The Alpha's Companion

Chapter 22 - Shopping With The Alpha

Lacey ran her hand over the fine fabrics of all the clothes in Amour as they walked past, admiring the sheen and softness of the materials. She had never had such clothes up close, let alone own them. While she was growing up, she was lucky to get her sister’s hand-me-downs.

Julien placed his hand on the small of her back, walking with her to the front desk. A well-dressed man approached with dark, short hair, a fashionable day-old beard, and was impeccably dressed. It was obvious that this man was a wolf-shifter, too.

"Master Grey," the man shook his hand, smiling. "It's good to see you again."

Julien clasped the man’s hand. "Hiro, the pleasure is mine."

Hiro nodded. "And what brings you in today?"

Julien smiled, wrapping his arm around Lacey. "This lovely lady is Princess Lacey Taregan, my pledge. Madame Pomeroy is creating a wardrobe for her; however, it's taking longer than expected." Then he turned to Lacey, "Lacey, this is Hiro Maximus, the manager of Aurora."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lacey said, giving him a smile.

"The pleasure is mine," Hiro replied, smiling while maintaining an air of professionalism. Then he turned back to Julien. "So, what would you like to see?"

"Everything," Julien replied, smiling at Lacey.

"Julien—"

But he placed a finger to her lips. "As the future Alpha Queen and my mate, then you need to dress as such."

Lacey nodded, understanding that, in Julien's own way, he was telling her not to embarrass him in front of this man.

"Hiro, please have her try on everything in the store that appeals to her in her size." Then he turned to Lacey and kissed her hand. "I'll be right over here."

Then Hiro looked at her and smiled. "Ready to have some fun?"

"Yes,” she replied, not wanting to spoil Julien’s fun. If he wanted to take her close shopping, then so be it. But she felt a bit guilty for buying so much. A few outfits would have been fine until the clothes from Madame Pomeroy arrived. But Julien was right. As the Alpha Queen a level of fashion and decorum was expected… especially when neighboring packs came to visit or on business.

Lacey spent the next few hours trying on everything in the store, picking out this outfit, turning down that outfit, and letting Hiro advise her. Hiro had exquisite taste, and she suddenly knew why he was the manager of Aurora. He had earned the position.

Through it all, Julien checked out every outfit. Not being domineering, but because he seemed to really enjoy seeing the clothes on her. When they were finished, Julien approached and took her by the hand. "Did you have fun?"

Lacey nodded. "Yes, I did. I’ve never had this many clothes in my life.”

He leaned in and kissed the top of her head, and then said in a sensual voice, "Well, we'll have to change that."

“Keep this up and I may have to have a room with a bigger closet.”

Julien narrowed his eyes at her, obviously not wanting this man to hear that he had given her a small room. But Lacey liked her room, and was quickly getting used to it.

Hiro clasped his hands, happy as a lark at having sold so many items. As he was ringing up the purchases, he asked, "You both look so good together! When's the big day?"

"In two weeks," Julien said without hesitation.

"Say what?" she asked, turning toward him. "You didn’t ask me yet."

He looked at her as if she had four heads. "Why, darling! We're pledged."

"Yes, but no one—"

"Let's discuss it outside, shall we?" Julien said, cutting her off. Then he looked over at Hiro, smiling as if nothing had just transpired. "We'll expect to see you at the wedding. Will you come?"

Hiro nodded, handing Julien back his card. "Yes, of course. Just let me know when and I’ll be there." Then he turned to the salesladies and handed them Lacey's packages. "Please. Take this out to their car, won't you?"

"Yes, sir," they all said in unison and then hurried out the door, laden with packages and clothing bags. There was everything from outfits of all kinds, shoes in every color and style, jewelry, and more.

Then Hiro walked around the counter and took Lacey's hand, giving it a squeeze. "It certainly was a pleasure to meet you today, Princess. Please, come by anytime."

Lacey nodded. "I will. And thank you." Then she took Julien's arm and looked up at him, smiling sweetly. Unable to resist, she said, "Ready, pumpkin?"

He glared at her in warning, but she pretended not to notice. "Lacey, dear. Would you please wait for me in the car?"

"Yes, of course," she said, heading out the door. It was clear that Julien didn't want to air their dirty laundry in front of others, wanting to keep his image intact. When she walked out, the driver opened the back door and she climbed in, waiting for Julien, knowing there was a storm brewing.

He slid in beside her a moment later. "How dare you embarrass me like that in front of Hiro!"

"Embarrass you?" Lacey asked, raising her voice. "You never even told me we were getting married! We just started getting along last night and this morning, and now we're getting married in two weeks?"

Julien shrugged. "Yes. So? What’s the problem?"

The driver pulled the limo away from the curb, ignoring their tiff. In fact, he discreetly raised the glass partition.

"Well, the biggest problem is Scar."

Julien's head snapped up. "What did you just say to me?"

Lacey knew she shouldn't continue this line of conversation—or argument—but she couldn't help herself. "What is she to you exactly?"

Julien rolled his eyes. "She's my Beta."

"Are you sure you aren’t sleeping with her?"

He bit his lower lip as he looked away, obviously trying to calm himself. Then he looked back into her eyes. "After I spent a king's ransom on clothes for you, you have the gall to ask me that?"

"Well? Are you?" she asked again. “And I never asked you to spend so much money on me! In fact, it was his idea in the first place! I would have been happy shopping at the mall!”

"For one thing, Scar is my Beta I am not sleeping with her!" Julien's voice bellowed. "I admit that she wants to be my mate, but I've never been attracted to her. We've been friends for years and she helped me when...." His voice trailed off, not finishing the statement.

"When what?" Lacey lowered her voice, looking into his eyes with concern. "Tell me. Whatever it is, you can trust me."

Julien looked up and there was a mountain and a cliff. "Stop the car," he said to the driver.

"Yes, sir." The driver pulled slowly over to the side of the road.

Julien flung his door open, grabbing Lacey's wrist. "Come with me."

"You are not going to throw me off the cliff!" Lacey yelled, digging in her heels as tears coursed down her cheeks. The day had started off so great but was going to end with her going over the edge of a cliff. Lacey pulled free and ran back to the limo, but he caught her wrists and turned her to face him.

To her amazement, he was smiling. "I'm not going to throw you off the cliff." He chuckled. Then he wiped the tears away from under her eyes and asked, "Don’t you trust me?"

"That depends," Lacey replied, pouting.

Julien raised both of his eyebrows, waiting. "Upon?"

"Upon if you're going to throw me over the cliff or not."

He chuckled again as he pulled her to his chest. "Silly girl," he said, shaking his head. "I want to explain to you what happened to me without anyone hearing." Then he nodded toward the driver. "Please... you can trust me."

But after the way he had treated her up until the past day or two, he would have to work hard to earn her trust.