Raised Among Alphas

31 - News

Alora POV

The day went by painfully slow.

My mind was far away from the dry lands my feet travelled, lost between thoughts of the future and the past. The wind blew colder as the sun started to set, and the soothing sound of the sparrows governed the land. Beyond the western hills and its mesquites, I ran into a family of cougars resting in a cave. The mother was sheltering three sleepy kittens, probably only a couple of weeks old. Oddly enough, she wasn't afraid of me.

I got close to them, a couple of steps away from the entrance of their shelter, and took a seat on a boulder nearby, enjoying the view and the feeling it carried.

The view of a new mother exhausted by her babies. The smooth orange and pink tones of the sunset on top of me. The sharpness of the cold breeze against my back. How I wished I could remain in this moment, in this unthreatened reality, away from the enigmatic future.

"Hey, Terror, war meeting in my office at 9p.m.." Jathred's voice popped into my head unannounced.

I've been sitting on the ground, hugging my legs for the last hour, embracing the darkness that declared the end of another day. If I wanted to be on time for the meeting, I better get up and start walking soon.

I gave a last look at my surroundings, grateful for the peace nature gifted me. I glared at the feline mom one last time, honoured by her acceptance and extended my farewell with a nod in her direction. I saw in her soul she wasn't afraid of me. Most likely, she knew I needed shelter as much as her babies did.

On my walk back home, darkness became a welcomed companion. It felt like walking in my heart, a void filled with uncertainty. There was a time when all I looked forward to was being on the private council, being one of the few members deciding the future of the pack. Sadly, as of right now, I want nothing to do with it. I care deeply for my pack, but I don't want the weight of that responsibility, not today.

Today, all I want to do is escape reality.

As I reached the entrance of the pack house, I caught several of my pack members staring at me. Not one of their usual stares when they are happy to see me. These ones were more preoccupied, even nervous—probably a consequence of my now widely known mate situation. The pack took time to accept my relationship with Kasthor, but they have come to love us together. Some of them even thought we would take each other as chosen mates. Perhaps, now that they know I have met my mate, uncertainty is at its highest.

I moved on without giving it much thought, rushing up the stairs and skipping every other step. A mixture of scents was expecting me on the fourth floor as I walked over to Jathred's office. One of them was particularly new, although I have scented it before... an old adquantece.

Jathred's office was crowded. Behind the desk was Leila sitting on the main chair with Jathred standing beside her. Beta Mathias and Kasthor were standing in the right corner beside Jathred, exchanging letters, probably containing new information from our spies. Sitting on one of the leather chairs on the opposite side of the desk was Sophie, guarded close by my mate. I had to hold my breath to avoid his scent from accelerating my blood pressure. How I wish he didn't have that effect on me; it was both annoying and heartbreaking.

To the left side of the door opening was the Commander of the Shrubland wolves and his second-in-command. Their eyes widened warmly as they saw me opening the door. On the far left corner of the office, several steps behind my mate and his... pregnant 'friend,' was the wolf responsible for the new scent. Our old acquaintance was Thierot, the Beta from the White Sand Pack, accompanied by his leading warrior. The last time I saw Thierot was at Jathred's birthday celebration. He was the first wolf who caught me and Kasthor red-handed. It felt like a lifetime ago.