The Lonely Girl

Chapter 19 - Alliances

Santi

I hated leaving Sahara alone but I needed to talk to Alpha Zahli about Alpha David. I hadn’t seen the man in 5 years, Id heard plenty of reports that the pack was a shadow of what it used to be. We’d come across plenty of rogues that had left his pack, deciding the rogue lifestyle was safer than staying in his pack. Id offered a few sanctuary however they wanted to stay on the move so he wouldn’t find them. Looking around Alpha Zahli’s pack it looked very peaceful, there were families wandering around with small children playing. She’d done a great job leading this pack. I arrived at the pack house and knocked on the door, Alpha Zahli answered herself and took me to her office. “How’s your mate” she enquired, looking concerned. “She’s pretty banged up and will take awhile to recover since she’s human, she’s pretty keen to go home so I thought I’d come by and thank you for everything. I also wanted to get any information you have about Alpha David. I only met my mate a short time ago and she’s only been at the pack house one night. Somehow Alpha David already knew about her and came to kill her” I explained. “So you have a traitor then” she stated. I was taken aback, I assumed that Alpha David might’ve been watching my businesses in town and happened to realise I found my mate. However we hadn’t known each other long and were rarely in public, a traitor seemed more feasible. Who could possibly gain by giving information to Alpha David? I couldn’t imagine anyone in my pack being associated with him. “It’s possible” I replied, “I just don’t know what someone would gain by giving information to Alpha David”. “I’ll ask around “ she said, “You’ve done a lot for me in the past and I am very grateful however I don’t want to become a target for another pack, I feel like I’ve constantly got to prove my worth since I’m still unmated. I will ask around though “. I was a little disappointed but not surprised, this was not her fight, and by accepting us onto her territory was already putting her pack at risk. “I understand” I replied, “thank you for helping my mate and if you hear anything I’ll be very grateful for the information”. I felt Trent trying to mindlink me, he was at the border and waiting instructions. “My Gammas here, I’ll get him to drive to the clinic and we’ll make our way back” I said. “Ok I’ll walk with you” Alpha Zahli replied. On the way to the clinic Alpha Zahli stopped suddenly, “do you smell that?” She asked. “Smell what, I can smell campfire smoke”. “No, I’m sure I can smell dark chocolate” she replied. Strange I thought, we kept walking and I could see she was becoming a bit restless. Suddenly Trent appeared around the corner looking frantic. I was about to ask what the problem was when Alpha Zahli stopped suddenly and said “mate”. I stopped stunned. Trent had been my Gamma for about 3 years. He’d had a mate before who’d actually rejected him because he wasn’t an Alpha, when he came to my pack he looked broken and just wanted to work as a warrior I assume to get his mind of his ex-mate. I quickly noticed his skills, the old Gamma was looking to retire. We don’t automatically hand titles down to family members, it has to be earned, and Trent was a standout. Now it looks like I’m going to lose him to another pack. I watched as he approached her, a huge smile on his face which mirrored hers. It seemed Alpha Zahli was equally happy with the match. They both stood staring at each other not sure who was going to make the first move. I cleared my throat, the both looked at me, obviously having forgotten my presence. “Alpha Zahli, this is Trent, my Gamma, I’m assuming you’re both mates”. They both looked a little stunned, “I’ll leave you two to get to know each other, I’m going to find my mate” I said. “Sorry Alpha”, Trent replied, “I’m here to take you guys back but request to spend some time with my beautiful mate first” he asked with a smile. “Yes that’s fine, I’ll come and find you both when we’re done”. With that Trent closed the gap and embraced Alpha Zahli.

I got moving pretty quickly to give them privacy and I was getting anxious about leaving Sahara. Seeing Trent with his new mate made me miss her even more.

I walked into the clinic and saw Sahara trying to get out of bed. I raced over to help her, she looked exhausted. I put my hands on her waist and looked into her eyes. She looked on the verge of tears. “What happened “, I exclaimed. “Nothing happened, I don’t know why I’m so upset, I’m not usually like this” she replied sounding broken and looking down . “You don’t need to hide from me” I said gently, “the last couple of days have been a lot, the fact that you’ve held it together this well is amazing, I think you’re incredible “ I said. She nodded but didn’t say anything. “How about we go sit outside and wait for Trent” I suggested. I helped her up and we went and sat on a bench near a lake, the view was spectacular. I put my arm around her and she actually layer her head on my chest and sighed with relief. We sat there for a little bit in silence. Suddenly Sahara spoke up, I actually thought she’d fallen asleep. “Is this why I feel so comfortable with you, because you’re my mate?” she asked. “Yes” I replied, I’ve always heard that this is what it’s like, being with you is the best feeling in the world”. She sat up and looked in my eyes, I realised how close our faces were. Looking down at her lips I took a chance and closed the gap, kissing her softly. The sparks that came when our lips touched were mind blowing. I heard her gasp slightly, she must feel them too. Happy that she didn’t pull away I deepened the kiss putting my tongue gently in her mouth. She started to kiss me back, hesitantly at first but quickly became more comfortable. I’m not sure how long we kissed for when I heard the crunch of tire’s behind us. Trent had arrived to take us home. I groaned softly and pulled away. Sahara blushed slightly, obviously a bit unsure of what to do next. I kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear, “that was amazing” she smiled and her blush deepened. I smirked and helped her off the chair and into the car. She laid down in my lap and fell asleep really quickly. I could see Trent looking at me through the rear vision mirror, eyebrows raised and a big smile on his face. I spoke through the mind link to him so I didn’t wake Sahara, “looks like we’ve both had a good day”, I said with a smile, “so how’s your mate?” “She’s incredible” Trent exclaimed, “I found it hard to leave her, she’s the most amazing person I’ve ever met!”. Deciding to cut right to the issue at hand I asked, “so am I losing my Gamma?” He looked a little sad and I knew I had my answer. “I can’t be away from her, and I can’t ask her to give up her pack for me so it makes sense for me to move there” he stated. “We’ve only just met so we haven’t worked out logistics but it’s possible she’ll be open to some kind of official alliance now, I don’t know how but I’d like to keep working for you somehow but I need to be with my mate” he stated. I completely understood, I couldn’t imagine being apart from Sahara, she’s very quickly become my reason for living. “I’m very happy for you “ I replied putting his mind at ease, “we’ll talk more officially tomorrow however I’d like you to give me a list of suitable replacements as I’m assuming I’ll need one soon”. He nodded, I could feel how torn he was but I wouldn’t stand in the way of him being with his mate. “Zahli’s coming to visit tomorrow if that’s ok, she wants to make sure there’s no hard feelings between you two because of us”. Perfect I thought, maybe she will be more open to that alliance now. We arrived at the pack house, Sahara stirred slightly, I picked her up and carried her to her bed. Jenna was staring at me warily, she curled straight up next to me. While she was sleeping I called Lailani, Trent, Armani, Alana and my parents for a debrief of what happened yesterday. I was so focused on my mate that I didn’t even ask if anyone sustained any injuries. It seemed our peaceful times were over.