Fae-ted To The Alpha

3- Daisy

Malrik’s Pov

I should’ve known better than to let Liz talk me into coming here tonight and Raven is gone because he loathes noises and crowds. Crowds, after all, are associated with noise. Gabe, my Beta, decided to stay back on land and in a hotel there until tomorrow when we return. He refused to go anywhere with water but also wanted to be close by if needed. Normally, if I, my pack’s alpha, am not present in the pack, Gabe would be there to represent me, but since things were everyday-easy, he decided to accompany me... but remained on shore.

At the coastline is his limit.

He is funny that guy. Even refuses to board a plane.

The music thudded in the background, a mix of electronic beats and bass that rattled through the floor and into my bones. People laughed and danced; their joy so loud it drowned out any peace I had left. This wasn’t my scene. It never had been. But Liz had insisted- begged, really that I attend her birthday party at this resort.

The tickets were free as my boss had given me four, but I never planned on using them- until my daughter saw them.

There were nearly a hundred people here- half of them strangers. The other half, were pack members because the ship was owned by a werewolf- most of whom I’d known since they were pups and my daughter's friends. It was supposed to be a celebration of sorts, but all I could think about was the ship I was supposed to finish for SpaceX, the blueprints I hadn’t even looked at, the work piling up on my desk.

I was supposed to be at the shipyard, not at this loud, crowded resort.

But there I was, sitting at a table with a drink I didn’t want, my eyes scanning the room to make sure nothing went wrong. My daughter was already a little tipsy, and I had no doubt she was about to do something stupid, again. But since she told me to ‘butt out’ I left her and this new boyfriend of hers- Jordan at one of the lounge bars, making my way to the poolside bar.

Everyone it seemed had coupled up, except me. Sighing for the millionth time, I attempt to finish the bottle in front of me, feeling the slight buzz in my head. As a werewolf, it’s hard to get drunk but it is achievable and we will not have a hangover the next day.

Besides, my wolf is absent from my mind leaving me alone with my negative thinking.

A tap on my shoulder interrupted my thoughts. I turned to face the person who dared disturb my solitude.

“Is this seat taken?” The voice was smooth, almost sultry, and the woman behind it had a look in her eye that made my wolf stir. I could already feel the pull, the magnetic connection between us but I ignored it because it only meant she was a creature like us. Kindred. What the human world called mythical creatures. I was working on my whisky intake- the entire bottle is my plan and I am only halfway there.

Gosh, another one? This has been the sixth woman in the past hour to try to heckle at me. Now I am thinking maybe I should go to the resort and find a room. The ship had docked at this resort while the party continued on land near a resort and wouldn’t leave until tomorrow afternoon.

But then I got a scent from her and my eyes widened. What was that smell that had my insides almost electric in reaction to it. She was young, maybe mid-twenties, with dark hair that cascaded down her back in loose waves. The whites of her eyes were pinkish as if she had been crying. Oh, definitely crying I noted when I saw her wet thick lashes and red-rimmed eyes. Her irises are a magical shade of brown.

Clumsily sitting without waiting for my answer, she extended her hand with a small, teasing smile. “Daisy.”

I froze for a moment, the name hitting me like a cold wind. Daisy. A long-buried memory stirred of a pack elder’s words whispered during my teenage years: “When daisies come into your life, they’ll bring your future together.” Or maybe she had said daisy. Daisy with a capital ‘D’... I frowned, the thought jarring. For years, I’d pictured someone handing me a bouquet of daisies at some pivotal moment, not... this. Not a woman with that name, sitting here now, looking at me like as if her world just crumbled and she was pretending to be okay.

It made no sense for me to want to slug the guy. Of course, it was a guy. This was a ship full of couples. You don’t come here when grandma died to party.

“Daisy,” I repeated softly, unsure what to make of it. I have never met someone with this name before.

The air between us shifted then, thickening with something I couldn’t quite place. Daisy leaned closer, her scent faintly mingling with the perfume she wore, sweet and delicate. But there was an undercurrent to it, an energy that made my wolf growl low in my chest. Raven was back. Growling is something my beast does a lot of and especially when I am intimate with someone but this was different- or maybe I am too drunk and reading it wrong.

