Chapter Six The Alpha's Table
1236 Words
Chapter Six
The Alpha's Table
The Ravenswood Medical Wing was quieter in the mornings.
The rush of the previous day had settled into a comfortable rhythm. Healers moved through the halls with practiced efficiency, nurses exchanged warm greetings, and somewhere down the corridor someone laughed.
Laughed.
The sound still caught Aveline off guard.
No one laughed in Ashmoor's infirmary.
Pain lived there.
Fear lived there.
Silence lived there.
Here...
Life did.
She sat in the sunroom wrapped in a light wool shawl, a thick book open in her lap. It was an illustrated guide to medicinal herbs from the northern territories, one Doctor Whitmore had left for her after learning how much she loved to read.
Aveline traced the drawing of a silverleaf fern with her fingertip.
"They only grow above eight thousand feet..."
"...interesting."
"You read quickly."
She jumped.
Doctor Whitmore smiled from the doorway.
"I-I'm sorry."
The older woman laughed softly.
"For reading?"
"No..."
Aveline frowned.
"I startled."
"You startled."
Whitmore corrected gently.
"You don't need to apologize every time something happens."
Aveline smiled sheepishly.
"I'm trying."
"I know."
The healer walked over carrying another scanner.
"And you're doing very well."
The morning examination was encouraging.
"The swelling is almost gone."
Whitmore carefully unwrapped the bandages around Aveline's burned hand.
Healthy pink skin had replaced most of the angry blisters.
"Remarkable."
She turned the hand over.
"Ordinarily burns like this would've taken weeks."
Aveline looked down.
"I've always healed quickly."
Whitmore smiled knowingly.
"I imagine you have."
She wrapped the hand again before placing the scanner aside.
"One more day."
"And then?"
"You'll be free to leave the infirmary."
Panic flashed across Aveline's face.
"Leave?"
Whitmore nodded.
"You'll be staying in the guest residence."
"I..."
Her breathing quickened.
"I should go back."
"No."
The single word was firm.
"Aveline."
"Theodore has formally invoked Sanctuary."
She frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means no pack may remove an injured wolf from Ravenswood protection without our Alpha's permission."
She stared.
"There... there's a law?"
"There are many."
"And Ashmoor?"
"They're not happy."
Whitmore smiled faintly.
"But they cannot touch you while Sanctuary stands."
Across the Citadel...
Alpha Marcus Ashmoor was discovering exactly how powerful that law truly was.
"You can't be serious."
Marcus stood in the Council administration office glaring across a polished mahogany desk.
The elderly magistrate adjusted his glasses.
"I'm entirely serious."
Marcus slapped one hand against the desk.
"She's my pack member."
"She is."
"And my servant."
The magistrate's eyebrows rose.
"I would advise choosing your words more carefully."
Marcus clenched his jaw.
"I want her returned."
"You'll have to take that up with Alpha Theodore."
"I intend to."
The magistrate folded his hands.
"Then I suggest you prepare for disappointment."
That afternoon...
Aveline wandered into the hospital library.
Unlike Ashmoor's forgotten collection, this room was immaculate.
Thousands of books lined polished walnut shelves.
Large windows overlooked snow-covered mountains.
Comfortable chairs sat beside crackling fireplaces.
There was even fresh tea waiting on a side table.
She stood in awe.
"So many..."
"You've found my favorite room."
She turned.
Rowan leaned casually against the doorway.
Gone was the imposing Beta from the courtyard.
Today he looked...
Almost ordinary.
Dark trousers.
Rolled sleeves.
No sword.
Only a leather-bound notebook tucked beneath one arm.
"I'm sorry."
"I was just looking."
"I know."
He smiled.
"That's what libraries are for."
She looked embarrassed.
"We weren't allowed in ours."
Rowan's smile disappeared.
"You weren't?"
"No."
"I only came before sunrise."
"When no one noticed."
He looked around the room.
"What did you read?"
"Everything."
He laughed.
"Everything?"
She nodded.
"History."
"Economics."
"Medicine."
