I've been standing near this door for five minutes now. What the hell is wrong with me? I’m an Alpha. I shouldn’t be this nervous to come here. I wanted to give Zira the time she wanted but I knew my mother was here. Her car was parked right out front which means Isabella was here too.
Besides, I can smell their scent, along with hers. Maybe they’re okay and I can just wait till they get back to the packhouse. I turned to leave until I felt the anger coming through the door. I turned back to the door. Maybe I should intervene. To help out.
Can you make up your mind? The faster we do this the faster we can get back to Alaia, Devon growled.
Obsessed much I teased him.
Yes and you should be too. She is alone and we’re chasing tail.
I’m not here for Zira, I snapped back.
Sure, whatever you want to say to yourself. It's not like we share brain.
Ignoring his last comment, I knocked on the door. I waited and no one answered. I was about to knock again until Zira opened the door. Our eyes connected for a moment before hers fell to the floor.
“Alpha,” Zira whispered.
I couldn’t tell if she was angry or being sarcastic. Either way it didn’t sit right with me. I noticed her scars were almost healed and she did look a bit flushed. Maybe running through the woods earlier took it out of her. I couldn't believe she was eager to get back out there, especially after a rogue attack.
I wondered if something happened between her and Alpha Zack. I wanted to ask why she was in the forest with him anyway. Though I shouldn’t care. She’s her own woman . She could do whatever or whoever she wanted to, except for him. I didn’t know I was still staring until my mother cleared her throat.
"Isaiah, what are you doing here," Luna Bella asked.
I forced his gaze from Zira to my mother. "Alaia told me what happened and I wanted to make sure Isa was okay. I tried to link her earlier but got nothing. So I came to the only place she would go so-" I turned back to Zira, who was still looking down at her feet. "Is she okay?"
Zira opened her mouth to say something but immediately closed it. "I'm sorry," Zira whispered before running down the hall and disappearing into one of the rooms.
"Zira." Mrs. Lake and Isabella ran into the hallway and looked at me. "Alpha." Zelda bowed before running after Zira.
"What did you do, now," Isabella asked me and I just shrugged my shoulders.
“What? I just asked about you,” I said, rolling my eyes at her.
“I’m fine. Now I think it’s best if you both just go,” Isabella said, closing the door on their faces. She closed the door in my face.
“Did she just-” I started to knock again but my mother touched my arm.
She shook her head. “Let’s just give them a day, ok? I think I need a drink and not from a tea cup”
Since I walked, I got into the car with my mother as she drove back to the packhouse. Before getting out of the car, my mother stopped me. I turned to look at her as she stared at the steering wheel. Something was bothering her as tears streamed down her face.
The only other time I saw her cry was when she was looking at a photo of my aunt. She died before we were born. My mother doesn’t talk about her much. All we know is that her demise was because of her mate.
“Are you sure you want to go along with this ceremony,” she asked me.
“What? Why would you ask me that,” I asked, confused by her question. Of course I wanted the ceremony to commence. Alaia was my mate, my soulmate given to me by the Moon Goddess.
“Just because someone is your mate doesn’t mean you have to be with them,” she said as if she could read my mind. “I’ve seen these things go wrong sometimes. Yes, the Moon Goddess gives us someone who is supposed to be our soulmate but sometimes she does it for other reasons. She looked at me. “So if you want to wait, if you need more time, I will support you.”
I grabbed my mother’s hands. I wish I could convey to her how much love I had for Alaia. Everytime I think of her my heart fills up with joy. “Mother, I am sure Alaia is good for me. I can feel it everytime I think of her. She will make a great Luna and eventually a great mother as well.”
My mother smiled at this and kissed my hands. “I just wish your sister would understand how much I want her to be happy. To be set for life.”
“Sometimes you have to let us be who we are. We’ll eventually learn what works for us. As long as we know you’re in our corner. I think Isabella started out wanting to please you but in return she wasn't true to who she is.” I really wanted her to understand from Isabella’s point of view. “If Isabella loves Victoria and Victoria loves Isabella then why get in the middle of that?”
