Fated to the lost Alpha

Chapter 9

I was met with a look of surprise on my parent's face when they opened the door.

"Umm... I'm home?" I smiled nervously.

Mum shifted her gaze to Cedric who had a blank look. Then to Jack who was looking anywhere but their direction. From her smile, i rightly guessed that she knew which one of them was the werewolf. She turned sideways Dad. The knowing smile on his face confirmed a mutual agreement.

"This is Cedric.The one I told you about." I pointed to Cedric. He nodded in curtsey to my parents.

"And this is Jack." I jutted her thumb to Jack. He waved nervously.

"I think we may have got the idea." Dad nodded.

"Please, come in." Mum beckoned and shifted aside before the situation could get akward.

We stepped in and Dad closed the door.

"Cool crib." Cedric commented, his blue eyes scanning the living room

"Why thank you, young man." Mum smiled. "We do our best."

She then faced me. Her smile waned a bit and her eyes flashed with a bit of seriousness.

"Tori, can I see you in the kitchen?" she said, leaving no option of a refusal.

I gazed at the three males in the room, my eyes soliciting for a bit of help or even a distraction. Of course, Dad avoided my gaze and conveniently engaged in a bit of small talk with the boys. With a mental roll of my eyes, I switched my gaze to Mum who was patiently waiting.

"Sure." I slowly nodded.

We disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the men in the living room to make themselves comfortable.

In the kitchen, I met a questioning gaze from Mum.

"Is something the matter?" I carefully asked.

Mum stared at me, leaning by the counter and contemplating her next few words. Usually when she assumed that posture and that look, what came next was either an admonition or a straight up punishment. I swallowed a lump when she sighed and rubbed her forehead. Finally, she broke the tension.

"I believe your dad and I asked you to bring your mate, Cedric," she said. "We weren't aware you had two mates. You're growing bolder by the day."

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion until I caught the ghost of a teasing smile in her lips.

"Mum!" I cried, partly embarassed and partly hoping my voice wasn't heard by the men in the living room. The walls were thin. "That's not funny. Cedric refused to come unless Jack came along."

"Why is that?" Mum asked, her teasing expression vanishing.

"Beats me." I shrugged. "He doesn't really do anything without involving Jack."

"Is that how close the boys are?" she asked.

"Yeah.They're best friends. Almost like brothers."

Mum was silent for a few seconds and then a gentle smile appeared on her face.

"Mum?" I gave her a worried gaze.

"Oh, it's nothing." She waved her hand gently. "It's just that they just remind me of your father and uncle when they were younger."

"Oh." I didn't know what to make of that.

"I like the silent one. Jack, is it?" she said. "He looks so innocent. I'm not taking anything away from Cedric though."

"I know what you mean," I laughed.

"So have you told Cedric?" Mum asked.

"Yeah." I felt a dark cloud of depression hang over my head. Exhaling, I leaned on the table. "He said he doesn't feel the same way. Or rather he doesn't understand how the mate bond works."

Mum's lips pursed, forming a thin line. She studied my face for a while. I first saw a slight hint of confusion in her eyes before it vanished.

" It's okay." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "We'll figure that out later. For now we need to do two things. The first is to get him an appointment with Kieran."

She paused as if trying to remember something.

"And the second?" I asked.

"He needs to learn how to shift," she replied. "He's a new born werewolf and if he needs to control his emotions, that is the massive step. Learning how to be one with his wolf and learning when to let his wolf free. You of all people know how complicated that can be in the beginning. With the bond between the both of you, it will be easier for you to teach him than anyone else."

I smiled in confidence. "Trust me, mum. I'm way ahead of you on that."

#########

"You guys are late."

A scowl appeared on my face when I saw the two boys approach.

However, the scowl vanished and a smile appeared on my face as soon when i saw the third member of the group.

"Shiela!" I couldn't contain my excitement as the German Shepherd rushed towards me and gave me an embrace.

"What is she doing here?" I faced Jack while rubbing the underbelly of the dog.

"I needed an excuse to leave the house." Jack replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I said I wanted to take her out for a walk."

"Wait a minute." Cedric folded his arms and gave me an inquisitive look. "How did you know about Jack's dog? He has never mentioned her before."

