The Alphas Mate

11.

Layla'h

It's been almost two weeks since I last talked Lexi. After the last time I tried calling her and Rhys answered, I haven't tried again. I have emailed her everyday without a reply so I guessing she isn't checking her emails at the moment. The only person I've talked to in the last two weeks has been Rhys. I did just what he said. I called him. After I worked out Lexi isn't checking her emails I got desperate and called Rhys. The first time I called him he was with the others so he made up some bullshit over the phone which confused me until I worked out what he was doing and shut up until he made an excuse to move away from them where he could talk to me freely.

He told me that they still haven't given Lexi's phone back, so I know not to ring her. I've told Rhys what I've been up to, but not where I am. We text everyday and I've even sent him a couple of pictures of things that I've brought for my house and pictures of myself so he can see for himself that I'm fine. He's made me facetime him a couple of times just to check to make sure I'm not lying to him. I don't know if he's told anyone else that he's talking to me or not. He hasn't said. Our conversations are sort of basic, he keeps me up to date on what's been happening with the pack. Who's visiting from other packs and any other dumb things he can think of. He learnt pretty quickly that I didn't want to talk about or hear anything about Chris, when I hung up on him the first time he tried and then I didn't ring him again for two days. When he told me that Alpha Xavier had finally left to go home again I started to leave my phone on all the time. It's just on silence because of how many times a day it rings. I haven't bothered to empty my voicemail so it's full now and you can't leave one any more. One less thing for me to worry about.

There's an unknown number who rings me at least once everyday. I don't answer and they don't text so I have no idea who it is and really don't want to either. Chris's number comes up all the time, as well as Lexi's and Luke's. I feel bad not answering Luke's calls and messages but I'm not sure that he will talk to me like Rhys does without telling Chris. So at the moment I'm keeping it simple and Rhys is the only one. I've asked him a couple of times to let Lexi know I'm okay so she doesn't worry while she still doesn't have her phone. He passes on any messages she might have for me anytime we talk.

I'm excited today and Rhys must know it too because I have a text from him wishing me luck and a good day sitting there waiting for me when I woke up first thing this morning. I've stopped getting up so early now because I don't have training to go to. So he always beats me awake. I still work out, running and hiking, but no fighting. It's on my list of things to do. Find a gym. But today is the first day of sermiser and I finally have my first class at 10am this morning. I'm looking forward to getting on campus and into classes. I'm hoping I can make a couple of friends so I'm not by myself so much here. I think I'm starting to become a recluse. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but wolves are pack animals. We like being around others. I'm sort of used to being alone, but not as much as I have been lately. I shop by myself, eat all my meals alone, go running or walking by myself.

I'm starting to wonder if it's affecting Mazie. She still isn't talking to me. I haven't been able to shift since Chris commanded us to shift back. I can feel her still, I know she's still there. She's been with me the whole time, at the back of my mind. Watching everything. I can feel her pain, her anger, hurt and sadness. Our emotions are very much the same apart from I'm dealing with mine by pressing them into a teeny tiny box and kicking it to the back of my mind where I can then cover it with all sorts of other things and pretend it just doesn't exist. I think it's working for me so far. Working for me, yeah right I think with a shrug and roll my eyes at myself. I'm not sure who I'm trying to play with that one, but I do what I've been doing the whole time, I cover it with more s**t. Like going for a quick morning run.

I send a quick text back to Rhys thanking him and letting him know that I will ring him after my classes and let him know how they went, before rolling out of bed. I stretch my whole body out the second my feet hit the cool hard wood flooring. Popping my spine to release the tension, then quickly making my way over to the walk-in wardrobe for some workout clothes. The first thing I find is a black pair of Lycra shorts. Deciding I can't be bothered looking for anything better, I roll them up my legs, having to do a little wiggle to get them over my ass before letting them flick into place on my hips. I dig around through a drawer before coming up with a bright pink sports bra. Pulling the shirt I slept in over my head, discarding it on the floor and slip on the bra before finding some socks and my running shoes. Once downstairs, I quickly pick up my Beats headphones and my housekey and headed to the front door, locking up as I walked out. Sliding the headphones over my ears, I bring up my running playlist, hitting play before taking off across the road to run through the park. Cardi B's I like it beats through my headphones at high volume. Prefect running music.

I'm about 30 minutes into my regular run, minding my own business like normal when it happens. Out of the trees on the left side of the track, a very tall, very large male steps out onto the path about 10 meters in front of me. I come to a sudden stop, skidding along the path a little as I stop in such a hurry. Making sure to keep plenty of distance between me and the stranger in front of me I slowly eye him over. Fall out boy's This Ain't a Scene, It's An Arms Race playing through my ears. He stays standing exactly where he stepped out onto the track as I look at him, he eyes me over right back. This male is massive, I'm talking giant size. He must be at the very least 6'4" if not more. His shoulders are that wide, he's taking up the whole path. I would have to walk off the track into the trees on the edge to get around him. Dark brown hair cut to shoulder length hangs around his face. I can't see the color of his eyes from where I'm standing even with my wolf senses and he's smart enough to be standing down wind from me so I can't pick up his scent. I'm not even sure if he's human or not. His chest, arms and legs all look packed with muscles beneath pants and shirt that look like they're more suited to a corporate office than a track running through the park. Even his shiny black shoes look out of place where he stands. It takes me a couple of minutes to take him all in before my eyes rise back to meet his. He has a soft smile on his face, shoulders relaxed, arms loose by his sides, hands in his pockets like he's trying to make himself come across softer than he is, less threatening.

