Chapter Eighteen
1352 Words
My head snapped to the side in search of the one I knew that scent belonged to.
Danny’s eyes followed my movements, and she watched me in confusion.
“Looking for something?” she curiously inquired.
Or someone, rather.
I couldn't possibly tell her I somehow perceived the scent of the Alpha King and was searching for him like a crazed woman. Saying it out loud would sound even crazier than it did in my head.
I cleared my throat and shook my head at her.
I must have imagined it. If he wasn't present, there was no way I could have sniffed in his scent.
I followed Danny out from between the shelves and back behind my desk, thanking her for taking the time to show me around, and she waved it off, saying it was no problem.
She continued to stand awkwardly in front of my desk, and I was about to ask if something was wrong, worried I had somehow done something to upset her.
“Lunch is in thirty minutes. Do you want to go out to have lunch with me?” Danny asked sheepishly, looking like she was holding her breath.
I opened my mouth to speak and closed it after a couple of tries.
Was she really politely asking me to have lunch with her—and nicely at that?
This was the rarest occasion for me.
“Uhm, sure.” I flared my hands around, still caught off guard by her request.
It felt rude to refuse. She looked like she put out a lot of effort into asking.
I'd come to notice that Danny was an extremely shy person.
Avoidance and timidness were doctrined and beaten into my system, but for her, I guessed she was born that way.
Danny avoided looking into my hands, and I wrung my fingers together underneath my desk.
“Where’s uhh, lunch?” I inquired, hoping it wasn’t going to be at the hall.
I hadn’t had breakfast, despite Aria’s insistence. I hadn’t been hungry. It felt odd having breakfast so early, and I didn’t want to be late to meet Elder Isolde.
“There’s a cafeteria not too far away from the library. We can grab lunch there.” Danny gave me that same thin smile.
I let out a breath of relief and watched her walk away, my eyes glancing at the huge wall clock in the middle of the room I was in. My eyes followed Danny as she went into a door to the second aisle.
Pity soared in my chest for her. How much of a loner would she have had to be to ask me out for lunch? Didn’t she have other friends?
I sat in serious concentration, my eyes going over the record book in front of me as I tried hard to figure out how to work through it without having to bother Danny.
The clock dinged at twelve-thirty, signaling lunch break, and I let out a loud sigh.
My mind itched at the desire to come up with some excuse to back out of the lunch date, but I’d only feel terrible afterward, and I didn’t want her hating me for it.
It couldn’t be that bad, except the awkward air—and we had quite a tiny moment earlier. We could talk about books. We glaringly had that in common.
Danny’s face tinged red as she headed towards me from the other room, and her voice formed into a small, “Come on.”
We walked side by side, Elder Isolde giving us a pleasing smile from the edge of the library as we headed out.
My eyes surveyed the pack grounds as we walked past them. After a few miles, there were a couple of houses in sight, scattered around the grounds—somewhat different from the cottages. I held back from asking about the cottages. I’d have to ask Melanie or Aria later.
A large field not too far from us was filled with giant and large-looking men and women. Two of them stood in the center, rounding each other. They both had several cuts running down their bodies.
My eyes widened at the people around them, yelling and urging them to go on.
“That’s the training grounds for warriors and pack members of age,” Danny explained, reading off the clear horror etched on my face.
Nothing like this existed in the Ravenwood pack. The training grounds were secluded and closed off—strictly for warriors alone.
“The Alpha King makes sure each and every one of us is trained when we come of age so we’re able to defend ourselves, regardless of one’s status.” Danny spoke with pride and respect filling her voice for her Alpha.
I nodded mutely at her words, still unable to grasp it. A loud growl from one of the men fighting caught our attention, and I was unable to stomach the sight of injured men any longer, so I turned.
It made me itch to treat their wounds.
Danny looked at me weirdly for a few moments before she turned with me.
“They didn’t have this at the Ravenwood pack?” she asked, sounding surprised.
I sighed in resignation. I was sure the entire pack also knew I was from Ravenwood pack too.
I shook my head at Danny, swallowing at the flash of the injured men in my head.
As we continued our walk to the cafeteria, Danny spoke, and my eyes scanned our surroundings, hoping to catch sight of Aria or Melanie.
We walked into a cozy-looking cafe. It smelled of delicious bread and cookies, soothing my senses.
A small crowd of wolves was scattered around the room, and some stood in a small line like they were lining up to take their orders.
Stares lingered as we walked in, but none stayed for longer than necessary, which relieved me to no end.
I still couldn’t find either Aria or Melanie anywhere.
In a few minutes, Danny and I had small bags of baked brownies and flavored milkshakes of our choices.
I almost panicked when I thought we had to pay for it, and the lady smiled kindly and assured me that meals were never paid for here.
I let out a shriek of horror on our way back to the library, my feet hurrying forward before my brain could catch up.
There, standing in the middle of the training grounds, prancing in circles like the two men from earlier, was Aria.
My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. She was clad in tight gym pants and a tank top, going round in circles with a man twice her size.
She was tall and exuded mighty strength, b-but he looked like he could crush her with his palms alone.
The large man she was up against wore a pissed-off look on his face as Aria threw a powerful punch, faking the first and then slamming her fist hard into his knee.
I stood open-mouthed, my eyes blinking at the fierce woman standing up at the stage.
The Aria I met couldn’t even hurt a fly—
—s-she was so warm and soft, she couldn’t—
She dodged another attack, sending her foot slamming into the back of his knee, and the warrior collapsed on one knee.
She was hellbent on that knee.
The entire crowd roared in excitement, and I stood mortified at this new side of the affectionate woman I met only over a day ago.
Her eyes met mine, and they lifted in surprise shortly before her lips morphed into a wicked smile, and she sent me a wink, startling me even further.
At her mild distraction, she didn’t notice the man standing up from behind her. He landed a punch to the side of her face—so powerful from where I stood that I felt all air knocked out of me. The punch sent Aria flying across the field and landing onto the floor.
A loud shriek escaped from my lips, and all eyes turned to me.
- Writer
