Chapter 4 Knight

"Yes, this is my mate, Amara." Alaricus replied, compassionately gazing down at me. I shuddered in his grip, wanting nothing more than to go into my father's protective arms and get away from this scary stranger.

Everybody gaped at us, their eyes wide. I stood uncomfortable as I heard whispers.

"How is this possible?"

"He's not supposed to have a mate." There was also the one that made my heart race out of fear.

"That poor girl, he is going to destroy her."

"Enough." My minor trembling turned into full tremors as Knight's voice boomed out. I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he merely tightened his grip. He gave the thousands of people a demanding look as he peered out at them. As though any of them would be foolish enough to dispute his assertion. As if anyone were capable of such foolishness. Silently, they all stood there, staring at the force behind his order. Despite my humanity and lack of affiliation with their convoluted system, I felt compelled to bow down.

"The purpose of this ball is to help wolves find partners, and this event is only one illustration of that. I hope everyone has fun at the celebration and good fortune in meeting their true love." He spoke with a deep, smooth voice that had everyone's attention.

"Come, love; I'm sure you would like to enjoy the party as well." Knight stepped closer than he had previously, looking down to see my face.

"I, um, yes, yes, I would." I muttered, attempting to stealthily move away from him, a frown line forming between his brows, a little startled by his nearness.

"Lead the way, love." Something changed in his warm eyes, and he remarked simply, not caring that I had moved away. His warm eyes appeared to tighten somewhat.

He trailed closely behind me, so close that I was concerned he might run into my back if I stopped moving in the direction I was going-that is, towards my parents.

When I realized that people were moving away from us in a way that was drastically different from the previous experience, when I had to push my way through the crowds, my heart fell. I was alienated from the start.

As we traveled, an alpha came toward us, and Alaricus called out to me softly.

The big man who usually gave me the creeps appeared as unthreatening as a kitten loitering close to Alaricus Knight.

"Alpha Knight." The man spoke, making Alaricus tense. Alaricus merely gave a nod in response. The man looked up at me.

"Hello, I'm Alpha Britchette."

"Amara" was my attempt at a grin, but it came off more as a frown.

I excused myself as the two men started talking and went to where my parents were standing, urgently whispering to one another.

My dad turned to face me and gave me a warm embrace when I gave him a little tap on the shoulder. Cradling in and crumpling his new outfit, I tried not to cry, but he didn't seem to mind.

"My poor little kitten, I would do anything to keep you away from him." I reached up to give my father a kiss on the cheek, but before I could control myself, a tear ran down my cheek.

"I know, papa, I know." I spoke, reverting to my boyhood nickname for my father, "Papa."

I moved away from my dad and faced my mother, who was crying as she watched us. I couldn't resist giving her a gentle hug as she smiled at me. Although I was closer to my father, there is nothing like the comforting sense of being in your mother's arms.

"Amara." In my mother's arms, I froze as his voice cried out to me. I slowly turned to face him, hoping to inflict agony on the guy who had caused my family's suffering. He gently extended his hand to take hold of my hand, but I drew away. He gave me a hurt look, but it vanished before I could fully understand it, and I had to face my parents once more.

My father glared at him as he stood there. Alaricus extended his hand to greet my dad.

"I'm Alaricus Night; you must be Amara's father." My father reluctantly shook his hand.

"Jay Winters," my father replied, casting a harsh glance at Night.

"And you must be her mother." Alaricus turned to face my mother and replied.

"Yes, I'm Gloria Winters." As she reached into his eagerly anticipating one, my mother spoke in all seriousness.

"I hope you both are enjoying the ball." Alaricus spoke with a smooth tone. My mother entirely ignored my father's statements, while he merely made a noise of agreement.

My father began, "Alpha Night I," but Alaricus cut him off.

"Please call me Alaricus." He stated.

Before my father could say anything, my mother saw his agitated expression and quickly cut him off.

"Alaricus, what we want to say is that our daughter is very young, as you can see; it would be appropriate for you to perhaps wait until she has completed her education to move further in your relationship." Trying to maintain a strong voice, my mother said.

Alaricus appeared enraged yet remained calm.

"She is my partner; without her, I cannot survive. She is old enough to be in this relationship, just as she is old enough to attend the ball, and I promise not to pressure your daughter into doing anything she doesn't want to do." With sincerity, Alaricus said, causing my father to scoff in obvious incredulity.

Alaricus gave him a challenging look with his eyes, and I intervened to stop my impetuous father from hurting himself.

"Alaricus, would you give me a moment alone with my parents?" I inquired, trying not to stammer, and as I spoke, he turned to face me, his eyes shooting straight up. He gave my folks a slow, parting nod before heading out.

I waited to attempt to calm down my agitated parents, and Marina soon joined us, hugging me and having kind eyes. We all stood there, chatting away, as if the worst of all beasts hadn't just claimed me as a comrade. His voice soon cut us off.

"I want to thank everyone who came to the ball and take a moment to congratulate all of the recently paired couples on discovering their true love. Please start heading for the exits; if you need assistance finding your cars, my guards will be happy to assist you. Alaricus remarked, walking off the platform and toward me with an expressionless face.

As he got closer, we all stood in quiet, the throng getting smaller every moment.

"Mr. and Mrs. Winters, if you two would kindly make your way to the cars, I would like to speak to Amara for a moment."

Observing my dad's hesitation, I tried to grin but kept a low profile. I saw them turn to leave.

Alaricus took my hand and gently brought it to his chest, holding it in both of his.

"I wish I could keep you here with me; it pains me to see you leave, but you must be tired, and you do need to start packing." I nodded, expecting to be out of there as soon as possible, but then I realized what he'd said.