Chapter 5: Dangerous

Francesca’s POV

After the training session, I spent the rest of the day in bed, cuddled up under the covers and listening to rock music. My mum has told me time and time again that my eardrums will burst because I always turn up the volume so loud. But this was how I liked to listen to music. It drowned out my thoughts. Nothing else existed in moments like these save the beat, the lyrics, and the vocals. It was like being transported into another world and the escape was very much needed.

As the day crawled to an end, I forced myself to get out of bed and step out of my room. I found my mum in the sitting room. She was engrossed in a phone call. I waited until she was done talking to ask my question.

“Where’s Alpha Ian?”

“Why are you asking about Ian’s whereabouts?” There was genuine puzzlement in her tone.

I slipped my hands into the pockets of my hoodie. “I need to talk to him.”

Jessica arched an eyebrow. “Why? So you could be disrespectful some more?”

“Ouch, I deserved that,” I said. “I’m sorry I embarrassed you like that, Mum. You raised me better. I want to fix it. That’s why I want to talk to him.”

She let out a sigh and placed her phone on the coffee table. “He’s at the shooting range. Just… don’t mess up any more than you already did.”

I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “I won’t. I promise.”

I ran out of the house and made for the shooting range. It was located in the vast backyard of the mansion.  I halted in my steps when I saw him. For some unknown reason, my heart rate picked up as I continued to stare at him. He was dressed entirely in black. The jeans and tank top he was wearing molded his body in a way that was sinful. His exposed arm muscles flexed as he loaded the gun he was holding and I felt my mouth go dry. He had a look of deadly concentration on his face as he aimed and fired. The reverberating echo from the shot pulled me out of whatever trance I had fallen into. I walked over to his booth and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

He removed the noise-canceling headphones he had on and regarded me with a surprised look.

“What are you doing here, Francesca?” he asked, gaze dark and intense. It was a struggle to maintain eye contact.

“I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday,” I blurted out. “It was uncalled for. I was being childish and throwing temper tantrums.”

“Apology accepted,” he said. “The merging of the packs is a big change for all of us. Adjusting to it could come in different ways.”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” I was relieved that he was so quick to accept my apology and seemed ready to give me a chance. He was so well-composed, so ready to move on to something else and I had never felt more my age or immature.

An awkward silence followed after that and while I tried to think of the next thing to say, Alpha Ian beat me to it.

“So, how was training today?”

“Your brother is a monster,” I groaned, leaning back against the booth we were sequestered in.

“Oh, I’m even worse.” He grinned. He removed silver bullets from a magazine and reloaded his gun.

“That’s what he said. If you run us any harder than he did today, we’d probably end up dead within a few weeks.”

Alpha Ian laughed at that, his eyes lighting up, and I felt mesmerized. It felt as though my chest caved in on itself. I wanted to make him laugh like that again. I wanted to make him laugh like that all the time. It was a crazy thought to have about someone who was going to be your mother’s husband in two days but that was how I felt at that moment.

“I’m sure you will be fine. All you need is stamina and grit and you’re good to go.” He secured his headphones and raised his arms. He pointed the gun at the target and started firing. Every single bullet hit the bull’s eye.

“That was impressive,” I said, whistling.

“Comes with practice,” he said with a shrug.

“Silver bullets, huh? I guess we’re gearing up for Ezekiel’s army of rogues.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve always hated inflicting that kind of pain on a werewolf. The pain of being shot with a silver bullet stays with you for a long time if you survive it. These rogues, however, it’s as though they keep asking for it. And Ezekiel will lead them all to their deaths in his quest because that’s the type of person he is.”

The hatred in his tone was visceral when he mentioned Ezekiel’s name. His eyes blazed with an anger that was frankly frightening.

“Dominic said there’s a reason you’re so invested in Ezekiel’s downfall but he wouldn’t tell me what it was,” I said in a soft tone. It felt as though I should tread delicately with this topic.

Alpha Ian let out a heavy sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. He leaned against the opposite end of the booth. We were facing each other now and the setting felt intimate. I had the sudden overwhelming urge to run but I willed myself to stay.

“Growing up, Ezekiel and I were best friends,” Alpha Ian began, and I’m sure the shock I felt was evident on my face. “Yes, he was a part of this pack. We were inseparable, went everywhere, and did everything together. As we entered our teenage years, he began to change into a rebel with some radical beliefs. As far as he was concerned, we as werewolves, are doing ourselves a disservice with the way we choose to live. Apparently, we box ourselves into packs with rigid rules and we don’t really get to explore the full potential of what we’re capable of. Ezekiel thinks that as supernatural beings, we’re superior to humans and we shouldn’t have to hide just to make their lives easier.”

“Doesn’t he understand the importance of keeping the supernatural world as much a secret from humans as possible?” I said. “I mean it’s as much for them as it is for us. The more exposed we are, the more blood would run on both sides. That’s just common sense.”

“Ezekiel is a narcissist with a god complex who doesn’t think about consequences,” Alpha Ian said. “He talks about how restricted we are in packs but what he wants is to be on top and in charge. All this talk of liberation and living our destiny as fierce wolves is how he lures these rogues in. He doesn’t care about them. He’s never cared about anyone but himself. But if there’s one thing he’s good at, it’s manipulation and charm. That’s how he started influencing me when we were still friends. I started acting out and we got into all sorts of trouble. Until one day, we took things too far. One of our friends almost lost their lives and all Ezekiel did was laugh when I told him we needed to stop. I realized the boy I knew was gone. I didn’t recognize the person who stood in front of me. His eyes were cold, devoid of emotion. He was banished after he murdered a human in cold blood. We were sixteen at the time. He left and I grieved his loss because, to me, it felt like he’d died.”

“Goddess, I had no idea.” I could tell from the look on his face that the whole thing had affected him greatly. I wanted to reach out and touch him. Offer some sort of comfort. But I didn’t think it was my place. “That must have been tough.”

“It was,” Alpha Ian said. “But I got over it. For many years, it was as though he had fallen off the face of the earth. But now he’s back, decimating pack after pack. I didn’t know it was possible to hate someone I used to love so much but here we are.”

“Well, it’s understandable,” I said, “He’s turned into a monster. He’s been silent for a while though. There’s been no new attacks.”

“Don’t let that fool you. Something’s brewing.”

“Like the calm before the storm huh?”

“Exactly,” Alpha Ian said. “Anyway, that’s enough talk about that bastard. How good is your aim?”

“It’s not the best,” I said with a self-conscious laugh.

“Well, c’mon, show me.”

He handed over the gun and the headphones. I took my stance and faced the target. I aimed and fired a couple of shots. None of them hit the target but one was pretty close.

“You’re not so bad,” Alpha Ian commented.

“I’m not so great either,” I deadpanned.

“True,” he said, grinning. “But you will improve with practice. First, you need to correct your posture.”

He stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. I could feel the heat of his touch through the material of my hoodie. He was standing too close for comfort. If I so much as leaned back a little, my back would connect with his chest. I took a deep breath to get a grip and all I did instead was breathe in a lungful of his woodsy cologne. It made me dizzy and I couldn’t help but think that this was dangerous.

Alpha Ian was dangerous. And I wasn’t talking about the fact that he was an apex predator who could snap my neck in half.