Alpha Max had said his goodbyes and left the party earlier than the others. He had some hunting to do with his pack and his ever energetic son had finally fallen asleep. Adam was a great child and the sweetest boy ever.
He was just five and he had a cheerful spirit,and sometimes he spoke like an adult. Before her death, Brianna,had always said he was a reincarnate of Alpha Drew,one of the greatest Alpha that ever lived.
Pulling at the driveway of their home in the outskirts of town,Alpha Max got out of the car and moved to the back of the car to carry Adam into the house. He had barely taken two steps when he felt a presence and eyes watching him. Alpha Max stopped dead in his tracks and began to sniff the scent of the intruder.
Catching the whim of the scent, he turned and faced the shadow squarely. His face was taut and his eyes darkened at the moving shadow. His jaws were tight and he ground his teeth with a bit of discomfort at the shadow's presence.
"How did it go?",the shadow spoke before fully revealing his face to Alpha Max and the light from the porch shone on the night visitor,who squinted at the brightness of the light bulb. The intruder turned out to be his Beta.
Adrian was chosen by Alpha Max, the night he was crowned to serve as his Beta. Before the death of his father, Adrian and Max were best friends. Although Adrian's father was an Omega,the two were inseparable and Adrian had times without number,showing his loyalty to Max. So it was not a surprise when Max picked Adrian as his second in command.
"If that's what you were interested in knowing,then I suggest, you should have called to ask or better still stop by the house in the morning. You know how I hate intrusions in my private space", Alpha Max said casually while walking back to the car to get his son out.
"Yes Your Honour", Adrian made a playful bow at Alpha Max's statement, which made the Alpha Shake his head in bewilderment.
"Do I still linger around to hear of any juicy details or should I go in search of any damsels in distress in the woods?", Adrian teased again.
"Since you're here already, you could be useful after all", Alpha Max joked. "Help me grab that bag. Adam seemed to have made good friends with the guy at the barbecue stand who packed some grills and pastry for us", Alpha Max said,as he climbed on the steps of the porch with Adam hanging across his shoulder.
Adrian cooed at the bag of pastries and immediately gathered the bag, before locking the car and joining Alpha Max inside the house.
Alpha Max gently laid Adam on his bed, before spreading the thick ginger-bread man themed duvet over him. He watched with a smile,as his little boy cooed and giggled in his sleep. Not wanting to wake him,he carefully picked out the pieces of chocolate that stuck on his face and removed the cookie from the grasp of his hands.
As his eyes followed the rising of his son's chest,he remembered how hard it was for him to move on after Brianna's death. Adam was just 2 years and eight months old when his mother passed. He often wondered how he'll survive without her and how he'll raise their little one,coupled with the Alpha duties he had to handle.
The bitter smile on his face was replaced with a genuine smile of hope,when he remembered the prospect of having another mate. The loud clang of cutleries,jerked him to reality of the guest in his house. With heavy steps,he walked out of the room, turning off the lights.
"I'm sorry..did I startle your boy?", Adrian asked with concern.
"Not really. The young lad has had quite a day and I'm sure even a loud party hall music, wouldn't wake him", Alpha Max said walking to the kitchen to brew some coffee.
He looked around and saw that Adrian had carefully arranged the food into the refrigerator and also helped himself to a plate of some barbecued chicken and some salad. Grabbing a teacup from the shelf,he filled it with the hot liquid.
Adrian paid no attention to him as he focused on tearing the flesh of well seasoned meat from the brisket. When he had finished devouring the meat,he used the serviette to clean his mouth and gulped some red wine.
"Are you going to tell me the reason for the subtle air,that I sense?",Beta Adrian asked, finally lifting his head from the plate of food in front of him.
"Oh..! What's that?", Alpha Max feigned ignorance.
"Oh please..we both know we've come a long way together for me to get this wrong. I know you well,my Alpha. The last timeI felt this air was on the day of Adam's birth. So please,find me worthy enough to share in this joy I felt from the moment you drove into your driveway", Adrian said pleadingly.
Alpha Max looked hard at him,then rubbed the back of his neck, before letting out a loud sigh.
"I found her", Alpha Max said with the sides of his lips twitching before breaking into a genuine smile.
Adrian was thrown off balance with that reply. He took a thorough look at his Alpha and saw a sincere smile plastered on his face. The entire pack had given up that likely, their Alpha may never be at ease again, following the death of Brianna.
But just in front of him,was the Alpha he once knew. Adrian didn't know when he stood up from his seat and watched his Alpha, trying to break his defense and feel his thoughts. Unfortunately,it didn't work. He used to be able to penetrate Max's thoughts when they were young but not since he took up the role as Alpha.
Max had grown stronger,that was why for the past two years,none had stepped out to challenge his title as Alpha. The last wolf who tried was incapacitated by Max, serving as a warning to others who had ever thought of the idea.
"Found who? Driella?" Adrian asked, alarmed as his eyes turned red with rage,ready for war.
Driella was the old warlock who was known for shape-shifting and causing enmity between people while she would plague the land with a virus,which killed several people. It was on one of her visits to Alpha Max's tribe, that she plagued Luna, Brianna with a disease which eventually killed her.
Ever since,the tribe had been looking for her and news gathered that she had found refuge on the thickness of the Eight lands, miles away.
"Oh no! If I had found Driella,I wouldn't have returned home unless I had her head in my hands",Alpha Max replied, biting his lip with hate.
"Then my Alpha, who then did you find?", Adrian asked, kneeling to catch the words of Max
"I found her. My second-chance mate". Alpha Max said with pride.
"No way! Do you mean that? How is that possible? Did you mark her? Of which pack is she? Is she a Luna by birth?"Adrian fired questions, trying to seek clarity.
Alpha Max shot him a glare and he bowed in humility and remorse for all the questions he fired at the Alpha.
"Relax. She is a beautiful and very bold one. She is not from our pack but I will make her mine. She is from the pack of the Alpha to be, Gabriel. Her name is Helen", Alpha Max said, replying to most of Adrian's questions.
"You know..I had lost hope of finding a mate again. But here I am. She could feel my thoughts and I felt hers too, however there are things that are still vague to the mind's eye. Nonetheless,we have time",Alpha Max said thoughtfully.
"Of course. This is surprisingly amazing. I know how hard it has been with you since.. you know", Adrian said, dragging the last words uncomfortably.
Since her death,they all had avoided talking about it as Alpha Max had mourned her deeply and it affected him alot. He had almost gone rogue and became somewhat indifferent to the pack. It took a lot of effort to get him back to himself.