Cold weather had always made Keion a little testy. With nothing but admiration and love, he envied his parents, who were cuddling together in front of the fire at home. First, he wished he were them because they had the fire going and had no intentions of moving. Second, he wished he were them because they had each other to hold on to. He was no longer a pup who could just jump into the blankets with them and snuggle up with his parents. He knew that it would probably annoy the Alpha more than a little if he tried that now. Being a prince probably wouldn't save him from his father's bite, so he had long since learned to let the royal couple have their alone time. Keion didn’t have a mate so he would just have to dress appropriately for this weather while in human form.
So there he was, standing outside Nancy Morton's house, waiting for someone to answer the door and let him in, while the cold winter air swirled around his head. He was warm-blooded like the rest of them, but he didn't have to like the temperature outside. Closing his eyes briefly, he summoned his wolf, hoping that it would make him feel impervious to the chill. That seemed to do the trick because, when he opened them- just seconds before Nancy came to the door- heat almost radiated out of him. Feeling his muscles relax, Keion smiled easily when the host of the Christmas Eve party said his name.
“Keion, do you ever not look like you’re coming off a magazine cover?”
“Haha, I had to make some effort since I knew I was coming to your house, Nancy.”
Flushing with pleasure, she ushered him inside and squealed slightly as a bit of the cold air followed them. With an apologetic smile, he placed a hand on her shoulder for just a second, knowing that his warmth would transfer. When he then handed over the gift bag, her gratitude was for both gestures.
“Have your parents called yet, to remind you not to destroy the house?”
“Like fifty times!” she laughed. “Honestly, they should know me better by now.”
“Agreed, you’re probably one of the most responsible teenagers I have ever met.”
That made his host smile. “That’s so nice to hear, coming from our future alpha.”
“My dad still has quite a few years yet; don’t let him hear you say that.”
His best friend Zach laughed out loud. “We all heard that, Nancy. Long reign Alpha Msia!”
“Long reign the Alpha!”
Soon the house was teeming with teenagers from Alcombey High School. As the assumed heir to the throne, successor to the position of Alpha, Keion Hamadi knew it was his duty and his peer’s privilege for him to mingle and socialize with as many of the people there that night. Knowing how easy it was for titles to pass first born sons kept him on his toes; Keion didn’t take it for granted that his father was Alpha and therefore he was definitely going to be the next one. While his genes were predisposed to Alpha traits and he had been blessed at birth, Keion knew it wasn’t done until it was declared and it would be several years before that might happen. So he cultivated relationships and honed his leadership skills by being a man of the people.
It wasn’t hard because his personality drew many to him without any effort. He was level-headed, outgoing and naturally charming, so people liked him and he liked them too. The presence of royal blood in his veins made him desirable but even without that he was probably one of the most attractive young men within a healthy radius. What his mirror didn’t tell him, the young ladies filled in generously.
Only seniors were given access to the private den upstairs because Nancy wanted to limit her personal space to people with whom she was closest. She knew a lot of the people who had showed up tonight were here for the fireworks and for the chance to possibly meet Prince Keion, and that was alright. Nancy was most glad that he had showed up because she had been meaning to spend a little time with her crush. When he had touched her shoulder earlier, the electricity that had gone up her back was thrilling. Of course she knew that he’d only made contact with her to bring instant comfort because he was a considerate leader but it didn’t make much difference. That fractional contact with his wolf’s aura had been phenomenal. She wanted more.
Nancy seized the moment when she saw him walk over to the balcony with Zach, his best friend and prolific wingman. Tossing her silky brown hair over her shoulder, she grabbed her jacket and skipped toward them, already giddy at the prospect of her plan working perfectly.
Seeing her approach them, Zach smiled. “There’s the hostess with the mostess. You’re throwing the best party of the season, sister.”
Smiling back, she lifted a shoulder. “Why thank you, Mr. Houghton. It’s not something we get to do often, so I’m just glad my parents let me.”
“You definitely got the festive spirit of Christmas,” Keion commented, shrugging his shoulders against the slight draught that came in from the open field behind the house.
“I was going to consider going with a complete theme, but then,” she said, stepping a little closer to her prince and good friend, “it would have lacked that something I was looking for.”
“What little something is that?”
Glancing up, Nancy laughed and pointed above their heads.
Zach looked up too and his eyes widened. “Oh boy.”
Keion looked up, already sensing he’d just been tricked into something that he wasn’t actually looking forward to. Seeing the mistletoe, he laughed good-naturedly, “Alright, girl, lay it on me.”
Leaning forward, she lightly placed her lips on his cheek.
Grinning impishly, he leaned his head back a fraction. “Is that all?”
Nancy’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull when Keion then put both his hands on her arms and placed his lips on hers for a very quick kiss. “Merry Christmas, Miss Morton,” he chuckled.
