Alpha Dominik

3

It took me thirty long minutes to get back to school.

Luckily, although the section of the forest where I was was unfamiliar, my sense of smell allowed me to follow the trail that I had left when I escaped crying, lost in my thoughts.

I wonder if this is how he found me.

I keep my eyes and ears open for any sign, for any detail that would alert me that this strange subject was prowling the forest, preparing to attack me. But for meters and meters, the only thing he could see was the trees, he only heard the noise of the birds in the branches and the small insects wriggling in their frozen caves underground.

Even so, I stayed alert, reviewing the encounter over and over again in my head and as each firm step took me back to school, my mind did not contain so much certainty.

Who the hell was that guy and what was he doing here? I was convinced that he was a Wolf, his essence was unmistakable, and yet ... his eyes were the same as mine ... and didn't I also have a Wolf essence, despite my inability to transform? However, something inside me told me that he was different, that regardless of the color of his eyes there was something primitive and powerful about him.

Something dangerous.

But no matter who it was, or what it meant to me to meet someone for the first time with my same eyes, those eyes that marked me as a stranger in the pack (and even if the eyes were a complete asshole), I couldn't ignore the fact that a strange wolf was prowling our forests without permission. Especially during the Alpha ceremony, it was performed only once by mandate of the Alpha and the winner was the undisputed heir. Only the males of the herd could participate and security had been tightening these months to prevent the arrival of any intruder that violated the order in the selection.

A rogue Wolf that could enter and leave our territory without leaving a trace was not a desirable thing.

When I finally saw the huge stone building looming out of the tall trees, I could hear that my class was in the middle and Beta Roxanne would not tolerate my late arrival.

She barely tolerated me and the other Delta.

Regretting the loss of the day's class, but content to spare me the constant daily humiliation of having to sit alone, I make a decision, and instead of heading to the classrooms to my right, or downstairs to the cold Delta room, I climb the ladder to the Alpha's office to notify him of the strange marauder.

Afternoon the institute comes alive full of Wolves of all ages and ranks going from here and there, to their training classes, to their respective jobs in the human and supernatural world or their study classes; those that the Wolves hated the most but that I loved.

As always, I walk with my head down, nimbly avoiding those who cross my path and doing my best to remain unnoticed. Most of the time, I succeed. My plain clothes, trousers, boots, and a sweater, all worn, easily mark me as Delta and unless the higher castes needed something, they all easily ignored me.

The problem was clear when those who were bored or simply ill-born took to bothering those who could not defend themselves. In those moments she cursed having been brought into this herd.

I'm about to face the stairs when I meet one of those cursed ... not that I could ever say such a thing out loud.

"Delta" Candace calls me dismissively, a Beta with blond hair, long legs, a lot of busts, and a little brain. She is, in addition to all that, the Beta that the Alpha prefers as a Mate for Jason and since I am her best friend, Candace is dedicated to trying to make my life as miserable as possible.

I stop in front of her and her little entourage, she's more than a bunch of manicured and painted babes doing whatever Candace wants. Today they are whispering about me (like I can't hear them, duh) and giggling at any word from her dumb leader.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." The giggles get louder and I keep a sigh, this is a game that happens every day. 

I lift my head from her, but I've learned that I still shouldn't look into her eyes, that's when she gets upset.

"But by God!" She says sarcastically. "Look at those eyes, they are even uglier than I remember!"

And you get dumber with each day, what's your point?

You know what? I regret having spoken to you, go your way.

I bow my head again, the fury red and strong in me but when I try to get out of there one of the foolish followers of hers puts her foot forward and I collapse on the floor.

I stand there, my hands bruised from the fall, waiting for the group to walk away, their mocking laughter echoing through the hallways.

Many walk by and see me lying there, but of course, they do nothing to help. Besides, they are already used to it. About a year started and every day Candace and her entourage do the same. She stops me, makes me lift my head, teases, and then leaves. I don't know whether to admire her commitment or laugh at her lack of originality. This happens every day since the news reached her that she was the Alpha's favorite. The blonde Beta was not amused that her possible future husband had a Delta friend, so every day she plays the same game to remind me, and remind her, that despite my friendship with Jason, I am nobody.

And boy does he do it.

