Alpha's Stolen Mate

Chapter 6

When the bell of the last class rang, all learners jumped to their feet. The teacher didn't even finish explaining the last part of the notes, but everyone but Thea, was already to their feet. Some were already in the doorway making their ways out of the classroom. Iz stood beside Thea, her backpack on her back. She was ready to go. She waited as Thea packed her books neatly into the bag, and when she was done, they waited for the teacher to go out first before making their way out.

"Oh, I almost forgot the highlight of the day," Iz said taking off her blazer and draped it on her shoulder.

"What's that?" Thea asked, chewing on her bottom lip.

"You did not just talk to Conrad Ashford, but also got him show you around the school."

"Wait, what? You're kidding, right?" Thea's eyes widened with shock. Clearly she had no idea if the founders of the school were still surviving. She'd studied the gallery of the school, but definitely not the gallery with the staff members.

"Yup, girl. Conrad Ashford is one of the sons of the founders of the school. And the other four boys, are his cousins like really close cousins." Iz continued with her unexpected revelations.

"Yea, I suspected that. I mean , just look at their faces and their manners. The gene pool is so strong," Thea said, her eyes still wide.

Just then she caught eye of one of the boys. Conrad. It was somewhat uncomfortable yet intriguing when she always caught him staring when she stared at him.

"Okay, don't let them catch you staring," Iz said, following Thea's gaze. Conrad had already looked away by the time Iz looked their way.

"Why?" Thea asked curiously.

"Because you're new and you don't want to attract unnecessary attention to yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"They're bad news, sweetie. Like terrible news. You don't want to get involved with them."

"I'm not planning to." Thea said, stealing a glance in the direction of the Ashford boys.

"They're not native," Iz continued.

"What?" Thea asked, as she brought her attention back to her friend.

"The Ashfords,"

"What about them?" She asked, biting her lower lip.

"They're not Namibians," Iz repeated.

"W-what?" Thea stood frozen.

"Yea, their family is Coloured, with Mauritian and black Irish ancestry. Rumors have it that every Christmas they go back to Ireland,"

Thea, still dumbfounded, placed a hand on her forearm to stop her from going.

"How do you know so much about them?" She asked.

Iz grinned, and charged on. "I used to date one of them,"

Now that was interesting. Thea thought.

"Oh my. You don't say. Which one?"

"The one not wearing a blazer." She said, looking in the direction of the Ashford boys. Her longing was painfully evident, stirring up a maelstrom of emotions she struggled to contain.

"Kai?" Thea asked, indecisive as to how to react.

Everything that Iz told her right now had shocked her beyond measure. Now, to think that she'd dated Kai, the weirdest of all the Ashford boys, was even more shocking.

"You know him?" She asked, her voice slightly breaking.

"Conrad introduced us." Thea said.

Iz looked back at Kai. A tinge of bitterness crept into her expression, her jaw tightening slightly as she observed the casual confidence and indifference with which he carried himself. It was as if he was completely oblivious to her existence.

"But why do you say...?"

"They're dangerous?" Iz interrupted her. Thea nodded.

"I feel like you took interest in Conrad. So if you're the kind of girls who just date casually, like you just date without expecting anything, then you're more than welcome to take your shot. Because those boys can break your heart into tiny tiny piercing pieces." She talked of the pain she knew only too well.

Thea thought for a moment. Was she that type of girl? No, she wasn't. But she was going to live her life now. No more rules. No more cautious decisions. She was going to be just the youth she was. She was allowed to make mistakes just like anyone else.

"Who broke up with who?" She asked, after a while. They were nearing the main gate now.

"I did." She said sadly.

"Why? You clearly still have feelings for him. He cheated?"

Iz sighed. "No... Kai just started acting weird, you know. We broke up last year, and yeah, it still sucks."

"You still love him," Thea said, matter of fact.

"It doesn't matter. We're not getting back together. He's seeing someone else. I think." Iz shook her head, smiling sadly.

"I'm sorry." Thea said, placing her arm around Iz.

"It's okay. But tell me about you?"

Thea looked down for a moment, wondering how of her life was she willing to let on.

***

"What the hell was that?" Nate impatiently asked as he casually strolled into the warm and inviting dining room.