An akward silence filled the atmosphere as I remembered the incident where I entered Jack's room and the conversation that followed. Glancing at Jack's face, i could tell he was thinking of the same. Cedric faced Jack and raised his eyebrows.

"I..I.. must have mentioned it before." Jack coughed.

"No, you haven't. I pay attention to the things you say. Which is not much, by the way." Cedric said dryly.

"Ouch." Jack scowled at him.

"Well, he's not wrong." I laughed, then turned to Cedric. "He mentioned it when you were in the principal's office the day you gave Liam a makeover."

I didn't know how i pulled it off, but i managed to send a discreet wink to Jack, without Cedric noticing it. And in return, Jack acknowledged my gesture with an eye language of his own. He knew I was supporting his lie.

"But still, Shiela just ran towards you like you two have met before. She doesn't really do that to people she meets for the first time." Cedric rubbed his chin, his face creased in confusion.

"Maybe because I have a welcoming aura or something. Look can we just get to the reason we're here? We're wasting precious time here." I quickly changed the subject.

"Fine," Cedric snorted and rolled his eyes much my relief.

A cold wind blew as the situation became serious. Jack walked backwards a bit to give Cedric and I space. Shiela walked over and stood beside him. I took a deep breath.

"Now I want you to concentrate. We're going to start small," I said.

"Okay." Cedric nodded.

I closed her eyes for a few seconds and once again, took deep breaths. Despite my eyes closed, I could feel Cedric turn around to gaze at Jack, giving him a confused look.

I opened my eyes and Cedric backed up a bit, eyes widening in shock.

"Holy s**t!" he cursed. "Your eyes. They're glowing freakishly yellow."

"I know." A slight giggle escaped my lips. "Wicked, right?"

"Oh, you have no idea!"

Jack just stared in awe. His mouth hung open and no words could form. I hoped no insect would be wicked enough to fly in there. I closed my eyes and opened them, knowing they were back to normal.

"Wow. That was awesome." Cedric applauded.

"Now, you do it," I instructed. "Close your eyes and free your mind. Clear it of any thoughts. Just think pleasant and breathe slow and steady."

Cedric nodded and closed his eyes. Jack peered closer in anticipation at his friend, thoughts running through his head, i was sure. I waited calmly. I watched Cedric's recently well formed chest rise and fall and a blush spread on my face. She quickly shook it away, hoping no one saw it. While he was my supposed mate, this wasn't the time for thoughts like that.

After a long while, Cedric finally opened his eyes. To my surprise and impression, his eyes were a deep shade of yellow.

"Whoa!" Jack jumped back in fright and shock.

"Wow, you nailed it." I smiled.

"I did? For real?" Cedric gaped, disbelief clearly written on his face.

I showed him his face through my phone camera's front view. Cedric gasped in awe at the change in his eyes. It was similar to my change.

"Wicked!" He laughed, tracing the edges around his eyes with his fingers.

"Now turn them back to normal," I instructed again.

Cedric shut his eyes and breathed slowly. He opened them after a few seconds and they were back to his normal baby blue.

Jack clapped and I nodded with a smile.

"Impressive. You are a quick learner," I said.

"Really?" Cedric tilted his head sideways. "It wasn't like that for you?"

"Nope." I gave a hearty laugh. "I struggled a lot. I guess being a lady, too many emotions get in the way."

Cedric and Jack looked at each other and then shrugged.

"That sounds fair enough," Jack said.

"Yeah," Cedric added. "Can't argue with that."

"Next." I stretched out my left hand sideways. The boys stared wide eyed as my fingernails elongated and became sharp claws. I wiggled them towards Cedric.

"Try it," I said.

Cedric grinned in a smug fashion and copied my actions. Soon enough, his nails became claws as well, albeit a bit darker compared to my light ones.

"Nice." I nodded. "You're really good."

We both retracted our claws and they morphed back to normal fingernails.

"Is this real?" Jack looked like he could barely hold his breath in excitement. He turned towards Shiela who was watching the action,wagging her tail.

"Now the final one," I said in a serious fashion. "You would have to shift."