Stopping quickly and dusting myself I climb the stairs, barely encountering a soul in the corridors that connect the rooms. And with my steps as my only company, I come to huge ebony double doors. The doors to the rooms of Alpha Rogers, the man who forgave my life and Jason's father.

He's also a selfish bastard, but that's a topic for another day.

Taking a deep breath and trying to shake off the embarrassment of meeting Candace, I knock on the door twice and place myself in the position to use when dealing with higher castes; my head is extremely bowed, horizontal to the ground because I am not worthy of seeing anyone in the eye. My hands clasped delicately on my stomach because I am here to serve, not to attack.

After a few seconds, I hear footsteps and a door opens.

"Delta Lia?" That voice can only be from Beta Jemison and it relaxes me knowing that it is the second of the Alpha who receives me and not any other guard. Despite his position of power, Jemison has always treated me with respect, to be a Beta and I a Delta. If he had been another Beta, they would have slammed the door in my face.

"Sorry to bother, Beta, but I just came from the forest and an unknown Wolf was hovering around the parameters, I thought I should know."

There it is, quick and easy. I immediately feel a weight lift from me knowing that I have shared this information. For some incomprehensible reason, I felt that I was unprotected even inside the institute as if the stranger could reach me even here. But now that the second of the Alpha knows, they will surely find it.

At that moment I hear, from the Alpha's office, heated voices arguing but although my hearing is sharp, the office is reinforced so that no wolf can hear what is going on inside more than a few simple murmurs.

"Lia ...-"Jemison says uneasily. The use of my name is enough to make me lift my head, as it indicates that the talk has become more informal.

The burly man leaves the huge hall closing the door behind him.

"Lia ... you ... What were you doing in the forest?" Jamison changes the subject so quickly that he puzzles me, but his eyes are not cruel but rather curious.

Fearful, I would say.

I try to calm myself by thinking that there is nothing wrong with walking in the woods in my spare time. Neither Jamison nor Alpha has to know that I was running into Jason

"I was taking a walk after my morning shift." I naturally affirm and it's true, just omitting a small part. Still, this doesn't make sense. I just told him that I saw a strange Wolf invading our territory and what he asked me was what I was doing in the Forest?

Jamison swallows loudly. "Tell me, Lia, did this Alpha try to talk to you?"

I try not to show my body surprise. An Alpha! No wonder the guy was so cocky ... but his eyes, why weren't they yellow like all Alphas?

I stop rambling, Jamison asked me a question. Will he get mad if I say yes? That instead of attacking him, or yelling for help, I waited for the man to leave? I would like to think that Jamison, the most understanding of the Betas I know besides Jason, would understand why a Delta-like me could not stand up to another wolf with his size, even though I did not know that the stranger was an Alpha, even so, the man I had three heads and about twenty kilos of muscle. It would have been impossible for me to defeat him, I knew it and the conceited Alpha surely knew it too, which is why it was hard for me to understand how he was still alive.

He could easily have killed me in the woods if I had been a nuisance to him, but he had wandered off and even took his hands off me when he had asked. It was more than the Wolves here did.

I could expect Jamison to be understanding, but he was also a Beta and second to Alpha. There were limits to his patience with Deltas.

"No Beta, I smelled him and saw him walking in the distance but he disappeared right away"

"And he didn't try to get in touch with you? Didn't he come closer or am I trying to talk to you? ”Jamison sounded unconvinced, but I held my ground. It would be worse if they caught me admitting my lie.

"No Beta, I only saw him from afar"

Just as Jamison seemed to relax and begin to speak, the doors to the Alpha's office boomed open, and storming out like the devil himself was Jason with his father behind him.

"Don't be an i***t, you don't see that you risk everything for one ..."

They both stop when they see Jamison and me standing there.

"What is she doing here?" Asks the Alpha angrily and I return to my submissive position.

Jamison leaves my side and runs to the Alpha to notify him of the Wolf that he had seen in the forest but Jason does not wait to wait, he takes my wrist and we both run out of the office to his father.

"Jason!" I whispered loudly, trying to make him see reason. "You can't leave your father's office like this! What happens?"

"Absolutely nothing." He said through clenched teeth. "It's just that we'll escape from this nightmare place."