The Code Of The Alpha

I glanced around me at the grocery bags that I would have to carry inside in the pouring rain. Looping as many bags as I could around my arms, I took a deep breath before opening the car door and making a run towards the house.

Thankfully, the door wasn’t locked and I made my way inside to the kitchen with relative ease. Placing the bags on the countertop, I made another trip to the truck, running through sheets of rain that fell from the sky. After a few trips, the truck had been completely unloaded and I was soaked to the skin.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

As I wiped the rainwater from my face, the lights in the kitchen flickered off.

“Wonderful.” I mumbled.

I looked out the kitchen window to see the trees outside swaying in the heavy wind. I could hear the pounding of rain against the side of the house as I stood there and listened to the storm.

Beginning to take the groceries out of the bags, I blindly stocked the fridge and the pantry. As I emerged from the pantry, I saw the shadowy outline of Luca standing at the kitchen counter, looking at everything I’d bought.

“How convenient that you decided to emerge from a dark corner after l’d managed to get all the groceries inside by myself,” I said.

“I came upstairs to see why the power went out.”

I hummed, walking past him to grab more items to put away.

“Why did you go get groceries?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he eyed the box of strawberries in my hand.

“Believe it or not, most people don’t live off of Hot Pockets, cereal, and Gatorade,” I said.

Luca reached forward and grabbed the carton of milk from the countertop.

“You drink almond milk?” He asked, his nose scrunched in disgust.

“It doesn’t taste bad,” I said, taking it from him to put it into the fridge.

“Besides, it’s good for you.”

“I wish you’d told me you were going,” Luca said, walking over to a drawer that was in the island.

“I’m not entirely fond of you leaving the pack land without me, much less without my knowledge.”

“I’m an adult,” I said pointedly.

Luca pulled an envelope out of the drawer and reached in to grab a folded stack of bills. When he reached out to hand it to me, I shook my head.

“Keep it,” I said.

“I have a feeling you won’t eat most of this anyways.”

I picked up a bagged head of lettuce and showed it to Luca, fighting the urge to laugh at the scowl he gave me. He put the cash back in the envelope and closed the drawer.

“Still,” he said, “I would have liked to have known you were leaving. Something could have happened and I wouldn’t have known. Especially with this weather.”

The wind howled loudly outside as if it were trying to emphasize his point. The trees danced in the gusts of wind against the moonlight, casting eerie shadows along the kitchen floor. Rain pattered against the window, the sound echoing throughout the house.

“I think you would have missed your truck more than you missed me,” I countered.

Luca walked slowly towards me, stepping into the filtered moonlight. I found myself taking a step backward, running into the countertop.

Luca came to stand in front of me, placing his hands on the countertop behind me.

“You don’t really think that, do you, amore?”

There was something behind his eyes that rendered me speechless. Glowing green in the moonlight, I felt as if they could read every thought. As I began to squirm under the intensity of his gaze, my eyes dropped to his lips.

Luca moved in closer and I found myself leaning into him. Short of breath and heart pounding in my chest, I tore my stare from his face. He lifted a hand and placed it on the side of my face to turn my gaze back to him; Luca’s thumb trailing along my bottom lip as

he did so.

“Tell me not to and I won’t,” he whispered, his face dropping closer.

Luca’s nose brushed against mine and my eyes fluttered shut. He placed soft and feathery kisses on my cheek, along my jaw and down my neck. His lips were barely touching my skin, his warm breath fanning across the side of my face.

I could almost feel his lips touching mine as they came to hover over my mouth, stopping there. I found myself on my tiptoes with my body pressed flush against his.

“Look at me,” Luca whispered.

My eyes opened to see him studying my face.

“Say no,” he told me.

“If I do it, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.” I fumbled to say anything, my breath still caught in the back of

my throat.

My gaze fell back to his lips longingly.

“I can’t.” I admitted.

Luca grabbed my jaw gently and leaned in to kiss me.

My eyes had closed again before his lips even touched mine. When they did, my heart stopped.

A few moments went by of our lips being pressed together before they parted, allowing the taste of his kiss to invade my mouth.

Luca tried to pull away slowly but I caught his bottom lip between my teeth and tugged slightly, pulling him back. His hands dropped from my face as my arms wrapped around his neck and he lifted me onto the counter.

Breaking away from my lips, Luca began to plant wet kisses along my jaw and neck. His hands found the bottom of my shirt before sliding underneath, his hands pressed against the rain-soaked skin.

I grabbed his wrists as his hands moved up further, causing him to pause and pull away.

“You’re sleeping in my bed tonight,” Luca said, breathing deeply.

Seeing the look of apprehension on my face, he flashed a smirk and laughed softly.

“Don’t worry,” he assured me.

“I still have my spot on the floor.”