Creating The Perfect Alpha

Chapter 8

Balancing a tray with one hand, I raised the other and knocked on the door. A voice called from inside, once more sending strange tingles through me. I shivered slightly, shaking the sensation off before heading inside.

As I stepped in, Elijah looked up, a curious expression on his face.

“Hey,” I greeted.

He blinked rapidly, his eyes darting down to the tray before returning to me. I held it up.

“Hungry?”

“It’s not for you?” he inquired.

“No, it’s for you, or both of us. I thought we could eat together.”

“Together?” he echoed.

You two never eat together, Sofia reminded me.

We do now, I replied.

“Why not?”

“Um...” He hesitated, scratching his neck and looking almost adorable, though that was atypical for an alpha. “We only eat together in the evenings.”

“With the others, I presume.”

He frowned, looking deeply confused. I realized right away that it was the wrong thing to say.

“I mean, of course we do,” I stammered. “I just meant...”

Think fast, think fast, I told myself.

“That maybe it’s time we changed that.”

“Eating in the evenings?”

“No, eating together in the morning too. Just us,” I suggested, holding up the tray again.

“Just us?” he echoed.

“Just us,” I repeated.

I could tell he felt deeply disturbed by this. I could imagine why. Most likely he imagined I had suffered a brain bleed in the middle of the night and transformed into a completely different person.

Not far from the truth, I thought to myself. But if I wanted to be this Sofia, to make a new life here, then I needed someone on my side. Elijah kept staring, though, not taking charge at all.

How was he an alpha again? I wondered. Then I decided to take the lead. Slamming the door shut, I made him jump, as if I were the predator and he were the prey. I walked over to a table that was mostly free of dust and wood shavings.

“I already ate.”

“Then consider this lunch. I got up late anyway,” I reminded him.

I held out my hand toward the tray. Elijah glanced at it, then back at me. His eyes were rather beautiful, I noticed. They had an interesting mix of green, white, and blue, sometimes blending together, sometimes one color dominating the others.

I had never seen eyes like that before. For a moment, I merely stared back before clearing my throat.

“Are you really going to make me eat alone?” I asked.

That seemed to make him react. He placed a ruler down before coming over to me. I took a seat at the high table, thinking he would do the same. Instead, he grabbed a piece of bread with butter on it, took a bite, and stepped away. I stared at his back as he returned to his work. Is he serious? I wondered.

You must understand, Sofia and Elijah mostly spend time in silence together, if they spend time together at all. Often, Elijah has been kind enough to cover for us.

Cover? I inquired.

Sofia gets to wander where she wants, and Elijah gets to work as he wants. If anyone protests, he simply says it’s with his permission.

I began contemplating Sofia’s words, tapping my finger against the table. Sofia, the former Sofia, was an omega with the simple purpose of producing heirs for Elijah. I could see why she didn’t have much to say, but Elijah also wasn’t the heir because of his clear lack of... being an alpha!

Did it really matter that much what Sofia and Elijah did or didn’t do?

They don’t have other duties, Sofia reminded me.

I’m not following.

If they don’t have much else to do, then why not just mate often and create lots of heirs?

I suddenly began to understand. This wasn’t necessarily about creating the most powerful heirs. This was about numbers, quantity over quality, so to speak. Their duties lay in ensuring the line was forever secured through many pups.

How old-fashioned! I shouted internally.

Very much so.

But this also explained why so many were looking down on both of them. A whole year had passed, and with an omega’s ability to bring forth a heat whenever she wished so she could get pregnant, nothing had happened. Also, heats were designed to make a male go crazy with the need to mate. It was clear the former Sofia hadn’t even put in the effort.

Not that I blamed her. Being used as a breeding mule... I knew that feeling. Perhaps she and I aren’t that different despite the distance between our statuses.

I reached for the food, eating slowly as I contemplated this very absurd situation I now found myself in. This certainly wasn’t going to be easy, becoming this new Sofia, but that was why it was even more important that I had Elijah on my side.

He already covers for us.

No, we need to ensure he is always on our side.

Isn’t he already? Sofia asked.

What if he one day decides we are not worth protecting? We haven’t given him any pups.

Elijah isn’t exactly interested either.

She had a point, but I couldn’t count on him having our back if he had no reason to stay loyal.

“So,” I began, breaking the silence.

Elijah looked up from his drawing.

“Do you... enjoy woodworking?”

Goddess! Sofia yelled in my mind.

Yes, that was a terrible question. Of course he did. Why else would he have this room?

“I just mean... do you have any other interests?”

Stop, stop, stop! Sofia yelled.

Why? I’m trying to get to know him!

After a year of not doing that?

What else can I do?

Sit there and don’t say anything.

Yeah, because that has worked wonderfully for the two of you over the last year.

“It helps pass the time,” Elijah replied before focusing on his work again. “And it gives me something to do.”

“Yes, hobbies are important,” I remarked.

I could practically hear the eye roll Sofia sent my way. I focused on the food again, silence falling over us, Elijah eating the piece of bread he had taken with him.

What did I say? How did I avoid making it too obvious that I was someone else while also getting closer to Elijah?

“Can... I help with something?”

