Midnight Howling Book 1

Chapter 11: Alexander/Lyra

Alexander

Alexander always woke up before the sun, running the border at first light. It gave him peace of mind to know the pack was safe. Before he became Beta, he was the head warrior; his patrols were well-organized, and nothing ever got through. He was promoted to Beta two years ago, at the age of 22, when his father stepped down.

Normally, wolves don't give up a title, but his father wanted to spend more time with his mother. After 45 years of serving the late Alpha and then the current Alpha, James, he deserved it. His father saw how hard Alexander was working and took it to the Alpha for approval.

Ever since then, Alexander had pushed himself to be the best he could be. He didn't want to let his father down.

Today, he woke up with the small human on his mind. He sat up, running a hand over his face to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

He could still see how afraid she looked. He shook his head. She'll never make it around here; she's not made for it. A low growl came from the back of his mind, and he rolled his eyes at his wolf.

"You know as well as I do, this place isn't for weaklings," Alex said to his wolf.

"Weak? How can she be weak!" Sol snarled, pacing in Alex's mind and giving him a headache. Alex rubbed his temple, groaning.

"She survived a rogue; the small human is strong," Sol puffed his chest out in pride, talking about the girl.

"Why do you care so much!?" Alex bit back at his wolf, annoyed by his recent actions.

Sol growled again, turning his back on his human counterpart and cutting off communication. Alex sighed.

"Fine, be that way," he said aloud to the empty room.

He got out of bed and dressed in his running outfit: black gym shorts and a gray tank top. He planned to shower after running the border.

Alex walked out of his room, glancing over at the small human's door before heading out. He stopped in front of the door for a moment to listen for movement. The sound of running water filled his ears, indicating she was up and likely getting ready to bathe.

Alex shook the thought from his head; the last thing he needed was to think about this small human in that way. Sure, she was attractive, but that didn't matter—she wasn't his mate.

Frustrated with himself, he took off in a jog down the stairs. He needed this run to clear his mind.

Outside, the sun was starting to peek over the mountain and light the sky. Alex ran over the training field and through the woods, toward the Sacred Lake, where they had found her.

He came to a stop in front of the water; it had returned to its original beauty, her blood long gone. The area still stunk of rogue, but that was normal. The scent of a rogue was strong and pungent, like rotting flesh; it would take a few more days to clear out.

He wondered how they ended up in the water to begin with. The rogue's scent hadn't come from anywhere but right here. Looking up, Alex saw a ledge far above the water up on the mountain. There's no way she jumped from there.

"Small human not so weak now?" Sol suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, you're talking to me again?" Alex shot back, earning a huff from his wolf.

Sol went back to ignoring him, and Alex welcomed the silence. Ever since the small human arrived, things had been weird with his wolf.

Alex continued his run along the border, checking things over, stopping occasionally to speak to patrols about their sections of the border. Everything seemed to be fine—a few sightings of wandering rogues and a normal hunter about 20 miles from the border were about it, nothing to be concerned about.