Hate to Love

20

Julian

Alice and I split to lay the files were every wolves of the Pack could see them. I was done fast so I decided to meet her in front of the cafeteria so we could have lunch together.

I had a spring in my step until I stopped, stunned in my tracks. Nathaniel, one of the Deltas, was leaning into my mate. My wolf started growling in my head and the sound just trickled through my mouth. How dares he? I would kill him.

Nathaniel turned around when he heard my growl and he casted his eyes down in submission. That was not enough to calm me down, I was very sensitive where Alice was concerned.

I started walking to reach him when Alice came between us. She was smiling at me and that kind of threw me off. It was a smile full of... Love? Really? My heart started beating faster seeing that smile.

"He didn't do anything wrong." She said. "I had something on my shoulder."

"It was a spider to be exact." Nathaniel intervened, his eyes still casted down.

Alice's eyes widened and a shiver went down her spine. I see, she still hated spiders that much. As a child, she would run around crying for me to kill them. Too bad, she was not ready to do it now, I missed her cute face.

"It's ok." I said, smiling at Alice. "Thank you, Nathaniel."

He nodded and left us there in the middle of the hallway. I pulled her into my arms and rubbed her back for comfort. She was starting to relax against me as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Were you going to attack Nathaniel?" She asked against my chest.

"Yes." I admitted, feeling uneasy now. "I didn't like to see him so close..."

She did not like it when I stepped in to defend her last time so I had no idea how she would react this time. I hoped that she would keep looking at me with her heart in her eyes like earlier. I would never tire of that sight and I wanted her to keep doing it. It showed me that I was on the right path.

"I understand." She said amused. "I wouldn't have liked it either to see someone that close to you. Don't worry, I wouldn't have let him do anything to me."

"I know but... I got so angry, I didn't think." I smiled at her.

"I didn't know you were so possessive." She chuckled.

"I didn't know either but at least, I didn't slap him in front of everyone." I teased.

"All right, stop the teasing already." She blushed.

"You two are in a good mood." Someone said behind us amused.

We both turned to look at Jasper and he was smiling. Good. He did not suspect a thing yet. I could not underestimate him because he was smart enough to suspect that I was doing something to go around his command.

"We are." I nodded. "What about you? Could you get a hold on the General of the Royal Guard?"

"Yes." Jasper nodded. "He gave me the details so you can communicate them to the Pack members who wish to take the test."

"Perfect." Alice said. "I'm sure that we'll have a lot of applications this year."

He looked between us and finally locked eyes with Alice.

"To be honest with you, I thought that you would want to take the test. Of course, that was before I knew that you two were mates but..." Jasper said.

"No." Alice shook her head. "I wouldn't have because otherwise you would have no Gamma. Well, it's kind of the case now but..."

"Don't worry about it." Jasper chuckled. "Lewis can do it a bit longer."

"I know." Alice sighed. "It's nobody's fault really."

We all went into the cafeteria to have lunch and Lewis joined us at the table. It was rare, he usually preferred to have lunch with the Deltas.

"I saw that you all gave the applications for the Royal Guard. What should we expect this year?" He asked Jasper.

"It won't be easy this year." Jasper answered. "The wolves will have to face three challenges. The first challenge is basically about strength, they will need to lift a heavy stone and hold it there for an hour. The second challenge is about speed, it's a race through a difficult terrain. The last challenge is a hunt. They will have to determin if what they're hunting is worth it or not while avoiding foes."

Hm... I could see that I could be asking lots of questions to the General without it sounding too suspicious.

"Will the King be present?" Alice asked.

Smart. She was trying to make a connection with something that might attract her brother.

"He always is." Jasper answered. "Well, especially for the last part."

It could work with our theory. Although why act now when the trials were every year? Maybe he would not even be there.

"We'll have some work to do this afternoon then." I said, looking at Alice.

"Yes, we'll send the info to the Pack." She nodded.

"I'll try to narrow down the list." Lewis added. "I'm sure that there will be idiots who'll write their names on the list just for boasting."

"Every year it's the same." Jasper chuckled. "Dad told me that it was annoying but we can't avoid it."

We all parted after lunch and Alice and I went back to our office. She seemed eager to call the General. This was it. We would have an answer no matter what it would be. We would know if Charles was there or not.

"I'll call while you send the info to the Pack all right?" I said as I sat down at the desk.

She nodded as she sat in front of me. I could see that she wanted to listen though because there was not a lot of typing involved. I smiled and felt bold enough to pull her on my lap while I called the General. I was sure she would not protest since I was on the phone and that would help me keep calm. It was definitely a plus.