by R K Knightly
Settling on a tune to try to sing later, she hummed the melody lightly, not wanting it any louder than the steady thrum of the water hitting the floor of the shower. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, wetting the front of her body and letting it soak up the heat. When she turned around, she dropped her head to her chest to let the water run over her back.
"What are you humming?" Liam's voice asked, making Elle jump slightly in place. He was standing, completely naked, at the other end of the walk-in shower and watching her.
"Geez, Liam," Elle breathed. "You scared the hell out of me."
"Sorry," he said, smiling. He didn't look sorry at all, and she frowned at him.
In response, he moved closer to her in the shower and cupped her ass, pulling her toward him. He ran his hands up and down the soft skin of her rear, making his cock twitch against her stomach.
"What's the song?" he asked, kissing her on the forehead.
"Not A Day Goes By," she replied. "It's from a musical originally, though it’s been covered by other singers as well. I used to sing it a lot. It...it has different lyrics for different times in life. Some of them good, some – not so great. I would just change the lyrics to whatever I was feeling at the time."
"How can a song have different lyrics?"
Elle placed her arms around Liam's waist. "When it's first sung in the show – part one I guess you could call it – it's about a breakup. Husband and wife getting divorced and the woman is bitter. He cheated and they have a child together. All she wants to do is forget that she loves him, but she can't. The child reminds her every day of her love for him, and it kills her over and over again."
Liam said nothing, his face inscrutable, eyes blinking as he watched her.
"The second time it's sung, it's at the couple’s wedding. It's much more…happy, I guess, and looking forward to their life together," Elle explained.
"He cheated and she forgave and married him again?" Liam looked confused.
"No," Elle said with a smile. "The show is done in reverse chronology. It starts in the present day and moves back in time."
"What? That sounds ridiculous."
Elle shrugged. "It was the only way to get a happy ending maybe?" she suggested with a shrug. "I don't honestly know why they did it backwards. The beginning of the show is a party that starts out great and ends with the breakup of his current marriage. The man marries twice, neither female sticking around because of his...ways."
"Ways?"
"Yeah. If you start from the beginning – or rather the end of the musical – it's full of hope for his future," Elle said. "A miracle in the sky. Sputnik, the Russian satellite. Things...happen after that to tear that hope apart. It's about a trio of friends who become successful at writing musicals, but it revolves around one man in particular. He becomes so successful that he loses sight of what his dreams used to be. He sells out, loses his friends, his self-respect, his wife – basically everything that used to mean anything to him. He realizes too late that he's screwed up everything by making the media and the public happy. And he's no longer happy – or true to – himself."
"Hmm, sounds familiar," Liam posed.
"Yeah," Elle said with a sad smile. "Some men don't know how good they have it until it's too late."
Liam cupped her face, kissed her lips slowly, and pulling away gently.
"The day I start taking you for granted, I want you to kick my ass," he told her. "Or have Blake do it. I would never hurt my best friends purposely, but if you see me acting like a dick, I expect you to call me on it. Deal?"
She smiled back up at him. "Deal."
They spent the rest of the shower touching, kissing, washing each other's bodies, shampooing, and conditioning until the hot water started to turn cold. Turning off the shower, Liam tossed Elle a big fluffy towel and grabbed one for himself.
After drying and dressing, they checked the time. 10:00 AM. Liam was amazed. He'd slept longer and more deeply than he had in years.
Elle was still humming, though it was a different tune. She cracked the fresh eggs he had bought the day before and started to briskly whisk them so they were a uniform light-yellow color.
While Liam made coffee and got out milk, flavored creamer, and sugar, he listened to the song she hummed.
"Can you sing me the other song? The one from the shower?" he asked, silencing Elle.
"Sure," she said. "I mean, I can try."
Elle cleared her throat and hummed a few notes, testing out the key she wanted to sing in. After a deep breath, she started.
From beginning to end, Elle sang in a low, wavering voice. She was tentative at first, growing more confident with each word and phrase, and by the time she was halfway through, Liam understood that she was singing the sadder version of the song. It melted his heart and uplifted him in turn, until her voice finally faded away.
There was a pause at the end, Elle looking down at the omelet she had created without thinking before adding a generous helping of cheese and tucking one end over the other. She eventually flipped it and took it off the burner, setting it aside.
"I hope you like vegetables in your omelet," she said quietly. "Onions, peppers, some mushroom. I was...I got so into the song that I forgot to ask."
"I'm sure it will be delicious," Liam told her, his voice equally as soft. "And that song – you sang it beautifully. With...so much heart. I felt I understood every emotion behind it as if I'd written the words myself."
Elle smiled over at him, nodding.
"Thanks."
She plated the rest of his breakfast and set it on the counter in front of him. He gave an appreciative moan with the first bite.
"How do you get the eggs so light and fluffy? My last housekeeper burnt the edges and the eggs felt like a lead weight in my stomach after eating her breakfast."
"A little bit of milk goes a long way," Elle told him from the stove. "Do you want me to cook up more bacon or sausage?"
