THE ALPHA’S ADDICTION

The training grounds were filled with pack warriors from both the Black Moon’s Pack and the Wind Winder’s Pack. Some non-warriors were seen too, at the borders of the grounds, watching or rather admiring the bodily appearances of the shirtless guys who were training and working out with so much vigour.

Derek could sight his pack members from where he was, as he walked side by side with his cousin. Majority of them clung to themselves as a group on one side of the training ground, talking and working out. A few were mixed with the warriors of his cousin’s pack. His eyes searched out his friend, and the chief of his pack warriors, Leo. The latter was between two girls, as if settling a dispute between them.

He halted in his movement, and tuned in on them, maximizing his gift of sharp hearing, and discovered that the two girls had been quarreling over his friend. He found it funny, already smiling unconsciously, until Maya stomped her left foot strongly on his.

“Hey… why did you do that?” He whined, turning to look at her; stilling like a statue, when he saw the angry look on her face.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“You should respect people’s privacy.” She replied, with a pout, trying to hide her pain behind the funny motion of her lips. She knew the two girls. The taller one had been her best friend at one point, Zoe, and the other had been her friend too. She wondered how they would react if they see her.

“You mean Leo’s privacy.” He taunted, before crossing his arms across her shoulders, knowing that the view they had just seen wasn’t pleasant to her. It was rather upsetting.

“Shut up!” She said on an higher octave, trying unsuccessfully to wiggle herself out of his grip. Her little cousin whom she had carried and catered for at one point, had grown, much bigger than her. Life is so unfair. She mused, sighing as she felt her wolf, Sia, laughing too, partly from her cousin’s taunt, and partly from excitement at seeing her mate again. Although she knew it wasn’t justified, she didn’t think that it was necessary to pinpoint to her wolf that if the spell had been lifted, Leo would have been running and searching her out by now, through her scent. She kept mute. Sia would find out soon enough.

“Aye aye Coz. Let’s go in and scatter the show.” He said, with a mischievous grin, about to start walking off again, when she held him back by the side of his blue T shirt.

“Don’t.” She stated.

“Don’t what?” He asked, putting up an innocent face.

“Don’t do anything mischievous. I know that look. I don’t want any trouble.” She replied, not trusting his new look of innocence. She didn’t know for sure what he was planning to do, but she was convinced enough to tell that something would happen by his hands; that earlier look on his face had been enough to tell her so.

” Of course not Coz. We will just go in, and come out, and nobody will notice.” He teased, before walking off with her tightly secured under his shoulders. One of the things they had talked about while getting to know themselves again was the gossips and untrue talks that the young female folk of her pack had spread about her. He was determined not to let that happen, or shut the mouth that would be saying it.

Maya shook her head, chuckling a bit, even as she enjoyed the protective stance her cousin had taken, because of her. She knew he was lying. Something was bound to happen, soonest. She just didn’t know what.

As they walked into the training grounds, as a couple strolling on one of the lighted streets in Tel Aviv, where the illuminance levels are high and uniform, the people present in the pack stopped whatever they had been doing, as if shocked by their sudden entrance.

“Derek!”

Leo called loudly, more than his other pack members, rushing off and leaving a shocked Zoe and Nora behind, as he found his way to his soon to be Alpha, and friend, whom he hadn’t seen for almost a month.

Derek released a nervous Maya from the confines of his shoulder, holding her by his right hand, squeezing it to reassure her of his presence and support, as he allowed a one sided hug with Leo, before shaking and greeting his pack members who have crowded all over him.

“How are y’all?…” He asked with a smile. “Hope they’re treating you well?” He asked, through the pack link this time, scanning their faces with his deep blue eyes.

His pack members shrugged.

“Fine.” They replied with their mouths, but through the pack link, he heard different stories, some funny like complaints about lack of fine girls, and some not.

From their answers, he could tell that their counterparts in his pack was receiving a better treatment than they were. They had uniformly mentioned the un-enough rations they were given to eat. Most times, they had to hunt stealthily, smaller animals outside the confines of the pack, so that they would be able to feed.

He wasn’t surprised by the news, but he wasn’t pleased either. He comforted them through the link, while still smiling opening at them, not wanting to give away waves of his anger to their spectators who were watching them keenly.

As they dispersed, after he had set out a latter time for them to meet and discuss further, he turned his attention to Leo, and noticed that his friend was staring at his cousin with a mixture of feelings in his eyes. He bit his lips to hold a smile, as he also felt his cousin squirming. He knew that if he hadn’t been holding her hand, she would have ran back already into the pack house where she was safe from his friend’s heated gaze.

He was glad that at least, his friend was entranced by her. It seemed to him that the spell was lifting.

Well, he had thought so, until a tall lanky but still beautiful girl, with brown lush hair approached them majestically, dropping a short wet kiss on his friend’s willing cheeks as she got to where they were, before introducing herself.

“Hello Derek. I’m Zoe. I don’t think you would still remember me.” She said, crossing her hand around Leo’s waist, while looking up at him, not for once, acknowledging the presence of his cousin, Maya.

And at that moment, he knew who she was.