The Chronicles of Alpha Academy (bxb)

11: A New Place for My Pillow

Chapter Eleven: A New Place for My Pillow

Kieran

I had to make it work. I had to survive the next few months. I had a goal. There was a reason.

I didn't feel lost in the dark anymore. I felt a strange new sense of who I was. I felt connected.

Everything, my future, was still a dark mystery. But one thing was certain.

My mate loved me. They LOVED me. I felt it. I believed it. It was ... what my Great Aunt said. She was right, as always. It was the best feeling in the world.

Funny how I went from my lowest low, feeling so lost and afraid. Wishing it was over. That everything, all of this, was over. And the next moment, I felt...hope.

Hope seems like an ephemeral nothing throw away kind of word, until it wasn't. Until it felt like someone threw you a lifeline when you were drowning, suffocating, unable to breathe.

I had no idea, none, who my mate was. There was no sense of "self" in the wolfsense that spoke to me. My mate didn't even know, most likely, not consciously, that we'd communicated. Our inner wolves are far more wise and in tune with everything in a way our conscious selves aren't.

But I trusted in them, and in the Goddess, that when the time came (sorry), to uncover my mate, the love I felt right now, in this moment, would appear again to uplift my life. We would be together. And this sliver of hope and joy I just experienced would become a certainty, a fixture in my day to day life.

I needed it. I would earn it. I would be the wolf I needed to be. I would be ready to give back as much love and hope and happiness as I knew I'd be given.

To do that, I needed a place to feel safe. Where I could focus on myself and the tasks set before me as the Keystone Luna.

For all I knew, Will was the one whose wolfsense spoke to me. I don't know. But I do know I need to find a new place to room. Every second with him, at least as we stood now, was filled with tension.

I was attracted to Kai. He was a wonderful wolf. A sweet wolf. A great person. But I didn't think I'd have anywhere near as many problems living with him, as I did with Will.

=

I sat on the side of the pool, paddling my feet, watching him stroke through the water. Is this literally what he did all day? Surely not.

It was early evening. The Oracle took me from breakfast. I'd spoken in Mina's chamber with her father and my great aunt for only a few hours, then wandered around the school, met James' roommate, and my short fling with running way, but it all added up. It was almost time for dinner.

I had my eyes closed, thinking about the sum total of my day. So I felt first, the strong hands slide up my calves, my pants rolled up to my knees in order to not be a sopping wet mess.

"Hey, how long have you been here? I didn't realize you showed up, or I would have stopped earlier," Kai said, slicking his dark hair back over his skull, the water dripping down his strong cheekbones, leaving a visible trail down his jaw.

I shrugged, but smiled. Maybe my first honest smile today. I was still basking in my mate's love.

"You look different, Kieran." His fingers massaged the muscles in my lower legs, with medium pressure. It felt nice. "You look... I don't know. Different." He sprang out of the water suddenly, sitting next to me, a person shaped waterfall.

I tugged my vest a little closer, relieved that all of my clothes were where I let them fall when I Changed, all in good shape.

"I don't know. But...actually I have a question I'd like to ask you. A favor. It would really help me out, but you can say no, of course."