a Primal Pursuit

forty one

I didn't realise I was gravitating towards the mystery man until someone jerked me back. Asra, taking my hand, snapped me out of my daydream and I turned to him with a curious expression.

"Where are you going, Tulip?" He wondered.

I shook my head, glancing back at the last spot I saw the male. "That man... behind the alpha pair..."

Asra glanced up, his taller frame towering over the crowds. "What of him?"

"He looks familiar." I frowned. "But I feel I have never seen him before."

Asra's lips pulled down into a grimace, and he glanced between the two of us with caution. My frown turned into one of worry when he didn't comment any further. I flexed my fingers around his palm, shifting the unwanted energy.

"I believe he is Wolfram's gamma or beta male."

I cocked my head. "Is there a gamma female?"

"I am not sure," Asra sighed. "Alpha Black will do his rounds and if he comes near, I will see what I can find out."

I exhaled, nodding. "Okay, thank you."

Asra's smile was firm, but he wrapped his arms around my waist, anyway. "Let's dance."

"Dance?" I startled. "You dance?"

"What? And you do?"

"Well, I have had training." I spluttered, my hands falling to his chest.

"Really?" He wondered. "But you are very clumsy."

I scowled at his teasing. "Why do you think I had training? Darius' mother was adamant on my lady-training."

"Lady training?" He scoffed. "What did that entail?"

"Oh, you know, the basics." I shrugged, staring at his collar. "How to eat politely, to dance, to speak, and how to dress well."

"Grooming?" He frowned.

I didn't realise we were dancing until I looked up into his eyes and found the room around us spinning. I wrinkled my hands over the collar of his shirt, smoothing out the invisible creases.

"I was to be a leader's wife. I had to look the part." Mumbling, I looked around. "Tonight is very similar, I must say."

Asra inhaled sharply, a small grumble in his chest. "Luckily, you won't have to do this much longer. Things like this rarely happen."

"I thought you said wolves loving having pups?" I teased.

He tutted at me. "But they only care for the first pup to rule their pack, Tulip. A lot of the continental alphas are old, or brought up by old wolves. Their ideology is a lot different to modern day."

"Is that why some still hunt?" I wondered.

He stiffened slightly, eyes glancing around us before they dropped back to me. "Part of it. Most of us hunt for courtship, as per the treaty, but there are still wolves out there who hate humans."

"How many hunts have you been on?" I whispered.

His jaw flexed. "Too many with my father, and too little as an alpha."

"Why too little?" I wondered, and he shrugged.

"I often wonder if hunting sooner would have led me to you, before all the bad stuff happened to you."

My heart warmed, and my cheeks were not long to follow. Asra chuckled down at me, lifting a hand to grace the back of his fingers down my face. I leaned into his grip, biting his finger softly when he dared to pry my lips open. He pulled it away with a wild expression, one that told me he would not forget it.