Before the words were completely out of his mouth, another girl from their class squealed. “The prince is giving Christmas kisses under the mistletoe! I’m definitely claiming mine.”
She came running over, pushed Nancy to the side and kissed Keion on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Keion.”
He wished her a merry Christmas and mentally grit his teeth as several other girls from their year group, formed a line and either took kisses or gave them depending on how much they’d had to drink and how cognizant they were of the liberty they were taking with the oldest child of their Alphas Msia and Kaliah Hamadi.
For the first three minutes Keion simply grinned and bore the pressure of being stuck under the mistletoe but as his ears started to get cold and tension set in across his forehead, he started looking for reasons to escape. He couldn’t summon his wolf while kissing these girls unless he wanted an obsessed mob following him everywhere he went, and absurdly he felt like he couldn’t stop now until he had given everyone equal chance.
Just as the line was coming to an end, Nancy announced that there was going to be a spectacular show. Smiling at the last girl who he recognized from his literature class, he gave her a genuine warm kiss on the cheek and wished her Merry Christmas. The minute she walked away, Keion asked his beast for a surge of warmth. He was a little annoyed at Nancy’s indiscretion but he couldn’t hold it against her because it had all been good fun. He just wished they could have done it inside.
“I can’t believe you just kissed that many girls in front of me,” Zach smirked.
“Hey, you could have taken over at any time.”
“Ha! They didn’t come here for me, my royal friend.” Raising a hand, Zach pointed to a person who had been standing behind where Nancy had set him up. “You missed one.”
“What?” Keion frowned and took a closer look at the back of the mysterious girl who had not queued up to get a kiss from him. Brownish hair with loose curls tied in a low ponytail, partially covered by a turquoise beanie.
“Ceanna Daley.” Zach supplied in a low voice.
Keion knew that name. Her adoptive parents both sat on the guardian’s council and he had had a class with her this semester. She wasn’t in any advanced classes, he realized, and that was probably why their paths barely crossed.
He called her name now.
She turned around instantly, probably sensing the receding presence of his wolf but still looking reluctant.
“You were going to let me walk away from an incomplete task?”
She glanced at the plant above his head dubiously. “I didn’t realize kissing was serious kingdom business, but I thought it was voluntary.”
“By all means, but now I feel like a heel leaving you out.”
“I-”
He held a hand out, aware that warmth still radiated slightly from him. Avoiding touching her skin directly, he put a hand on her elbow and said in a friendly low voice, “Merry Christmas.”
“M-merry Christmas, Keion.”
Drawing her closer, he tried to buy a little more time by chuckling. “I promise I won’t bite.”
Her mouth hung open slightly, incapable of creating a suitable excuse not to participate in the Christmas tradition associated with mistletoe. Without further thought, he bent his head and placed his lips on hers.
Keion felt her warmth and it surprised him, since she’d apparently been standing outside this whole time. Her lips were soft against his and it took only a fraction of a second to register that she kind of kissed him back.
Before either of them could break it off, fireworks went off with a loud bang. Startled, the two of them disconnected.
“Wow,” Keion said, a smile forming on his lips, “just like in the movies.”
Somehow that loosened Ceanna’s tongue. She laughed slightly and said, “And now we will become inseparable.”
He laughed too.
Another loud bang sounded and he turned his head to look at the colorful display blazing across the sky. It really was as Nancy had promised. As he turned to comment on it to his last mistletoe participant, he realized that she had disappeared.
Keion got into his car and drove the distance home on his own. Playing a recording of his father’s last council address, he reviewed his day and his overall feeling about the party he’d just attended. It had been fun and perhaps kissing that many girls in one night had been a foolish thing to do but he was pretty sure he hadn’t sent any mixed signals or done anything that his dad would disapprove of. He often heard his father say he was still a boy and he was allowed to be a normal kid every now and then. Nancy had apologized for her actions because she’d never expected that he would then be forced to kiss everyone who had been upstairs. Keion had forgiven her and made it clear that he had no intention of holding it against her. “It was all in good fun,” he assured her as she was walking him to the front door. Looking up and down the nearly empty road, he spotted the security detail. One of them nodded in greeting and he returned the gesture.
