From Above the Treetops

XI

N.J and I finished our ice creams, chucking the rubbish into the bin just outside of my car. I threw a wet wipe at him since he had spilt some down his shirt, like he did every time. The kid was messier than a toddler.

Mila strolled towards my car at just the right time, carrying her gym bag and dressed in running clothes. I held open her door for her, shutting it behind her as she climbed in. N.J followed suit, sprawling across the backseats, and I headed for the drivers seat.

"Hey, Alexandros?" A voice yelled across the busy carpark, surprising me.

I spun around and saw a familiar face looking at me from where a big crowd of human and wolf kids were standing, obviously just having finished cross country. The kids he was with were all shuffling away from him, trying to avoid being associated with the kid who speaks to the Omega.

Nico's hopeful face was across the parking lot, his eyes practically burning a hole into me with how intense his gaze was. The whole carpark smelt like wet rain and petrol and my wolf wanted me to just leave before he had a chance to talk to me. Nico stepped away from his group, hoping to walk across the carpark and talk to me now that he had my attention, but I was already in my car and starting the engine before he could take even one more step.

He must be a determined kid, however, as he didn't slow down his pace. Mila's eyes were darting between me and Nico, her face full of concern, but I simply shifted my car into gear and sped off before he could get any closer to us.

"That was a little dramatic." Mila hummed, judgment clear in her voice.

"I don't want to talk to him." I shrugged simply, "It's easier if I keep my distance from him."

"Whatever." Mila fell silent.

We drove in silence, N.J drumming his fingers along to the beat of the song playing quietly from the speakers. Nico had been relatively easy to ignore, since we had no classes together, but his proximity to Mila made it hard for me at times.

"Do you wanna watch a movie before dinner when we get back?" Mila broke the silence, playing with my car radio settings.

"We have pack drills, did you forget, Alpha?" N.J teased, "God, what would you do without your Beta?"

"Rely on Xan, like I do ninety-nine percent of the time anyway?" Mila scoffed.

"I wonder if your future mate will be jealous, or something." N.J laughed, "Or if anything will change when we meet our mates."

I groaned internally. I hate how often this topic comes up.

"Nothing will change when Xan meets his mate; he won't be interested." Mila giggled, "And any mate of mine would have to be okay with my two favourite boys. Otherwise they wouldn't be my perfect mate, would they?"

I zoned out as they started their usual mate talk, wondering who is their moon-goddess appointed, so-called soulmate or perfect person. They were far too young to care, but I let them get on with it. They're both sort of hopeless romantics. Hopeless being the key word.

I pulled up to the pack house and flipped my engine off, following the other two out to the training field which was essentially just a large clearing in the trees behind the pack house that we used for events and training.

Cameron was stood at the front of the crowds, which made me smile internally. He always insisted on leading these, despite being a human. Not only could he not shift, but he didn't have the same kind of strength as us. Plus, humans aged faster. It made Xavier look like his toy boy, despite Xavier being older. I admire Cameron's passion for the pack and its safety more than anything, though, so I appreciate his training sessions.