Chapter 5 This Is Your New Home - I

• The strong scent of the woods hit the advancing pack of wolves as they sank their paws into the soft, damp forest floor, making way for their alpha. In the middle of the chaos, Alaric was moving forward in human form with long, determined strides. The muscles of his naked body were rigid and tense from the effort of keeping the girl who was struggling on his shoulder like an angry doll under control.
• “Let me go! I said, let go, you animal!” Eulalia shouted, slamming her fists against his naked back. “Just because I said I'd come doesn't mean you have to carry me like that!”
• A few minutes ago, as soon as Eulalia said she was going with the wolves, the alpha pounced. Well, of course, her confirmation was just a formality. He was definitely going to take her, no matter what. Alaric just grabbed her and started walking, not even saying goodbye to his people. To him, that wasn't important.
• Now he was wondering if he should have let her say goodbye. Maybe if he had, she would have shouted less.
• Alaric let out a low growl but didn't say anything. He kept his eyes on the path ahead, dodging low branches and roots that stuck out from the ground. The howls of the wolves ahead of him showed that the winds were finally blowing in their favor. The pack followed, ecstatic, celebrating like it was fate itself that had smiled on them. The alpha wolf, the most powerful in Valtheria, finally found his mate a year before his curse was eternal.
• There was a chance after all!
• Eulalia, on the other hand, was less excited. Her hands were now on Alaric's shoulders, trying to make the weird position he was in feel more stable. His skin felt hot under her fingers, and she could feel every muscle move under her touch with animalistic precision.
• She had never seen a man naked; she had never even touched a man like that, and it was so embarrassing! It irritated her even more.
• “You're naked! That's indecent! You can't just walk around naked like it's normal!” she shouted again, blushing heavily as she realized the inappropriate proximity between her face and… the alpha's firm ass.
• “By the gods, that's absurd!” she continued, shuddering. “My face is literally in your… in your… ass! This is absurd! Put me down! Put me down now!”
• Alaric huffed without slowing down.
• “You talk too much,” he replied, his voice as deep as muffled thunder.
• “And you're a brute with no manners!” she retorted, pushing him hard. “Put me down! Now!”
• “If I put you down, you'll run away like a child throwing a tantrum.” Alaric's tone was angry, almost furious, and he seemed to be saying the obvious to the still struggling girl. “And frankly, I have no patience for your bouts of human hysteria.”
• “Crises? You forced me to come with you; you threatened my village! This isn't a walk in the woods, you… you lunatic! You're sick!”
• The wolves that accompanied them laughed, in short howls, as if they understood every word of the clash between the two. The sound of the pack running, the branches breaking under their paws, and the wild smell of the forest formed a scene that seemed more like something out of a nightmare for Eulalia. But for the alpha who carried her, it was like the beginning of a dream, a dream that would free him from his curse and perhaps return his heart to his chest.
• After long minutes of running, the landscape began to change. The forest became less dense, giving way to a wide clearing where the pack's buildings stood. They were stone houses with dark roofs, scattered around an immense central building: the alpha's castle, a fortress carved out of the rock, adorned with black banners bearing ancient symbols of Alaric's lineage.
• This was the home of legends, the place that humans believed didn't exist, looming over Eulalia like a haunting.
• The wolves slowed as they approached the entrance to the village, a respectful silence overtaking the group as they passed through the high gates. Eulalia raised her face, her eyes wide at the grandeur of the fortress; she had never seen anything like it. Even though she was panting and sweating, she couldn't help but shiver in admiration, although it was a shiver bathed in fear.
• “By the gods… where am I?” she muttered, not expecting an answer.
• Alaric carried her to the center of the polished stone square that gave access to the castle. Some members of the pack came out of their houses, stopping their activities when they saw the alpha arrive with a human woman slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour. Curious, surprised, even scandalized eyes turned to her.
• “Please… put me down. Everyone's looking!” whispered Eulalia, distressed, trying to hide her face with her hands.
• “Let them look,” replied Alaric, impassive. “They need to understand who you are.”
• “I'm nothing of yours!” the girl retorted, raising her face with her eyes blazing with indignation. “I'm a free woman! Not a hunting prize!”
• Alaric stopped in front of the castle staircase, finally setting her down, but as gently as one drops a sack of grain. Eulalia overbalanced, stumbled backwards, and fell on her butt, sitting in front of the alpha, her eyes furious and her face on fire. Nevertheless, with all her remaining courage, she raised her head and faced him.
• Alaric, naked, haughty, his skin covered in small scars and, on his chest, the largest of them, which reminded him every day of who he was and what he was looking for. Eulalia could see right in the middle of his chest a circular scar with slightly protruding parts of black veined skin that spread slightly across his chest, blending into the slightly tanned skin until they disappeared.
• Around them, a group of people gathered—wolves from Alaric's pack. There were young women looking at Eulalia with curiosity, men celebrating the alpha's victory and the fact that he had finally found his mate; it was a day of celebration for everyone there, or almost everyone.
• “You are my mate, and this is your new home. Accepting it or trying to fight it won't change the facts, girl,” said the alpha, his firm voice echoing throughout the room.
• Eulalia grated her teeth.
• “I'll never accept you, you monster!”
• Monster… She wouldn't be the first person to call him a monster, and she certainly wouldn't be the last.
• The alpha arched an eyebrow, as if he were more intrigued than annoyed. Then, without another word, he turned and started up the castle stairs.
• “Come on,” he said, without looking back. “You can go up by yourself, or I can carry you again.”