Chapter 2
I look over at my Alpha, reading his expression that, just like mine, screams awe. There's some fear that he tries to hide as the Northern Alpha holds his gaze, perceiving what I also see in my Alpha's eyes. Suddenly, his eyes swiftly make their way to mine as if he didn't expect me to be there or perhaps for someone to watch him as keenly as I was. I knew better than to continue to gaze at him, but his black orbs absorbed mine, and I couldn't look away. I wondered when he would grunt at me for it, but he didn't. He continued to study me- my eyes, as that was the only thing visible under all the bags.
Finally, I manage to pull away from his eyes and quickly turn to watch my Alpha, what he thought of that moment but he hadn't noticed, I took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time for this type of behavior. Gaze down at all time I remind myself, gaze down and only speak when spoken to.
"Alpha," Alpha Cassio greets him, he nods his head in response, "thank you for the help," he shows his gratitude, yet his words did not show the gratitude that he wanted, his ego getting in the way, his pride too big to properly accept someone's help.
My eyes fly back to the Alpha, who doesn't utter a word but nods his head firmly. He looks back at me, catching my stalking eyes. I would say that there was a hint of a smile in those eyes. Did he found it funny? How captured I was of his presence? I guess he was probably used to it, which explained why he didn't think of it as an offense. His eyes traveled up and down my body, hidden behind a multitude of bags.
“Let us take care of your bag,” Alpha Cassio tells him. My eyes study him as he does the same with me once more. I wonder what he and his group of 4 must think about me as I struggle with the bags, making a fool of myself. I look at the 5 of them and return to the Northern Alpha, worried about the possibility of having five more bags to carry. Please don't, I think, and as if he could hear me, he turned to my Alpha and said, “no, thank you.” His voice was lower than Alpha Cassio's. If his ego was hurting, now even more as in 'Alpha World', a deeper voice was a sign of dominance.
Alpha Cassio nods, and I quickly look to the sky, thanking the Goddess for once listening to me, even if it was a small favor. They enter the packhouse and make their way to their rooms while I have to check each bag's tag to know who they belong to and where to take them. Once I finished sorting the bags, I realize that my room, now a guest room, had all my stuff in it. I hadn't had time to take that away. When I get there, I quickly knock at the door, hoping that the Northerner is in a good mood today. A warrior opens up the door, shirtless, and I can't help but examine one of his tribal tattoos on his chest before angling my face to meet his.
The Northerners were known for their fighting skills as well as being a reasonably peaceful pack. However, there was always talk about how the Northerners had been bred to be the most athletic, coordinated, tenacious werewolves they could be. Normal Northerners could easily overpower other Alphas. It needn't much studying to realize by his upper body that those rumors were factual.
"I'm sorry, I think I forgot something in this room this morning. Do you mind if I take a closer look?" He studied me for a second; his face full of bruises that matched his chest and torso told me better than to play around with him.
He raised an eyebrow and stepped aside, "be quick," he said, but as soon as I stepped into the room, I realized that the maids had already changed the sheets and gotten rid of anything that belonged to me. Nonetheless, I open the closet to find nothing there. They must have taken it to my room. I close the cabinet, and with a smile, I thank him for his help and leave.
I leave the room, and I see the Northern Alpha again, walking down the corridor towards this room. I panic as he looks at me. He had witnessed how I left one of his warriors' room, and while it's not necessarily bad, I didn't want to give a poor first impression. I freeze in front of the door, "giving out the bags?" He asks as he waits for me to move away from the door, a foot of distance between the two of us.
My voice is gone, my mouth dry, so I quickly nod and leave as fast as I can, making my way downstairs. My breathing was erratic as I made it to what was now my room to find my clothes scattered around the room, everything on the dirty ground. I quickly grabbed all of my clothes- which wasn't much- and cleaned it all up. As the summer was getting closer, my clothes should dry quickly. I then made the bed as rapidly as I could, trying to spend as little time in that room as possible. As proven previously, the concentrated smell of the cleaning products in that room could be very dangerous when exposed long enough. Keeping the time spent in this room as small as possible was crucial for me to make it without any scares.
After helping the orphans with their school work, I walk them to where the warriors were training. We typically did after they had been good all day. Watching the warriors train was very special in our culture, plus Cain's dream was to become a warrior someday. They didn't stay for long, fifteen minutes at most, as they had to go have dinner, but it was more than enough. The warriors were divided into groups, some training in their human form, others in their wolf form. However, what surprised us the most was hybrid training, wolf vs. human, practicing how to take the other species down without shifting.
The Northerners were given the instructions, at times doing it themselves to show the rest. Our warriors, while they weren't incompetent, seemed uncoordinated and sluggish when compared to the Northerners. To them, every movement was natural- beautiful; yet to us, it was all a blend; combinations of kicks and punches that held no power or strength. As I scanned the place, keeping a close grip with all the kids, making sure that none of them got into trouble, my eyes landed on an enormous black wolf. It was as black as night; without a doubt, it must be the Alpha, pacing around the training facility studying everything.
Lotte tagged my sleeve, calling for me, too focused on the wolf ahead of us. I lower down to her level, "is that the Alpha?" She asked, her voice almost a whisper.
"I think so," I say, mustering as much courage as I can to sound okay.
The wolf turned his head to face them. He observes the kids, too in awe to say anything or waving at him in a friendly manner. His eyes then met mine; the wolf took a slow breath and then turned back to continue watching over the training.
"Wow," Nova says quietly, not quite registering what just happened, she turns around to face me, and with a face full of excitement, she almost shouts, "it's so fluffy!"
"Nova!" I quickly put a hand over her mouth, trying my best not to laugh, "Alphas aren't fluffy, they're dangerous, especially in their wolf form, okay?" I look around, making sure that even if someone heard her comment with their enhanced hearing that at least they wouldn't realize what it was all about.
Every so often, I could feel the Alpha's eyes on me as I waited for the kids to finish their meal. For a while, I wondered if he had heard Nova's comment; and if so, was he mad about it? Would he lecture her later for not educating the kids on the respect that Alphas demanded? Would he ask directly for Nova to receive some punishment? She wished for Nova's good that it wasn't the latter.