Her Alpha's Greatest Secret

Chapter 7- A Breeze

The first symptom of regret was the hangover. I clenched my teeth against the queasiness as I cooked breakfast for my mother who sat at the kitchen table cursing over her embroidery project as she tried to fix it. The next symptom came when my phone buzzed in my pajama pants pocket with a text from Ariel. She said she couldn’t wait to hang out again with a winky face and an X. I stifled a groan when I thought about the sloppy kiss we had shared in the cab before it dropped me at the house and went on to take her home. She had kissed me, and I hadn’t stopped her- eager to erase the memory of another’s kiss from my memory, but it had been a pale imitation. A wet, drunken, lip bruising thing that tasted of stale whiskey and cigarettes.

I set the plate in front of my mother and plopped down with my coffee while she studied me disapprovingly.

“I’m not hungry,” I defended myself against her look taking a deep draw on my coffee.

“Ariel left you sated then?” she raised her brow at me spearing her eggs.

I sputtered choking as the hot coffee burned a trail up my nose, “Mother!” I gasped.

She shrugged, “I think you answered that question,” she grinned.

I blinked at her, “I don’t know what you’re referring to,” I retorted, wishing I had let the topic drop.

“Honey, I don’t want you to fall back into patterns that never served you to begin with. She’s a nice enough girl, but you are my daughter. You deserve more than nice enough.” She turned to her toast, and I realized my mouth was hanging open and I pulled it shut with a snap.

“I don’t intend… I mean, I don’t have those kinds of feelings toward her anymore.” I said trying to project my complete confidence.

“As long as you don’t lose sight of yourself, Pickle.” She patted my hand and I grimaced.

“I appreciate that, nosy woman, but keeping sight of myself often feels like grabbing at the wind,” I complained.

She laughed deeply throwing her head back, “Oh, Mellie,” she sighed when she settled herself, “Why settle for catching a breeze when you can be the air?”

I rolled my eyes downing the last of my coffee and pushing up from my chair, “Alright, well if you’re done speaking in riddles for now, I think I want to go for a run.”

“Alright. I’ll be here punishing these poor flowers,” she growled nodding to the embroidery at her elbow.

The cliffs that surrounded my home were my first friends. They raised me- letting me traipse across their backs chasing imagined adventures. As a child I rode dragons leaping between fir tree branches and vanquished giants by tumbling boulders down the cliff faces. As I grew older, they became less the landscape for perilous quests and expeditions and more a place to find solitude under the open sky. My parents’ home was backed up against the cliffs on three sides nestled in the crook of the Fragrant Valley.

That solitude is what drew me to them now as I took a familiar route winding up one of my favorite hikes at a jog. It was blessedly warmer than it had been since I had been here, but the air was still cool enough to sting as I drew it into my lungs in hungry gasps. I was out of shape from my time languishing in the sun. The sun’s honied rays shimmered in the air around me reminding me of Evander’s warm golden gaze. I gritted my teeth against that line of thought veering off the path to clamber up some boulders to test my balance. I pushed myself despite being out of shape, scrambling up rocks and ducking beneath tree branches, skirting along the edge of the trail to enjoy the precarious feeling of being on the edge of the world.

I was damp with sweat and my legs were shaking with fatigue by the time I finally made it back down to the house, but I felt rejuvenated, and I was sure I had banished the memories of Ariel and Evander until I recognized a familiar figure in the front yard standing next to a little green car. I took off at a run forgetting my fatigue as I charged him with a cry of delight.

Fritz looked like he had grown a foot since I had seen him last, and he sported some carefully groomed facial hair. I smacked into him throwing my arms around him and nearly knocking us both into the melting snow. He stumbled laughing at my jubilance as I squealed up at him.

“You’re a GIANT!” I exclaimed, stepping back to take him in. He was still the thin gangly baby brother of my memories, but he looked suspiciously like a man suddenly.

“You’re still a crazy little pip-squeak I see,” he laughed running a hand shyly through his hair. I was by no means short, but I was the shortest in my family of giants.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, batting at him for the rib.

“Spring break,” he grinned.

“I can’t believe I totally forgot that was this week!” I groaned.

His gaze fixed on something over my shoulder, and I whipped around suddenly realizing we weren’t alone. “Oh!” I exclaimed examining the stranger. He looked to be about twenty with black curly hair and broad shoulders. His face was clean shaven, and he was casually well dressed in fitted pants and a sweater.

“I brought… a friend… someone to introduce to everyone. This is Bowen,” Fritz explained a quiver of nerves in his voice.

“Hi,” Bowen smiled with perfect white teeth, “I’m the…. Friend. You must be the fun sister.”

I laughed, “It sounds like you’ve met Saela.”

Bowen laughed in a pleasant baritone, “I have had that pleasure, yes.”

I whirled on Fritz punching him in the shoulder, “Nice to meet your FRIEND.” I glared at him pointedly.

He chewed his lip fighting a smile, “I don’t know why I do that sometimes.”

“Dude, it’s ME,” I agreed. I stepped over to Bowen and gave him a one armed hug.

“I know, it’s just really new,” Fritz groaned. Bowen released me giving my shoulder a grateful squeeze as he moved to put his arms around my brother’s waist nuzzling him as he blushed furiously.

Something clicked in me as I recognized an intangible element in the air, “Wait a second. Fritz is he-“

“My mate,” Fritz finished, looking at me- his eyes scorching from the contact of his mate. “Yes, we just met at school and…” he shrugged grinning.

I jumped for joy, “I cannot believe you didn’t lead with that, you sly dog! Oh my gosh, does Saela know? She must be PISSED that she’s the last one to find a mate.”

Fritz eyes went wide, and I realized a second late what I had said and I clamped my lips shut kicking myself for that slip. I may have met my mate, but he as good as rejected me.

“Mellie, what did I miss?” Fritz demanded.

Thank the gods I was saved from answering by the sound of the door banging open as my mother appeared in the doorframe.

“I thought I heard my baby!” she exclaimed as Fritz rolled his eyes and went to go to her. He shot a look at me over his shoulder to remind me this conversation wasn’t over.

So much for banishing him from my thoughts.