-before..."

Grasping his paw in both her hands, Ayala hoped her voice fully conveyed the conviction she felt. "I'm positive. Cedric loves you, Aden. That's something that all the others lacked. To them, you were just something to get their rocks off in. To Cedric, it is so much more. It's a way to display the very height of his love for you."

"I...I'll go to him, then." Aden suddenly grasped her hand, hard. "Come check in on me in a few days? Promise me? If you're wrong..." He whimpered. "If you're wrong, I don't want to be stuck again." He clutched at her like he was drowning. "Promise!"

Ayala pulled him into a hug. "I promise. Two days, and then I'll get Aylmer to bring me over, and we'll find a quiet spot where we can talk in private about everything."

Bumping the bottom of her chin with his muzzle, Aden smiled shyly. "Thank you."

"Now isn't that cute, Pet."

Aden froze, his eyes still locked on Ayala's. She could see the fear darkening them, clouding their once-clear depths. Slowly, they both turned towards the balcony. A weasel and a fox stood just outside the door, leaning against the frame. Pushing off, they walked forward.

The fox was the first to speak. "Fortunately for you, pet, the girl is top priority now. We'll come back for you after we've finished with her."

Aden whimpered, backing away. Ayala glanced over at him, but quickly turned her attention back to the two intruders. "Why are you here? What do you want with Aden?"

The fox chuckled. "We want nothing with him now. His master has quite a reward out for him, but you are a greater threat. It is very much within our interests that the Prince mate with the cat. You keep trying to pull him away though. Not very nice of you. So, you need to be dealt with." He pulled out a sword. "Will you come quietly?"