Did he say he wanted to captain my ship?

I crossed my arms and glared at him as he admired the serenity of the ocean, "This is my ship, Alrik. If you can't handle the waves, get off the boat."

He turned around and crossed his arms to match my stance, "Do you have a captain's license?

"I do. I also have a pilot license," I added proudly.

"Oh, so you don't use your broomstick?"

My mouth fell open while amusement flashed like lightening in his gray depths. I was so shocked that he cracked a joke to even come up with a decent retort.

"How–how–witches don't actually ride broomsticks."

I was cringing at my witless remark, but Alrik didn't seem bothered, instead he looked entertained. He was definitely rejoicing in having the upper hand for once.

"Perhaps you don't. I understand it's too difficult to remove it from your anus."

An audible gasp left my lips, "Alrik Kuznetsov!"

He had a hint of a smug look on his face as he walked around me and back to the cars.

"Don't worry about him. He likes to pretend that he doesn't have a tree trunk stuck up there himself," Reece chimed in, "You two suit each other completely."

I huffed, "He's very back and forth. One minute he's kissing–"

Reece squealed and grabbed my arm, jumping up and down, "I SAW THAT. It totally snatched my wig. How was it? Did he know what to do? I know he's never been romantic with a woman. "

My eyes were wide as she continued hopping up and down like teenager who had met her celebrity crush. What did she mean 'snatched her wig'?

"Why do you look so confused?" She asked breathlessly as she let go of my arm.

I tilted my head at her, "I snatched your wig? What does that even mean?"

"Oh Moon Goddess, you're worse than Alrik. You don't keep up with the times either, do you? It's okay. I'll teach you everything you need to know about this century."

Saying I was mortified was an understatement.

Fortunately, Reece was still gushing over the kiss to continue going on about my ignorance of today's terminology. It seemed that Alrik and I had that in common.

"Is he always so...formal?" I asked, cutting her ramble off.

Her eyes grew bigger, "Formal? I would say that's the most casual he has ever been with someone. I have never seen him joke. Ever."

"That was casual? I'm afraid to see what formal looks like in his world."

"Formal in his world would be refusing to talk unless necessary and remaining emotionless around people who don't have anything useful to contribute to the prosperity of the werewolf species."

"So the rumors were true about that. He is like the unofficial king?"

Reece sighed and adjusted the bag on her shoulder, "A lot of the things you have heard are true. I know what travels, and all the rumors are accurate to an extent. I know it doesn't seem like it, especially since he shows you a completely different side to him. Just be wary, I don't want you to feel betrayed when you see his Alpha side."

It was like someone had dunked me in freezing cold water.

I may have unlocked a side to Alrik, but it wasn't the side everyone else knew. That was either a good thing or a bad thing, and at the moment, I was starting to feel like that was a bad thing.

Doubt was crawling through my mind. What if he was faking all of this so I would come back and be his Luna? If I did become his Luna, would he change to the Alrik everyone else knew? Did he join me on this mission for selfish reasons?

There was only one person who could answer those questions, and that was him.

"He's my best friend, Jaslynn, and I don't want to ruin what you guys are starting to develop. I only want to prepare you because if you accept him as a mate, you're accepting all of his sides."

I exhaled deeply, "I'll give him the chance to open up before I make any decisions. He deserves that much from me."

Reece smiled softly and nodded her head, "He'll appreciate that. Even if he won't say it out loud."

"Would it be weird if I talked to him about it? I mean, would he be willing to talk about it?"

"If you catch him when he's in a good mood, I bet you can," Reece said, dropping her bag at my feet, "I'm going to go help unload, but you're going to have to spill all the details about you and Alrik when I come back."

She jogged away backwards, giving me the I'm-watching-you gesture before she completely turned around. I chuckled to myself and faced the ship once again, pulling my wand out.

It was time to clean my ship up.

I shoved a sac into Reece's hands with the hope that it would hide her creepy grin. It had been plastered on her face like that since she came back up to help the group unload. I wasn't sure what she said to Jaslynn, but she was very pleased.

Unfortunately, I could still sense her grin even after her face was blocked.

"Commander, stop grinning. The world is in danger and you are amused?"

She adjusted the sac in her hands and wiggled her eyebrows, "Two days ago you could care less about the world. Are you sure the world is in danger? Or is my good friend Jaslynn in danger?"

"Commander, stop dawdling and go load the ship," I demanded, pointing in the direction she had to go.

She huffed and marched away, grumbling about how controlling I was.

I was controlling, but it was expected of me as an Alpha. It was in my blood.

I grabbed a duffel bag and tossed it the wizard who had a liking for Jaslynn, "You. Take this."

"Excuse me? Who made you boss?" He asked, seemingly appalled.

I raised an eyebrow at his behavior, "I did."

"How dare you. Jaslynn is in charge."

"That is Ms. Jaslynn to you. She's the head of your coven, do treat her with respect."

He opened his mouth to say something stupid, but a certain female witch behind him cut him off, "Miles, I'll handle this. You can go ahead."

Jaslynn appeared by his side, and he gave her a sickeningly sweet smile, "Of course, Jaslynn."

He walked away, and she cocked her head at me, "Why do I get the feeling you're going to give me and my crew a hard time?"

I didn't reply. Someone else did for me.

"Oh sweet Jaslynn, what kind of person would I be if I didn't give you a hard time? Remember the good old days."

Jaslynn whipped around, and everyone froze as we stared at the tall lanky man, who was leaning against a tree. She let out a barely audible gasp:

"Malcolm."