Fae-ted To The Alpha

Where Is Daisy?

Chapter Six- Where Is Daisy?

Malrik

Despite the Christmas drama all around, my day started like most others- a blur of meetings, inspections, and calculations at SpaceX. But today, my thoughts kept drifting to Daisy. She’d been on my mind ever since I met her. Her brown irises shimmered with intensity when she spoke, and I couldn’t forget how her lips curved slightly when she caught me staring in the cafeteria. There was something about her that stuck with me, something I couldn’t shake no matter how hard I tried.

For nearly a week, I hadn’t seen her at work. It made no sense. Her scent still lingered in the hallways and shared conference rooms. It would've faded by now if she’d left or taken time off. Maybe she was working in another department this week. Or perhaps she was avoiding me. The thought unsettled me more than I cared to admit, and it drove my animal crazy.

I paced the engineering floor, clipboard in hand, pretending to review assembly progress. In reality, my focus was everywhere but on the spacecraft components. My mind kept returning to the way she’d looked that night- how her expression had shifted when she spoke about her ex-boyfriend, her voice dipping into bitterness. Then there were the tears, the ones she’d tried so hard to hide. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was okay even though I possibly must have taken advantage of her vulnerability at that time.

Back at home that late evening with the sun setting, I still had her on my mind. Was she avoiding the cafeteria we all shared as a company because of me? Or was she taking a break from men... was it tied to that boyfriend she’d mentioned at the party?

A low growl escaped my throat before I even realized it. I quickly cleared my throat, hoping no one would notice, but, of course, Gabe did as he was nearest to me. My Beta always did.

“Something wrong?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as he leaned against a pallet of bricks in my backyard. It was for our dungeon that I felt needed an extra thickened wall. His posture was casual, but his sharp eyes told me he was reading me like a book.

“Nothing worth mentioning,” I muttered, trying to sound dismissive. But if my wolf instinct had escaped my mouth- which it indeed had, then something was wrong, and he knew it.

“Uh-huh,” he replied, unconvinced. “You’ve been pacing like a caged wolf for days. If you’re worried about the pack, everything’s fine. I’ve checked the borders twice this week, Raven, and not a trace of anything unusual.” He spoke to me and my wolf.

My hair tossing in the strong wind, I sighed, setting both my hands palms down on the nearest surface. A half pallet of bricks. “It’s not the pack,” I admitted, though it felt strange to say the words out loud. My responsibilities as an Alpha usually consumed my thoughts, leaving little room for anything or anyone else.

Gabe tilted his head, waiting for me to continue. When I didn’t, he prodded, “So, what is it, then? Work? Liz? Or is this about that woman from the party?”

I shot him a glare, but he didn’t back down. Gabe never did. It was one of the reasons he was my Beta. “It’s personal,” I finally said, hoping he’d let it drop.

Of course, he didn’t. “Personal, huh? It must be serious if it’s got you this distracted. You gonna tell me what’s going on, or do I have to guess?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, debating whether to confide in him about how Daisy seemed to be running from me. Gabe was more than my Beta; he was my friend, one of the few people I trusted implicitly, and the person I called after she left me alone in the room we shared that morning after. I had Gabe keeping an eye out on shore for her, but with little description, he had nothing to work with really.

Pretty, black hair, brown eyes, five- five average maybe one hundred and twenty pounds to one twenty-five, possibly thirty, in weight? That described half the people around.

Though I did tell him I found her, that was all I confided in him. Talking about Daisy felt… complicated. “It’s just… the same someone,” I said, choosing my words carefully and Raven is shaking his head, leaving the conversation. My wolf had been going a bit crazy until we found her. We had stalked her a bit around, not believing our eyes, but our nose told no lies. It was her. Then, at lunchtime, I approached her in the cafeteria.

Gabe’s eyebrows shot up. “Someone? As in, someone who’s got you growling on the job and spacing out during meetings? Must be quite the woman.” By meetings, he meant one meeting we had with a young, newly assigned alpha. He was formerly introducing himself, and with him came his family, his father the former alpha and beta, with four gammas as protection if needed but more to better get acquainted with each other.

We had also been invited over to their moon harvest the following year. The moon harvest is special to us because we believe this is where the Moon Goddess searches out and pairs us with our mates, so expanding is great as it increases the chances of finding a fated mate under its lunar moonlight. Without this, we might be alone or mated to cousins and such. Cousins are preferred to being mateless as a mateless wolf often becomes weak and dies easily. Healing is also slow, and sometimes, a wolf might never heal from wounds and succumb to injuries.

Yes, we heal faster than anything you have seen.

“She’s…” I hesitated, searching for the right words. “She’s different. And I can’t stop thinking about her.”

Gabe let out a low whistle. “Well, damn. Didn’t think I’d live to see the day Malrik Frost got hung up on a woman.” He is joking, of course. We both knew that I would find my rightful mate and become ‘hung up’ on her because of the bond we would share. If I find my mate, I mean. It happens with all werewolves, and we mate for life. If a partner is lost, then that wolf is faced with a mental battle of their own where they might not make it onto the other side. Sometimes, if lucky, they get a second-chance, mate.

