Alpha Adrian looked surprised at Alpha Evan's words if his raised eyebrows were anything to go by.
"She is not for sale," he finally said.
I knew I wasn't. They hated me too much to let me go. Let alone to a pack where slaves were treated nicely from what I could gather.
"Why not?"
"She simply isn't. Now, I believe this nonsense has gone on for long enough. Let's all get back to partying," Alpha Adrian announced, pretty much ending the discussion.
Alpha Evan clenched his jaw. He looked like he wanted to say more, an emotion flashing on his face, but it was gone too quickly for me to pin point what it was. In the end, he nodded stoically at Alpha Adrian, letting it go.
I sighed quietly to myself, spying Raymond at the edges of the circle of people that had formed around us.
The moment his eyes met mine, he gave me a 'what the hell happened?' face which I returned with a 'I have no idea' face. And I truly didn't.
I had no idea why someone like Alpha Evan had come to my rescue like that. Nor why I was feeling so enamored by his scent alone.
Speaking of him, the man was still standing in front of me even as the people around us dispersed and Raymond made his way over with a dust pan, broom, mop, and another server, Jamie, in tow.
"Wrap that hand of yours in a bandaid," Alpha Evan told me, making me look down at the said hand.
For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with him, choosing to stare at my hand instead as if it that was where the answers to all the questions running through my head lay.
"Alpha Evan, I think we should let her go and do that," I heard the bearded man who had intervened between the two Alphas say.
I nodded, still not looking up.
Alpha Evan cleared his throat. "Right. Yes."
Before I could turn around and leave though, his hand entered my field of vision, dwarfing my own.
The same shock of electricity I'd felt before rippled throughout my body at the contact. And this time, I was sure he felt it too because I heard him suck in a sudden breath.
"Why?" he murmured lowly, more to himself than me, prompting me to look up at him.
His beautiful green eyes were narrowed in concentration as he looked down at my hand as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world, his forehead creased in what looked like confusion, almost as if he were trying to figure out an intricate puzzle.
"You coming, Mel?" Raymond's voice made me turn my head to look at him.
"Yeah," I replied. Pulling my hand away from Alpha Evan, I looked up at him again, only to find his eyes already fixated on me.
I squirmed a little under his intense gaze, my throat suddenly dry. I swallowed thickly before speaking, "I uh, I should probably go."
He nodded. "You should."
I nodded back at him before turning around and pretty much fleeing the scene, all the while feeling his eyes burning holes into the back of my head until I shut the door to the kitchen behind me with a dull thud.
"What even was that?" Raymond asked as soon as we were in the safety of the kitchen, handing the cleaning supplies to Jamie who quietly left us alone.
"I don't know," I admitted, shaking my head. "He is an Alpha, Ray. An Alpha to a whole entire pack. And he stood up for me. Plain, old me! He was ready to start an all our war if this guy who was probably someone from his pack hadn't intervened. Can you believe that?" I ranted, eyes wide with disbelief. The more I thought about it, the more unrealistic it felt.
Why the hell did he do something like that? Alphas simply did not go around taking stands for slaves. And what was all that weird attraction I had been feeling towards him? Why had I been so bloody entranced with the way he smelled?
Had he been feeling the same way towards me? Was that why he had come to my rescue like that? But why?
Goddess, none of this was making any sense.
"I can't either. He looked livid from where I was standing," Raymond said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I nodded in agreement, not knowing what else to say. Today had been the weirdest day of my measly existence. This was something I hadn't thought of, not even in my wildest dreams.
"Come on, let's get your hand patched up. Looks like that glass cut you deep," Raymond, ever the care taker said, nodding towards my hand still wrapped in the cloth napkin.
I had been so engrossed in all that had been happening that I'd all but forgotten about my injury until now. I shook my head. "It's fine. Won't need any stitches or anything. Just a disinfectant and gauze would do."
Raymond nodded. "Okay. Sit here and let me get those. And you're not going out there anymore. I'll find something for you to do inside once you're all patched up. Michel will have to understand now," Raymond said before leaving.
I sighed to myself. Michel was the head of the catering staff and he was the one who had assigned us duties tonight, making sure I was out there most of the night. But now that I'd gotten hurt, he would probably go a little bit easy on me and assign me something else to do inside the kitchen instead. Or at least I was hoping he would.
