IVORY: The age of Gloarian

Chapter 7

    The great Alpha of Gloarian had made his mind up: he was going to get his mate back for her behaviour the last night. He had a plan in mind, and he intended to stick to it. Would he get a reaction out of his mate? Certainly, but perhaps it wasn’t the kind he was looking for. The Alpha had consistently forgotten that his one and only was as powerful as he in her community, but he refused to believe it for he would find himself regretting his rejection even more had he fully acknowledged the facts. 

    He approached the short office building where he knew she would be and knocked vigorously. If his intention was to make a statement in everything he did, he certainly had made it. His statements, however, were not very appreciated by the community of hybrids. It had been no secret to the rest of the hybrid population what had been going on in their territory, but most had nothing to say about it as they trusted their leader to handle the situation. Others, on the other hand, were most certainly not entirely convinced that their leader should trust the great Alpha, for they had heard the tales of his vicious nature and arrogant attitude. Now on their grounds, the hybrids had completely taken in the Alpha from head to toe, and day by day a new hybrid had changed their assumptions about the Alpha being a good ally. Betrayal was scribbled all over his face and everyone could see it but Eiva. Even Eliana had sensed the betrayal in his presence, but it wasn’t quite the betrayal the rest of the hybrids had been thinking of, it was the betrayal of love, one that Eliana was sure would result in Razaar being completely mateless. Of course, that thought didn’t bother Eliana a bit, but she had mostly kept her concerns about Eiva in that process, on the front lines. 

    It was for that reason that the leader had kept her calm as she opened the door to the infuriating Alpha that so obnoxiously had decided to barge into her office. 

    ‘Alpha, is there anything I can help you with?’ she began, walking back to her desk to take a seat. She had known this was going to be a messy conversation, and so she prepared for it as she sighed at the sight of his hyped up face. 

    ‘I do not appreciate disrespectful comments being made about me and the ability of my pack Eliana, so-’

    ‘Miss Genova’ she interrupted, knowing full well her interruption was going to drive Razaar off the edge. As expected, he trotted closer, until he stood towering her seated figure on the other side of her desk. 

    ‘I’ve had enough of your bull-’

    ‘Let me remind you Alpha, that it was you who started the exchange of disrespect. Please be aware that I have allowed you and your pack members into this territory in complete good will and therefore you should perhaps save your anger for someone else and give me the respect and gratitude I deserve for merely sheltering your Luna at a time of need. If you are incapable of doing so then you may take your ego and drag it back to your pack, and out of my territory.’ completed Eliana, stopping Razaar mid sentence. The woman radiated power in a way that drove the Alpha crazy, yet he stood still in his stance, in utter disbelief at the personality of his woman. How mad did she plan to drive the Alpha? 

    For once Razaar decided to take a moment before he spoke, taking a deep breath and thinking carefully about his next words. As much as the Alpha wished to rage upon his true mate, he hadn’t forgotten the upcoming war he was expecting, and so he knew the protection of his proclaimed mate would be vital. In that moment, Eliana was fully aware of what penetrated her mate’s mind, and she decided to play her best cards once again before Razaar could play his. 

    ‘I realise that you have a war coming up Alpha Solonov, and so I won’t hold your actions against you. But let this be a warning, if this happens again, I will have no choice but to terminate our agreement. There is a limit of what I can and cannot take, and you are very close to surpassing the lines of what I cannot and will not tolerate. Now if you will excuse me, I have work to get back to, but let me know if there is anything else you need’ she continued, infuriating the Alpha even more. Her tone enraged him more than he imagined, yet he clenched his fists and kept his calm, taking a seat in front of the gorgeous woman. 

    'I understand, and apologise, Miss Genova. Please allow me to make it up to you, is there anything I can help you with here at the office, any help with your pack finances?’ he faked, joining in on the game of falsehoods and niceness his mate had been playing with him. 

    ‘I appreciate the offer Alpha, but I’m good, thank you. Shouldn’t you be spending time with your Luna?’ commented Eliana, trying desperately to get rid of her mate from her sight. 

