Fated: Alphas of the Compass

Chapter 8 - New Friends and Gentle Words

Falling asleep in a new place has never been easy for me, but when Erylis, Ellyana, and I have finished our excited conversation about what the next few months will hold, I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the plush pillows of my huge bed.

The Opal suite is absolutely beautiful. Furnished in soft cream and ivory with cozy accents of mint and pink, my room is even more comforting than the room in my family's home. Erylis and Ellyana's rooms are almost identical, but with soft purple, blue, and pink accents. Our suite opens to a small kitchen, comfortable living area, and a cozy dining area at the far end. On one side, three doors open to our rooms, and on the other side is the large, lavish bathroom, complete with a large shower and massive soaking bathtub.

Each bedroom has a bed, desk, private sitting area, and a walk-in closet fit for a princess. I took one look at it and knew filling it would be expensive. My priestess dresses barely fill half of a rack in the room.

After getting up and fixing some coffee, we tackle our closets. When going through my priestess dresses — all in varying shades of blue, silver, and black — we manage to find a pretty navy blue one. It doesn't look too much like something a priestess would wear, with a removable hood and simple long sleeves, so it should be suitable to go shopping in. Erylis and Ellyana pick a nice light blue and grey, respectively, and we head out the door when the temple bell chimes eight times.

My friends look to me expectantly, and I can see the excitement in their eyes. "I can tell you two are excited," I say, attempting to be serious for a moment. "But we can't let them buy too much. I don't want any of us to feel indebted to them, especially since I'll have to reject three of them."

With that, Ellyana gets a small smile, and Erylis and I both hear her mutter, "Well you don't have to reject three of them. You might enjoy having more than one mate." We look at her, open mouthed, for a moment, before the three of us dissolve into a fit of giggles.

A throat clears behind us, and we sober up quickly before turning to see Ronyn and Emron standing behind us. Ronyn quirks an eyebrow at Ellyana and says, "Is that something you would be interested in, Stella? I'm sure none of us would mind having a third join the party once we're truly mated, would we, Emron?" He smirks and turns to my other mate, who sputters for a moment, turning bright red. Of all my mates, Emron was not the one I had expected to be shy when it came to what happens in the bedroom. He seems so confident in everything. The thought makes me giggle.

Both males look at me strangely, and I feel my face warms, but I don't try to explain my laugh. "Where are Elias and Luka?" I ask, not-so-subtly changing the subject. My friends nod beside me, knowing exactly what I'm doing.

"They're waiting outside. We thought all four of us coming to get you might have been a bit excessive," Emron replies, looking obviously relieved at the change in topics. I'll have to see if he's more confident with that topic by himself.

As I have the thought, Emron's ears turn pink, like I had said the thought out loud. Did he hear me? I wonder if he's the only one. Hmm, this could be fun later on.

I see his ears turn a deeper shade of pink, and I have to hold back another giggle. To test my theory, I start to think of Emron, Ronyn, and I sitting on a bed, each of them slowly kissing my neck and unfastening the buttons on my dress. I think of their hands sliding up my thighs, torturously slow.

I look and see a smirk on Ronyn's face, and Emron is now a deep red. That answers that question. I chuckle to myself as we head down the stairs. Elias and Luka wait at the bottom, both blushing. So all four of them can hear my thoughts? Goodbye, privacy. Ronyn chuckles quietly, and I see Elias and Luka smile.

I turn and take Emron's arm. "So, where are we going first?" I ask, trying to distract him from my earlier thoughts. Elias holds the door for us as we walk out into the cold morning, and I shiver.

Emron turns and slips off his leather jacket, hanging it to me. Ronyn does the same for Erylis, and Elias for Ellyana. We slip them on, and I laugh to myself. They jackets are quite a bit bigger on us, but quite a bit warmer than only our dresses. Emron clears his throat after staring at me for a moment, giving his head a small shake before saying, "Well, first, we're going to get you something warmer to wear. All of you. It's too cold for you to be wearing something so thin. Don't priestesses have anything warmer?" Ellyana and Erylis shake their heads.

