The Rogue Alpha’s Claim

He was lying.

She didn’t just like it; she loved it-the feel of his soft lips on hers moving like the waves had her forgetting about the people in the room with them.

The world seemed to melt away, leaving only them.

A soft hum escaped her as his hands caressed her neck, sending delicious shivers down her spine. He poured all the love and tenderness into the kiss, and she was floating on the horizon she had painted.

But it was ending too soon, and his lips left her so painfully that she whined, longing for more.

Kane noticed her demeanor, and he smiled, his fingers coming to trace her lips. “We could continue back at home. If you want.” He added as an afterthought, and Ariel averted her eyes, instead focusing it on her painting.

The thoughts she was having were quite unholy, and they do not belong in this kind of setting.

“We still have some wine left.” She picked up her wine glass, twirling it as a means to disperse the sexual tension between them.

“Yeah,” he gestured to the waiter, and she watched as he whispered something to his ears, and the man walked away. He came back soon, balancing two plates on his hands, and placed them in front of them. “I figured you would be hungry.”

“Starving.” She gave him a small smile. “Somehow all that painting has drained me.”

“Is the painting in the room with us? Because I am not sure that can be classified as one.”

Ariel rolled her eyes, a little amused. “Hey, I did my best. It is just unfortunate that a chicken should draw a straighter line than me.”

“It is alright, love. I can be the artistic one in the family, and you would be the pretty damsel.” Kane replied offhandedly, twirling the pasta around his fork.

It was unknown to him that his partner was having a near-cardiac arrest.

She didn’t know if it was the casual way he called her love or the fact that he was considering starting a family with her, but she couldn’t fight the blush that was crawling up her cheeks.

“Are you alright? You are getting all red.” Kane noted. His piercing brown eyes were a bit darker in the dim light, and they were on her, slowly stripping her of any rational thought.

“Yeah, it is just the wine.” And for effect, she grabbed her glass, downing all of the content in her mouth. She picked up her fork, twirling the pasta in it and bringing it to her mouth.

Her eyes literally lit up as she tasted the creamy goddess, and she was sighing in bliss.

“Delicious?”

“This is the best pasta I have ever had, and trust me, I have had a lot.” She admitted taking another fork of the creamy goodness.

“They serve the best pasta, and I knew I had to take you there.” Kane said, looking at her with those starry eyes, and she melted. “Open up.”

“W-what.” She was almost spewing her food out.

What did he just say?

She brought the metal utensil close to her mouth, and she quietly opened it, letting him feed her.

“What did you think I was saying?”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Nothing.” Ariel shook her head, and they continued on their date.

They finished the food amidst light talks and had some dessert, and sadly, it was time to go home. Ariel was a little reluctant, but she had managed to take a cute shot together with Kane, and she was going to have this frame to show their future children.

Okay, maybe she was getting way over herself.

They walked down the stairs hands in hand, their cheeks hurting from smiling, but neither would let go, not with the sparks that were sizzling between them.

Kane, ever the gentleman, opened the door for her before he took his seat in the driver’s seat, and they began to drive home in peaceful silence, only interrupted by the cool blues playing on the radio.

“The city is really beautiful at night.” Ariel remarked, looking out the windows, and Kane nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it is. But I think you are more beautiful.”

Ariel was whipping her head fast to look at him, not sure she had heard him. He may have been calling her beautiful and other endearments, but he had never said it to her.

“I think you are handsome too.” Maybe she had had too much wine, but she was sure she saw his eyes glow a bit fiercer.

Kane pushed a button, changing the steering to automatic, but his eyes were only on her. “Ariel, I want you to be my girlfriend.”

Girlfriend was too trivial a word for what he felt for the brunette beside him. Hell, he could burn this earth for her to show how much he cared.

But Ariel doesn’t understand their world, and he couldn’t start pressuring her into being a mate and a Luna.

A girlfriend would have to do-only for the time being.

Why don’t you tell her she is your mate? Now is the perfect time to let her know. Max reminded him, but he was blocking him out of his mind before he would say something else again.

“Ka-”

“Just hear me out. I know we didn’t have a good relationship back then, but I was quick to realize when you came back that you were the one for me. I do love you, Ariel, and I want you to be mine.”

“I- d-do…”

“Shhh.” Kane was silencing her before she could say anything else. “I know you may think it is rushed and you are not sure if you have feelings for me, but you don’t need to give me a reply now. I just wanted you to know how I feel.”

Ariel fought the urge to roll her eyes. Men! Why can’t they listen for once?

“Are you through now? Can I talk?”

“You have the floor.”

“Good. I was going to give you a reply if you weren’t disrupting me. But yes, I love you too, and I want to be your girlfriend.”

“Really?” Kane was a little shocked to hear that. He wasn’t sure how much of the bond Ariel could feel, and he wasn’t even sure she would reciprocate his feelings.

Are you just dumb or what? Anyone will fall in love with you, most especially our mate. Sometimes I wonder why the moon goddess paired us together. Max sighed, retreating to his space before Kane could say anything.

“Yes Kane. I love you, and I want to be your girlfriend.” Kane couldn’t help the way his lips widened, revealing a lip.

He leaned towards her, and without giving it a thought, he placed a tiny peck on her cheeks.

***

The happy couple continued their journey home, neither of them saying anything. It was as if any words said would disrupt the romantic atmosphere, and they opted for a comfortable silence until they got to the pack house.

Ariel’s skin sizzled from where their bodies were in contact. The wine had made her loose, and so were her urges, but she held them in until they got to the door of her room.

“I guess our date ends here.”

“Sadly. But I really enjoyed the date. Thank you.” She stood on her tiptoes, leaning forward, and gave me a kiss on the lips before running inside her room. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! He asked me out!” Ariel squealed as she lay down in her bed.

Never in her wildest dream would she think that this was how the night was going to end, but she couldn’t ask for anything else.

Her hands reached for her phone in her bag, and she picked it up. She was tempted to call Claudia and narrate all of her experience, but she was changing her mind for a split minute.

Instead, she scrolled to her photos, looking at the pictures they had taken tomorrow.

“We look good together, though.” She mused, loving the way she was so free with him.

There was something about this man that triggered her feminine energy, and she couldn’t be happier.

She couldn’t keep this to herself; she needed to let everyone know that she was his, and she was opening the gram app.

It wasn’t in her fashion to post any of the men she was dating, but Kane was different, and that was the reason she was selecting some of their pictures and posting them for the whole world to see.

She was having issues keeping her eyes open; it was like a huge load was weighing them down, and she couldn’t put it off any longer.

Ariel closed her eyes, finally succumbing to sleep.

A pounding on the door was rousing her up from her sleep, and Ariel had never hated the fact that she was a light sleeper.

She released a groan, rolling over and covering her head with her pillow, but the knock was persistent.

It was obvious that whoever it was had something urgent to say, and that was the only reason she was dragging herself out of bed.

She opened the door, her eyes only half open for the fear that if she opened them wide, she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again, but they were opened wide as she saw the person at the door.

“I wasn’t expecting you.”

“What have you done?”