Burning the Alpha

CHAPTER FIVE

This was mistake.

It should have been obvious when I counted more than one mortal child playing in the yard as we approached.

They all ran up to greet Shaun, and he rattled off their names like they were something he actually cared about.

He didn't bother to introduce me, which made sense, given that he still didn't know what to call me. So I stood there watching their display, Shaun's coat covering my flesh to keep the rain off me, and hoping I didn't scare them.

He was quick to lead me inside, for which I was grateful, until it became apparent that there were even more mortals inside the large building he referred to as a 'pack house'.

Everyone acknowledged him, referring to him as 'Alpha Shaun'. I knew enough about werewolf lore to know that this title must mean he was their leader.

I studied him with renewed interest.

He was tall with a solid build. The smile that rarely left his face seemed to indicate he had a fairly friendly nature. His hair was, kind of, terracotta-clay red, and his eyes were as brown as calcium-rich soil. He used his hands a lot. Shaking hands, patting people on the back, bringing them in for a hug. The smiles on the other mortal's faces led me to believe he was well-liked amoung his people.

"And you must be the new Luna!" One of the mortals threw their arms around me, then yelped and pulled away as my temperature spiked without my permission.

Everyone stopped moving and looked at me.

"Sorry." I said, believing it to be the most appropriate response.

"Okay, everyone." Shaun took control of the situation, shepherding people about a metre out of my circumference. "Let's not overwhelm her. You'll have plenty of time to get to know her later. For now, we need to discuss some things in private." His eyes went to a specific mortal. "Beta Jarryd will let me know if there's anything urgent." The mortal nodded.

Shaun turned his attention back to me, and motioned away with his arms. "If you'll come with me?"

"Sure." I followed after him.

He led me to what I assume was his office and offered me a chair, then took the other chair infront of the desk, so we were directly facing eachother with nothing in between us.

"So..." He attempted to start the conversation. "...I still don't know you're name."

"Neither do I." I answered, "but I guess you can call my Avril."

"Avril." He tested it out. "It's suits you well enough."

"I like to think so." I nodded along, hoping to help the conversation flow better.

There was another pause before he cleared his throat. "You may be wondering why they called you 'Luna'."

"It's the term for the Alpha's mate, is it not?" See? I know stuff. "Oh! But...see...they shouldn't call me that...this isn't a real thing...this can't be a thing."

He seemed surprised. "Why not?"

"I..." Where to start. "You have to understand...you are tiny...best case scenario, you'll live to, what? A hundred and fifty? I've spent longer than that doing nothing but watch the sky change."
He gave a low whistle. "So...you're immortal and...something to do with fire...? Do you know when you...began?"

Huh. I hadn't thought about it for a while, but now that I did, I missed it. "My eternal flame."

He shook his head. "I don't understand."

"I mean...my first conscious memories are connected to my eternal flame. A lie, as it turns out. But when I was there, it felt like it would last forever."

"I don't...I'm not following."

"There was a well of natural gas...before the continents broke apart...I was the flame that fed on it."

"The continents..." He was still surprised, and it occured to me that I'd never discussed these things with a mortal before. "But...that was thousands of years ago..."

"Sure. Time was...not really a thing for me...until humans started getting more industrious. My well dried up. I tried a volcano, but it couldn't sustain me..."

"Okay, wait." He stopped me. "I have questions."

"Ask." I said.

"Sustain? You...need fire...to live?" He asked.

"That's a good question." I hadn't thought too much about it before. Would I die without fire? I'd never gone without it long enough to find out. "I know I get very uncomfortable if I go to long without it, that's what happened in the volcano. The heat was nice, but there wasn't enough flame..."

"So...what happened?" He asked.

"Well..." I wasn't proud of the answer. "The volcano erupted - that wasn't my fault, by the way - and as I followed the molten rock downwards, I noticed that the foliage would catch fire before the lava smothered it...the volcano was surrounded by forest...so, I'm sure you can imagine...I'd been without for so long..."
I didn't want to say the rest. Strangely, I found that I was starting to care about what this mortal might be thinking. His eyes were still on me, but he wasn't saying anything, so I decided to skip to the end.

"Anyway. I found humans. They like fire, and found interesting ways to use it...and I'm not sure why I'm telling you all my secrets like this."

He chuckled. A deep, resonant sound. "It's probably the mate bond."

"Oh, yes!" That got me back on track. "Now, this 'mate bond' can't be a thing. So, you have to break it or...whatever...just, make it go away...I can't be your mate...I'm...I have..."

Something snapped in him...or...something snapped for him...something happened that took his attention away.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"I'm sorry." He said, bringing his attention back to me. "I really want to continue this talk, but, something's come up, and it needs my urgent attention."

Without another word, he stood up and left the room.