Alpha Scarlett

A Long Night

Chapter 14

A Long Night

Scarlett’s POV

I return to my suite in the packhouse and promptly fall face-first onto my bed. It’s nearly 5:00am and between the s****l marathon that Raul and I had combined with the scents of vampires, being on high alert, a dead human and questioning from Detective Dougie (yes, I know his name is Doug, but he bugs me so now it’s Dougie), I’m exhausted. But given the time, I’m not sure if it’s even worth trying to go back to sleep for a couple of hours or if I should just stay awake. Still lying face-down on my bed, I do lift and turn my head to look over my shoulder when I hear Raul enter my suite and close the door behind him.

“Well that was fun.” He says with a tired chuckle as he flops onto my bed with his bed hitting the mattress, causing me to gently bounce in place.

“You’re really playing it fast and loose with the word ‘fun’.” I say, although given my exhaustion, I’m surprised I’m coherent. With it lying on the bed, I turn my head to look at Raul who is laying face-up and blinking slowly, like he’s also trying to decide if he should sleep or just stay awake. “So what do you think?”

After a deep inhale, he turns to me, “what do I think about what?” At first it seems obvious to me – clearly I’m asking about whether or not we should go back to sleep. But I quickly realize given the events of the past day, I could be talking about anything.

“Sleep? Or stay awake? Morning training is at 7:00am, if you want to participate.” I tell him, knowing already that he will. Like any good Alpha, Raul never misses an opportunity to train with another pack’s warriors.

Raul lifts his head to look at the clock on my nightside table before letting it drop back onto the bed. “As much as I want to sleep, I’m actually worried that only sleeping for say, an hour and a half might just make me more tired.”

“I know. That’s the struggle I’m having.” I saw, unable to stifle my yawn. This makes Raul laugh.

“Yeah, you’re struggling alright.” He chuckles. “Maybe you should try and get some rest, Scarlett.” He says gently, reaching over and brushing my hair off my face.” You’ve got a long day ahead of you.”

Another yawn escapes me. “Yeah, maybe I should at least try. What are you going to do?” I ask, wanting him to stay here with me, but not wanting to be that girl who asks her lover to not leave her alone in bed. Raul, once again, shows me that he’d be a great mate if either of us were willing to accept chosen mates instead of fated mates as he rolls over and pulls me towards him.

“This.” He says simply as he gives me a big squeeze and kisses the top of my head.

I lift my head and look deeply into his bright blue eyes before extending my neck so I am plant a kiss on his perfectly delectable mouth. I slowly deepen this kiss – I may be tired, but I’m never THAT tired. He returns the kiss before gently pulling away and planting a kiss on my forehead.

“I like what you’re thinking, Scarlett, but you really should try to get some more sleep.” He says to me with a smile.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I say, trying to sound annoyed, but the last “yeah” ends up turning into a yawn, only further proving Raul’s point. I begin to tell him that he should keep me tired so I don’t kick his ass in training, but I’m asleep before the words even make it out of my mouth.

Unknown POV

A dead human?! They killed a human and left the body in the woods to be found by those damn werewolves! That was not what we had discussed. Killing a human gets the human authorities involved. And getting the human authorities involved means it’s only a matter of time before the vultures, aka, the human press, start sniffing around. Shifters only, beginning with the mangy mutts. That is what was discussed.

This is terribly distressing, I think as I take a long sip from the goblet in front of me, knowing that the sweetness of its contents is the only thing that will soothe my now frazzled nerves. Why do those awful creatures have to be on such good terms with the humans? I preferred things the way they used to be. No alliances. No friendships. Every man (and humanoid) for himself. Even among your own species, you couldn’t be sure where loyalties really laid. It was utter chaos. And it was glorious.

I drum my long, slender fingers on the table, concerned about this new development. Maybe it won’t be more than a blip, I consider. After all, it was just the ONE. How much uproar can there possibly be about one dead camper. Unless…unless word gets out about HOW he died. Because that is going to raise some questions.

I think back to my days as a magician. Distract the audience with your left hand so that no one sees what you’re doing with your right. The same could apply here. Create a distraction someplace else so no one pays attention to what is happening over here. Hmmmmm, maybe there is even a way to sow some chaos while I’m at it – cause the humans to rethink their alliances with those fleabags. Divide and conquer. I’m almost ashamed to admit that I hadn’t thought of it sooner, but the best way for us to achieve our goal is to force alliances to be broken. Hell, if we do it well enough, the humans may end up doing half our job for us. Until their time comes, at least.

Wanting to start getting my ideas out to work through next steps, I begin to cross the cavernous, stone room to my writing desk when I heard the deep chimes of the grandfather clock in the hallway. Sighing, I make my way over to the windows, ensuring that the curtains are drawn before heading to my bed chamber. It’s 7:00am. This will all have to wait until later.