Chapter 6

Alaris

***

Her confusion was too obvious; it was etched into her face like a tattoo. She had every right to be skeptical about me and my offer. It still didn't settle well with me as to how calmly she was taking the entire situation. If it was someone else in her place, they would have started running for the hills already. Even then, it didn't settle well with me how she had a frown more or less engraved in between her brows. I was about to clear away her doubts when an all too familiar voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Alpha?" 

I turned around to see Hannah standing with her hands folded behind her back. She was a shy one, a quality that any sane man would admire in his woman. But I was never amongst the sane ones. 

"Yes, Hannah?" 

As much as I didn't want to be rude with her, my words sounded ignorant. It didn't help how hoarse and strained my voice came out. 

"I apologize for bothering you and your guest but Beta Alex told me to pass along a message." Hannah apologized with a small bow of her head. 

"He could have mindlinked me." I frowned at her explanation. 

"He tried, Alpha. You have blocked out everyone. You were also not replying to his text messages." She was avoiding looking directly in my direction, though her eyes would stop to focus behind me every now and then. But it wasn't her uncalled attention on Sera which ticked me off. It was the fact that I had blocked out everyone without even wanting to. I didn't remember tuning my pack out, especially Alex since he was my Beta. 

Without thinking too much over it, I shifted my attention to the little lady who was silently observing our exchange with her widened eyes. Her eyes flickered up to meet mine and she held them in place. Not an ounce of fear could be seen in those stormy gray orbs of her. Was she not affected by the power my body radiated? Or my wolf had reeled it in a little so that she would not be afraid of us? Why would he do that? She wasn't our mate, was she? 

"Do I have something on my face?" She broke the silence first as she brought her fingers up to her face. 

"No." With a brief reply, I turned around to face Hannah once again only to see her frowning at me. I raised an eyebrow at her. "What is it?" Why was she still here? Oh, yes! The message Alex had for me. "What was it that you came to tell me?" 

"Uh… about that." She fumbled with her words. "Beta Alex asked me to inform you that he won't be able to drive your guest home. Something went wrong with your company's website and he had to fix it himself. He told me to pass you these." She extended out one hand in my direction and showed me what it was. 

My car keys. 

"Thanks, Hannah." I took it from her before dismissing her with a small nod. 

"Let's get you home, little one." I motioned my head to the side, silently asking her to follow me to which she complied without another word. 

We were on our way to her home when she finally broke her silence. 

"Why is it that you are telling me all of this? Why trust me with one of your secrets?" 

I kept my focus on the road ahead as I entertained her questions. 

"You look like a smart one. Why don't you try and take a guess?" 

"It can not only be that you expected me to keep this to myself. Combined with the fact that you knew I was adopted, could be from my medical records. You didn't bring me to the town's hospital but to your own place. This all points towards one thing." She was rambling by the time but I could tell from the confidence laced in her words that she was getting somewhere. 

"So, you are saying…" I trailed off, giving her the chance to finish it herself. 

"I am one of you. Correct me if I am wrong?" 

I glanced to my right to see her staring ahead. Her face was devoid of any expressions as if it wasn't the truth of her existence that we were talking about but the weather. 

"I wasn't wrong. You sure are smart." 

"That I am. Also, there's this voice in my head which keeps telling me that I have a wolf too." 

Her words made me bring the card to a screeching stop in the middle of the road as my head snapped in her direction. 

"You look more shocked than me." 

My eyes moved over her face, looking for any sign of humor. I found none. 

"She's back?" 

"You know her?" It was the only time that her face went from being blank to expressive. Her eyes were arched up her forehead as she stared back at me in complete horror. 

"I.. ummm… I met her when I came to check on you at your spot." I put the car again into drive but only to park it on the side of the road. It was time that we talked about why exactly she fainted. And I was not going to do it in a moving car. 

"Now, I am all confused." She shook her head as she frowned. 

"Remember how I told you that it's not possible for us to shift into our wolves before we are of a certain age." I paused, giving her the time to process my words. "It's usually when we turn thirteen that we shift for the first time. But in some cases it can happen a little later too. There's no harm in that. But at most it's by the age of sixteen that they have their first shift. We call those late bloomers. Though never in my life have I ever heard of a late bloomer who still hasn't shifted even at your age." 

"Does that make me… not normal?" Her frown deepened at which I shook my head. 

"I can't say why you never shifted before. Maybe, you inherited it from your parents. Or, maybe only one of them was a wolf. But having a human partner is too rare for us." I shrugged, not knowing how else to make her feel better about the situation.

"So, I was basically shifting for the first time when you found me." 

I hummed in response. 

"What does my wolf look like?" She asked me out of nowhere. "I mean, is it big or scrawny? The color of its fur?" 

"I wish I could answer your questions, but I don't know. You didn't finish shifting. You were in too much pain to even begin with the process. I had to use an alpha command to subdue your wolf before it could force the shift." 

"Why?" 

"Like I said before, you were in too much pain. The shift could have killed you if I didn't stop her." My eyes found hers and I gave her a small smile. It wasn't a cheerful one. It conveyed my deepest sympathies. I didn't want to pity her for she was so much stronger than this. But I could understand her turmoil. It wasn't easy having someone else tell you that the entirety of your life had been nothing but a lie. And to have someone question your identity, it must be hard for her even if she wasn't letting it on. 

I saw Sera bob her head up and down in understanding. "She is saying she's sorry… that she was eager to finally be with me." 

"I know. It's only natural for her to want that. Just as our wolf counterparts complete us, it's important for them as well to be in touch with their human sides. The stronger the link is between you and your wolf, the more powerful you both are going to be." I explained it to her. 

"She is telling me to thank you." A smile bloomed across her face, her lips curling up at the corners. "Both you and your wolf." 

"Oh, really?" 

"Yeah!" She bobbed her head up and down, making her stray curly locks to bounce with her movements. "So, thank you. I would love to meet him sometime."

"We'll see about that." With that, I pulled the car back into drive. "Let's get you home now, little one." I watched her from the corner of my eye as I drove down to our destination. She was no longer supporting that blank look from earlier, but rather had an endearing smile hugging her lips as she stared outside through the tinted window. I wondered what was going inside that head of hers. 

'She doesn't have to thank me.' 

It was my wolf who brought me out of my thoughts. 

'You did save her from dying.' I countered despite knowing he would never listen to me. 

'I would do anything for her…' 

'W-what…do you mean?' He left me hanging with those words as he had already locked himself inside my subconscious mind. I tried pushing against the wall he had pulled up, but it was all in vain. He refused to budge. 

I glanced in Sera's direction one more time as I thought over his words.

What did he mean by that?