Turquoise Charm

Budding Friendships

We don't have a choice when we fall for someone. Either we hit rock bottomOr we keep falling, resisting the wind, And going with it at the same time.

- tris ( _thestubbornheart_ )

Tamsyn sat still for a moment and slowly turned around with a sheepish smile. A young man who seemed to be in his twenties was leaning against the table meant for teachers. His whole demeanor gave off an authoritative aura.

" Hello, Professor. Is the break already over?" Syn asked with a big forced smile.

"It's been long over and you are still in the mood to gossip, huh!?" The man asked in a serious tone.

"Of course not, Professor."

"Then what were you doing, Ms. Curiosity?" He came to her seat and sat down.

'Huh!? What's going on?'

"Don't you want to know about the Alpha? Why don't you sit down?" He asked with a sudden mischievous smile.

"So you are not the Professor after all." She said in a reproaching manner.

" Do I look old enough to be the Professor?" He asked in a mock hurt tone.

"Of course. You look as if you are in your forties." Syn replied with a straight face.

His face showed that he was shocked to the core. Syn tried to hold in her laughter but failed.

"I'm just messing with you. Tit for tat, buddy." She sat down beside him. "I'm Syn. And you are?"

"Kael." He shook her outstretched hand. "Why do you want to know about the Alpha?"

" Maybe because I haven't met him. You know, the desire to unlock the unknown." She shrugged. "Why has the class gone quiet? Are you some gangster kind of guy?"

"Am I?" He asked the class out of blue.

"Of course you are, Kael." Alex called out laughingly.

"Oh come on, old man. Won't you support me when I'm trying to impress a beautiful lass."

Syn rolled her eyes while Alex laughed out loud. The banter that ensued afterwards successfully diverted her thoughts from the Alpha. The real Professor came in soon and the next hour was spent watching the Feynman lectures.

                  ------------------------

"Well, that was enlightening." Kael said with a yawn.

"Oh yes." Syn rolled her eyes. "I'm totally in love with Physics and I appreciate his attempts in giving a lecture. But the video is from so long ago that its quality sucks. The "grrr" sound of old cassettes was what I heard instead of his voice."

" Well, you have an alternative."

"Yes. Books. Could you help me find the library?"

" It would be my honor, Ms. Curiosity." Kael bowed with a wink.

"I have an intuition that you are never going to stop calling me that silly nickname." Syn shook her head with a resigned smile. "Hey Kate, would you like to come with us?"

"No, you guys go ahead. I have something to complete." Kate replied.

'Why does she sound a bit odd? Well, maybe not. Stop overthinking gal!'

"Alright. See ya tomorrow." Syn exited the class with Kael after waving Adieu to her classmates.

" Well, I guess I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm...."

" I know. It's a pleasure to meet you, mademoiselle." Kael took her outstretched hand and brought it to his lips in a dramatic gesture.

Syn was frozen for a while. 'Damn! He's got a killer smile.' Then she laughed with a tinge of embarassment. " I guess we are pretty well known here, huh!?"

"You are. The Alpha is trying his best to protect the pack and he's pretty confident that he can. The pack trusts him. But additional help is always welcome and when it involves magic, people tends to believe it and embrace it fast."

" Hey, that reminds me. You didn't tell me about him."

"Well, our Alpha is a pretty decent guy. He's pretty devoted to taking care of our pack. He's got a little sister. He lives in the Alpha house. He's good in martial arts. He's in his forties though he doesn't look like it." Kael finished off with a shrug.

Syn was gazing at him with a "seriously, dude!?" expression.

"What?" He was bewildered.

"Those things you said.....I knew it before buddy. I'm asking for some social details. You know, like.... whether he's tall, whether he's handsome, about his current girlfriend, temper and so on." Syn explained.

Kael coughed with surprise and tried his best to answer the questions. "He's tall, werewolf men are generally tall. He's over six feet. I guess he's handsome since he'd received quite a few love letters. He's currently single. He's waiting for his Luna. Is this information enough, Ms. Curiosity?"

