Alpha Rising

Chapter Fourteen

Alvira's P.O.V.

It had been easy to power through that first hour, packing and sharing a rushed goodbye with Nell. But saying goodbye to Alban was truly harder than any challenge I’d faced in my life thus far. It wasn’t forever, by any means. But it would be for a while. Jacob and Cecilia had met me at the door to the packhouse and shared a few words with me, my young baby brother even going so far as to cling to my leg protectively when I started to move. Cecilia pulled him away, but not without letting some of her own sadness show. Sure, she may be a ‘completely independent teenager’, but she and I had a good and caring relationship.

I pulled her close for another hug and quietly reminded her that she could call or text me about anything at any time of the day or night. I knew what it was like being a young she-wolf in the pack, and how hard it would be to overcome some of her trials as she matured.

Alban was nowhere to be seen, however. And even three hours later, halfway into the drive from Black Opal’s packhouse to Star Garnet’s, that thought bothered me. I could feel Nikolai stir in the seat beside me; his Beta Trevor was driving the large blacked-out SUV with an enforcer riding shotgun, so the two of us had been settled in the middle row of seats with two more enforcers in the third row behind us.

“Are you…” he started, trailing off when I looked sidelong at him. From the way his eyes dropped and how he cleared his throat, I knew he could sense my pain and my confusion. We’d spent these first three hours in near silence save for Trevor trying and failing to make lighthearted conversation to lift the mood. Try as he might, he just couldn’t hold either of our attention for long enough to make a difference.

That is until he locked eyes with me through the rearview mirror and flashed a simple but charming grin in my direction. “Hey, Vira,” Trevor said with a bright lift to his voice. “You know, you’re the first person to ever get Nikki boy here to speak up for more than ten minutes at a time?”

I could tell that the joke started to ruffle at least a few of my mate’s feathers, but it was enough to make me smile some. This little bit of encouragement seemed to encourage Trevor. His dark brown hair was pushed back from a tanned, rugged face, and light brown eyes glimmered with mischief and familiarity as he continued. “Oh yeah,” he continued teasing. “Wouldn’t shut up at all last night. Went on and on for hours abo-”

But he was quickly cut off by the fierce roll of Nikolai’s Alpha push, with a growl so deep that it almost made the seat rumble. Trevor shivered and stiffened before shaking off what I could only assume was an uneasy feeling, and the rest of the car ride was passed in quiet mild conversation. It felt nearly claustrophobic at times, but at one point in the quiet Nikolai’s hand had found mine. It was a subtle brush of his thumb, but it was a gesture of comfort and care. I only wished he’d show more, or at least open himself up to the possibility.

When the SUV eventually rolled to a stop at the end of a long curved driveway, one of the guardians stepped out and motioned for me to stay put with a simple gesture. Nikolai had already exited the car on his side, and before I could ask what was happening, the door was shut and I was left alone while he conferred in hushed tones with one of the other fighters that had been on watch outside the large wooden packhouse doors. They kept looking back in my direction, and then beyond me, so I turned to look back out of my window. It was facing a treeline thick with brush and pine, and from it emerged several wolves of all sizes. I could feel their eyes on me, even through the tinted glass as they all took their time passing by the SUV before entering the packhouse, but I felt no fear or animosity. These weren’t attackers. These were Nikolai’s people.

Once the last of them, a smaller wolf with a light honey-colored fur, passed me by, Nikolai was there to open my door and help me out onto the gravel drive. “What was all of that?” I asked him quietly, still staring up the steps to the main door that now sat partially open in anticipation of our arrival.

“The rumor mill,” he said with a sigh. I felt his hand at my back and instantly sensed a heat rising in my cheeks. He could feel it too I assumed because I felt his fingers press firmer on my back in an almost possessive way. But the sensation quickly vanished as we rounded the car and I stood face to face with a thin older woman sitting in a wheelchair. Behind her stood a young man around my age, but he seemed to only be there to help her maneuver the chair.

Her skin was pale, and her cheeks were sunken in with a sallow sickness that tugged at the strings of my heart in the tightest way imaginable. Her blue eyes shone with a beauty and a grace that held more than what I could only assume her years would allow. This woman had once been proud and strong. Greying hair was plaited loosely with the long ends cascading over her shoulder like a silvered scarf.

“Nikolai,” she said in a warm and soft voice, leaning up to kiss both of my mate’s cheeks when he bent closer to her. “You should have called. The cooks don’t have dinner ready yet.”

I could see the way she fretted over Nikolai, brushing little strands of his ashen hair away from his face and patting his hands when they found hers. He looked so warm like this, so caring and inviting. It was unlike the cold and strong demeanor he showed to the other Alphas, and different still to the distance he had been giving me.

Finally, he spoke, clearing his throat. “Mom,” he said before gesturing to me. Mom? Another glance had me seeing the similarities between them, especially along the jaw and in their noses. I’d heard my mother talk of Luna Irena before, but this woman looked so much frailer than her pictures together would have suggested. “This is Alvira, Alpha Zachary’s eldest daughter.”

Nikolai turned to me next and took my hand in his to extend it towards his mother. “Vira,” he started. “This is my mother, Irena.” She met my eyes with a curious understanding and a tone of respect, which I was happy to return with a courteous bow. Nikolai let my hand return to my side before he finally told her the whole of it. “She is fated to be my mate.”

