The Alphas Sanctuary

Hiding

Gage and Alex had been in the car for hours. Gage knew him better then Alex knew himself, and Gage could feel it, something was different. He also knew that Alex had dinner with Apryl last night. Seeing as they still had a few hours in the car Gage decided to pry a bit.

"So tell me about last night dude!"

"What is there to tell she made me dinner." Alex didn't want to discuss Apryl with anyone, not even Shi, let alone with Gage. He needed to sort his feelings for her out first, decide what to do.

"So there is nothing between you two then?"

"Nothing"

'Nothing except she's our everything and our mate' Alex ignored Shi.

"So, could I get to know her then?" 

Alex snapped his head to look at Gage. Shi fought hard to come to the surface and confront his beta. How dare he! But Alex couldn't say anything without letting on that there was indeed something going on. Maybe Gage's interest could be a good thing, but could he really stand aside and watch his best friend build something with someone who was meant to be his? And if Gage did start something with her and then left her when he found his mate, what then? Alex wasn't ready for a mate, it wouldn't be fair to expect Apryl to wait till he was, and he saw the way she smiled at him the day they met. She still hasn't smiled at him like that. Plus she was human, no guarantee she would ever feel the mate pull.

"Go for it."

'are you kidding me right now? This is unacceptable' Shi had never been so angry at Alex before, not even when he lost his virginity when Shi wanted to wait. Alex was a little taken aback. 'You better pray you know what you're doing' with that’ and then Shi blocked him completely. Alex knew he was still there but he couldn't feel him anymore and he was silent. Shi had never done that before no matter how angry at Alex he was.

"I have to admit watching her tell you no, that was nothing short of epic! There was a moment that day I thought maybe she might be your mate. When you were pinching your nose, I knew something was up.”

"For f***s sake Gage! Can we talk about anything, ANYONE else right now!"

Gage flinched Alex had a temper sure, but something was definitely eating at him.  "Alright then. Do you think we will be able to forge the treaty with the Red moon pack?"

"They need the protection I'm sure it will go without a hitch" This treaty was the only thing Alex was certain about.

Apryl knew she should look for a job, but since the cabin was now set up she could afford to take a few more days off. She loved nothing more than to sit on her porch and just, be. She wished that she had thought to get Alex's number last night. She wanted to wish him a safe trip but she was always thinking about things too late. As promised Zack has come to check on her and see how she was healing. She had forgotten all about her head injury until he was standing on her porch medical bag in hand. He told her everything seemed fine and that unless something came up he wouldn't need to check up on her. It was now late in the evening with nothing better to do, she showered and curled up in the chair next to the fireplace and fell asleep reading, wishing Alex would knock on her door.

Two days later Alex and Gage returned to their pack house. The treaty took longer than Alex had expected, and he was on edge due to Shi still not back or speaking to him. The only reason he knew Shi was still alive was because he himself was still alive. As soon as they reached home Alex had wanted to go to Apryl but he refrained. While he was away Zack had informed him that she was healing just fine. He could no longer use her head injury as an excuse to go and see her. There was also the issue of Gage, he didn't feel right about lying to his best friend. Alex knew that if he knew the truth he would be more annoying then Shi was about her and he wasn’t ready for that.

"Do you need me for anything for a bit?" Gage asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"No Gage that will be all."

With that Gage left the house. To go see Apryl, Alex thought to himself. Needing to be alone to think, Alex headed towards sanctuary, what a mess.

Someone was knocking at her door, it could only be one person. Apryl rushed to the door and opened it speaking before she could even see who it was. "Alex- oh hello Gage sorry I thought you were Alex." 

"Sorry to disappoint, but it's just me." He gave her his best broken hearted face.

"Oh stop that come in." Apryl had almost forgotten how pretty he was. It was strange how drawn to these two men she was, how safe she felt in their presence. She didn't know them, yet she trusted them. 

"Actually I was hoping you may want to go for a walk with me?"

"That's a lovely idea. Let me grab my sweater"

Gage entered the cabin while she disappeared to find her sweater. She had made this place very homey. It was like a smaller version of the pack house where he, Alex and many other pack members lived. He couldn't help but notice the style was so similar to what Alex had done when he took over as alpha. He was sure it was just a coincidence, Alex probably just picked things he liked for her, but everything in here suited her.

Apryl returned flashing him a heart stopping smile "Ready! I was thinking maybe you would explore the woods with me? I love it back there."

The woods behind her house were still within his pack lines so he knew if they ran into trouble help wouldn't be far away. "Yes sure whatever you want princess" he couldn't help but notice how her body went stiff at being called princess.

"Please don't call me that," she said barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you"

"It's not that. It just.... It makes me remember things I'd rather not remember." Gage couldn't help but to think someone had hurt her, and that made his blood boil. From the moment they met he felt an urge to protect her. He would die for her. He also knew she wasn't his mate, so having those feelings towards her only confused him more. That's why he decided to get to know her more to figure out what was going on.

They walked in silence for a bit. Without thinking about his words he asked her "Apryl, what are you doing here?" They didn't get many newcomers. The town was too small and out in the middle of nowhere for most people. Yet she showed up unprepared, with nothing.

She sighed heavily and said one word that soaked even more curiosity about her. 

"Hiding"