"This is perfect," he told her, scooping up another forkful of eggs and vegetable and eyeing the crispy bacon next to it. "And I don't have much time before I have to meet with patrol. All has been silent on the borders, but I don't want them slacking due to lack of action."
"I thought Trace was taking care of that," Elle said, adding some vegetable to her own omelet.
"He is, but it doesn't hurt to show them I'm serious by making an impromptu appearance," Liam said. "Keeps them on their toes if they know I'm sniffing around. Not that they're lazy. They just get complacent."
Elle hummed a response. She could understand that. She felt she could relate, staying at Plumbrook for the weeks she had. She was equal parts happy and scared, the latter because she never knew when the other shoe would drop, and Jeremiah would somehow get to her.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Liam asked before taking a sip of his coffee. Her face had fallen and her eyes had become unfocused and crinkled with concern.
"Lots of things." She shrugged. "I'm happy I can sing again – and without getting hit. Scared that he knows where I am. Terrified that he'll do something to my parents or brother to force me to go back to him."
"He hit you because you sang?" Liam's voice was gruff, angry.
"He hit me whenever I did something that made me happy," she explained. "He would take his iPod with him to work so I couldn't listen to it after he broke mine to bits. It had been a present from my parents a few years back for my birthday."
Liam's hands gripped the edges of the bar until the wood beneath his fingers groaned with the force. Elle looked back at him and quickly plated her own omelet.
"Hey," she said as she walked over to him with her food. Setting the plate down, she placed herself so she was between his spread legs and put her hands on his chest. "Liam."
He grunted, his fingers flexing and the material beneath them groaning. He was going to break the damned table if he kept it up.
"Don't look for trouble," she said, knowing he was about three seconds away from
bolting out the door to find Jeremiah and beat him to within an inch of death. "It'll most likely find us soon enough."
Liam blinked rapidly, took a few calming breaths, and pulled Elle by her waist until she was flush up against him. Closing his eyes, he breathed in her scent, the light flowery mix calming him little by little. His locked jawed tensed, then released.
"You should eat while your omelet is still warm," he said.
"Not until you've calmed down," she replied, her hands now running through his still-damp hair.
"We can do both at the same time," he declared, and stood up from his chair.
He moved her along to the dining room and went back for her coffee and plate, bringing a napkin with him. He sat down at the table and patted his lap. Elle looked at him and sat down gingerly on it, as if she would break his legs with her weight. He, in turn, pulled her into his body until she was against his chest, her head snuggled into his neck. One hand kept her firmly planted on his lap, the other went to the plate in front of him, scooping up a bite of her omelet.
"Eat, sweetheart," he told her. "You sitting close to me will calm me, and me feeding you will allow me to concentrate on something other than ripping Jeremiah's fat arrogant head off his body."
She thought about that and opened her mouth. Warm, fluffy egg with some veggies and cheese were thoroughly chewed before she swallowed. They sat there for a while in silence, him feeding her until her plate was empty while he sat breathing in her aroma of freesia and jasmine. By the time he was done feeding her, his head was cool, calm, and he was ready to meet with patrol.
∞∞∞
Trace blinked as Liam strode toward the group of wolves he was speaking with. They were all in human form and had been listening intently to him until his head had turned to see their Alpha coming towards them.
There was not only his movement, but a strange sound. Liam was...humming? Impossible. Liam hummed as often as he smiled, which was an occasion as rare as hen's teeth.
But, no. He was humming and smiling. He looked happy, and Trace lifted a brow as the Alpha walked toward him.
"You either fucking mated with her last night, or she has a great set of hands," Trace whispered to him, smirking.
He sniffed at the Alpha who pushed him away. The smile, though, stayed firmly in place.
"You don't smell any different, so I'd say she probably has wonderfully capable hands," Trace said, laughing.
Trace was not as close to Liam as Blake was, but they were still good friends. They joked and talked smack while they worked out at the gym or on the training field, though nothing would ever compare to Blake and Liam's close brotherly friendship.
"None of your fucking business, dog," Liam said with a smile. "Just because you're not mated doesn't mean that you get to live vicariously through me."
"Don't need to live vicariously through you," Trace told him. "I get enough pussy to make that grin of yours pale in comparison. So tell me, did she need both hands to get around the Alpha's thick cock?"
"Fuck off," Liam said, his mouth twisting a bit. "Besides, you don't need hands at all if you know what to do with your mouth."
Trace's eyes widened slightly, surprised. "You dirty-"
"I'm not discussing it any further with you," Liam said, cutting him off. "I've said enough and I'm here for more important matters."
Liam walked away, inspecting the line of patrol that would be leaving at 12 PM sharp for their rounds. He walked up and down the row, glad to see that Trace had more than doubled their number.
"Alpha, permission to speak?" asked one of the newer additions to the patrol. He looked to be barely 18, 19 at best.
"Granted," Liam said. "What is it, Andrews?"
Moving a step forward, the young man looked down at his feet, baring his neck as a sign of respect before looking back up.
"Is it true the pack will have a Luna soon? That you have found a mate?" the man asked.
Liam looked at the man. The kid had balls, he had to give that to him.