It wasn't long before Raymond was back and had patched up my hand. He'd also somehow convinced Michel to let me work inside, plating the food, mopping any spills and such and I was extremely thankful for it.
Sure, I was shouted at here and there but at least there weren't a lot of unknowns in here for me to feel all that embarrassed.
Finally, the night came to an end and after some vigorous cleaning up, we were given some food and allowed to go.
I was tired, yes, but I hadn't been able to get the night's events and Alpha Evan's scent out of my head.
Feeling too wired to sleep, I decided to go to the one spot where I felt the calmest. It was a small, well hidden clearing behind the pack house, surrounded by trees on all sides where I often went at nights for a swim. No one bothered to go there during the nights and that was exactly the way I liked it.
But tonight, as I made my way towards the clearing, I realised I wasn't alone.
There, at the other end of the clearing stood a man. And it wasn't his physique which clued me in as to who it was. It was the familiar woody scent, a mix of amberwood and pepper that told me the man standing under the pale moonlight was none other than Alpha Evan.
I turned around to leave, not wanting to disturb him when I heard him begin to speak something in a foreign language.
It took me a moment to realise that he was chanting some sort of a spell.
Was he a witch?
But how? He was an Alpha, wasn't he?
What was going on here?
Before I could dwell on my thoughts much, the image of a man appeared in front of Alpha Evan, glowing bright blue, almost as if it were a hologram. The only difference was, that the man was actually talking.
The man talked to him for some time but I was too far away to catch the entire conversation and make sense of it. The conversation went on for a minute or so before the man disappeared.
Completely confused and extremely scared of whatever I'd just witnessed, I turned around to leave at once.
"Where do you think you're going?" Came Alpha Evan's voice before I'd even taken the first step.
I winced, having been caught.
I had a feeling the night had just become much more interesting.
"I, uh, I was just, um, going back?" I said, but it ended up being more of a question than anything else. I was extremely nervous and could feel my hands begin to sweat. Within seconds, Alpha Evan had crossed the clearing using the log of wood which connected the two sides and was standing in front of me. "Not anymore, kitten," he said, his voice smooth as ever and his intoxicating scent surrounding me like a blanket. I fought to keep my thoughts grounded and not drown in his scent. "Why not?" He smirked and somehow, it made him look hotter than he already was. "You're too naíve if you think I'll let you go just like that now that you've seen what you have."I titled my head at him. "And what did I see, Alpha Evan? How are you an Alpha when you're clearly a witch as well?" I asked, my curiosity overpowering any nervousness I'd felt seconds ago. "That's because I'm both, a witch and a werewolf. A hybrid, so to speak," he stated calmly, as if it was something completely normal. It
"What were you doing here so late at night, though, Melody? It doesn't seem safe to be out here alone, specially given how weak you are," Alpha Evan said once he'd put his shirt on and ran a hand through his hair, making it perfectly disheveled. I cringed at his casual comment. Sure, I knew I was weak but he did not have to throw that in my face like that. "I come here to swim at nights. It's calming to me. And I am weak, but you don't have to go around pointing it out to me," I grumbled. His gaze softened as he stepped closer again. "I just don't want you getting hurt, kitten. I'll make sure you're no longer weak when I take you with me. I'll train you myself." Something warm bloomed in my chest at his words. No one other than Raymond and my nanny had shown me so much kindness. Overwhelmed with too much emotion, I felt like crying. But for pretty much the first time in my life, they would be tears of joy. Clearing my throat, I whispered, "Thank you, Alpha Evan," my voice cracki
"You either come with me silently, or I drag you out of here kicking and screaming with no one to help you. Take your pick," Alpha Evan muttered low, so only I could hear, still holding my arms in a vice like grip. I looked up at him, knowing he was right. No one would come and help me even if I screamed bloody murder while he took me away from here. There was no point trying to run when I had no where safe to run to. This was my fate. And I had to accept it. "I'll go with you quietly." My voice didn't sound like my own. It sounded broken, defeated. That was what this man had reduced me to in the span of a few minutes- a defeated mess. And I hated him for it. I let him say his goodbyes to Alpha Adrian before he dragged me behind him, much like he had done moments ago, probably taking me to one of the many guest rooms he was staying at. I kept my gaze down as I walked behind him, not bothering to look up. His hand was holding mine. I still felt the shock of having his skin in direc