No sooner had the thought crossed Keion’s mind to speak to his father than his dad knocked on his door and walked in wearing sweat pants and house slippers.“Dad,” he sighed, falling back against his pillows with relief.“Good morning, son.”I heard you calling me. Is everything okay?“Good morning, Dad.”I had the weirdest dream. My heart’s going crazy.Setting his large frame on the bed next to his son, Msia Hamadi put his hand on the boy’s chest. What he had sensed from his own room came into high definition clarity as he connected with his child and the wolf that had seemed near giddy a few seconds ago.No wonder his child was confused. Msia’s wolf responded to the near panic and assured the younger wolf, sharing his peace. Feeling Keion’s heartbeat slow, he looked into his handsome son’s face.“Did you sleep well?” he aske
“It’s unusual for an Alpha to travel without his pack, or at least a small detail,” muttered the old man. “Shh,” his wife whispered, glancing at their guest, “if he’s an alpha, you know he can hear you speaking about him.” The old man grunted and turned back to the fire. “If he could hear what really matters, where was he when they stole our son from his bed as he slept? Will he bring back our Samuel?” The woman’s wolf hung her head, and tears filled her eyes. “Will you constantly remind me of my pain?” “Is the pain yours alone, woman?” he responded, his voice thick with emotion. Before she could respond, the lone wolf they had welcomed into their small home bounded up the steps gracefully. “Mother, Father, is there anything you need me to do, this evening?” “You’re a guest in our home, you really shouldn’t have to do anything,” the woman said kindly. Grinning, the young man with the light brown eyes leaned against the door jam
“Did you sell your son to dangerous men for power?” Reyan demanded. Walter stood up angrily, “How can you accuse me of such a thing? We love our boy!” The use of present tense wasn’t lost on Reyan, but he needed to make sure. Staring right back at the alpha of a tiny pack he said clearly, “Before they snatched him Samuel recognized someone in the group of people who orchestrated his kidnapping.” That stunned him. Falling back in his chair, Walter’s hand blindly groped for Barbra’s. His wife clung on for dear life. “I felt his hope shatter into pieces as someone he knew appeared but didn’t save him.” His voice sounded strangled to his own ears as the emotion of the little boys washed over him again. “Who?” Walter whispered. Walter's demand had compelled Reyan to reveal who he was and how quickly the tone of the conversation had changed from there. Everyone knew of Nyanga and the capture of the Queen who had been reigning
While everyone was seated, Reyan announced he wanted to tag along with Kano as he travelled the world. Walter looked at him sharply, but this time it was Barbra who spoke tactfully. “I thought you were going to stay with us a few more days before you moved on.” “I can always come back, dear mother.” Pause. “I want to learn as much as I can about the ways of the world before I am stuck in leadership.” The chair creaked under Kano’s weight as he laughed and leaned back, a toothpick clamped lightly between straight white teeth. “Aren’t you just raring to go...” Reyan grinned, too. “You could mentor me, aKaitano. What do you say?” “Do you know Europe is cold, young man? It’s not like the sunny plains of Africa.” Leaning in eagerly, “I have heard, but I would love to go see it for myself. I can pay for my own way–or work, whatever suits you best.” There was a long pause as Kano stared at Reyan, almost as if testing the sinc
“I’m fine Mrs. Cosby, I just want to get some air. I’m also assuming you might have some important things to discuss with aKaitano, so I’ll go sit by the fire.” “Alright, dear. We won’t be long,” the older woman, smiled at him. Once outside, Reyan shook his head. “What is it with these older women?” he muttered, heading to the fire pit where they had all conversed before the meal. He sat down calmly and waited. The moment they said his name, he became privy to their entire conversation. Kano mentioned him first. “Reyan is a fast learner. His age and his rank could be of great use to us.” “Is he a safe asset? Where are his parents?” his brother asked him. “Dead. He was roaming the rural areas of northern Zambia, clearly looking for purpose and excitement. He has no one.” “Can he be trusted?” “That’s why I brought him here tonight.” Pause. “A decision needs to be made. Do we train him or trade him?”
Ceanna woke up on the first day of school after winter break as reluctantly as she did every other day. It was another day to get up and go back to her life as a quiet nobody who made no significant impact in the world. She wondered as soon as that morose thought crossed her head if her mother would have interrupted her and said something affirming. It was something she wondered often, as she went about life- what it felt like to have the telepathic connection with one’s own kin. She’d heard her friends and other people talk about how annoying it was, but because she’d never truly experienced it, it was something she longed for. Throwing back the covers, Ceanna nearly knocked the picture of her family off her nightstand and immediately the guilt crept in. It was almost as if the Moon Goddess heard her moping and decided to remind her of what she had. Mama and Daddy Daley did their best to make her feel wanted, loved and fully accepted. When they had taken her
From the moment he stepped out of his car, Keion didn’t expect more than a moment to himself. Going to school had started feeling like a full time job around the time his voice had dropped and peach fuzz had appeared on his upper lip. People didn’t look at him like a prince at Alcombey High School, but he was the track star and captain of the basketball team. He had quit football because his mother had complained of headaches after a series of grueling matches. A part of him felt that was her way of getting him out of contact sports, but he wasn’t complaining. Groups of students waved and called out to him as he walked purposefully toward the front doors. He smiled and answered but he kept moving. His agenda was to get inside and stay warm. Everything else was secondary. As he reached the first set of doors, he breathed a sigh of relief, his breath creating mist in front of him. Before he even considered taking off his jacket, his coach called him from down the hall.