I'm not buying what he's trying to sell. Normal people don't just randomly step out of the trees into the path of another person without a reason. I don't move from my spot, I leave my headphones on music still playing, blocking out any other noise around me. Waiting to see what the stranger will do. My heart rate is still beating fast from my run I think, but the small little hairs on the back of my neck have risen warning me of danger.

The male in front of me lifts a hand slowly to point at one of his ears, signaling that he wants me to take my headphones off. Deciding to play along for now, I do as he's asked. I turn my music off and pull my headphones down around my neck. I can now hear anything going on around me and at the moment other than picking up the soft sound of the male in front of me breathing, I don't pick up on anybody else around. I don't know who this male is, where he came from, what he's doing or whether he's there for me or not, so I continue to stand there not speaking, just waiting. He doesn't leave me to wait long.

"Layla'h." His dark voice floats towards me at the same time he dips his head ever so slightly in greeting.

Okay, so I now know he's here for me. The question is just whether it's a friendly visit or not. I don't know him and I don't have any friends in this city, so I'm saying not. I don't bother to reply to his greeting. My head tilts to the left in question as I continue to watch him.

"You're a hard female to find."

Still I stay silent. He isn't asking me questions, he's making statements and I don't see the need to comment on anything he's said so far. He has answered two of my questions already though. His use of the word female clueing me in to the fact he is not human. Humans don't use the word female the same way wolves do. The way this male has.

"I'm not here to hurt you."

Isn't that what every bad guy in history says. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk. Mmkay, I'm not falling for that.

"I'm here to check on you and ask you to come with me." The stranger continues. Man, this is like a bad thriller movie. How do people fall for this sort of crap. Why would anybody just agree to go with some random stranger who looks like the hulk just because they said so. I don't know if I'm starting to annoy the male with my silence, but he starts to walk towards me as he continues to speak.

"Do you know how dangerous it is to be running by yourself, being in a city alone with no friends close by to help you if need be. Why would you come here of all places instead of staying where you were? You were safe on pack land, with your pack members all around you."

I still say nothing, tracking each step he takes towards me. Watching how he carries himself, where his hands are, the way he's looking at me. I haven't moved a single muscle, not even a slight twitch, since I stopped running. I've made sure to keep my body loose. I wait and wait, right up until the male is within three or four steps of me and right as he stops moving I take my shot. Shooting forward off my left foot as fast as I can. Taking those last three steps, my right foot snapping out, connecting with the middle of his shin bone, causing his body to drop forward enough for my right elbow to connect with his nose as I roll my body around behind him and take off running. I don't stop for even a second to see how much damage I've caused. I take off as fast as I can. Cutting a right through the trees which I know will pop me out not far from my house. Twisting around trees in a zip zap to make myself harder to catch, I pull the key for my front door out of the pocket on the inside of my waistband of my shorts. I know I could cut down behind the row of townhouses and drop my back fence where I keep the backdoor unlocked. I will if I need to, but at the moment I can't hear the male behind me, so the front door is where I'm aiming for.

I pop out of the tree line and there's about 500 yards of nothing but green grass between me and the roadside in front of my house and just as I take the first steps towards it I see a second male standing off to one side of my front door. f**k! Quickly thinking, I cut to the left and take off down the road. I couldn't get a park in front of my house yesterday, couldn't even get a park on my street, so my car is parked just around the next corner. Key fob in hand, having only just attached it to my house key the other day, I hit the unlock button as I round the corner. Ripping the driver's door open before diving in and hitting the locks. I'm lucky the car is push start so I don't lose time starting the car. Throwing the car in first, I hit the gas and brake at the same time pulling the wheel to the right and u-turning onto the road. I gun it down the street heading away from my house. I watch in the rear view mirror as both males come into view just as I go round the corner.

Thank goddess. Now what do I do? I aimlessly drive around for about 30 minutes before I see the time. It's 8:30am and I have my first class in a hour and a half. I'm sweaty from my run and in workout gear, I have my keys, phone and car. That's it. I look down at myself frowning. I can't go to class looking like this on the first day. I can't get back to my house, chances are they are hiding somewhere around it waiting for me to come back. f**k, who the hell were they anyway? I didn't get a good enough look at the second guy, but I did the first one and I've never seen him before. Did Chris send them?

I hit the spend dial on the steering wheel, dialing Rhys's number.

"Hello this is Rhys." Comes through the car speakers. s**t he's around other people.

