The Alpha Next Door

Chapter 5 ⦔ Trumpet Vine

Adelia was in her pool. A jar of lemonade sat on the edge of the pool and occasionally she would swim over to refill the cup that she held as she swam through the water. The day outside was sweltering so the cold lemonade and the water of the pool made it perfect. Adelia leaned back closing her eyes letting her head slip under the water.

Up in the house next door Alpha Evert was sorting through files. Two other packs were in a war and Alpha Evert had to decide which side to support. One side was far more likely to win but the other side had the moral high ground. At most, they would send a small supply of wolfsbane as Evert was not going to risk the loss of any fighters over a fight over a mate. 

Evert tugged off his tie and unbuttoned the top buttons of his dress shirt as the heat was getting unbearable. The air conditioning was broken so his normally freezing office had become an oven. He walked over to the window to push it open in hopes of a cool breeze entering his office. That's when he saw her.

His breathing intensified and he felt an involuntary shift coming on. He held back the shift as he watched her swim back and forth. She hypnotized him and he lost all sense of time and his carnal side took over. He tasted blood in his mouth before he ever realized that his fangs had protruded in an instant reaction to the girl. He felt the wood of the window sill splintering under his fingers as he never once glanced away from her. 

He didn't know who she was but he knew immediatly that she was his mate. 

Evert wouldn't admit it for but a long time he was worried. Evert wasn't old but he wasn't young. He knew he needed a Luna to help run his pack. There had been a few searches for his mate but he had never expected her to one day just show up at the house next door. It was a relief though. He was overjoyed watching his mate swim through the pool he swam in as a child. 

He inhaled her unique scent and notice something instantly. Human. This was, in fact, an issue. Evert wanted to jump out of his window and mark her instantly. Instead, he would have to wait. He would have to feel the slow burn of holding back every feeling of love without being able to tell her. 

So he watched the rest of the morning as Adelia swam up and down her pool until she made her way back into her house. Yet still, Evert stayed there. It was as if he was terrified that she may come out and he just wouldn't be there for her. So he stayed and watched on. 

It wasn't until his Beta walked into the room that Evert could bring himself to tear his eyes away from the window. 

"Julia has been calling you for dinner for the last half an hour." 

"I found my mate. It's the woman next door." The Beta's jaw fell open in shock. He had been waiting for his Alpha to find his Luna but he doubted it would happen like this. The Beta knew the pack would be overjoyed to finally have a Luna. 

"Congratulations Evert. You should call your parents. They will want to know. May I tell the pack." 

"No, but you can tell Chelsea." Chelsea and Levi had known they were mates since they were young. Chelsea had was in fact going to be Beta over Levi but when she got sick she knew she couldn't look after a pack so she asked Levi to do it. While the three were close as children Chelsea had always been best friends with Evert while Levi was a close second. 

Levi went and told his mate about the revelation as she was curled up in bed still battling the sickness that had kept her weak since she was a child. Chelsea was overjoyed for her childhood friend and she immediately went to hug him and babble to him about how happy she is for him. The two friends talked for as long as they could before Chelsea had to return to bed. 

Evert then called his parents and explained the situation to them. They were, of course, overjoyed for their son. 

Adelia, on the other hand, was unaware of the large change she had made in her neighbor's life that day. Adelia was happy with the house and while the garden was stunning it lacked something. So Adelia made her plans. She wanted a greenhouse and a gazebo in her garden. Maybe the logic behind it was silly but it sounded fun so a company was called that would install them both days before. 

Adelia brought cold drinks out to the workers who happily accepted in their smoke break. Adelia was getting a reputation around the town. Not a bad reputation by any streak. She was known for being elegant and kind. Yet she was still a mystery. 

Laila, however, was getting closer and closer to Adelia. She was often hanging around with Adelia while Adelia loved spoiling the girl silly. Laila was coming over for dinner that night so the smells of food filled her house and wafted outside where the builders were smelling it. So Adelia being the kind woman she was, invited them in.

It was a lovely way to spend the night with Adelia and the builders filling her house as they ate and drank Adelia's perfectly made Mexican feast. 

"How do you even know how to make this sort of food?" Asked Laila.

"I spent a few months in Mexico. I helped this lost kid in a market and when I took him back to his Grandmother's stall she had the most amazing food. So we became fast friends and she taught me how to make her food. Of course, I can badly replicate the food but one day I will take you to meet her."