Chapter 3 | The Alpha

~Kiki~

I froze at the sight of his furious expression and quickly turned off the engine. As I opened the door to step out, I realized that I had knocked off one of the bike's mirrors when swinging the door open. 

Why couldn't the ground next to the curb just open up and swallow me whole? He looked ready to devour me, and the earth showed no mercy in refusing to help me escape.

"What the hell, Kiki? Are you drunk driving or what?" His usually deep and calm voice was seething with anger and agitation, and so was his face, which was typically void of any expression when he saw me. 

I bit down hard on my lower lip to stop my chin from shaking and shifted my feet anxiously. He moved his hands from his hips and pulled his damaged bike out from under the car.

Honestly, it didn't look that damaged, except for the missing mirror and a few scrapes here and there. Oh well, everywhere.

After several beats of silence while he inspected the damage, his eyebrows knitted together in a frown, making my blood run cold. What if he expected me to pay a hefty amount of money to cover the repair costs? His bike was a limited edition Ducati, and it could easily cost two hundred thousand dollars.

With the eighteen dollars an hour I made, let's say, working twenty hours a day since I needed at least four hours of sleep, so that's three sixty dollars a day and close to ten thousand dollars a month before taxes. About two years to pay off? That's not bad at all if he was willing to wait, but realistically, I could work only three hours a day transporting items, not twenty.

All the other work I did at home and at the packhouse was supposed to be done for free, as I was labeled the omega. At this rate, I would owe him money even after ten years and-

His fingers snapped in front of my face, pulling me back to reality as he called out my name.

"A-alpha... it was, I mean, I was... I-I."

Pathetic!

That heavenly scent of bergamot and sensual white musk brought my nonexistent wolf come to the surface every single time he came close to me. Everything else faded into the background.

"Stay out of my way!" I flinched at the utterly terrifying coldness in his voice and stepped back.

"You got that?"

I nodded quietly, unable to meet his narrowed gaze. Those eyes, with their beautiful mix of blue and gray, appeared more gray than blue today.

With knots in my stomach and my heart pounding, I gave him another quick shake of my head when he didn’t move. What was he staring at? I lifted my gaze to meet his eyes and felt naked to the bone when I realized he was just looking at me. The strange expression on his face sent sharp little goosebumps racing down my back. What was he thinking?

"Alpha?"

"Mm..." 

He appeared to be lost, and I seized the opportunity to take in as much of his attractive face as possible... his thick, arched eyebrows, classic Greek nose, and strong square chin. His sleek bronze hair was tousled from the motorcycle ride, giving him a rugged look that enhanced his natural appeal.

"Close your mouth, Kiki." 

What? And he was gone.

What just happened? There was some kind of strong, invisible magnet pulling us toward each other. Alpha Kayden was old enough to realize that I might be his mate, even though I still had to wait another month to find out, if I even had a wolf inside me somewhere. He would have known I was his mate three years ago when he turned eighteen. Clearly, I wasn't; it was impossible for werewolves to restrain themselves for even a couple of weeks without claiming and marking their mates.

What did that look in his eyes mean? He was clearly drawn to something about me. It reminded me of those strange dreams I sometimes have, where I see a beautiful woman with glowing golden eyes and radiant hair, singing the sweetest melody I've ever heard. Men, women, and children alike are captivated by her enchanting song, walking toward her as if in a trance.

I looked nothing like her. I had cinnamon brown curls and an equally brown shade of eyes. There was nothing golden about me, except maybe my skin, which had a golden undertone.

Dang it! I lost track of time. My boss was definitely going to fire me, and I couldn't even blame my dad for this anymore.

Jumping into the car, I rushed to my multiple destinations on the mainland; fresh meat from one place and a lot of produce from another warehouse. I was supposed to pick up turkey and venison from another place, but there wasn't time for that. I will have to tell my boss they were out of fresh stock.

Lies came easily to me, and people bought them just as quickly. Sometimes I wondered if I had some manipulative creature inside me instead of a wolf. My charms didn't work on my adoptive parents for some reason, but everyone else seemed to buy my stories effortlessly.

I skipped the sunflower farm because there was no time to pick flowers. Filling about two-thirds of the truck, I sped back to Two Harbors and unloaded them at the dock. The truck was empty by the time I visited five different loading docks in various parts of the peninsula.

The coconut vendor near Palm Beach was ready with his supplies by then. I was supposed to deliver a truckload of coconuts, palm fruit, and various products like coconut milk, oil, and scented bath items his company made. All of it was shipped to the mainland from the peninsula, and I picked up more goods there before heading back to Twin Harbors.

After three hours of driving and loading and unloading stuff, I was finally home to get ready for school. I was supposed to make lunch beforehand. Mom had asked me to prepare some garden salad and crispy smashed potatoes along with meatloaf. After quickly assembling everything and cleaning up the mess, I packed my lunch and went out to see if Benji was ready.

"Alpha Dimitri was looking for you in the packhouse," Megan told me as she came back from somewhere. "Gosh, why, do you know?" I asked. She shrugged. "No idea, but he's waiting."

The disadvantages of not having a wolf... I lacked a mind link and always depended on someone else to pass messages. None of the pack members believed in using cellphones to text such things. Can't blame them. I am the only human in this pack.

I found Alpha Dimitri in his study, tapping his fingers on the desk, which was covered with papers and files. He was scrolling through some information on the computer. I took a seat at his signal and waited for him to finish whatever he was doing.

Being called to the former alpha's office wasn't a good sign. Unlike the calm and collected Alpha Kayden, his dad was quick-tempered and had been snapping at me ever since I failed to shift the first time.

He threw a bulky binder aside and examined me with his slate gray eyes. How warmly those eyes used to crinkle at the corners every time he saw me until I turned thirteen. He definitely had bad news to share with me today.

"So, Kiki, Zeta Archer tells me you're going to be eighteen next month."

"Um, yes, Alpha."

My parents never bothered to remember my last four birthdays. Alpha Dimitri looked at me with deep disappointment before getting up from his seat and walking over to a photo frame on the mantlepiece.

"Do you know who this person is?"

He showed me a picture of two young, handsome men. The one with ash blond hair and pale blue eyes looked particularly dashing. The other was Alpha Dimitri, probably in his mid-twenties. I shook my head no.

"I never saw him before."

"Of course, you didn't. He was killed just minutes before you were born. He is your dad. Alpha Wyatt of the Red Crescent Pack."

My eyes flickered between the two men in the picture before I looked up at Alpha Dimitri in shock. This couldn't be my dad. The man I saw in my dreams had green eyes and inky black hair. I vividly remember his warm voice and affectionate smiles as he threw me in the air and caught me with those brawny arms.

"With your mom's seductive looks and your dad's combat skills, I expected you to be unstoppable. You do look like that cunning witch, but you got nothing on Wyatt. It's such a shame."

Witch? Who was he calling a witch? My mom was so pure and beautiful in my dreams, and I loved that I inherited her looks. I didn't have the guts to contradict the former alpha.

"I'm sorry, but I have to let you go, Kiki. This pack has no place for humans."