My mother stared at me as if I said something foreign. “Because they have no future. I’ve seen it with that family. Someone always ends up disappointing the other, leaving us to deal with the aftermath and let's not even talk about the kids' situation.”
“They’ll figure it out, mother. It’s up to them to tackle that when the time comes. You have to let them be.”
My mother thought about it for a minute. Her leg was shaking so I could tell she was anxious.
“Mother, it’s going to be ok. Isabella is stronger than you think,” I reassured her.
“I think I still need that drink,” she said with a laugh.
We got out of the car and my mother went off to find my father. I decided to check in on Alaia. I went to my room and found it empty. I tried to sniff her out but her scent was all over, especially strong in the closet. I opened the closet and no one was there. It was probably the clothes she hung. I went to my bed to lay and think about everything that happened today.
I thought about Alaia, my beautiful mate, soon-to-be Luna. I was lucky to find someone like her but I wondered if everything was going too fast. No this was normal. I’ve known wolves that mated the instance they met, at least I’m giving it a week.
For Isabella, I hope she’s okay. I really wanted to link her but when I saw her at Zira I could feel her anger. So much so that I was even angry at my mother. I wanted this whole Victoria’s mess to be over and I wanted my sister to be as happy as I was with my mate. Maybe I should encourage Victoria to come to the ceremony and accept my sister as her mate. I’ll give her a call later.
Then there’s Zira. The moment I thought of her I felt a shock run through my arm. It's been something that happens occasionally. I looked down at the bracelet on my wrist and didn't see anything unusual. Must have been a pinched nerve or something. I’ll admit there are some residual feelings I still have for her. I mean that night was unforgettable, but I need to forget it and focus on Alaia.
I don’t want any drama to get in the way of me being the best Alpha. I have to fix things with Zira, make sure we can still be friends or just members of the same pack and nothing more. The way she looked at me today was disheartening but like she said. She needs time and I have to give it to her.
A moment later I heard noise coming from the closet. The door opened and I was on alert when Alaia stepped out. She took off her jacket and finally noticed me on the bed.
“Isaiah, what are you doing here,” she asked with a shocked expression.
“Well, this is my room-our room. Why were you in the closet,” I asked, a bit confused. Didn’t I just look there?
She was quiet for a minute before a sad expression crossed her face. I immediately raced to her. I never wanted to see her sad. She’s the love of my life and I wanted nothing more than to comfort.
“I was hiding from you,” she said, stepping away from my touch. Devon didn't like that. Hell even I hated that she didn’t want me to touch her.
“Why? What did I do,” I asked hurriedly.
Alaia went into the closet and brought out the box. The box that held a present for Zira. “Because I found this. This person means something to you, doesn’t she?”
Shit! “That was before you, Alaia. I promise you are the only one I love. Can’t you feel that,” I asked, closing the distance. I was itching to touch her. Something in my mind was telling me that’s all I wanted, but she backed away again.
“Then get rid of it,” she said while throwing the box in my direction.
A part of me didn’t want to but most of me wanted to do anything to please Alaia. I looked down at the box remembering why I got it in the first place. To show Zira how much I cared for her. I looked at Alaia and saw how much she needed me to do this. So I nodded and linked Omega Mary. She was at my door within a minute. I handed her the box.
“Mary, I want to get rid of this. I don’t care what you do with it, just make sure I don’t see it again, ok?”
“Of course, Alpha.” Mary bowed but before she had a chance to leave I grabbed her arm. I didn’t understand why at first but I just stared at the box. After a few long seconds Mary nodded. “I understand, Alpha,” Mary said without me having to say anything and disappeared around the corner.
I turned to Alaia, who had the biggest smile on her face. It just warmed my heart that I could make her happy.
“Now that’s over. Let’s plan this ceremony,” she said, pulling a fat book out of her bag.
Oh boy what did I sign up for?