As an alpha, my mate will have a stronger effect on me- which is why alphas sometimes wish to avoid a mate that is bound to them by the Goddess of the moon. As a leader, the Lunas would be targeted to get to Alphas by enemies, and a dead Luna is a messed-up alpha and a soon-to-be annihilated pack.

“It’s not like that,” I snapped, though my tone lacked conviction. “I barely know her.” But even as I said the words, I knew it was a lie. She wasn’t just some woman. She affected my heart in a way like never before. And my wolf was restless.

“Could’ve fooled me,” he said with a smirk. “So, what’s the problem? If she’s on your mind this much, why not do something about it?” He was mocking me because I told him we worked together.

I didn’t answer right away. The truth was, I didn’t know what to do. Daisy wasn’t part of my world- not really. She didn’t know my role in my pack, even if she knew I was a werewolf, there was no guarantee she’d accept it and become my luna- a role that was tiresome as hell. And then there was the fact that I wasn’t sure if she felt the same pull I did. What if I was just imagining it?

“I don’t even know if she wants to see me again,” I admitted finally. “She’s been avoiding me at work. At least, that’s what it feels like.”

“Or maybe she’s just busy,” Gabe pointed out. “You ever think of that?” He steps back to allow a gamma and three deltas to walk through between us, and they bow their heads slightly toward me as they make their way to the dungeon section.

“Her scent is still everywhere. If she were busy, I’d have at least seen her in passing.” I grunted, not convinced, but it did make me feel a bit better.

Gabe clapped me on the shoulder, a grin spreading across his face, the sound of shovels moving, reaching our ears, indicating the others had begun mixing the cement and sand. “Good luck, boss. You’re gonna need it.” He calls me boss like the others in my pack only to familiarize themselves with the word in the presence of humans. Most times my pack members refer to me as ‘Alpha’ or Ninaa, but the latter is rarely used and possibly only in text or history knowledge. In Blackfoot culture- yes, we are descendants of the Niitsitapi tribe and the term for a chief or leader used to be ‘Ninaa’ which means leader or chief. This word was used to describe someone who held a leadership position within the community hundreds of years ago by our ancestors, often with the responsibility of guiding and making decisions for the well-being of the group.

While we have adapted to the ‘new world’ and are very multicultural and mixed-raced now, the term ‘alpha’ or more common or ‘boss’ but our pack’s name remains Niitsitspi. Imitaa Pack. Imitaa means dog or wolf in Blackfoot, making it a direct but culturally respectful reference.

He had a point, though I hated to admit it. If I wanted answers, I’d have to confront her directly. The thought both excited and terrified me because I would have to hunt her down, and that might come off as a lunatic to her. I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my lips. Gabe’s confidence in me was reassuring, even if I wasn’t sure I deserved it. But no matter how hard I tried, Daisy was always there, lingering at the edges of my thoughts while we worked.

Changing the subject to the orders for the Christmas party at my house, I threw myself into work, stacking bricks into a barrow and wheeling it towards the back of my house, hoping to distract myself from the gnawing uncertainty that had taken root in my mind.

By 9 PM, I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Liz was waiting for me in the living room, her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

“You missed dinner again,” she said, her tone accusatory.

“I was working,” I replied, shrugging off my jacket and hanging it on the back of a chair. “You know how it is.” Since when did she care if I ate or not? And why is she even here this late?

Liz hated the dungeon and wanted me to break it down, but how else to punish my pack for crimes I did not want the world to know about? This was serious alpha business and not child’s play.

“Yeah, I do,” she said, her voice softening slightly. “But you can’t keep using work as an excuse. You need to take care of yourself, Dad.”

Her words caught me off guard, and they reminded me of my little girl before she was shattered by her mother's marriage. It wasn’t often that Liz played the role of the concerned daughter. Usually, it was the other way around. “I’ll be fine,” I said, offering her a small smile. “Don’t worry about me.”

[Lizzy rinks of that manure] Raven is telling me that my daughter had been with Jordan earlier. Yeah, our nose can smell him.

She sighed but didn’t push the issue. Instead, she changed the subject. “By the way, Osman stopped by earlier. Said he needed to talk to you about something important.”

“I’ll call him,” I said, though I had a feeling I knew what it was about. Osman had a knack for sniffing out trouble, and if he thought something was worth bringing to my attention, it usually was.

As Liz headed upstairs, I sank onto the couch, running a hand through my dirty hair, and I wondered why she was staying over tonight. Did she and this Jordan fellow break up already? Nevertheless, I am glad my little girl is home, even if it is for the night.

After a light meal and a shower, my thoughts drifted back to Daisy once more. I didn’t know what the future held, but one thing was certain: I couldn’t ignore this pull between us. Whether it was fate or something else entirely, I had to find out.

Is she the one to be my Luna, like the beast inside me feels?