"Almost. For now, this is enough." Syn said with a cheeky smile.

" So, how do you feel about this place? Must have been difficult, the stark change of climate." Kael asked with curiosity tinting his words.

" Not really. Personally, I find it heartwarming. We had never seen snow in our whole 20 years. So it's a treat to our senses. We've been planning to build a snowman and make snow angels while we were on the way in the aeroplane." Syn said with an embarrassed chuckle.

Kael smiled and shot another question, "You haven't met the Alpha yet, you said. What about the old Alpha pair?"

"Of course we met them. They are absolute joy. Especially the Luna. She cooks with the flair of an internationally well known chef. Why are you laughing?" Syn asked with a sudden pause.

"Oh!? Am I? Hmm....it must have been your enthusiasm rubbing on me." Kael excused himself easily. Syn found it strange but decided to leave it at that.

"Ah, here we are. This is the library. You can go in and talk to the librarian. Her name is Athena McGonagall. She's friendly and adores bookworms. Are you one?" Kael asked with his face tilted to a side.

"Absolutely." Syn grinned. "Are you not coming in?"

"Nop. I'll take a rain check. I've got to meet someone soon. See you tomorrow?" He asked with a sweet smile.

'Girl! Get a grip on yourself. You stupid heart.' Syn managed to reply even when her mind was going haywire, "Alright then. Bye." She entered the library in haste.

' What's up with you, Syn? He's just being friendly. He may even have a girlfriend. Why are you.....but why am I feeling like this!? Damn!! Syn, don't forget. No men! No trouble!'

Syn was so busy berating herself that she almost kissed a piller. The librarian was a tall middle-aged woman. She had a pair of glasses encased in an emerald green frame perched on her nose. Her hair was made into a bun and she was wearing a Sapphire sweater which matched her blue eyes. Syn took an instant liking to her. 'She seems to be a strict librarian. That means the silence will be maintained in the library. Good.'

Syn had a gleeful smiled pasted on her face which made the librarian raise an eyebrow. " How can I help you, Miss....?"

"Wolfe. But please call me Syn. It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. McGonagall. I would like to borrow Feynman lectures vol. 1, please." Syn said with a smile.

"So you are one of the witches." Ms. McGonagall replied in an indifferent tone and observed her through those cat-eye spectacles.

"Woah! You are a werewolf too!! Does the majority of the student population of this college belong to the pack, I wonder?" Syn was stunned. No matter where she went, she met some wolves. 'Are there no humans in this college, for heaven's sake!?'

"You are mistaken, Miss Wolfe. I'm a human. Mated to a wolf, though." Ms. McGonagall replied with a faint smile.  "Well, let's get going. You will find the book you need at the second row of the first cupboard on the right of that flower vase kept on the blue desk near the entrance."

"Thank you, Ms. McGonagall." Syn offered a polite smile and retrieved the book. She brought it back to register and exited the library as soon as she could, for the first time in her life. She was eager to meet up with her friends to get the update of that day. She found her way to the parking area where Leonardo's car was parked. The girls were already there along with Leonardo and were having a lively conversation.

"Hello everyone. I'm here." Syn rushed to them with a hundred-watt smile.

"Why so late, Ms. Wolfe? Hmm....Let me guess, Library?" Cassie asked with an 'I-knew-it' expression.

" Or some black-eyed devil?" Sarah joked.

" How did you know the colour of his eyes?" Syn was startled. " You met him, too?"

"Oh my goodness!" The girls chorused all at once.

"How?"

"When?"

Leonardo was laughing hard on seeing the girls' expressions. "Seriously? She just met a guy. Why such exaggerated reactions?"

"No, Mr. Bulky. It's a very important event. And it's a long story. We'll tell you later." Cassie explained. "And Syn, you are not off the hook."

Syn raised her hands in surrender.

"Hey, why that weird nickname?" Leonardo sounded stupefied and offended.