    ‘She’s gone to the school you allowed her to visit’ he curtly stated, clearly not ecstatic over Eliana’s push of freedom towards Eiva. He had slowly but surely started to notice the slight changes of behaviour within a woman he had completely under control, and it was bothering him to the core. What bothered him more, however, was that had it not been for his true mate, his proclaimed mate wouldn’t have taken a second mould to her character. 

    ‘You don’t sound too happy about that’ noted Eliana, taking a sudden interest in the revelation of the matter. She dropped her pen on the table as she faced the Alpha and patiently awaited a response. 

    ‘I’m not. The whole reason my Luna is here to begin with is so she would be safe, not wandering around schools where she could be in danger any minute’ he stated, lying to his mate’s face. It was a lie that Eliana saw right through, and was enjoying excavating the truth out of her mate in a way that would annoy him the most. 

    ‘The whole reason she is here is to be safe. I can’t imagine why something should happen to her in a school on my territory. After all, schools are very centered on my grounds, it would take intruders some a lot of battling before they can reach the youth of this community. Don’t take me for a fool Alpha, I know what I’m doing and I’m a better leader than you’ve been insinuating these past days’ she finished, frankly having enough of his remarks. 

    ‘If that’s the case then why is it that you seem more distracted hanging out with my Omega than fulfilling your duties as a leader Miss Genova?’ Razaar questioned with tranquility, attempting to turn the tables on his mate. He had seen the scoff she released as he posed the question. Clearly he hadn’t thought it through, for now he had revealed his point of anger and jealousy, giving Eliana a much clearer outlook on his intentions. 

    ‘Is that what this is about? You're jealous because your third in command has been flirting with me?’ Asked Eliana in disbelief. How dare he? How dare he target her for such a thing when he marked and mated an entirely different woman to him? Who did he think he was? And what a bloody hypocrite! The mate of the Alpha found herself glaring at him, waiting for his response. 

    ‘I have a mate of my own, so why would I be concerned about that Miss Genova?’ flipped Razaar. Eliana stood up from her seat, waiting expectantly for Razaar before she responded. 

    ‘Exactly, then I don't see why it’s any of your business whom I befriend and bed. After all, I’m a free woman at liberty to do whatever I want’ she retorted, earning a growl from the big, bad Alpha. It seemed that Razaar couldn’t control himself when the image of his mate and another man popped into his head, and the growl came tumbling out without his consent. It had earned a smirk from Eliana, who knew exactly the reaction it had had on her mate. 

    ‘I don’t care who you sleep with. Leave my Omega out of it, he has other duties to fulfill’ forced Razaar despite knowing just how much rubbish was coming out of his mouth. Eliana smiled as she responded

    'I regret to inform you Alpha that it isn’t I chasing after your Omega, it is him chasing after me’ she began, walking round the table to face her mate where he stood before continuing ‘besides, it certainly isn’t up to you to decide who your third in command can and cannot sleep with. After all, those are after hours activities, they have no way of interfering with his working hours’ finished, successfully hitting the nerve she had hoped to hit. 

    In less than a second, Razaar had finally fulfilled his wish and pinned his mate to the wall, entrapping her by placing his arms on the space above her. 

    ‘Don’t test my limits Eliana’ he said, freely using her name for once. The bold woman pushed him away, walking out of his cage, back to where her seat was. 

    ‘Don’t forget your own, Razaar. You have no right to tell me what I can and can’t do. Not only am I the leader of the very grounds you’re currently standing on, I am also your rejected mate, and I therefore am at liberty to do whatever I please. I suggest you stay out of my business and return to your proclaimed mate before you end up doing something you might regret’ she finalised, returning to her paperwork without a glance at her fuming mate. 

    After having realised the amount he had let slip, Razaar got a grip of his thoughts, and stormed right out of her office. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get far before his proclaimed mate appeared right before him, a startled look on her face at the apparent state of his anger.

