The Night I Met The Alpha

11

Word Count: 1853

~Varian

I roll the rubber ball around my hand, looking at it's worn surface.

The once verdant colour has faded into a sullen juniper, matching my mood.

I toss it at the headstone. It rebounds off the weather beaten surface with a satisfying pocking sound, right back into my hands.

"It's finally happening, brother," I mumble, tossing the ball at him again. "We'll bring you home soon."

I like to imagine he's catching it like he did when we were boys. Instead he's nothing more than a memory, a faded gravestone over an empty plot.

My parents insisted on this before they died, accepting my brothers death rather than fighting to find answers on what happened to him.

No one comes down here anymore. The manor stands proud at the top of the hill, but down here in the valley, there is nothing but smothered dreams and disappointment. .

"I know it took longer than I intended. But what matters is that everything is where it needs to be," I tell him. "I've poured so much time into this. Everything is perfect, and I have no doubt the invasion will be successful."

It has to be successful. So much is riding on this.

"And yes, I know what you would say...I'm doing everything to limit civilian casualty," I mutter, catching the ball on its rebound once again, brushing my thumb over its dusty surface. "But there is only so much I can do."

When I think of Alpha Matthias's pack members, I think of Dove.

She's sweet and entirely innocent in all of this. I've been scouring for information on her, but nothing has yet arisen.

Saving one, just one before the invasion starts would put my mind at some ease. Yet, the one my brain wants to save is Dove, and she isn't revealing herself.

"Alpha?"

I turn, watching my assistant pick her way awkwardly down the hill, her heels sinking into the soft grass.
 
"Serena. Is everything alright?" I ask, slipping the ball into my pocket as I stand.

She shudders against the chill in the air, her angular face screwed up with mild irritation.

"I thought I may find you out here." She presses her hand against the side of her head in an effort to force back wisps of tawny hair. "I wanted to convey some information to you."

"Is it about the girl?"
 
"Yes." She clears her throat. "We couldn't find any information on her address. As you know, she instructed the driver to let her off at a train station. From there she could have gone anywhere in Matthias' pack."

I ignore the splintery sharpness between my temples, pressing back my frustration.

Usually my guests who come from Matthias' pack get atrociously drunk and are found on my lawn or in my fountain by the next morning. Rarely do they even ever make it in, and rarely do they slip away again without notice.

"She can't have gone too far into his pack. She mentioned something about needing to be back before light," I start up the hill toward the manor.

"We had people ask around for a Dove, but no one could place her." Serena stumbles, trying to match my brusque pace. "I'm afraid we either have the wrong place, or she isn't well known at all."

"I don't know how she wouldn't be well known. She draws the eye."

"From what I heard she showed up in a pink dress despite the theme." She releases a troubled breath as we sweep inside. "If you ask me, she's just a nobody with no much money and not much notoriety."

The familiar itch of displeasure licks up my spine as I weave through the hall and to the staircase.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing." I shoot her a look.

"I'm just saying she's likely not worth so many resources in trying to find her." Serena pauses at the foot of the stairs, balking. "I mean, what could you possibly want to do with her once she's found?"

I pause halfway up, resting my hand on the sleek banister. Even my manicured assistant can't hide that edge of bitterness in her voice.

"I'm not going to marry her, Serena, I'm going to ensure her family are safe during the invasion," I say calmly.

Her fingers pale as she tightens her grip on the pen she's always tapping incessantly against her clipboard. "Why?"

"After everything I put her through the other night, I feel like I owe her."

That, and I want to see her again. Just once, to ensure her experience that night didn't scar her.

And to know if the effect she had on me was just a fluke.

Serena offers a saccharine smile laden with ulterior meaning. "She got an experience many can only wish they had."

I continue up the stairs. "I just need to find her, alright?"
 
"You need to prepare for tonight's dinner party at Ciella's." Serena's voice quickens as she hastens her pace to keep up with my long strides.

I grimace. "Shit, I forgot about that."

Ciella has been my friend for years and she's finally decided she's ready to introduce myself and Claude to her secret lover.

Ciella's a lot like me. Protective over what she cares about, what matters. Such an inclination has gotten me in trouble before...

"She'll be expecting you, make no mistake about it," Serena exclaims, both of us recalling my dear friends stubborn streak. "You'll finally be meeting her girlfriend. She will want you there."

