88. A Pleasant Picnic Where Nothing Dramatic Happens

88. A Pleasant Picnic Where Nothing Dramatic Happens
Reiss

“Well, we’re all going to see the Council tomorrow. And I realized that we haven’t truly gotten a break. So why not relax and hang out for a bit? Even if it’s just a couple of hours, I think it will help a lot,” Cindy said.

I was still unable to speak. I can’t believe she did all of this, for us. I almost don’t want to touch it. The alpha cub bumped my shoulder. “Don’t be rude and just stare,” he whispered. “She’ll think you don’t like it.”

It’s true, I’ve been staring for too long. I grabbed the first thing my hand could find, which happened to be half a grilled chicken sandwich, and bite into it without remorse. 

I moaned before swallowing. “It tastes amazing. Thank you Cindy.”

She beamed. “Great! You don’t have to lie by the way, you can tell me if something tastes horrible.”

“No!” All three of us said at once.

Cindy seemed taken aback, then she started laughing.

“Okay, okay, whatever! Slow down! If one of you chokes, I’ll laugh.”

“You have a pretty laugh, so I don’t mind,” Glen said casually.

As if on cue, Antonio held his neck and started choking. Cindy held his shoulder as he tipped over, brows furrowed. 

Then he stopped and smiled. Cindy, now realizing what was going on, slapped him on the same shoulder she was gently holding.

“Dicks,” she grumbled. The rest of us laughed.

“Well we have them, so you’re not far off,” I let the words slip out.

She showed me her middle finger.

I had to admit, she picked a great place for this picnic. The mountains stretched on like waves on the ocean, the rushing of a waterfall tickling my ears from a far off distance.

Cindy offered Antonio something to try. I could feel someone looking at me but ignored it for a while. After it continued, I turned my head in the direction it was coming from. Cindy was making sure we were eating, Antonio wouldn’t stop staring at her as if she was the sun and moon, so there was only one person who would be staring at me like that.

Just as I suspected, Glen was staring at me without a hint of shyness. He rubbed his chin. 

Before I could ask what he was staring at, he drew uncomfortably closer. So close that his face was only a few inches away from mine. He started speaking and got straight to the point. 

“Since we’re going to be seeing each other a lot after this, we should get to know each other, right?”

I raised a brow, shoving his face away. “Not unless we don’t want to.”

“I do!” He bounced back as if he wasn’t offended at all by my actions. “Like for example, how were you able to maintain your position even when you were so young? How did you emit so much presence when we were interrogating that guard? Call me nosy but I feel like there’s stuff you’re not telling us.”

Just as he’d finished, I launched myself at him. One arm made its way around his neck while my legs kept his knees from bending by weighing them down with the help of force and gravity. My other arm trapped his upper torso, restricting how high his hands can reach.

With his back pressed against my chest I could feel the pounding of his heartbeat. 

Glen struggled but eventually stopped moving. Antonio and Cindy looked on with interest.

“You are nothing without your mind’s strength,” I said. I tightened my hold on him. His heart started beating faster. “You have to know who you are, and what you stand for. But most importantly, you have to be at peace with that. Every flaw, every nasty thing about you, you have to stare it in the face. Feel the discomfort stir within you. That way you know you can do better, go further. Become someone you wouldn’t recognize ten years ago. Only then can you become a strong Alpha.”

His heartbeat slowed down and I released him. He caressed his chest. “That’s it?”

“It might not seem like a lot, but you’d be surprised how many Alphas fail that step. You and I share a mate, Glen. If you don’t become stronger, then I can’t trust that she’ll be safe in your care.”

Cindy raised her hand. “Excuse me, sorry to interrupt your lesson, but I’m not a pet. I don’t want to become your burden, Glen. I don’t mind being your motivation, but not in the way where you feel like everything rests on your shoulders. You’ve got this! You’re one of the most earnest people I know! That’s why I crushed on you so hard.”

She covered her mouth. I snorted and looked away, hiding my laugh behind my palm. Glen’s eyes had transformed into sparkling jewels.

“You had a crush on me? Wait, since when?”

To avoid answering him, she consumed a glass of apple juice and looked the other way. That didn’t stop Glen.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He asked. “We’ve known each other for all this time and I had no idea! We could have started dating, or would have been married already! Can you imagine what our kids would say if we told them we knew we were made for each other before I knew we were fated.”

“I mean…” Cindy sighed, finally looking at him. “You know why. I figured since I wasn’t a werewolf, what would be the point? You’d end up being fated to someone else anyway and I’d only end up getting my heart broken. Didn’t seem like a good idea. And thinking that I’d be your mate of all people would be wishful thinking.”

“I like wishful thinking.” Glen leaned on his right arm, running his fingers through his hair. “Unfortunately, you’re right. I would have rejected you because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings in case I ended up finding my mate. It would have sucked to see my best friend hurting and know that I was the reason why you were hurt.”