    ‘Razaar what’s wrong love? Did something happen with Eliana?’ she questioned in a tone that managed to piss the Alpha off even more, if that was even possible. 

    ‘Everything’s alright. I’m going for a run’ he squeezed the words out, holding his temper together by a string before disappearing without waiting for a response. The man changed mid air before landing on all fours and dashing off into the distance, and away from his testing mate. 

    The confused Eiva walked straight into Eliana’s office, the urgency transparent on her face. ‘Eliana, what’s wrong with him? Did he say something?’ she questioned, knowing already that the woman was innocent, no matter what the situation had been. Elinana’s gaze fell upon Eiva’s with a sense or normality that confounded the naive woman even more. 

    ‘Of course, what happened? Is something wrong?’ she questioned in turn, hiding even the slightest bit of frustration on her face. Eliana was aware that if she wanted to keep this backstory a secret, she would have to have great control over her expressions, and so it was as if she was an actress stuck in a play, she smiled, and didn’t let go of that smile until the other characters hadn’t disappeared from sight. 

    ‘Razaar, he just stormed out of here so I assumed something had happened’ she said, mostly to herself at the extent of disorientation she felt. She couldn’t quite place her finger on why Razaar suddenly hated the woman who had been helping them thus far. But then again, there were a lot of things the poor woman was unaware of, and the flame had yet to shed light upon all the secrets that were veiled from her. 

    ‘No, everything was alright, perhaps he just needed to let off some steam?’ suggested Eliana, taking the focus entirely off of her. Eiva had simply nodded, exasperated from the continuous detective work she had been doing. She had thought best to leave the matter be, and instead keep embracing the feeling of content she carried from her visit from the school. 

    That night Eliana travelled to the cliffs that belonged to her territory, a place she often went to for a breath of fresh air. She would sit right by the edge of the cliff, and lean on the bark of the tree that was conveniently placed not too far from the edge of the cliff. The day had turned to night and the stars emerged in the sky. It was a place that Eliana had kept private to herself and hadn’t shown anyone. Not even Syllia or Armellia. It was a place private to her thoughts, a chamber of her secrets. It was the only place she allowed herself to be vulnerable, and let go of feelings she didn’t wish to revisit in the future. At that very moment, the only feeling Eliana wished to rid herself of was the feeling of anxiousness that constantly surrounded the woman around her dear mate. She wanted to let loose, and not be constantly faced by the Alpha, that not only rejected her, but mocked her and controlled her for it. She wanted him to make a firm decision so she wouldn’t sit on the sidelines giving herself even the slightest bit of hope that she wished to deny she felt. 

    She wondered what her parents would have made of the situation, but couldn’t put a thought in her mind as she pictured her parents smiling at each other, consumed by bliss at the mere presence of one another. Secretly Eliana yearned for that kind of connection, but had remained a brave soul without it. And as the flame would have it, she would be rewarded one day, it just so happened that that day had not been in that very moment. 

    Dispersed into thought, she had been completely oblivious of the rumbling of the leaves behind her as her one and only mate approached her where she sat. He hadn’t been looking for her, but his wolf had played a role in subconsciously guiding him to where he stood. He stopped for a brief second, realising that she had yet to notice his presence, and took advantage of that moment to take in every detail of his mate. The thick, dark hair, eyes that held nothing but serenity and a figure he had wished to hold since the moment his eyes had landed on her for the first time. He thought about how they had ended up in this situation, and had it not been for his idiocracy, he would have been mating her every night rather than Eiva, a woman he was giving the worst of fates to. Looking out at her, he realised to himself that sooner or later he would give into the pull, but he would try his best to keep his distance, for he remembered the reason behind his rejection in the first place: her security. Razaar had already caused some damage in the life of Eliana, without even fully accepting her, and he just knew that the minute he would fully take her in, there would be a lot more that could go wrong. He had no faith whatsoever in the process laid out by the flame, and so he rebelled from the system that had been keeping peace for centuries across Zaleon, and pushed away the only valuable thing the flame would ever grant him allowance to. 