"No," I start, "We don't usually leave the temple, so we don't really have a need for anything warmer. And since I didn't really get to bring anything from Aurora..." I trail off, glancing shyly at Ronyn. The other alphas look to him accusingly, and he has the good sense to look ashamed.

He gives me a meaningful look. "I want to be better, you know. I don't agree with all of the traditions and standards implemented by past alphas. I do want to do better by everyone in my pack, not just those with their wolves." He looks away and walks a little ahead of the group, wanting to get away from the accusatory glances of my other mates and pitying looks of my friends.

We walk for a few moments to get into the town proper, and stop into a clothing shop. The girls behind the counter glance excitedly at each other, seeing the handsome males first. Their faces fall when they see that they aren't alone.

One, a girl with light blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes, walked over to us, smiling warmly. "Welcome," she said, more to us females than the males, strangely enough. "What can we assist you with today?"

"Warm clothes for these three, and potentially some clothes that fit the other packs' climates. They will be travelling for the competition," Emron says, looking at a rack of heavy jackets. "Is there a shop in town with formal wear? They will be in need of that as well."

The girl's eyes widened as he listed things off, looking to us excitedly. "Wonderful! You can look at your leisure," she says, sweeping a hand out and gesturing to the store. She looks at us again and, seeing my friends' uncertain gazes, adds, "or I can assist you, if that would be better?" At that, my friends give her a relieved look and nod. The girl perks up and smiles wider, if that were possible. "In that case, I'm Alliya. Is there anything specific you'd like to look for?"

Erylis nods shyly. "Do you have any pants that are warm, but easy to move in?" she asks, looking uncertain. Erylis has never worn anything other than the priestess gowns we all wear, so it makes sense that she would be out of her element. Alliya nods, and gestures to one side of the shop.

"Yes! These leggings are insulated, but you wouldn't even be able to tell! I'm actually wearing them now." She shows us the pair of teal leggings she wears under a long grey shirt, and we all nod along.

After another two hours in the shop picking out lots of clothes suited for each pack's climate, we leave with multiple bags in hand and directions to the dressmaker's shop down the road. In those two hours, the four of us become fast friends. Alliya holds the door for us all and joins in the laughter at a joke Ellyana tells quietly.

"Come back soon, and not just for the shopping! I can't remember the last time I've laughed so much," she says as we turn to leave. I look to my two friends and see the biggest smiles on their faces. Who knew leaving the temple would make all of us this happy?

I take Luka's arm, choosing to spend a little more time with him. He looks at me in surprise, delighted at the attention. "Why did Emron say we would need formal wear?" I ask him. "Am I going to have to attend a lot of formal parties as a Luna?" Luka nods, grinning.

"Court parties are amazing in Duskfall! There's fantastic food, and lots of music and swimming and dancing. We even have games on the beach. I'd imagine they're different in each pack, but I think our beach parties are the best," he says, winking. These males take a lot of pride in their packs. I can't wait to see all of them for myself!

"I disagree," Elias chimes in, grabbing my other arm. Luka scowls, but wisely says nothing. "Nothing beats the fire ceremonies in Nocturne. When the moon is high and the stars are bright, nothing warms a Nocturne Luna like a Nocturne fire pit." He grins at me, ignoring Luka's frustration.

"The wind festival is exciting as well," Emron adds, stepping towards us. "Children make kites for competitions, and we release the season's Irien hatchlings. They're beautiful when they all take flight."

I turn to Ronyn, expecting him to chime in. He does after a long moment, looking into the distance in the direction of our home. "The Snow Ball in Aurora are also a wonderful celebration. I never saw you at the one held at the main pack house, but I suppose it is a fairly large territory. I hope you enjoy, if you've never experienced it. It's a sight to behold," Ronyn says, still not meeting my eyes.

I reach out and put a hand on his arm. "I can't wait to see it. My father always told me about the Snow Ball. He met my mother there," I say, squeezing his arm gently. He smiles a little, but it doesn't reach his eyes. He only nods before moving to the back of the group as we walk.

After a little while longer, and more of my mates trying to make their territories sound the best, we make it to a shop. Ellyana, Erylis, and I all three gape at the beautiful dresses in the window. What kind of life have I stepped into?