Angry, Oblivious, Alpha

24 Luna

Clarisia

The next day, Damien was absent from the afternoon training.
Our entire age group seemed unfocused, the party in the Garden of Eden had left its mark. Arnie finished our training early, shaking his head and sending us off the sand court.
I picked up my water bottle and ran over to the older training groups.
After watching for a few minutes, I gathered my courage. When Kira had a short break, I approached her.
She wiped her sweaty forehead with her forearm and smiled at me in greeting.

"Have you... have you seen Damien?" I asked hastily before I could change my mind.
Kira's light eyebrows shot up, but I held her scrutinizing gaze.
"He's sleeping," Kira replied with a wink. "The last few weeks have been exhausting for the little Alpha."
Her blue eyes darted across my face. "Our father gave him the day off. Why do you ask?"
"Just like that." I shrugged my shoulders, trying to keep my face as calm as possible.
Kira suppressed a mischievous grin. "You could wake him up. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
Before I could stop myself, I let out an irritated growl, but Kira just laughed. She patted me on the back in a friendly manner.

After I had showered, I lay down on my bed and thought about what had happened the night before. I must have dozed off, because when I woke up again, the dim light of dusk was already coming through the window.
Still a little dazed from the far too long nap, I stumbled down the stairs.
A babble of voices came from the living room, mixed with the artificial sound of the television. When I reached the lower floor, I recognized Damien on the sofa and my heart skipped a beat.
Jayce was stretched out on the carpet, his face unusually green.
"How did he survive training?" I asked Lorelie, who came out of the kitchen with a cup of tea.
"Ann said he threw up three times," she said with a broad grin. "He must have not tolerated the gin as well as he thought."
I giggled maliciously. "Serves him right for the way he went after Jessy."

"Speaking of which!" Lorelie looked at me with a strange expression.
"You did it, didn't you?" she whispered, an excited gleam in her eyes.
"Shh!" I said, startled, and pulled her away from our friends. "How did you guess?"
A triumphant expression crept onto my friend's face. "First of all, you suddenly disappeared yesterday. Secondly, you're no longer constantly holding your stomach, which means your heat pains are gone and oh my God, you're glowing!" She took a deep breath.
"And thirdly, Damien hasn't been this relaxed in weeks."
I followed her gaze to the figure of the young alpha on the sofa.
Damien had one elbow propped up on the armrest, his head resting on his hand and was dozing, his eyes closed.
I couldn't suppress a grin. "Well put, Sherlock!"

Lorelie gasped. "I want to know everything!"
"You didn't tell me about it either," I tried to brush her off, but my best friend raised her eyebrows meaningfully.
"Do you want to hear how I slept with your brother?"
At the thought of that, I twisted my face in disgust. "Ugh, no!"
I let my gaze wander over the crowded living room. "Let's talk about it later, just the two of us."
Lorelie nodded eagerly. "Deal! I'll bring popcorn."
I rolled my eyes and she pinched my upper arm with a grin.
I stood undecided next to the sofa. Ann made room for me with a smile and slid onto Brian's lap to make herself comfortable. After a brief hesitation, I sat down next to Damien. He seemed to sense my presence or maybe he smelled me because he opened his eyelids slightly.

"Hey," I said quietly and smiled at him sheepishly.
Damien put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.
With my heart pounding, I snuggled up against his hard chest, his warmth enveloping me like a protective coat. Damien kissed the top of my head and buried his nose in my hair.
"Oh, you're so cute together," Jessy sighed enviously, crossing her long legs and shoving a handful of M&M's into her mouth.
Embarrassed, I buried my face in Damien's chest, the smell that clung to his shirt was intoxicating.
Damien shifted his weight and the movement of his body sent a warm tingling across my skin.