"Botany."
"Architecture."
She hesitated.
"Poetry."
Rowan blinked.
"You read economics..."
"...for fun?"
A tiny smile appeared.
"I liked knowing how things worked."
He couldn't help smiling back.
Theo was going to lose his mind when he realized his mate secretly taught herself economics.
A knock interrupted them.
One of the younger warriors appeared.
"Beta?"
"What is it?"
"The Alpha requests Miss Aveline's presence."
Every muscle in Aveline's body tightened.
"I..."
She looked toward Rowan.
"Did I do something wrong?"
His expression softened immediately.
"No."
"Theo simply wishes to speak with you."
She stood slowly.
"Will he be angry?"
"No."
"I promise."
She nodded once.
Though her hands still trembled.
The Ravenswood private dining room overlooked the western cliffs.
Unlike the massive banquet hall, this room felt almost... home-like.
One long oak table.
Large windows.
Fresh flowers.
A fire crackling in the hearth.
Theodore stood near the windows speaking quietly with another Alpha.
The moment he noticed Aveline enter, he ended the conversation immediately.
The other Alpha smiled politely before excusing himself.
Theo waited until the door closed.
Only then did he turn toward her.
"Miss Aveline."
She immediately lowered into a curtsy.
"My Alpha."
His heart twisted.
"You don't need to curtsy."
She looked horrified.
"I don't?"
"No."
He pulled out a chair.
"Please."
She stared at it.
Then at him.
Unsure.
"You may sit."
"I..."
She remained standing.
"I'm not permitted."
Theo frowned.
"Permitted?"
"Servants don't sit with Alphas."
Silence filled the room.
Theo slowly realized...
She genuinely believed it.
He pulled the chair out another inch.
"You aren't serving dinner."
"No."
"You've been invited as my guest."
"I..."
She looked at the chair as though it might disappear.
"I don't understand."
His voice became impossibly gentle.
"You don't have to."
"Just trust me."
After a long hesitation...
She sat.
Perched on the very edge.
Ready to leap back up if she'd broken some invisible rule.
Theo sat beside her.
Not at the head of the table.
Beside her.
She noticed immediately.
"You should sit there."
She pointed toward the Alpha's chair.
He smiled.
"I prefer this one."
A servant entered carrying dinner.
Aveline instinctively stood.
"I can help—"
Theo gently touched the back of her chair.
"No."
"They'll manage."
She looked at the servants bustling around the room.
"They're working."
"They are."
"And you're recovering."
The meal arrived.
Roasted duck.
Fresh vegetables.
Warm bread.
Rich stew.
Aveline's eyes widened.
"There is far too much."
Theo glanced toward the servants.
"Please package whatever remains."
The head butler nodded.
"Of course, Alpha."
Aveline looked confused.
"For tomorrow?"
Theo smiled.
"For the shelters."
"We never waste food."
She stared at him.
"You... feed rogues?"
"We feed people."
The simplicity of the answer left her speechless.
For several minutes they ate in comfortable silence.
Finally Theodore spoke.
"I've been told you enjoy books."
She looked up.
"A little."
Rowan nearly choked on his drink.
Theo looked between them.
"A little?"
Rowan grinned.
"She reads economics for fun."
Theo blinked.
"Economic theory?"
Aveline shrank slightly.
"I'm sorry."
Theo frowned.
"For having interests?"
"No..."
She looked genuinely confused.
"For speaking."
Theo slowly set down his fork.
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then quietly said...
"Aveline."
She looked up.
"I hope one day..."
"...you stop apologizing for existing."
The room became perfectly still.
Aveline felt something inside her chest ache in a way she couldn't explain.
No one...
Had ever suggested she deserved to exist before.
She lowered her eyes before he could see the tears gathering there.
Outside, unnoticed by everyone in the dining room, the full moon rose above the Citadel.
Deep within Aveline's soul, the exhausted silver she-wolf sleeping beneath ancient branches stirred for the first time in years.
Not awake.
Not yet.
But somewhere in the darkness...
She had heard his voice.
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