"Would it hurt?" Cedric had a mixed look of fear and doubt on his face.

"A bit, considering it's your first time." I nodded. "But not like the ones you see in movies. It would be brief. Then as you continue to do so, the pain will decrease until you don't feel it again. In order to shift now, you have to concentrate even harder than earlier because it's not just your eyes or claws. But your whole body."

Cedric released a heavy sigh but nodded. He stared at Jack and the latter nodded, giving him a supportive look.

"You'll need to do that there." I nodded to the direction that led to an entrance into the woods.

Cedric understood what I meant. There wouldn't be clothes needed at the shifting. He nodded and took off into the woods.

"You know you almost put me in a tight corner." I turned to Jack as soon and Cedric was gone.

"Don't blame me. You were the one acting all buddy-buddy with my dog," Jack argued.

"Which wouldn't have happened if you didn't bring her." I pouted, then giggled. "I can't help it. She's just too cute!"

Shiela barked softly.

"Okay, fine." I rolled my eyes at the dog. "I won't do the baby face at you."

"You girls talking again?" Jack sighed at our interaction.

I just giggled in reply.

We were startled by a rustling sound at the edge of the woods. We turned our attention to it. I narrowed my eyes and Jack gulped as we heard the footsteps. However, it was lighter than a human's. It also sounded quadrupedal.

"No way," Jack whispered, swallowing a lump that formed on his throat.

Soon the footsteps ended and a large grey wolf came out of the woods. Our eyes went wide simultaneously. It was lithe and muscular with a well defined jaw and a long muzzle. A streak of black ran from the top of it's head to the tip of it's back just before it's bushy tail.

'Cedric?' I sent a mind link to it.

'Yeah, Tori,' It answered. 'It's me.'

"Wow," I said aloud and chuckled towards Jack's direction. "He is really something."

"That's Cedric?" Jack's eyes were still wide.

I nodded with a smile. Jack cautiously walked towards the grey wolf, Shiela trotting behind. He stopped a few inches before the large canine and hesitated. He looked back at me.

"Go on. He won't bite you. It's still our Cedric." I encouraged, the smile not leaving my face.

Jack stretched forth a shaky hand and rested it on the wolf's forehead. It titled it's head and nudged him a bit by the chest.

'Scaredy-cat,' I heard Cedric chuckle from within the wolf.

"Cedric, be nice." I scowled at it.

Shiela chipped in a bark.

'Okay, ladies. You win.' The grey wolf sat on it's hind legs. Jack just stared at it in wonder.

'Wait a minute.' The wolf jolted and turned to Shiela. 'Did I just hear you talk?'

Shiela barked again. The wolf let out a small bark of it's own.

"What's going on?" Jack turned to me, confusion on his face.

"They're communicating," I replied.

"Terrific. My two friends can talk to my dog and I can't. Irony is such a beautiful thing" he scowled.

Shiela turned to him and barked in excitement.

"What is she saying now?" Jack sighed.

"She says it doesn't make her love you any less. You're still her one and only." I giggled.

"If only I could hear you say it for real." Jack chuckled, bending down to rub the head of his dog.

The grey wolf sniffed the air and stood up and began to run around the area in circles.

"....Okay." Jack raised an eyebrow at the sudden action.

'Cedric.' I stared at it. 'What are you doing?'

She didn't get a reply. Instead, the wolf suddenly took off into the woods and didn't stop.

"What the hell?" I cried. Cedric’s scent was getting fainter which meant he was going into another location. And fast.

"Jack." I quickly turned face the mentioned boy. "I don't know what has gotten into Cedric but you have to go and meet my parents. Something is wrong."

"What?" Jack's eyes widened in worry. "Cedric..."

"There's no time," I interjected. " Take Shiela along with you. Now!"

At the sound of my cry, Jack nodded, understanding how grave the situation was.

"Come on, Shiela." He turned towards his dog and took off.

Shiela barked and followed along. I watched them go out of view and turned towards the direction Cedric went. This was bad. Cedric was in his wolf form and encountering anything or anyone who wasn't a werewolf in that form spelt doom.

I took off my clothes quickly and shifted. Then I sprinted into the woods.