The Alpha Trials

Chapter 18

Despite the startling amount of time I'd been in this same situation over the past two weeks, my nerves were not at all soothed by the idea of once again needing to knock on the door of a stranger whom I'd been forced to make the acquaintance of.

Lifting my hand up, I help it mere inches from the door, unable to find the strength inside of me to knock. Ignoring the fact that I was fully exhausted from my previous nights gallivanting around the new pack quarters with the leading wolves, I also had days full of training to keep up with.

My noodle arm was starting to betray as I stood frozen in the knocking position. The scent of Tyler that seemed to swirl around me was already starting to fade as he moved further away and closer to the bed that he'd so badly coveted.

Without the mindless chatter of the Captain and the strange feelings he had the ability to stir up, or my life altering conversations with Dariya, the exhaustion was finally allowed its chance to seep through my bones. Oh Luna above how I wished I could be crawling into my own bed right now.

Yet, that didn't seem to be the path life had currently chosen for me. Taking a deep breath and gritting my teeth in an attempt to stay awake, I allowed my knuckles to rasp firmly across the door in front of me.

The response to my knock wasn't immediate, although I did hear faint footsteps from the other side of the door. Whoever was on the other side certainly didn't seem to be in any type of rush to open the door for me based on the lackadaisy pace they took.

Whether it was my sleep deprivation, the newfound alpha wolf in me, or my overall anxiety at the situation I'd been thrown to, there was no stopping the low growl that echoed out of my throat. "Any urgency would be deeply appreciated," I muttered softly, more to myself than for whoever was on the other side.

Just like that the door swung open to reveal a young man with soft gray eyes that might have had the faintest whispers of purple, and the same dark hair as my mate. Rather than having that dark hair cut short in more of a militant style, this man had allowed the hair to grow out and reveal its curly nature. Dark luscious curls hung lazily over his eyes that were now looking me up and down.

He wasn't nearly as muscle as Tristan either, much slimmer and swift in nature though nearly as tall. The man raised one perfectly arched dark eyebrow and a teasing smile danced playfully across his beautiful face. "I must admit, Miss Tenrith, I did not think our first meeting would be quite like this," he mused lightly, dragging a quick hand through those gentle curls in a clear attempt to tame them. "I also regret to say that I was not expecting you so early. I would have come to get you from your room and allowed you to sleep a bit. You appear to be in dire need of it."

My mouth was open but there were no words coming out of it. Whether it was because this beautiful man in front of me was so much like my mate and so different at the same time. Or because he had just told me that he would've allowed more sleep, and that was the one thing I wanted more than anything else at that moment.

"I-what?"

The beautiful man laughed again and offered a hand out to me. "Though I must admit this isn't exactly how I thought I would meet my future sister-in-law, it is a pleasure. I am Xavier Daruke."

Holy shit, Tristan was hot, yes, and Tyler could make my head spin with those eyes of his, but this man was actually beautiful. A gentle kind of beauty that I hadn't seen in a long time. Even his eyes were soft as they regarded me in a warm light.

Not to mention, the only clothing I'd seen any person in any position of leadership wearing the entire time I'd been here was battlefield black or gray. If it wasn't those suits that made them look prepared to leap into battle at any moment, then it was some more relaxed variation of gray or black athletic clothing. Xavier was very much not wearing any of that.