The C.E.O. Alpha's Fated Invitation

Chapter 7: A Leap of Faith

Chapter 7: A Leap of Faith

It’s a bright and sunny Tuesday afternoon. The weather is a bit warmer than it has been. Despite the chill in the air, it’s a beautiful day. It’s the perfect day for anything to happen.

In the town, Willowsville, Sienna walks through the door of the bakery, Sugar Island, where her friend works. She has some mischievous plans with good intentions for Isla today. The bell at the top of the door frame rings, signaling that a customer has walked in.

“Isla, can you get that?” Alistair asks from the kitchen in the back. “Yeah, Dad,” Isla answers, already heading for the front counter. Expecting to see a customer, Isla is surprised when she sees her friend, Sienna.

Sienna normally calls or texts before just showing up. “Is everything ok?” Isla asks due to Sienna’s surprise visit. “Girl, of course I’m fine. I just had a major craving for those triple chocolate banana muffins over there.” Sienna says.

Isla chuckles, shaking her head, and grabs a muffin from the display case. “Oh, and a strawberry cheesecake muffin, please?” Sienna adds while looking at Isla innocently.

When Sienna orders Isla’s favorite muffin, she gets suspicious of her motives for this visit. Isla gives her friend the muffin she asked for. “Ok, now maybe we can sit down and talk?” Sienna asks.

Isla nods as she figured her friend wants to talk. Isla walks around the counter and to an empty table where she and Sienna sit together. “Ok, what's up?” Isla asks, knowing something must be wrong with her best friend.

“Do you remember the deal you made with your dad?” She asks. Isla becomes worried that her friend might be backing out. “Please, tell me you’re not about to bail on me. We had a pact.” Isla says.

A year ago, Sienna and Isla made a pact to move in together. They had planned to get an apartment together. However, plans changed. Isla made a deal with her father that she would move out when she turned 21 years old.

Isla’s father begged her not to move out. Isla believes he is having growing pains and a fear of an empty nest. How wrong, Isla could be. Alistair is afraid of Erin coming for Isla.

At home, Alistair can protect her, but if Isla leaves, his efforts to protect her will have gone down the drain. Alistair always knew that one day his ex-wife would find them. That day might be closer than anyone thought.

Hazel had told Alistair about Isla being with the Alpha and that she is mated to him. Alistair fears what will happen when Alpha Aiden learns the truth of who Isla truly is. He knows that when Erin learns her daughter is mated to an alpha, she will wage war.

Alistair being mated to a pack warrior is one thing, but Isla being mated to an alpha is another. Erin won’t allow Isla to be with Aiden even if it kills her.

“I’m sorry, my stepmom is sick. My dad needs my help in taking care of her.” Sienna apologizes. Olivia, Sienna’s stepmother, just has a cold, but Isla doesn’t need to know that.

“Oh no, is she going to be ok?” Isla asks in worry. “Yeah,” Sienna nods her head. ‘Now what am I to do?’ Isla thinks to herself. She was really looking forward to finally being out on her own.

Sienna, seeing the sad look on her friend’s face, feels bad for lying to her. She knows how much she’s been looking forward to this, but Sienna has good intentions for why she has lied to Isla.

“But hey, cheer up, yeah? I have a plan B. I have a friend who is looking for a roommate.” Sienna says. “Who exactly is this friend? I’m not sure I’m comfortable moving in with a stranger.”

‘Is she mad? Sienna knows how I am with people I don’t know. Customers are one thing, but living with them is another. What the hell is she thinking? I mean, yeah, her mom is sick, and that’s far more important. Maybe I’m being selfish for being upset.’ Isla’s thoughts are a whirlwind.

Isla knows Sienna is just trying to fix things, but she would much rather get an apartment on her own. She would just have to touch the bank account she never touches to do this.

Despite Isla’s relationship with her mother, Erin set up a trust fund. Alistair and Erin started the trust fund for Isla when she was born. When Isla turned 18, a letter was sent to her informing her of this fund. Alistair never knew Erin had kept the fund for their daughter.