"I know, I'll go," I mutter flippantly, pressing into my room.

I can still scent Dove in here. She smells sweet, like honey and orange blossom, and something else I can't pinpoint. Something I've smelt before and yet evades me.

"It made me jealous, you know." Serena clicks the door closed, setting her clipboard down on the end of my bed. "I was in the room when you made that girl orgasm, talking in her ear like you're her lover."

She approaches me, her sultry full mouth pulling up into a smile that would usually melt my resolve.

I look down at her as she rests her hands against my chest, long nails pressing into the fabric of my shirt. "It didn't mean anything."

"You always take your choices for the night into your room. You never show them off like that." Her breath coasts against my lips.

"I just wanted her to have a good night," I respond tightly, restrained.

She blinks up at me with warm brown eyes. "Did you have a good night?"

"I did, actually. For the first time in years."

It's weighed on me since. Not much, but in fleeting moments I see flashes of pale blue eyes and silken hair and a smile unlike any I've ever seen before. It reminds me she's still out there, unaware of what's coming for her.

"Well then, I suppose you better make it up to me. I don't like seeing you with another woman."

Her hand drags lower down my stomach, reaching the waistband of my pants before I grab her wrist.

"I don't think I can keep doing this, Serena," I admit coarsely.

My relationship with Serena has always been casual, easy. She's there whenever I need release and don't want to outsource to those only vying for a taste of my power.

But being with her has been depleting me recently. The familiar hollowness in my chest feels vast and endless after our moments together, like I'm being scolded by my own body.

I don't know what it's waiting for. Whatever it is, I'm not sure it's ever going to get it.

She flinches back a step. Hurt spills across her features, only to be quickly swept away as her usual professionalism rearranges itself on her face.

"Did I do something wrong?" Her voice is clipped.

"Absolutely not," I assure her brusquely. "There is so much happening soon. I need to concentrate, to..."

"You can end things, but please don't bother with the excuses." She turns, scooping her clipboard back up, only to press it protectively against her chest.

I bow my head. "You're right. I'm sorry."

We both knew this was always going to be fleeting. Nothing simple can ever just exist as it is in my life.

"I'll see you inside. Please be prompt." She clears her throat. "I don't need Ciella's wrath focused on me as much as you do."

She turns on her heel, marching out of my room without another complaint from me.

***

~Dove

"Holy...she owns this place?"

I thought I had finally sobered from the shock of being confronted with wealth, but it seems the awe remains.

Ciella owns a pretty ivory manor on the western edge of the city. We just wandered up a stone garden path shrouded with lush plant life and fat blooming flowers that have draped their scent all over me.

I stare up the towering walls, bathed is warm honeyed light from the evening sun. This place is insane.

Eden has explained to me that Ciella is part of the noble class here, which after seeing this house, didn't really need mentioning. Apparently her friends are high society too, which only adds to my nerves.

"She does." Eden grabs my hand, her rings biting into my fingers as she squeezes. "Oh Dove, you're going to love her."

"I hope she loves me."

I let Eden dress me in one of her dresses, the olive green fabric hugging a little too tightly to my bust. I keep glance downward to ensure my cleavage isn't too offensive.

"She will, I'm sure of it." Her smile drops and she "Just...keep the views of our pack to yourself tonight, okay? I'll be meeting some of Ciella's very high end noble friends, and I want to make a good impression."

She fidgets with her dress, then her hair and finally her bracelet, as if she doesn't look utterly perfect.

"How high end?" I ask warily. "I thought this was just going to be us."

"Oh no, didn't I tell you?" She asks in a way that makes it clear she knows she didn't tell me. "The Alpha will be present."

My heart stutters and for a moment I've forgotten how to breathe.

"Alpha Varian?"

"He won't hurt us, Ciella promised. She wouldn't let anything happen to us." She squeezes my arm in an attempt to comfort me, but there's no hope of that now.

I had figured I would never see Varian again. It was just one night that would turn into a lasting memory, and that's it.

This wasn't supposed to happen...I'm not supposed to see him.

"I...ah..."

"You've met him already, haven't you?" Eden tilts her head. "That should make this much easier."

"I wouldn't be so sure," I mutter as she takes my hand, leading me through the door.

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As always, you can read this book 16 chapters ahead on Inkitt and 10 chapters ahead on Radish!

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~Midika 🐈‍⬛💜