The Loveless Alpha

Chapter Two

A sudden thud woke Kiara up and she groggily looked around the dark room she was in. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and she recognized that she was seated in her office. A flash of light caught her eye and she turned her head to see where the light was located. Kiara squinted her eyes and made out the outline of a keyboard that had produced the light. She pushed a random key and the brightness of the monitor temporarily blinded her.

Instantly a couple of tabs popped up that Kiara must have previously looked at. Her eyes scanned the first tab, which was just a detailed profile of a wanted rogue. A slow throbbing pain distracted her from the file and she gingerly touched the bottom of her chin. Kiara let out a silent hiss of pain as she pressed the bottom of her chin. She must've bumped it and it had already started to bruise. Luckily, it would be healed within a day.

Kiara scratched her arm and couldn't help but feel a little bit warm, which was odd because her office was always cold. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary but then again, she had just woken up.

A loud knock on the office door made her jump as she spun to face the visitor. The door slowly creaked open and revealed the silhouette of a semi-muscular man.

Even from the distance, Kiara knew who it was. The man smirked and turned on the light. The light flickered on and Kiara glared at the demented bright light. Aaron laughed at her expression as he closed the door behind him and walked closer to Kiara. He laid across the love-seat in her office and his bare feet hung over the armrest.

"Did you work so much you fell asleep?" Aaron said.

"Uh, probably. But the light was off when I woke up, did you do that?" Kiara asked.

"No, but whoever did that must've given you a jacket too."

"Wait? What?"

Kiara rotated her shoulder blades and she felt some fabric slide down her back. She turned around and realized that there had been jacket around her the entire time. That must've been the extra warmth. Aaron badly stifled a laugh and turned it into a cough.

"What?" Kiara demanded.

"There's drool on the side of your mouth," Aaron chuckled, unable to hold back his amusement.

Kiara's cheeks warmed as she hurried to wipe the drool off. After she was sure she had gotten it, she glared at Aaron. Kiara glanced at the computer screen to her right and saw the next tab was about the status of the pack house. Aaron patiently waited for someone to speak, but he didn't bother to start the conversation.

"I wish construction didn't take this long," Kiara finally groaned, "how much longer until the pack house is totally repaired?"

"A couple months, maybe?" Aaron said, unsure, "besides, parts of it are functioning and we can use them."

"But not the living quarters, which are the most important," Kiara pointed out, "I could care less about my fancy office right now. I just want some place where everyone can coincide."

Aaron shrugged as a lazy smile grew on his face, "Coincide? What's up with you and using big words?"

"I'm just trying something new."

"Anyways, the pack house isn't the biggest concern right now. We need to build up our perimeter and make sure we won't seem weak so there won't be any chances of us being attacked. We definitely don't need that, especially not now."

"Though I hate to admit it, if we were attacked right now, do you think we'd be wiped out?"

"Indefinitely. Though our training program is brilliant, we've just gotten back into the new aged world. There are new strategies to be learned and our numbers have been diminished."

"In total, how many people do you think are in our pack?"

Aaron rubbed his chin for a second, "Only forty-five at maximum."

Kiara let out a low whistle, "We're lower than expected. Are we recruiting fairly fast?"

"No. People have forgotten about us and to many people we are just a new unknown pack on the scene. Totally unlike the bloodthirsty persona we used to give off."

"That's shitty."

"Kiara, darling, you just have to make them know who we are again."

"Any recommendations?"

"Think about it yourself. You've been Alpha for over ten years, you must remember something."

Slowly a devilish grin appeared on Kiara's face, "I know just what to do."

- - -

Kiara munched on her cereal while her head rested on her open palm. She wanted to do nothing more than sleep but knew that she didn't have time for that. Her vision temporarily faded to black as her eyes tried to shut, but she forced them back open.

Dressed in a comfortable pair of black sweatpants and a white tank top, Kiara knew she looked worse for wear. She couldn’t remember the last time she had changed her clothes or even when she had eaten last. The cereal must’ve been her first meal in days. As she finished her cereal, she stirred the remaining milk around in the bowl aimlessly. Movement from the corner of her eye caused her to turn her head and focus on the person next to her.

His black hair was damp and his face had some stubble on it but still Levi managed to give her a charming smirk. Armed with a cup of coffee and a piece of burnt toast, he looked ready for the upcoming day.

"Oh, hey," Kiara said.

"Hey, yourself," Levi said before he took a gulp of his coffee.

"You've got the Beta position if you still want it," Kiara said and looked down at her milk.

Levi coughed and wiped at the corner of his mouth, "Really? Course I want it."

"Yeah, you were the most qualified."

"Thank you."

Kiara shrugged in response and fell silent.

"Did you really not have any idea of who I was yesterday?" Levi randomly asked, "you didn't seem to have any recognition of me, though we grew up together."

"Uh, no," Kiara said honestly, "I don't remember many people's names."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry."

She didn't really understand why she said it, but she felt like he deserved an apology. Levi took a bite of his toast in response, his shoulders hunched forward, and a few stray crumbs fell onto the counter. Kiara watched him for a second before she averted her gaze and emptied her bowl into the sink. Her eyes watched the milk as it fell from the bowl and then Kiara put the bowl into the dishwasher.

Kiara glanced back at Levi to see that he was gone. She hadn't even heard him leave. Maybe she was really losing her edge.