The Alpha's Siren Song

Easton's POV

***Just a fun little extra with Easton's first encounter with Kaia***

Easton's pace was steady. The sound of his paws striking the Earth in the dead of night was rhythmic to his own ears. Though he was a fan of the benefits of having steady sleep schedule, he wasn't opposed to the occasional nightly round. The world was quiet then. All of the duties of being an alpha slipped away, but they would return when the sun rose within the next hour or two.

His days were filled with demands. The pack needed to grow, when would they get more land? They were isolated in the Albertan mountains, if the pack was growing so was the need for children's programs. Funds were getting tighter, but there was a delicate balance between observing the werewolf way of life for the sake of tradition and moving along with humanity to make life a little more comfortable. It all bared down on him under the sunlight.

Here, thankfully, there was nothing. And the nightly rounds were really just for the pretense of work. The reality was that King Ajax and Queen Keiko kept the werewolf community peaceful and enforced accountability. No one had breached their borders in years and they would not start tonight. This time was for him alone, to find ease in the power of his wolf and the rhythm in the world around him.

Using the moonlight, Easton took calculated steps through the dense woods. His ears flickered about to capture the noise of nature: an owl calling out to the moon, a gentle breeze whispering to the trees, the gurgling of the nearby stream. It was all so balanced, perfectly predictable as nature always was.

Then, the serenity was shattered.

"Hello."

Easton froze mid-stride. The feminine voice sounded as if it had spoken just for him to hear. A whisper that his own mind had conjured up. For a moment, he almost believed it to be true because no one could have a voice so sweet, and even if they did, what would they be doing outside, trapped in the wilderness, in the middle of the night? He had to have imagined it. He strained his ears hard, hoping he hadn't lost his mind.

There were no more words spoken, but there was the unmistaken sound of something interrupting nature. The splash of water, the silence of the owl in the tree.

Someone was here.

Easton lowered his wolfish body into something of a crawl and shuffled forward, the ferns and branches tickling his belly as he moved. A threat didn't seem realistic, but he wasn't so bold as to take any chances. He inched closer and closer to a small ravine, knowing that a small river would be below. Thick brush gave way to the ridge's edge. About four feet below, the river rushed on, never taking a break.

And there she was.

Easton felt like the breath had been knocked out of him. His legs suddenly felt too shaky to support him, lowering down the last couple of inches before he rested on the ground. His heart thundered in his ears. This was the moment. This was the encounter he had waited his whole life for.

His mate.

It only took one glance, but he had never been more certain of anything in his life.

He had always wondered what it would feel like. No one had ever been able to explain it to him. But it felt like opening the front door to your first home. It felt like Christmas morning when everything was still, knowing the excitement was coming.

His first functional thought was that she was stunning. The river was raging above and below her. But around her small waist, it seemed to swirl delicately. Her pale skin glowed in the beginnings of the sunrise as she tipped her head back, the current capturing the ends of her golden hair. Easton could hardly breathe when her lips parted and she let out the beginnings of a beautiful song.