Chapter 8

The Alpha had been in a mood since Paddy Jones’ lost granddaughter returned to the pack.

Everyone knew this.

He stomped around the town looking like he had a cloud hanging above his head. This confused everyone, especially his Beta, Michael. They all thought that he would rejoice and throw a party to celebrate her return, but instead, he looked like he was about to kill someone.

Michael walked through the pack house offices until he reached the door to his Alpha’s office. Taking a deep breath, he knocked then immediately opened the door and entered.

In the office was the Alpha with his head down reading through and signing documents handed to him by Gamma Dennis, one of the strongest team leaders. He looked to Dennis to gauge the Alpha’s mood, to which Dennis shook his head slightly.

The Alpha was not having a good day.

Michael let out a frustrated sigh, not understanding what was going through his Alpha’s head.

“What is it, Michael?” the Alpha asked, not looking up from his documents.

Most other pack members would be trembling in fear at hearing their Alpha’s voice, but Michael was different. He had grown up with Alpha Jason, so his rough exterior did not intimidate him. He knew that his Alpha was one of the kindest and most thoughtful people he had ever met, but would hardly show this side to anyone else because Alphas never showed their vulnerabilities.

So he waited for the Alpha to finish signing the documents and hand them to Gamma Dennis before speaking. He motioned to Dennis to leave the room, to which he hurried out not wanting to come between the best friends if there was about to be an argument.

“How is she?”, Michael asked, knowing exactly why his friend was in a foul mood.

The Alpha froze, his hand not moving over the document he was writing on before he took in a breath and let out a sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers before running his fingers through his hair and looking at his friend. He was worried, and he was finally showing it.

“She’s had a fever for two days now…”, Alpha Jason conceded. ‘I didn’t know humans could fall sick from stress and exhaustion.’

“Have you gone to see her?”

“Yes.”

“And….?”

“She was so out of it…. She’s going to need time”, Alpha Jason said as he walked to the window to look over his beautiful town. “Doc Miller said she just needed fluids and rest for now.”

“Is that why you’ve been ‘Mr. Grumpy-Pants’ the last couple of days?”, his Beta teased.

“It’s not funny”, the Alpha said solemnly.

The Alpha turned to look at his friend, finally showing his vulnerability. Michael knew that if he was finally opening up to him, he had gotten to a point where he didn’t know what to do next.

“I had given up, Mike”, Alpha Jason said. “I always dreamed of the day I would see her again, and here she is…. after walking through hell to get back to us. And all I can think of is….”

“…. Is how much you want to claim her”, Michael completed the sentence for his friend.

“I feel like a monster thinking this way, but I’m afraid that if I don’t she’s going to disappear again and I don’t think I can go through that a second time.”

“It’s a good thing you aren’t seven years old anymore”, Michael said reassuring the Alpha. “And you’re not alone either. So have patience and give her time to come to you.”

He walked up to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder and patted him reassuringly.

“And when you two are ready, I’ll personally tie your mating knot myself”, he joked.

His words may have been a joke, but it seemed that the Alpha was already imagining the mating ceremony when his eyes slightly lost focus and he smiled.

“Damn, son! You’ve got it bad….” Michael teased, laughing at the Alpha.

“Fuck off!” Alpha Jason retorted, pushing his friend on the shoulder.

Michael laughed as he made his way to leave the Alpha’s office. He stopped when he held the doorknob and turned back to face his friend and leader.

“Hey, Jace”, he said, “Don’t forget you’ve got an army of wolves who would die to protect their Luna.”

“I know”, the Alpha replied with a smile.

Now all he had to do was convince the Luna in question.

***

There was a hint of rosemary and lavender in the cool early morning breeze. The sun wasn’t up yet, but birds were chirping already, signaling for other creatures to rise from their slumber.

These sounds and smells of this small town were a welcome departure from the various cities she and her mother had always lived.

Amelia opened her eyes to see that she no longer felt sleepy and heavy. She rose from her bed and noticed that the IV line in her hand had already been removed. She was starting to think that this ‘Doc Miller’ that everyone spoke of didn’t exist or was a ghost who snuck in to care for her.

She had no idea how much time had passed, but she guessed it had been at least a couple of days. So she went into her bathroom and freshened up, she didn’t want to stink up the place since she was now surrounded by wolves.

When she was done, she put on a pair of jogging shorts and an oversized hoodie she found in the wardrobe and wore a pair of slip-on trainers. As she stood looking at herself in the mirror, she wondered if her mother wore these same clothes when she lived in this room. And the thought felt comforting to know that she still had pieces of her mother left.

Even though she knew it was still really early in the morning, Amelia went looking for Patrick. She thought that he should at least know that she was feeling much better today.

However, when she got to his room which still had the door open, he was sprawled across his bed with the bowl of water and cloth he had been using to care for her sitting on the bedside table. She was pretty out of it the last couple of days, but she still remembered how Patrick had taken care of her, even if it meant that he barely got any sleep himself. So she decided against waking him up and shut the door carefully then headed to the kitchen by herself.

Looking through the cupboards, she found the ingredients to make some coffee and a small thermos coffee cup. She decided to take a stroll and stretch her legs for a little while. Staying cooped up in the house felt strange to her. She had grown accustomed to getting up and going on the move before first light. But in this town, people had the luxury to decide to sleep in or start their day early if they wanted.

She wrote a note for Patrick and placed it on the kitchen island before she walked out the door with her coffee cup in hand.

Most of the town was still asleep. But she still encountered the odd jogger or pair of guards as she took her stroll. They all smiled and gave her a morning greeting as she walked past them. ‘Well, it looks like everyone knows I’m here now’, she thought to herself. At least she wouldn’t have to go around introducing herself to everyone.

As she walked through the town, she noticed that there was a pair of guards that seemed to keep pace behind her. They were far enough not to make things awkward, but they never lost sight of her the whole time. They weren’t trying to hide their presence, but this didn’t make her any more comfortable with being followed.

Amelia scowled at the thought of having to be babysat while she lived in the town. However, she ignored them for the time being and continued her stroll.

She arrived at what looked like a sports field next to an elementary school. She was going to walk past, but she noticed a group of people on the field sparing and exercising together. They seemed to be wolf warriors carrying out their morning training sessions. Her curiosity got the better of her and her feet began taking her towards the group before she had the time to decide against intruding.

As she got closer to the group, she noticed two figures that had their backs to her. They seemed to be the instructors of the group, giving commands and directions to the participants. And one of them was particularly tall with a familiar head of grayish-black hair.

There was something about the Alpha that always made her feel…. flustered. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she knew that she didn’t want to deal with it at that moment.

She was about to turn around and leave when the Alpha suddenly perked up and spun around to see her walking towards them.

That’s when she realized what it was. It was his eyes that always made her feel flustered.

She felt like he could see into her soul.