"Rhys, I just need you to give me a yes or no answer okay?" I ask him.

"Yeah."

"Did Chris send anyone from the park to come and get me?" I ask, hoping this is the answer.

"What? No, why?" okay so that was a bit more then yes or no.

"A male ambushed me while I was on my run this morning, saying he was sent to come get me."

"f**k!" comes roaring through the speakers. Crap this isn't good. I can hear Luke questioning Rhys in the background, while Rhys's cussing continue down the line.

"s**t, I'm going to have to tell him." Rhys finally says after a minute or two. I'm not sure if he's talking about Luke who I can still hear or Chris.

"Did you guys tell any of the other parks about me leaving?" I ask, trying to distract him from telling anybody.

"No, where are you now? are you safe?"

"I'm safe-ish for now. I got to my car so I'm currently aimlessly driving around the city but I have class. I can't do this all day Rhys. I need to know who they are."

"f**k. f**k. fuck." there's some muttering from his end that I can't make out. "Luke I need you to get Alpha Xavier on the phone." Rhys says the Luke. "Why? what the hell is going on Rhys, who's on the phone?" Luke asks back.

"It's Layla'h." I hear the sigh Rhys lets out as he tells Luke it's me on the phone. I know Luke is going to give him s**t about this.

"What! how long have you been talking to her? Have you known where she's been this whole time while we've all been worrying like crazy!" I can hear how angry Luke is.

"Look I'll explain later, we don't have time now. You need to ring Xavier." Rhys shoots back before saying to me.

"Tiny baby, is there somewhere you can go? a friend's house, a hotel, something?"

"I could probably go to the hotel I stayed at when I first got here but Rhys I have school and I'm sweaty and in workout gear."

"Stop and buy something to wear and check into the hotel. Just stay on the phone with me while you do it." He says.

"Okay." Deciding I should do what Rhys says I take the next right and head towards the shopping centre.

"He's not answering." Luke's voice says in the background. "Keep trying him or his Beta." Rhys replies just as I pull up in front of the clothing store.

"I'm at the store." I let him know before switching him from Bluetooth and getting out of the car. I walk into the store, the sales lady looks at me funny, but I ignore her. I don't have time. I quickly look around trying to find something to wear. I quickly find a pair of cut-off Daisy dukes and an oversize band t. That will do the job. They don't sell underwear here, so I'm going to have to go commando, but I don't have much choice. Dumping the items on the counter, I wait for the lady to ring me up. Thanking the goddess for applepay. I pay for the clothes and high tail it out of the store. When I get in the car I have an hour before my first class. Hopefully, it's enough time for me to shower at the hotel and get to campus.

I can hear Luke and Rhys talking in the background. They're arguing with each other so I just tune them out for now as I drive to the hotel. I pull up in front of the hotel, grabbing the bag with the clothes and ignoring the parking attendant, I won't be here long enough to park it. Inside I notice it's the same nice lady sitting behind the front desk.

"Hello, I didn't expect to see you back here." she says to me as I approach.

"Hi, I know. I need a room for the day. It's my first day of classes today and my shower broke and as you can see I really need a shower." I lie easily to her.

"No problem, let me see what I can do." she smiles before getting to work. "You're in luck." I go through the process of booking the room and paying before she's hands over the key. Just as I go to turn away she says. "Oh before I forget a day after you checked out some man showed up here looking for you. I was the one who spoke to him but I didn't tell him anything. Just said you had checked out."

"Ah thanks." I replied. What the hell, someone showed up here. Was it the same guy from this morning. Crap, this is bad. Why is someone looking for me, well someone other than my pack but Rhys has already said that Chris hasn't sent anyone after me. I make it into my room before heading to the bathroom, turning the shower on as I dump the clothes on the courter along with my keys and phone. Switching the phone to speaker.

"Rhys." I ask because he's still talking to Luke.

Then all hell breaks out.

"Yeah Tiny?" Rhys says at the same time as two other voices come down the line.

"LAYLA'H!"

"Oh s**t!"

I freeze on the spot. s**t, that was Chris.

"What the hell, you two are talking to Layla'h and you didn't come and get me. What the f**k is going on! Layla'h. Layla'h baby, where are you? I've been so worried about you, I need to talk to you. Layla'h."

"Chris stop, we don't have time for this. Just stop, Layla'hs in trouble and we're trying to work it out. That's why she rang."

"Hold on. I finally have Xavier on the line."

"What the hell is going on?"

"Tiny Baby, are you at the hotel yet?" I only just hear Rhys over all the voices yelling over top of each other.

"Yeah Rhys I'm here. That's what I was just about to tell you. I'm going to shower."

"Okay, don't go anywhere. I'll call you back in a minute."

"Okay." I get out seconds before the line goes dead.

I shake it off I don't have time for this as I look at my phone. I jump in the shower and wash as quick as I can. Drying off I dress before collecting my things and head back downstairs. I don't check out, deciding that I might need to come back here after school.