Page 19 of Alpha Claimed

Apollo pickedout almost all of the candies in the old-fashioned jars to take back to the cabin with him. He smiled like a child when the store owner handed over the haul.

"What do you want?"

River snorted. "And I thought I had a sweet tooth. I think there's enough in that bag for both of us."

Apollo pulled the bag to his chest. "This is mine, Kitten. None of this "No, I don't want dessert" business, and then you eat half of mine. If you want candy, get some."

She tried to discern if he was joking. But when he flashed her his fangs, she knew he wasn't.

Okay, sharing candy was off the table. Fair enough.

River got a two-pound fudge sampler and assured Apollo that she was not interested in sharing either. Then she got a box of fudge for each man as an apology for losing it earlier. Apollo said she didn't have to, but she insisted. She contemplated getting one for Ares but thought better of it.

They hadn't even left the store before Apollo dug into his candy. River handed boxes to Bennett, Silas, and Lachlan, each of whom bowed and thanked her. She made them stop before people began to stare.

She gave her box to Lachlan, who promised to keep it safe.

"I'm pretty sure no one is going to try and mug you for a box of fudge, but if you could keep it from melting, that would be great."

"I don't know," said Bennett. "This fudge is worth mugging someone for."

"What about you?" said Silas. "You gonna trust me with your giant suitcase-sized bag of Halloween candy?"

Apollo looked at him. "Hell no."

Everyone laughed, and then Silas took Apollo's candy.

"Why don't you focus on your mate, not your sugar tooth today?"

"Why can't I do both?"

"Because candy makes you crazy," Silas and Bennett said together.

"You remember when we were twelve and Jonas took your candy bag? I thought you were going to put him in the ER."

"Dude. I was twelve. I'd spent hours going house to house for that haul."

"Well, for the safety of your mate, who might accidentally try and sneak one from you, we are keeping it."

Apollo growled and shook his head.

The dynamic between Apollo and his men differed significantly from Ares and the others. Ares was cautious, serious.

Apollo grabbed a candy stick from his bag and shoved it in his mouth before taking her hand. "There's a place I want to show you down the street. Then we can stop at the little shop across the way and get you more clothes."

She nodded, and they headed down the sidewalk. She looked over her shoulder to see Silas digging into Apollo's bag of candy.

She suppressed a giggle. They better not try that with her fudge, or they'd lose a hand.

* * *

APOLLO

Apollo dideverything he could to fight his inner beast. Her rejection of his kiss sent his beast into overdrive, and it had taken every ounce of strength to keep the animal from emerging and ripping the store apart and marking her right there.

So he'd done the only thing he could think of; he'd distracted himself, and the only distraction was the candy counter. With each sugary delight he popped into his mouth, his wolf became diverted enough for Apollo to calm him. It was stupid, and he didn't understand it, but for some reason, if his animal couldn't screw or kill, only food calmed him. Especially desserts and sweets.

By the time they left the store, his wolf was calm enough to lie down. That didn't mean he wasn't still grumbling, though.