"That's because you look fat." Sarah gave an explanation.

"Fa-at!?" Leonardo stuttered. "I'm pure muscles, babe." He flexed his arms for her to see.

Jo, who was drinking the coffee, choked on it. Syn laughed right out. Cassie was openly admiring.

Sarah looked positively confused. "I know that Leonardo. But still you look fat. With all those muscles bulging out and you are wearing a fitted t-shirt."

" I quit. And please call me Leo, for heaven's sake." Leonardo threw his hands up in the air in exasperation and got into the car. "Climb in ladies. Let's start the mission - getting to know the way around in Rauland."

"You are not offended, are you?" Sarah asked in a small voice from the passenger seat.

"Oh, how I wish I could be." Leonardo let out a chuckle. "But you look so adorable that I find myself melt, sweetheart."

"Oh." Sarah blinked.

"Oh, hey. What's up with Joan? She's been texting and gazing at her phone ever since she came back from class. Not that it's an issue. But she looks positively forlorn." Leonardo asked Sarah in a whisper.

"Love issues." Sarah sighed. "They had a falling out before we boarded our flight. They'll be alright. We have faith in their love." She smiled.

"That's good to hear." Leonardo smiled back. Then he said out loud, "Ladies, our first destination is the pack house. Luna would have prepared scones that goes perfectly well with butter and mugs of hot chocolate. Not to mention those juicy ham burgers. Is it alright?"

"Oh yes. I'm drooling already." Syn sighed. Soon, they reached the pack house and got down from the car. Elora came out beaming on hearing the sound of the car.

"Come in, hurry. There's someone here to meet you."

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A few minutes ago in the woods of Rauland:

A big black wolf was resting on a meadow of snow. It was a majestic creature. Pure black all over except for the paws and ears. Those were tinted snow white. It had a pair of t-shirt and jeans, generously coated with the saliva, nearby. It observed the surroundings for a while and suddenly transformed into a handsome young man. He had jet black hair with a few silver strands at the front. The sunlight gave it a golden sheen.

The man lay down on the grass. The snow had already melted, courtesy of the high temperature of the wolf. He stared right up at the sky through the the holes created by the tree tops. He seemed to be in a dilemma. A frown marred his forehead.

" What is happening to me!? This is so wrong. I'm supposed to wait for my rightful mate, my Luna. "

('What if she's the one?') His inner voice chimed in.

" Of course not!! I'm an Alpha. She's a human, moreover a witch. She is not a werewolf. How can she be my mate?" the young man replied with anger and exasperation coating his words.

('Then explain why you don't enjoy being away from her. Pray, explain why you felt like you felt. You smiled at her, initiated a conversation with her and even indulged in light flirting.') His inner voice shot back.

"I don't know." the young man roared.

('She could be your mate. Or she could not be. But can you deny the attraction? If so, for how long? You were clearly leading her on. What if she falls for you? Are you going to break her heart? Mind you, you won't enjoy the consequences.') His inner voice said in a serious tone.

" Why will I be concerned about her!? I clearly know that there is no chance for her being the one. Quit it out. I'll keep my distance. Happy? " the young man grumpled. " Damn!! I should stop talking to myself."

The young man closed his eyes and lay there for a few minutes. He didn't like the plan. But he had responsibilities.

Suddenly he received the wolf mail tingles and he opened his eyes.

" Damn! I forgot the time and closed the mind link too. Great. Just great!!" the young man said out loud.

He concentrated for a moment, bracing himself to receive lots of loud conversations in his head.

"KJ...where are you?"

"Mama Luna is asking for you."

"Have you met the witches already?"

"Where are you?"

"KJ, you okay?"

"Alpha...? The last was a shout. And in unison by his trusted beta, third and fourth-in-commands.

"Chill, please. I'm alright. I just went for a run. I'll be at the pack house in five. Now get out of my head and do your work." KJ replied.

"On it, Alpha."

Copyright 2020 by Mila Alaia

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Mila Alaia