"We will discuss that at the next meeting this Sunday," Liam stated bluntly before turning to the rest of the group. "Anyone else care to check in on my love life, or can we get started?"
There was a mumble of responses, none of them wishing to impinge upon the Alpha's personal life until the man deemed them worthy to hear the details.
"Good," Liam said. "Now let's begin."
Chapter 19
'The Council was understanding about your impromptu marking, what with the evidence you sent along. It was...shameful, to say the least.'
Liam's father sounded tired. That worried Liam, and he asked him about it.
"What is it? I know there's something more you're not telling me," Liam said, his voice gruff.
'The Council was split down the middle whether or not to send one of their own to Blackriver.'
"I don't care if they send someone or not," Liam told him. "My pack can handle Jeremiah and his pack of savages." Though he knew it was unfair to lump them altogether with the deceitful and cruel Alpha, he couldn't honestly help himself.
'I'm not honestly too worried about him coming after Giselle.'
"Elle," Liam corrected possessively.
'Right. As I said, I am not so much concerned that he will try to steal your mate. I am afraid of what he'll do to her relatives. She has a brother and parents there still, does she not?'
Liam's face was grim. Elle had said she was concerned about this same thing just the day before. Between that and the fact her heat should be coming on soon, he didn't know which he was more concerned about.
Your dick, he thought to himself. You're more concerned about getting your dick wet. Admit it, you horny perv. If his inner wolf had been able to speak, he could have sworn that was exactly what it would say to him.
"Yes, her parents and her brother still live there," Liam said with a sigh. "Her brother is a doctor, so they may let him be since war could come, but it will be only a matter of time until they try to use her parents in some way to bring Elle back into the fold."
'Perhaps not. If Jeremiah does something idiotic like imprisoning her parents, it would only be a matter of time before the brother would go looking for them. It would look bad on the Alpha if both daughter and parents went missing in such a short span of time, so there's that.'
"True," Liam said, breathing out a cleansing exhale. "And though her parents are a lower station at Omega, someone would certainly notice them being gone. Her father is a teacher, after all."
'It would be easy enough to ask for a leave of absence for a teacher, so do not let that fact ease your mind.'
"What if Plumbrook asked for assistance themselves?" Liam asked slowly. "What if it wasn't so much a reconnaissance mission to Blackriver than helping a pack who requests it? A pack in good standing, mind you."
His father hummed, thinking.
'Could work. Send the request our way and I'll have it delivered to the head of the Council. If he doesn't approve your request, I'll come myself – say I'm taking some time off to visit family. It wouldn't be a total lie.'
"Yes, but if you went to Jeremiah and told him you were there as a part of the Council, you could lose your standing amongst them. They could brand you rogue if they thought it prudent."
'Don't make me laugh, boy. I may have only been doing this for a few years, but I still have all my wits about me. I can tell them I'm part of the Council so long as I don't ask too many questions. Maybe request to see Elle's parents as we both have mated kin. They'd be asinine to deny that request.'
That could work. As long as his father minded his P's and Q's, maybe everything would turn out alright in the end.
∞∞∞
When Liam got back to his home from his office in the Packhouse, he immediately smelled something delicious. He heard something as well. Elle humming again. Pretty soon she was singing instead.
The house was hot inside since the stovetop and the oven were both on, and Elle fanned herself with a newspaper L
iam had discarded that morning. He hadn't had a chance to finish it like he usually did, but he wasn't so much worried about the world around him as he was much more focused on the trouble most likely coming to find him.
As Elle finished her song, she bent over to check the food in the oven and Liam spoke.
"Is...was that Taylor Swift?" he asked, cocking his head at her. His sister had this album, and at one point listened to it nonstop.
She looked back at him, stopping the cute sway of her hips to the music she heard only inside her head.
"Yes...yes, it was," she told him, waving the newspaper back and forth like a fan as she stirred the noodles aimlessly. “It’s called Blank Space.”
Watching her fan herself, Liam walked toward her.
"Would you like me to open the windows? They can be sticky, especially with this muggy weather."
"It's okay, I don't mind," she told him. "Food should be done soon anyway."
Liam walked over to see what was brewing in the large pot of cauldron-like proportions. Corn on the cob. No wonder she had used the largest pot available in the house. She could have practically crawled inside it her herself, it was so large.
"What's for dinner?" he asked, replacing the glass top to the large pot.
"Stuffed pork chops, corn on the cob, and butter noodles," she told him, taking the noodles off the burner so they wouldn't dry up.
"Smells heavenly," he told her with a smile before planting a soft kiss on her cheek. The difference in height was staggering. Liam, at his last recollection, stood 6 foot 6, and Elle barely topped 5 feet 1 inch – 2 in sneakers.
The alarm that signaled the pork chops were done went off just as Elle grinned up at him, and she immediately turned the oven off, grabbed a couple of oven mitts, and pulled the door open.
A searing wave of heat came out in a chuff and Elle quickly grabbed the food, placed it on the stovetop and went to get plates.
The air cooled slowly in the house throughout dinner, though Elle still felt hot as ever. She had turned on the fan above the stove to pull the heat up and out of the room, but she still felt like a charcoal briquette.