The Code Of The Alpha

Chapter 6

After driving around for a few minutes, we stopped next to a water tower that was so tall it peaked over the tops of the trees around us.

A man was standing under a tree at the base of the tower, waiting for us. He was tall and of an athletic build. His skin, a rich shade of brown, was a stark contrast to the white t-shirt he wore. His shirt was tucked into cargo pants, which were held at the waist by a thick belt that holstered a gun. Hair shaved to his scalp, I could immediately tell he was of the no-nonsense types.

Luca drove up next to him and rolled down his window to hand him my phone.

"Carrie, this is Lincoln," Luca introduced.

I smiled and he nodded curtly.

Never saying a word, Lincoln took the phone from Luca and turned to walk back towards the tower. He opened a door at the base of it and went inside.

"He works inside a water tower?" I asked.

"It's not a water tower, it's an office. He's my chief officer of information and technology. He runs a team out of IT guys out of the tower in addition to the pack's main security crew. Lincoln's one of the smartest men I know," he commented.

I looked up to see a few men walking along an observation ramp that sat on top of the tower. They looked to be surveilling everything that fell beneath and around the tower.

Luca used a PIN pad that was attached to his door handle to unlock the door before opening it and letting me walk past him. I noted it was the same four numbers that were used to open the gate.

When I walked in, a large laundry room was to my right with windows that overlooked the driveway. To my left was the entrance into a kitchen that was bigger than my old apartment.

White cabinets sat along the lower and upper part of the walls with a wide window along one wall where the sink was, letting in ample amounts of daylight. A large soapstone-capped island was sitting in the middle of the kitchen and was lined by six

countertop chairs on one side.

I had never been in a kitchen that big.

Natural hardwood floors ran the length of the kitchen and into the dining area that it opened up to where a long wooden dining table was placed under a simple iron chandelier. To the right of the dining area was a circular staircase that led up to the second floor and down into the basement.

Further on was the living room that boasted a fifty-foot cathedral ceiling and a large stone fireplace.

I took off my backpack and placed it on the ground next to the large, leather sectional sofa.

Walking around slowly, I stepped over to the right side of the room where several glass doors lined up against the wall to lead out onto a balcony that ran the length of the back of the house.

From where I stood, I could see a bed swing and several other pieces of outdoor furniture that had been placed out on the covered deck.

Luca brushed past me to carry my bags into a hallway past the fireplace. Out of curiosity, I followed him to a set of double doors that he opened to reveal a master suite.

The first thing that caught my attention was the windows that made up the far wall behind the bed, showing off the view of the lake and the mountains in the distance.

"This is your room," I said presumptively.

"It's our room now, amore."

I gave Luca a side-eyed glare as he said this, making him laugh.

"I'm not sleeping in here with you," I said.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

Luca crossed his arms. "This isn't up for discussion."

"No one said it had to be," I argued.

"There's nothing to be discussed. I'll sleep in a guest room."

"I don't have a guest room," he told me.

I narrowed my eyes. "You're telling me you only have one bedroom in a house this big?"

When Luca faltered, I smiled.

"I'Il sleep in a guest room," I repeated.

Before he could protest further, a doorbell rang.

Luca and I walked back out into the living room where the front door was.

Standing on the other side of the door was a familiar stranger. Luca opened the door to let him in and I immediately recognized his messy brown hair and tanned complexion.

When we both saw each other, we froze.

"I know you!" we both blurted at the same time.

"You're the guy I ran into at the restaurant in Vegas," I recalled aloud, shocked to see him again.

He reached out to shake my hand. "I'm Bates, Bates Thompson," he said, introducing himself.

"I'm Luca's Beta."

"Carrie Blair," I said, shaking his hand.

We both stood there somewhat stunned.

"I guess that explains it then," Bates said, looking at Luca. My eyebrows furrowed and Bates hurried to clarify.

"We couldn't figure out how l'd gotten your scent on me that night," Bates said.

"Especially since I hadn't entertained the company of any females, if you know what I mean."

He gave me an exaggerated wink, causing me to smile. Bates walked over to Luca and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Looking around the room, he sighed.

"The day has finally come, dude," he said.

"We have to say goodbye to the bachelor pad."

