The Alpha King's Slave (Book 2 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 24

Caleb sat back in his chair, trying his hardest to calm down. Hearing that Aydan had dared to touch Charlotte in such an intimate way had really set him off and he'd taken it out on her.

Had Aydan bedded her? She was still a virgin which meant Aydan hadn't stolen what belonged to Caleb. But he still wanted to kill the alpha for touching what was his. Storm growled in his mind, pacing back and forth and Caleb knew he needed to get out of the house and let his wolf run before he went on a rampage.

He stood and left his office, slipping out of the castle. He stripped his clothes off as he walked, then shifted. 'Don't take off to Aydan's,' he warned Storm.

His wolf snarled in response and bolted into the woods. Storm was very angry about what had happened. 'You purposely provoked her and then shamed her,' Storm growled at him. 'She pleaded with you not to do it. This wasn't the first time she's had it happen to her.'

Caleb stilled at Storm's words. 'What are you talking about?'

'Mate said Please don't do this to me AGAIN. Mate said it hurts,' Storm was furious.

'You and I both know I didn't hurt her,' Caleb growled back. It would have been one thing if she hadn't been aroused, but she was.

'She said it before you even touched her!' Storm roared at him. 'You never listen. She's experienced it before. She knew it was going to hurt.'

Caleb frowned, thinking back over what had just happened. He had pushed her down on his desk and she'd been so angry. Her anger aroused him. He adored her firey spirit. It was one of the reasons he enjoyed provoking her.

He had asked her about her virginity because she had made it sound like she'd been bedded before. He had wondered if Aydan had used her before giving her to him. Aydan would have never guessed Charlotte was his mate. Most werewolves don't get second chance mates. Only his pack did because of their immortality.

He now suspected that Charlotte had said the things she said because she was so angry at him. But he had been so caught up with touching her so intimately that he hadn't paid any attention when she had said that. He felt sick for her. Someone had touched her where only he should be allowed to, and it hadn't been a pleasant experience for her. What had she been through?

And then he had done the same thing to her in his anger and jealousy. He couldn't imagine what she'd been thinking when he'd done it to her, bringing up memories from the previous time. His anger surged at the unknown person, though he was no better. He'd violated her in the same way, never asking just taking. He knew he'd hurt her, and done something that he shouldn't have. The woman brought out the worst in him. He was jealous.

'Need to apologize,' Storm muttered, running hard through the woods.

'I don't apologize,' Caleb responded coldly. It was one thing as king he vowed to never do. Never apologize.

'Maybe you should stop being an arrogant weasel,' Storm said as he came to a halt in front of the lake. He suddenly leaped into it, shifting mid-air and giving Caleb back control.

Caleb hit the ice cold water in shock and surfaced immediately. "Damnit Storm," he shouted as he pulled himself back out and onto the bank. 'Lets go back home.'

'You can find your own way home. I'm too furious with you right now. You need to get your head out of your arse,' Storm said, turning his back on Caleb.

Caleb huffed in exasperation. He and Storm had always gotten along well until Charlotte had entered their life. She was the one thing they couldn't agree on.

'Because you're stupid.'

Caleb sighed as he headed through the woods. He couldn't blame Storm for dunking him in the freezing lake. He'd deserved it for what he had done to Charlotte. But he would never apologize. She was his slave. She'd get over it.

They'd come quite far, and he had a long way to go. The lake wasn't close to the castle at all and it was a cold night.

An hour later, he arrived back at his bath house and walked inside to bathe and warm up. Storm hadn't spoken a word to him on the trek back, though he could still feel the wolf's fury.

Caleb groaned as he sat back in the hot water. Seeing Charlotte tonight had been needed. He had been trying to avoid her but Storm was beginning to make his life a living hell until he got his way. The need to claim Charlotte was growing stronger by the day and he was doing his utmost to ignore it. He would not give in and claim her.

But she was almost constantly on his mind. He sat now fully hard as images of her gorgeous naked body flitted through his mind, courtesy of his damn wolf. He thought about earlier and how she'd felt beneath his fingers and groaned.

He could have her. She was his, belonged to him in every sense of the word, as his mate and as his slave. His concubine. He could easily use her as much as he wanted, and never mark her. What could that hurt?

'Stupid,' Storm muttered from the back of his mind. 'It will not go the way you think it will. It will end badly for you, me and her.'

Caleb climbed out of the tub and dried himself off with a towel, ignoring Storm. He was considering going to her now, but then again she'd been angry and hurt and he knew he had scared her. He sighed and left the bath house, heading up the steps to the south tower.

Near the top, a voice caught his attention. Charlotte? He picked up his pace, and threw open the door as fear raced through him. He could not lose her.

"No! Please, no!" He heard Charlotte scream.

Was someone in the room with her? Caleb opened Charlotte's bedroom door and stepped into the room. He scanned it quickly looking for an intruder but there was no one in the room. He looked over at her bed and saw her small form under the blankets. She was having a nightmare.

"No, please," she whimpered softly, tossing on the bed. She threw the blankets half off of herself.

Caleb approached the bed slowly, carefully listening and watching. She was still asleep. He let loose a small breath and came closer.

The easiest way to calm her would be to touch her, he knew. He took her hand gently, stroking her tense arm.

She immediately began to relax under his touch. After a bit, he could tell by her breathing that she was back into a deep dreamless sleep. He walked around the bed, pulled back the blankets, and crawled in with her, pulling her into his arms.

His touch soothing her also had the effect of calming him and his wolf down as well, and he cuddled her, enjoying the feel of her body as he stroked her back. She cuddled into him and he fell asleep.

Caleb awoke at first light. Charlotte's body was still curled up against his and he was hard. He groaned under his breath. The last thing he wanted was for her to wake up to a naked fully aroused man in her bed.

Liar!

The thoughts he'd had last night while he had been in his bath house entered his mind again. She was his, his concubine slave.

She stirred and Caleb quickly slipped out of her bed and her room. He hurried through the closet and into his own room, laying down on his bed and closed his eyes.

The nights he slept with her were the best of his life. He slept better than he ever had. But he didn't dare sleep with her every night.