Who cares? All I know is I want to bed her.

“You’re really not here to have fun, huh?” she asked, her voice teasing.

I didn’t answer right away, instead taking another sip of my drink, I poured myself. I saw the moment her gaze flickered down to my neck, where my wolf’s presence was strongest and I felt his reaction to it. He- it feels like- crouches down and his tongue hangs out of his mouth, drooling all over.

Her pupils dilated, and her breath caught in her throat.

“You’re a werewolf, aren’t you?” she asked softly, almost as if she was testing the waters and Raven was delighted.

Ah, she wasn’t a wolf, or I would have sensed it. But she was something. I smiled tightly. “Is it that obvious?” It sort of irritated me a bit because I prided myself on not being typical.

Her grin was a little too knowing. “Not to everyone. But I can sense it. There’s something about you...” Her voice trailed off, and I felt the heat of her gaze again. This time, it was hotter, and it made me a bit uncomfortable.

I wasn’t sure why I didn’t pull away, but I didn’t. Instead, I let the moment stretch between us. My wolf was restless, thrumming in the back of my mind, urging me to move closer, to claim her.

And then she leaned in, just a little, her lips brushing my ear as she whispered, “My boyfriend’s got another girl with him, you know.”

My pulse skipped, first at the mention of ‘my boyfriend’ that annoyed my hearing which is Raven then the part with another girl. Her boyfriend was cheating on her... The shift in her tone was sudden, sharp. I chuckled dryly, unsure of what to say. “That sounds like his problem.” Is she insinuating what I think she is?

Her gaze flicked up to meet mine, her eyes sparkling in the dim light. “Maybe. But it’s still a little messed up, don’t you think? This was supposed to be us spending time together because we had not been too good, you know?”

What did that even mean? I swallowed something stirring in the pit of my stomach. “I don’t know. Relationships can be complicated.” I wanted to say more, but my words were caught in my throat as she brushed her hand against my arm, sending an unexpected shiver through me.

“He hurt me.”

Her touch was so feather-light and it felt too good. My entire body was responding to it. Every part. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted this- wanted her after smelling her, until right then. But something was pulling me toward her, something primal, something beyond the physical. It was my wolf’s aura. I could feel it, even if I wasn’t consciously projecting it. And she could feel it too.

Daisy’s breath hitched. She leaned in closer, her lips only an inch away from mine now. “I don’t want to feel this pain right now...” She was implying that we-

Before I could stop myself, I was kissing her. It was sudden, urgent, and all-consuming. She tasted of alcohol and something sweeter, something intoxicating. I pulled back for a moment, our lips still tingling from the contact, and I stared into her lunar-rimmed eyes. Something inside me, the wolf part of me, was roaring with desire, like never before.

My eyes were begging her to permit me to continue my assault on her.

The air between us crackled, and then she kissed me again.

That was all I needed. A minute later, I was dragging her out of the ship and into the resort to book us a room, praying there was one available. Before I knew it, we were stumbling into a room, the door slamming behind us. We were both under the control- or lack of it by the alcohol, but it wasn’t just the alcohol that had made everything seem so... irresistible. Maybe it was the sentimental holiday of love and Christmas spirit. Maybe it was my wolf, and her aura, wrapping around us like an invisible thread.

Who knows?

And as much as I knew it was reckless, as much as I knew I shouldn’t be here, I couldn’t stop. We were already too far gone, lost in the pull between us.

The next morning, the haze of alcohol had worn off, I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes, my head pounding when I am greeted by the most wonderful scent and I remembered Daisy. Raven is jumping around chasing his tail in excitement. Turning to pull her curvaceous body into mine, but I felt nothing and my heart thumped against my chest. The space beside me was empty.

Shit.

Daisy was gone.

All at once, my chest pained and Raven lets out a howl, then vanishes. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t known this was a one-time thing but I couldn’t help the frustration and ache bubbling in my chest as I stood up but stopped myself from chasing out the door to find her, knowing she was long gone by the faint smell of her. I ran my hands through my wavy, sleep-tousled hair, unsure of what to do with myself. Placing my face between my hands, I release a pent-up cry- an agonizing one just as my heart felt.

Then I called Gabe.