With a prolonged sigh, Emric replied, "What was what?"

"Why did you enterrupt me this morning?" Nate continued, handing him a steaming cup of cappuccino he came with from the kitchen.

"I just stopped you from making unnecessary speech," he told him, taking the mug from his hands. He placed it neatly on the rustic leg dining table. He took a seat on one of the black leather tufted dining chairs with nailhead trim, an unusual action, because no matter what, he always take a seat on his upholstered chair at the head of the table. Nate had noticed this, but chose to ignore it.

"Is that so? You seemed so eager to get away from there?" He exclaimed with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emric said, finally deciding it was better he drank his cappuccino because his beta was dreading on dangerous zones.

"Do you hate the girls so much? I understand you didn't want them here, but that wasn't nice at all,"

Blinking, Emric leaned back and crossed his arms. "I don't hate the girls. I'm sure their school mates will be willing to teach them everything about the school,"

Nate scoffed. "I know you're trying so hard to block me out of your head. I wonder what's going on in there?"

"You know how it works, Nate. You don't just expect to read my mind if I'm not willing to let you do that,"

Nate raises his hands in surrender before he disappeared.

Emric remained seated, his fingers following the rim of the mug, his mind elsewhere. He knew what Nate was talking about. Perhaps Nate had sensed more than Emric cared to admit. Because it was too embarrassing to admit. But embarrassing or not, he was attracted to her. His mind kept bringing him back to how she smelled. Whether he willed it or not, his brain kept remembering her heart-shaped lips and how that lovely smile played on them when she smiled, and to her dazzling, champagne-brown eyes and half-moon cheekbones. She wasn't supposed to flutter his heart. Because surely it was securely behind a wall built up high.

***

"Now about the new girls," Ryan said, peeking his head between the driver's and passenger's seats.

"The younger sister is in my class," Cain said, pulling back his brother do he did the same.

"They're new, fresh. And they're hot," Ryan muffled.

"Ooh, I'm gonna have one or my name isn't Conrad Ashford." Their older brother said, his lips slowly stretching into a smile.

"Or you can have both," Cain joked.

Conrad beamed.

Ryan whistled. “That’s bold.”

Cain grinned.

"You know what, that's also not a bad idea,"

Ryan and Conrad laughed.

"You want to say you can date them both?" Cain asked.

"Not date. Screw." Ryan interjected, still laughing.

"No way," Jace, Kai's twin, called out from the back, his ever-present grin making his eyes crinkle. He was squeezed between Ryan and Cain, who were both trying to fit their long legs into the limited space.

"I'll. Wanna bet?" Conrad said, taking a sharp turn with practised ease.

In the front passenger seat, sat Kai, the quietest of the bunch. He sat quietly, his attention focused on the road.

"Yes," the three brothers at the back screamed.

"If you fail, which you're likely to, you'll be buying alcohol for two consecutive months." Jace teased, nudging Cain.

"No, no, no, that's a simple one. He'll be giving us his monthly allowance for four consecutive months." It was Ryan.

Conrad chuckled. "Well, brothers. That's a motivation. I have to up my games and excel. Because there's no room for failure," he said with a wicked smirk.

"So, did anyone else think dad was extra intense today?" Kai, ever the voice of reason, chimed in, changing the subject. The Jeep went quiet for a while, each boy remembering the awkward interaction with the alpha in the morning.

Cain laughed. "Yeah, he seemed like he was on a mission. Maybe he was trying to read your minds, guys."

Cain was the youngest of all. And also the spoiled one. At fifteen years old, he still didn't transform yet.

"Could be," Ryan added thoughtfully, turning his gaze from the window.

"Or maybe he was just warning us. You know, dad has a thing against interacting with humans, especially if we're being too friendly." Kai suggested.

Cain groaned, stretching his legs as much as the cramped space allowed. "We have to be discreet about the plan, Conrad."

Conrad nodded. And that wasn't going to be difficult at all. They had hidden so much from their father before, surely this was going to be a piece of cake too.

The Jeep rumbled on, the conversation shifted to weekend plans and upcoming assignments.

Pulling into the driveway of their shared home, Conrad parked the Jeep and turned off the engine. The laughter and chatter didn’t stop as they piled out of the vehicle, already planning their next outing.