Luca shrugged off his hand, glaring at Bates as he did so. I saw Bates' eyes widen before he turned to me.

"Not that we ever did anything bad as bachelors," he said quickly. "There were never strippers here or anything, we just played video games and watched hockey."

I raised an eyebrow and Luca let out a long sigh.

"I think you should probably go," he said to Bates.

Bates looked at him with a confused expression.

"I just got here."

When Luca's hard stare persisted, Bates held his hands up in surrender.

"Fine, I'll leave. I just came over to let you know that Blaine needed to push back tomorrow's meeting until Tuesday."

"Yeah, right," Luca said in disbelief.

"Blaine already called to tell me that. You came over here because you're nosey."

Bates shrugged, flashing me a playful wink.

"See you guys later!" he yelled out behind him as he walked out the front door. "Oh! You should also probably wait until she's met the pack to start the baby-making, yeah?"

Luca slammed the door shut before Bates could say anything else. I heard him laughing to himself as he left the porch and walked out to the driveway where a red, door-less Jeep was parked.

Luca turned to look at me, sighing as he did so.

"As you can tell, I'm not really used to the silent treatment."

I nodded.

"Evident in more ways than one."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Luca asked.

Instead of answering, I turned and walked over to one of the balcony doors and opened it to walk outside. I noticed then that the house was on a hill. While we were technically on the first floor, the backyard was a level below us.

In the backyard was a large underground pool with an attached hot tub and waterfall. Below me, I could see a concrete patio where a fire pit was cemented into the ground, surrounded by more outdoor seating.

"Pool access is downstairs in the game room," Luca said, walking out behind me.

" Just in case you're interested in a swim."

I turned to look at him.

"Do you live by yourself?"

He nodded, leaning against the railing beside me.

"Why do you have such a big house if it's only you?" I asked.

Luca shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess the size isn't really necessary now. I was just planning for the future when I built it."

"You built this house?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.

He nodded.

"Not by myself, of course."

"It's beautiful." I admitted.

"I'm glad you like it."

I glanced over at Luca to see him looking at me intently.

"Not everything is what it seems here," Luca said.

I looked at him warily, trying to decipher the ominous meaning of his words.

After we left the water tower, Luca turned onto a narrow road and drove down a hill to another gated entrance.

He rolled down his window once more to reach out and type a PIN number in against a small glass panel that was jutting out from a tree next to the road.

The panel turned green and the gate in front of us slid backward, allowing us to continue down the narrow road.

He drove up to a clearing where a large cabin sat on the edge of a stunning blue lake. It overlooked the expanse of water and the range of mountains in the distance.

He circled the driveway to the four-car garage that was attached to the house by a breezeway. Luca pressed a button on a remote that was clipped to his car visor and one of the garage doors opened.

Once parked inside, Luca unbuckled and got out of the truck. I followed, not knowing what else to do.

As I got out and grabbed my backpack, I noticed the two other cars in the garage.

One was a charcoal gray Jeep with a canvas roof and tires bigger than I was. The other was seemingly some kind of sports car. I couldn't make out what it was because it was concealed by a fitted car cover.

On the other side of the garage were a pair of four-wheelers, a dirt bike, and a four-seater go-cart that looked like it was made for off-roading.

I couldn't help but be somewhat impressed by Luca's collection of vehicles. However, I did wonder what was under the dust cover.

Walking out of the garage, I came to stand in front of the grand mountain home that I assumed belonged to Luca.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Luca said dryly, walking up behind me with my duffle bag and suitcase in his hands.

There was nothing humble about the three-story lodge that sat in front of us. I nervously adjusted the backpack that was slung over my right shoulder, following Luca as we walked towards the house.

Built from white stucco and stone, it had thick wooden beams running along the exterior and supporting the front porch. Board and batten shutters framed the many large windows that were

plastered along the front of the house. Despite its cozy cabin feel, the grandiose size of the home made it seem much more intimidating than a simple lake house.

As we walked along a stone path to the open breezeway that led to a side entrance, I couldn't help but notice how quiet it was.

There were no neighboring homes in sight, not even the road was visible.

His home was definitely in an isolated part of the pack land.