That trust fund is the only way Isla would be able to afford an apartment. Isla has never touched the trust fund because she never wanted anything from her mother. She felt as if Erin was trying to buy her back.

“Isla, he is not a stranger. You know him.” Sienna tries to assure Isla that everything will be fine. However, Isla does not miss the “he” in Sienna’s statement.

‘Who could she be talking about?’ Isla wonders to herself. Isla feels uneasy about moving in with a man, even on a platonic level. However, Isla refuses to live with her parents for the rest of her life. She values her independence and thinks it’s time for this next step in life. Besides, it’s not like they won’t see her almost every day as she still plans to work in her family’s bakery.

“Who is he?” Isla asks her friend. Isla is hopeful she might finally get a peek into her friend’s secret life. She knows there’s a side to Sienna that she’s never allowed her to see.

Isla accepts that Sienna has her secrets. It’s not like she doesn’t have her own. Although unlike Isla’s friends, Isla does not shove it in their faces. Isla knows how to keep certain things silent and to herself.

“Um, he’s just an old friend. Look, I can’t tell you who he is, but will you just trust me?” Sienna refuses to admit who it is she is trying to get Isla to move in with.

Isla looks at Sienna suspiciously, having a feeling she’s up to one of her schemes. Sienna has tricked her into doing things before using these tactics.

“Fine,” Isla says and holds up her index finger, motioning for a but. “But, only for a one-week trial. If I’m not comfortable with this guy being around me, I’m out.” Isla states her conditions.

Sienna mockingly salutes her, “Aye Aye Captian.” Sienna giggles and does a little happy dance. “You won’t regret this.” She promises her friend.

“Anyway, have you called Aiden yet?” Sienna asks, but before Isla can answer her question, she is pulled into a mind-link. “Sienna, you need to get home now. We need to talk about your human friend.” Sienna’s father mind-links, leaving Sienna confused as to why he’d want to discuss Isla.

Suddenly, Sienna’s eyes glaze over. For as long as Isla can remember, her friend’s eyes have always done this. It’s tell tell sign for when Sienna is about to leave.

A brief look of worry crosses Sienna's expression before she casually pulls her cell phone out from her jean pocket to check the time, which is 2:00 p.m. “Oh, wow, look at the time. Girl, I am so sorry to just leave like this, but I forgot I have a thing, so I’ll see you later, yeah?” Sienna says before rushing out the door without a response from Isla.

Isla becomes frustrated at the mention of Aiden. ‘How dare Sienna mention him and just leave like that. I’ll have to get her for that later.’

Isla hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Aiden. She hasn’t called him yet, in fear of sounding desperate, which is how she’s feeling. If she had it her way, she’d be with him right now.

She feels like her heart might explode if she doesn’t see him soon. She’s never so drawn to anyone before. Isla wonders if this is the phenomenon they call love at first sight.

Isla takes a deep breath when the separation from Aiden physically hurts her heart. Not being able to take this feeling anymore, Isla takes a leap of faith and calls Aiden for the first time. She hopes he won’t mind her calling for a spontaneous first date.

On the first ring, surprising Isla a bit, Aiden picks up, and it’s like Isla could finally breathe again. They both could.

When Aiden’s velvety gruff voice came through the phone, she felt as if just his voice alone could fix anything.

Aiden has been miserable away from Isla. A part of him wishes he had taken the reins, but he wanted to see what Isla would do. His mood has especially been on edge as of late. It might only be three days since Isla and Aiden have seen each other, but for both, it has been pure torture.

Alssa’s presence certainly hasn’t helped aid in Aiden’s mood; if anything, it has only made it worse. Although he has to admit Alyssa has been unusually behaved.

Alyssa being well-behaved makes Aiden anxious. He knows she’s up to something; he can feel it. That being said, with all of Alyssa’s efforts to appear as behaved, she’s been a thorn in Aiden’s side.

