The Alpha's Companion

Chapter 26 - Your Days In The Castle Are Numbered

Lacey had just gotten ready for bed and was about to settle in when she heard a knock on the door. When she opened it, Julien was standing there, looking sexy with his long, black hair falling over his shoulders, but with a sincere look colored his eyes. "May I come in?"

This was a far cry from when she first arrived. Then, he would have burst through the door, whether she was ready or not. Now, he was showing her respect.

Tonight, Julien stepped into the room and closed the door. Then he and looked into her eyes. "I want you to know that I spoke with Scarlett." He sighed. “Let's just say that she won't bother you anymore."

Lacey nodded. She wasn't going to ask him if he spoke to Scar or what happened, but Lacey was sure that as far as Scar was concerned, it was far from over. But she appreciated Julien’s gesture.

"Thank you.” She folded her arms across her chest, uneasy with a man in her room alone.

"If you don’t mind, I'd like to talk."

“It’s late—”

“This won’t take long.”

"Okay...." Lacey had no idea what he wanted to talk about. But then again, he might just have a lot on his mind.

"Sit... please." Julien held a chair for her at the table. Once she was seated, he took the other seat and then took her hands, holding them on the top of the table. "Lacey, will you agree to marry me now?"

She lifted an eyebrow. "Well, you haven't technically asked me yet." Lacey sighed. “After all, you bought me.”

Julien nodded. "Fair enough." He tilted his head sideways, looking into her eyes, melting her heart. "Now that I've had the talk with Scarlett, will you agree to start planning the wedding?"

Lacey nodded. "As long as I'm your one and only." She sighed and then bit her lower lip. "Oftentimes, shifters share. But not me. I don't share."

He leaned closer, his lips close to hers. "Neither do I," he whispered, rising to his feet. "We'll work everything out tomorrow. It's getting late. Get some sleep. We'll talk some more in the morning."

When he walked out, she closed and locked the door behind him and went to bed, glad that he had talked to Scar. It was a baby step, but a step in the right direction.

***

The next morning, Lacey showered and dressed in her practice clothes, preparing to work with the warriors. They were going to spend time in their wolf forms today, so she had dressed casual just in case she exploded into her wolf for one reason or another. Among other things, she knew that it wasn't over with Scar, and she wanted to be ready for anything.

When Lacey was ready, she headed out to the practice ring, and the warriors were already waiting for her. There were just as many men as women in the Pack Army, which Lacey was happy to see.

After practicing all day, the only one who would speak to her was Brock. But after the way he had treated her before, she kept her distance from him. He was lucky she hadn’t killed him, or seriously maimed him, at least.

"Okay! Good work today!" Lacey said at the end of the day. "We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow."

Lacey was the last to leave and Scar was waiting for her, as if appearing out of nowhere.

"Well, well, well...." Scar said, circling her, an animal stalking its prey. "What do we have here? Is it Princess Lacey Taregan? Alone? Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a shame."

"What do you want, Scar?" Lacey asked, not in the mood for her taunting.

Scar walked close to Lacey and lifted a strand of her hair as she walked around her, and then dropped it. "I just thought we'd have a little chat. You know..." Scar leaned close to her ear. "Girl to girl."

Lacey's eyes flared, not in the mood for her nonsense. "Scar, I'm Julien’s pledged Alpha Mate. If you don't like it, there's the door. Don't let it hit you on the way out."

An evil cackle erupted from Scar's chest. "You may be the 'future' Alpha Queen and the 'future' Alpha Mate, but you will never have Julien's heart." Scar stopped in front of her and looked into her eyes. "I am his one true love."

"I have just one word to say about that."

"What?"

"Shana."

Scar's eyes widened. "He told you?"

"Yes," Lacey replied, bracing herself. If Scar attacked, Lacey didn't want to be caught off guard. "Shana was his first love, and now I am his." She scoffed. "You helped him when Shana left, and for that I'm grateful. But you were never slated to become his mate. And the only reason that you became his Beta was because you were friends with him. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't still be here."

"I have skills!" Scar yelled. Obviously, Lacey had hit a nerve.

Lacey raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Then why don't you come to practice with the warriors some time and show me." Lacey shrugged, stepping up close to her. "We'll see how you stack up.”

Scar growled. "I don't need to prove myself to you!"

Lacey shrugged. "Maybe you don't. But one thing is certain. I’m up for the challenge any time." She scoffed, shaking her head. "But I will never play with Julien's heart just to be his mate and the Alpha Queen. He is my mate and you will leave him alone... if you know what's good for you. Mark my words, your days in the castle are numbered."

Then Lacey turned around and marched into the castle, knowing that Scar wouldn't give up so easily. Lacey hoped it wouldn't come to it, for Julien's sake, but Lacey would fight her if she had to.. Scar had been warned.