    It wasn’t long before Eliana finally noticed the presence of the strong Alpha behind her, that only caused her to let slip a tiny laugh before she turned back to the view ahead. 

    ‘What do you want now Razaar? Here to pick another fight?’ she questioned, not bothering to peek a second glance at the Alpha. Instead of answering, however, he found himself walking towards her, sitting down a safe distance away from her, but close enough for the two to engage in comfortable conversation with each other. 

    ‘I wanted to apologise’ he found himself saying, his mind taking full advantage of his momentary state of vulnerability. ‘I didn’t mean any of the harsh things I said, and I truly do appreciate you keeping Eiva safe’ he finished, not having any more to say. 

    Eliana was taken aback at the commnet, and for the longest time, remained silent and wide eyed. When she finally managed to speak, her words tumbled out with a slight stutter ‘I-it’s okay’ was all she could say. ‘I better head back to my cottage, it's getting pretty late’ she then stated, afraid of what was to come. She had not wished to elongate being in the presence of her mate, much less when he was actually being nice to her. She sped out of the scene faster than he imagined, and so he was left without the final word, and alone in only the air that held her mere moments ago. 

    The Alpha enjoyed the scent for a few brief moments before he too, took off into the direction of his own cottage. Inside, awaited his proclaimed mate, worried sick at his absence since the morning. 

    ‘Where have you been? You’ve had me worried sick all day!’ she exclaimed, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. ‘I get that you don’t like the hybrid leader but what have I ever done to you? Why is it that whenever something happens I too, have to pay the price of your issues?’ She asked, the tears finally dripping from her eyes, unable to take the weight of remaining in their shelter. Razaar’s calm sense had finally allowed him to properly focus his attention on his proclaimed mate, whom he had mistreated so much in the past days. Guilt took over his system as the man walked forward, and engulfed his best friend into a hug, the kind he had provided her with when her own mate had passed away. They stood in silence for a while before the calculated Alpha picked his next words with care. 

    ‘I’m sorry, I’ve been so stressed out about this war that I’ve been ignoring you and have been completely insensitive towards you. It won’t happen again’ he promised, placing a prompt kiss on Eiva’s lips. The woman had no words to respond with, instead, the couple simply looked between each other, before their lips reunited with reconciliation that soon led them under the covers of a warm bed on hybrid territory. For the rest of the night, the two engaged in a perilous game that was most certainly not going to end well in the long term. It was a shame that so much would be so different in the future for the trio, but it was a fate that the three had yet to open the doors to. 

    That night Eliana repeated the scene in her mind, disbelief still at the forefront of her head at the words the Alpha had muttered. That was the first time he had ever genuinely been nice to her, and it was an act that confused her entirely. Why was he suddenly being nice? What changed? What did this mean for the two of them? It was Eliana’s turn to be provoked as she tried to push back the bipolar comments of her mate. She refused to permit his kindness to take place in her heart, and forced herself to be the strong woman she knew she was, for he was still the Alpha that rejected her, and he was still with the proclaimed mate that Eliana had become quick friends with. Like the first time, Eliana firmly planted her mindset, creating a mental barrier between her and the Alpha, for she wished nothing more than to have him out of her life again. 

    It was then that Eliana knew that she had to do something to ensure she wouldn’t fall into the traps of her mate, and wouldn’t end up being one of those cliche girls that ended up running back into the arms of their mate at the mere sign of an apology. She was determined to plan a scheme that would ensure her safety and independence, and for once she planned to rebel against the flame the way she had been dying to do. Eliana knew that she had to proclaim a mate of her own to her community, for that was the only way to avoid being succumbed to the arms of her rejected mate, and she had to do it fast. She thought of all the members of her community that were eligible for the position, and let out a frustrated growl when she couldn’t come up with a single name that would match the role. She finally allowed herself to get some rest, promising herself that she would revisit the topic at daylight, and pick out the very best of candidates to drive her to her success. 

    The only question now was: who would be that successful candidate that may or may not have their head ripped off by the big, bad, great Alpha Solonov?