Today, Enzo has reported to Aiden that he’s gotten repeated reports about Alyssa interrogating the pack about a girl named Isla Taylor. Instantly, Aiden assumes Alyssa saw the name on the invitation since she was next to him when he opened it.

Aiden is instantly angered by what Alyssa has been doing. Aiden may not care who knows Isla, a human, is his mate, but he must be careful with this information.

He has yet to make the announcement that he has found his mate. The alpha worries how the council will react to him choosing his fated human mate as his Luna. There are those who will see this as a weakness and would try to claim his pack for their own.

If Alyssa were to find out before the deal was finalized, she would cause problems with Isla. Aiden fears that Alyssa might hurt Isla because she is his mate. Aiden knows how Alyssa gets when other females are around him. He’s had issues in the past.

Aiden’s mate is different, though. She’s permanent, forever. Alyssa won’t like this fact one bit and will plot against Isla, human or not.

Luckily for Aiden, no one has seen his mate mark yet. This won’t last long because an alpha’s mate mark will grow as the mate bond progresses. The closer and more secure the bond is, the more intricate the mark will be.

Someone knocks on the glass door to Aiden’s office, bringing him back to reality. Through the clear glass door, Aiden sees that his Gamma has finally returned from assignment. Perhaps a little espionage will be the respite Aiden needs.

Aiden motions his hand for Cyrus to come in. Before Cyrus could speak, Aiden got a phone call. It was the one phone call he had been waiting for all his life.

Isla’s name lights up on Aiden’s phone as it buzzes. Without hesitation, Aiden answers the phone on the first ring. It was like breathing for the first time after hearing Isla’s sweet and soft voice.

“Hello.” Isla and Aiden answer the phone simultaneously. They both chuckle.

Isla takes a leap of faith, speaking first, “Um, Aiden, I’m sorry I haven’t called yet, but I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go on an afternoon hike with me.” Isla pauses for a moment while Aiden has the biggest smile on his face.

All the while, Cyrus is looking at his alpha, dumbfounded by his eagerness to answer the phone and looking like a love-sick puppy.

“Today that is. I mean, if you’re not too busy, maybe you could come on a hike with me right now?” Isla says nervously, biting her bottom lip, fearing he might say no.

Without thinking, Aiden is grabbing his car keys and asking Isla if he needs to pick her up. He walks past Cyrus without a second though leaving Cyrus in shock and confusion as to what would make his alpha leave like this.

Cyrus turns to see that Enzo is standing outside the alpha’s office. He looks at the Beta for answers as to what has gotten into their alpha. Enzo smirks, “He’s a love-sickened pup after his newly found Luna.”

Several emotions flash across Cyrus’ face, hearing Alpha Aiden has found his fated mate: surprise, happiness, worry, and fear.

Gamma Cyrus Flynn isn’t a normal werewolf. He is a werewolf witch hybrid. This makes him a valuable asset to Aiden, most especially for espionage. Cyrus can make himself invisible to the naked eye, meaning he can roam around a place without being detected.

Cyrus heard some of the hunters at Silver Diamond headquarter taking about how Erin Diamond was going to wage war on the Shadow Mist pack and go after Aiden’s future mate. Cyrus was confused, of course, when they mentioned Aiden’s future mate since he hadn’t met his mate as of yet. Nonetheless, Cyrus had to rush back to the pack to report his findings: That Erin Diamond has declared war on the Shadow Mist pack.

The news about Aiden finding his mate only makes things worse. The hunters are coming for them both and will use the alpha’s mate against him. However, he does wonder how the hunter knew about Aiden finding his fated mate.

Outside Aiden’s office is Alyssa’s desk. She watched the entire thing from Aiden’s abrupt leave to Cyrus and Enzo’s encounter. It’s then that she learns what she has feared the most: Aiden has found his mate.

Fury burns through Alyssa from hearing the news. She thinks back to the invitation from that girl, Isla. Aiden has kept her hidden well, but no longer. She’s become convinced that Isla Taylor is Aiden’s mate.

Alyssa is more determined than ever to find Isla and make her back off from her man. ‘Aiden is mine!’