Felix Fractured

1: a gray crown

Image credits: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/70628088

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ALEXIA

The wolves surround me. None of them bear their fangs or seem to pose any immediate threat, but I still feel incredibly anxious. Their eyes seem to regard me with curiosity rather than distaste.

"H-hi," I finally attempt to greet them. They don't respond except for the gray one. He flicks his tail and cocks his head to the side in question. I don't say anything else... his sapphire eyes intimidate me.

I can sense someone approaching from a distance. The other wolves appear to be lying in wait. One of the furry brown ones even sits down only to get growled at for, what I assume, being too casual.

I don't understand what the big deal is. I was just minding my own business until they ambushed me. I wasn't doing anything wrong and now I'm probably going to be late going home. As usual, I'm going to be the only one that gets hurt in this situation. Dad isn't going to be happy but he never is anyway.

I can't seem to stop thinking about the approaching scent, though. For some reason it's enticing to me. It's a mixture of two scents but I've only made out the first one: incense. It's strong and overbearing and yet seems to combine well with a more subtle scent.

My wolf, Clara, has become exceedingly playful at the most inappropriate time. I'm completely outnumbered, not to mention very low ranked, and she wants to go skipping through a field or something. They could snap and try to kill me and she wouldn't be ready to defend herself because she's too preoccupied.

The second he enters the clearing, my heart begins to pound. My wolf is still being silly, so I can't communicate with her. He begins to approach me and the other wolves part for him in submission.

I'm a nobody. Why is there an Alpha here?

I watch his muscles flex as he walks. He's only wearing basketball shorts and for some reason it's difficult for me to keep my thoughts together. It should be illegal to look like that. His hair is black as night and his eyes are dark brown–the darkest I've ever seen. Somehow they still seem striking even though his hair practically covers them.

He stops a few feet away from me and waves the other wolves away. His dark eyes become glazed over as he talks to them telepathically. The same scruffy brown wolf from earlier lets out a bark and the alluring figure before me pulls his attention from me. "No, Tyler, I'm not going to kiss her yet," My heart bangs at the thought and I miss some of what he says next. Why do I want him to? "-isn't some fairytale or something."

The wolf scurries after the others with a satisfied snort. The man before me seems irritated but turns back towards me. "Sorry, he's annoying. We don't know how he's made it this long-" There's a rustle behind him and I can't help but smile as he groans. "Tyler," he curses and the wolf pops up from behind the leaves, winks at me, and skips out of the clearing. "I swear, if he lives any longer, I'm going to kill him."

I laugh lightly, feeling completely at ease, desires aside, in the moment. I'm so confident, in fact, that I ask him a question: "Who are you?"

He regards me curiously, almost as if he doesn't know whether or not to believe me. "You don't know?"

I shake my head and he doesn't ask before taking my hand. I jump at the sudden sparks from the touch. I'm caught so off-guard that he has to steady me.

He lets go and I'm grateful. That was way too many boundaries at once. "What was that?"

His gaze is calculating for a moment before he responds, "I'm your mate. You know what that is, right?"