Those words, though, made the seated woman smile ear to ear. It seemed like the best news she’d heard in years, with how much life it brought to her complexion. Had she not been wheelchair-bound, I was sure she would have lept up and wrapped herself around me in a tight bear hug. But as it were, she could not. She was gesturing for me to come closer though, as her coos and squeals of delight had her tongue-tied. Once I was within arm’s reach, I was right. She tugged me down and I nearly toppled onto her as she held me tightly to her chest. She let me go only enough to turn my head from side to side and truly appraise me.

“Well it’s about damned time!” she exclaimed to her son, despite our nervousness and mild embarrassment. “I prayed to the Moon Goddess every night that I could see you happy before-” Her thought trailed off, and she shook her head. Nikolai seemed to understand the sentiment and knelt to kiss her cheek affectionately. “Well,” Irena said with some enthusiasm. “Let’s get you inside and make this announcement, shall we?”

“Wait, now?” I asked in shock. “Is that why all of those people showed up?”

Nikolai looked over at me with a very tired shrug and a shake of his head. “I told you.” We were led up the stairs while the young man accompanying Irena helped to push her up an adjacent ramp. We were told to wait just a moment so that Irena could go ahead of us. Nikolai may have been the Alpha, but he and the rest of his pack still clearly looked up to her.

After she made a short announcement, the doors to the main hall were flung open and I was standing alongside him in front of a crowd of men and women of varying ages. Some men were already grinning to themselves, one man in the back looked like he slid another beside him a folded bill of some kind, shaking his head in surprise while the recipient laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

Others, namely several young women, stood on their own whispering behind raised hands and shooting daggers my way. That...didn’t surprise me. The same thing would likely happen to Richie whenever they would make the announcement about his bond with Alban. I felt the slight nudge of Nikolai’s shoulder hitting mine, and broke eye contact with a smaller woman- she had the same soft honey hair as the wolf who had lingered beside the car. “The rumor mill.”

Ah, so my assumption was right. She-wolves could often be vicious gossips. I’d found. Well, not all of them. Most were just fiercely loyal and protective of their families. But those that acted as pack faces to travel into towns and cities often stuck together. This group was likely a close-knit circle of shoppers and secretaries that worked for local pack-owned businesses.

A hand was at my back once more, only this time it was Trevor’s. He’d snuck up beside us at the front of the room and had brought a beautiful young woman up with him. She had sleek black hair and chocolate brown eyes, with a small and pretty mouth that seemed forever in a cute perky smile. But by far the most noticeable thing about her was just how visibly pregnant she was.

Even without introduction, she moved closer to me and wrapped me in a tight hug. So tight, in fact, that I was scared I was going to hurt the pup she was carrying. When she felt my hesitation, she pulled back but left her hands on my shoulders. “Trevor’s told me all about you,” she said, looking over to him as he shook Nikolai’s hand and exchanged a few words with Irena. “Vira. It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Sheena, Trevor’s mate.”

Once she said that I could notice the faint mark on the curve of her neck from where he would have bitten during the ceremony. It felt rude, staring as I did, but I shook it off just in time to let the realization hit me with genuine happiness. I may not know her yet, but she just had this bright and calming air about her. “I am so rude, oh my god,” I said with a laugh. “Trevor mentioned you on the car ride up, said this little one is your first?”

“Mmmm, that’s true she is,” Sheena said, letting a hand rest on her swollen stomach. “Just a few more weeks now.” She had looked like she wanted to say more, but was quick to flash me a wink as she stepped around me to move to Irena’s side. “We’ll chat later, after you settle in,” she whispered to me as she passed.

It felt nice, already having someone on my side like that. A pit in my stomach opened up when I thought of Nell, and how much I would give to have her here with me for all of this. But I had to trust my pack. And though they didn’t fully deserve it, I had to trust my parents.

My thoughts drifted to them again later, too. It was after the large dinner that was prepared for the lot of us. Everything moved so quickly that it had all gone by in such a blur. I remember faces, mainly. No names yet. So many men and women had come to me and introduced themselves, I didn’t think there would ever be a way for me to remember them all.

It wasn’t until I was shown to a large room on one of the upper floors of the house, where all of my bags had been brought, that I really took a moment just to breathe. The room was too dark to appreciate by now, and I didn’t feel much like turning on a light. So I made my way to the large bed in the center of the room and flopped face-first into the pillows.

It felt like only a moment before I drifted off to sleep. There was a flash, bright light that passed over my eyes despite my having just closed them. I blinked once, twice, and then shook my head to get rid of the spinning around me. My hand met my head and I groaned, though it didn’t sound right. The room also didn’t look…correct. It was bright and familiar, but it wasn’t what I’d just walked into.

Was I dreaming? I had to be.

Because this looked an awful lot like- and then I caught sight of the mirror. I was staring right into the reflection of my brother.

I was seeing Alban, through his own eyes.

I looked down at his hands and noticed them shaking. This felt far too real to be a dream. I could smell his shampoo, see his room. I could hear Richie snoring on the bed behind me-er…him. I brought the hand up and could even feel his stubble at the lightest touch. Anxiety rocked through me, and I felt a disjointed pull at the pit of my stomach. In his body, I stumbled back until my legs hit the bed. And then everything went black again.

The contact jolted me, and I sat upright breathing hard. That...that was impossible. It couldn’t have been. It felt like I was sitting in the back seat of my mind for a moment. Like I wasn’t all the way there and in control. But as soon as I could feel the tingling in my hands fade and my heart return to normal, my cellphone rang.

Alban’s voice came in frantic as soon as I answered the call and held it to my ear.

“What the f**k was that?!”