"What do you mean take me there?" I asked, determined not to let his woody scent or smart words deter me from getting answers this time around. "With me. When I leave here. That was the deal we made, wasn't it?" He remarked casually as he lay the towel across one of the sofas to dry before picking up his book. "But... but you told Alpha Adrian that...." I struggled to form any words, or thoughts, for that matter. Alpha Evan tsked, shaking his head at me. "You, my kitten, are dumber than you look," he said, pivoting around on his heel and walking towards the bed before laying down. His words made anger flare anew in my chest, and I glared at him. "Think before you get catty with me," he warned before I could say anything. He then opened his book back again, going back to reading as if he hadn't just insulted me. But, I paid heed to his words and did think before speaking this time. For the first time since the incident back at Alpha Adrian's room, I considered the possibility tha
"Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you," Raymond exclaimed as soon as I entered the kitchen and my eyes landed on him doing the dishes. I got to work doing the dishes right along with him as I filled him in on the events of last night, leaving the part about Alpha Evan being a hybrid, and finishing with how I'd had the best breakfast ever this morning. "That's.... that's unbelievable," Raymond said, his expression mimicking his words as he wiped his hands on a rag before passing it to me. I nodded in agreement, taking the rag from him and drying my hands. "I know! But after the way he has treated me last night and this morning, I think he really is going to take me with him when he leaves. I don't know how he will do it, but I know he will."Raymond seemed skeptical at best as he looked at me. "He has been behaving nicely, but you can't deny that the man is scary as fuck. What if it's just an act? What if you end up going to some place worse than here?" I contemp
"I don't have anything to wear," I all but wailed as I looked at Miss Lillian. Her deep brown eyes twinkled in amusement, the crow's feet around her eyes deepening as her perfectly shaped full lips pulled into a broad grin. "I never thought I'd see the day you went on a date.""It's not a date!" I exclaimed for the umpteenth time that night, recalling the conversation I'd had with Alpha Evan during that scrumptious lunch. "Yes. Like a date," he'd said and I'd stared at him like a fish out of water, my mouth opening and closing of it's a own accord, but no words coming out. "For real?" I'd finally managed to ask. Then, he'd smirked at me, the kind that made him look deviously handsome. "What do you think?" I'd shook my head then. Why would an Alpha take me, a good for nothing slave, on a date? It was absurd. His smirk had only deepened. "I want to show you something. Tonight. Wear something comfortable."My mind seemed to have a single track at that point. One that was focused on
"Shift," Alpha Evan told me once we made it out of the house and had walked a few steps towards the woods. "What?" Dumbfounded, I looked at him."Shift into your wolf, Melody," he explained patiently as if talking to a three year old.I squirmed a little as he looked at me, suddenly embarrassed that I couldn't shift into my wolf. "I, uh, can't," I managed to mumble."Can't? What do you mean you can't?" He asked, his voice sounding impossibly loud in the stillness of the night, making me flinch a little. "I've... I've never shifted into my wolf," I admitted softly, looking anywhere but at him, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. It truly was embarrassing. What twenty six year old werewolf hadn't ever shifted? "Why not?" Alpha Evan asked, making me look up at him. I'd expected to see disgust in his expression, maybe even amusement, but he looked completely serious, if a little curious, as he looked down at me. "I, uh, wasn't allowed to," I replied, giving him a short, wate
The light was coming from a flower I hadn't noticed before. It was a beautiful little thing, glowing a bright blue under the moonlight. I watched entranced as more and more of those bright blue flowers I hadn't noticed before in the dim moonlight began unfurling all around us. Soon enough, we were standing in a circle with blue lit up flowers all around us, casting a warm glow on the both of us. It was a beautiful sight to behold, one I couldn't help but grin at. "This is beautiful," I admitted softly, looking around at all the numerous tiny flowers glowing all around us. "It is," came Alpha Evan's even softer reply and I looked at him, only to find him already looking at me. I felt my cheeks heat up, squirming a little under his intense gaze. "What are all these flowers? I've never seen flowers that could glow like that." "They're called nocte caeruleo. Literally translating to blue night. These are a special type of flowers that glow bright blue when they bloom at the stroke