Sofia stiffened inside me, Elijah mirroring the reaction. Slowly, he turned his head. I sent a smile his way. For a moment, we simply remained like that before Elijah narrowed his eyes. He rose to his full height, once again proving he had inherited some alpha traits.

“Okay, what is it?” he asked.

“What is what?”

“Have you... gotten into trouble?”

“Trouble?” I echoed.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

What does that mean? I asked Sofia.

He misunderstands. Others have been cruel to us and always made us seem like the ones stirring up trouble.

I began to get a fuller picture here and why Elijah had to come to her aid.

“No trouble,” I assured him, holding up my hands.

“Then do you need something?”

“No,” I replied. “Just company.”

“Company?”

“Indeed,” I said, trying a smile again.

Elijah tapped his finger against the table, the sound so loud it actually hurt my ears. Or maybe it was just the tense silence that followed. A pen could have dropped and sounded like a bomb.

“Well then, I’m sure you can find it somewhere,” he murmured before turning back to his work.

I sighed. Not quite the reaction I had hoped for.

“I’m sure we both know I don’t have a lot of friends here,” I said.

He turned his head.

“And you spend a lot of time here.”

“I like it here.”

“I’m not accusing you,” I explained.

“No? You never liked it. You think it’s silly.”

I do?

“Well, maybe I’m trying to meet you halfway.”

“Halfway?” he asked, frowning again.

I nodded and slipped off my chair. Moving closer, I stepped up to the large, thick wooden table where half of the birdhouse was sitting. I placed my hands on it, leaning against it, only to notice Elijah’s eyes slowly slide down my body and back up again.

When he realized I had caught him, he quickly looked down and focused on his drawing. That was an interesting reaction, I thought. Clearly, Elijah wasn’t without desire. Perhaps he had simply realized Sofia had no interest in him. Or maybe the omega qualities were already working in my favor.

“Yes,” I said, drawing his attention back to me. “Halfway.”

Elijah only seemed more confused.

“We have been together for a year, and we don’t know much about each other. Perhaps it’s time we worked on that.”

Elijah sighed deeply, not the response I had hoped for.

“Has my father cornered you again?”

I felt stunned. “Sorry?”

“My father. Has he had another chat with you?”

“I’m... not following.”

Sofia quickly cut in, The alpha knows we aren’t mating. He has cornered Sofia before, demanding she use her omega qualities to entice Elijah and get the process started.

I see...

“Listen, we don’t need to do anything, okay? My brother will settle down after the games and then produce heirs. We just have to wait a little longer.”

It seemed everyone expected the younger brother to win the games, or at least for the games to bring him prestige and a proper mate, I concluded.

“The alpha hasn’t pressured me into anything,” I assured him.

Elijah seemed both suspicious and uncertain.

“I promise,” I said.

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Because...” I contemplated my reply. “Because I’m lonely.”

Elijah’s eyes widened.

“I don’t want to be that anymore.”

Elijah didn’t seem to know what to say. He stood with his mouth slightly open, just staring at me.

“And I think you might feel the same way.”

He glanced away, looking at a spot on the wall before finally turning back to me.

“I have things to use my time on.”

“Yes, things to use your time on, things to do, but who do you talk to? Who do you have fun with?”

“Fun with?” he echoed.

“Yes. Laughing, joking, exchanging stories.”

He looked down again, and I noticed the deep sadness that gripped him. I could imagine very few people wanted to converse with him. Wolves were incredibly judgmental toward those who didn’t fit the proper mold, and they made it known.

My heart began aching for him. I had felt much the same. Though I had done my utmost to be a good mate, to be a good luna, it hadn’t been enough.

I reached out, grasping the drawing carefully and turning it. Elijah instantly placed his hand over it. I looked up, seeing the panicked look on his face.

Did he think I was going to ruin it?

Wouldn’t be the first time someone destroyed his things, Sofia whispered in my mind.

“Sorry. I just wanted to look at it,” I said, my voice soft.

I could almost see his body trembling with worry. His hand was still pressed hard against the piece of paper before, slowly, his fingers slid away from it, and I was allowed to turn it fully. Staring at the details, I was impressed. Sure, it was just a birdhouse, but there was something almost beautiful about all the smaller details. This wouldn’t just be a box, but a beautiful one.

“You find it ridiculous, as always,” he murmured.

I felt confused and turned to him, seeing him unable to meet my eyes.

“Why do you think that?”

“You’re smiling,” he whispered.

“I’m not smiling because I think it’s silly. I think it’s beautiful,” I corrected.

Instantly, his eyes met mine, shock radiating from him.

“What?” he murmured.

“I think it’s beautiful, and I think it’s really sweet that you want to do this for the birds.”

“Sweet,” he scoffed.

I could understand how that word had been used as an insult toward him, but as I looked at Elijah, I began realizing something. Wasn’t sweet what I had begged for from Darren for years?Hadn’t I pleaded for him to show compassion and understanding? Elijah had those qualities. Perhaps he didn’t look like the powerful predator he was meant to have been born as, but he had other things that made him better.

“I mean that as a good thing.”

I placed the drawing back down in front of him, seeing the confusion in his eyes.

“Many alphas possess a power that is meant to be feared,” I began. “But alphas who possess kindness like yours? That’s a rarity.”

“I think you mean weakness.”

“No, I mean rarity as something special.”