Alpha Rising

Chapter Eighteen

Alvira's P.O.V.

We had awoken some time the next morning, wrapped in each other’s arms and littered with pine needles that stuck to us with the dregs of the sweet and sticky sap from our bed of branches and leaves. We were at once both amazed at the closeness and nearly shocked by it. The lack of alone time had lent itself not to deepening our relationship and understanding one another, much to nobody’s surprise, but instead to a distance and a barely perceptible fear that I might yet not have been desirable to one as cold and as distant as Nikolai.

He pulled back from me, afraid for himself that he’d let too much slip in that night of closeness. But when his eyes fell on mine and he realized that I was not fleeing, not clambering to run and to scream the details of our tryst to the pack and the world. What caused that, I wonder. Had someone betrayed his confidence before? Had he been mocked?

When I saw the throb of his neck slow, I reached for his hand and nodded slowly. I was here, and I would remain so if he would have me. My unspoken gesture and look was met with a quiet nod as he pulled himself up to his feet.

In the light of the day, and now with an unobstructed view, I could see the litany of scars and marks left over from injuries, training, and even battle. Down the lean tone of Nikolai’s back, there seemed to be a stark white scar from one shoulder down to the opposite hip.

There was a crack in the treeline, the sound of brush snapping as if under the pressure of a foot, paw, or hoof. The sound had roused us both, it would seem. Because Nikolai had darted to stand directly in front of me as I still but yet rose to my feet. Faintly on the wind, there was the soft scent of flowers. “Is that-” I started, only to be shushed by an outstretched arm blocking my path.

“Shift,” Nikolai said low under his breath. “Break North for the main house, and I’ll be just behind you.” He sniffed at the air and froze, moving more directly in my path.

Before either of us could shift, out from the woods stepped Brianna. She was still clothed, meaning she’d made the trek by foot rather than by wolf. Her head c****d to the side while the bulk of her hair fell back over her shoulder. “Alpha Nikolai,” she said, looking only to my mate. “You never returned to the pack house last night,” Brianna continued.

“Brianna,” he said low and almost dark. “If you or any of the fighters needed me, you could have used the mind link.” I could feel he roll of aggression in Nikolai’s chest as he spoke, my hand resting gently on his bare back to calm him. “I don’t take kindly to having my time with my mate interrupted.”

At the word ‘mate’ Brianna seemed to visibly darken. Her hand clenched at her side, and thin lips pressedinto a straight line while her gaze leveled right on me. Though she couldn’t see the whole of me as I was guarded, the stare felt violent and like it would tear me limb from limb if such a power was had.

Nikolai growled and her eyes snapped back to him. “Is that clear?” he asked, to no response. All the woman gave was a nod, and with a subtle shift she vanished back into the treeline.

Only once it was certain that we were alone again did Nikolai turn to look me over. In the full scope of daylight I felt more seen than ever, more exposed and more judged. But the softness of his stare reassured me that he was far from displeased with what stood before him. My eyes flicked down momentarily as the intensity of his affection twitched to life once more. He seemed to catch me staring and stepped closer, pressing a soft kiss to my lips while he pulled some stray pine needles from my hair.

“Perhaps,” I managed to say between quick pecks slowly growing more frantic. “We wait, and we go ensure we aren’t interrupted again?” My nails grazed his arms and held tight, though I could feel the tension in him ease when he agreed with me.

When his nose brushed over mine he let out a low chuckle and nipped at my lip with his teeth. “For now, Vira.” Nikolai pulled me closer and buried his face in my neck, breathing in deeply. “For now.”

And so together we ran back to the house, the hot summer wind bristling my fur and filling me with the scent of flowers, fresh cut grass, and life.

That evening as I was sitting around in my room and waiting for word from Irena as to the progression of the hunter’s task force, I was scrolling through some odd or another app on my phone. The bright colors and loud musical chimes were all I could focus on, when I got another flash of bright light. It was much like the other night when Alban and I had accidentally seen through each other’s eyes. The room spun, my phone hit my face, and all at once I was back home.

I could see my father, sweating furiously in the training ring. And as I looked to my feet, I knew that Alban was mid combat training. Goddess, his stance was terrible. As quickly as it happened, the sensation reversed and I was back in my own skin. Breath came heavy and hard as I struggled to catch up to my own body, but I was able to keep myself grounded well enough. I’d have to give Al another call later, I knew.

There was a frantic knocking at my door and the mousy little assistant that Irena had set to keeping an eye on me poked her head in. “Miss, they found him!” She shouted excitedly.

I bolted up, tossing my phone back on the bed, and was at her side in an instant. “Wait, who?” I asked, though beyond the partially open door I could hear the hustle and the chaos of a hasty and emotional welcome home. “Sheena’s brother?”

Her short hair bounced with her nod, and grabbed my hand excitedly. She was pulling me out the door and off downt he stairs. People were growing louder as we drew nearer, the excitement was palpable, and even Nikolai was there standing to one side of the injured fighter being nestled into a soft recliner in the main lounge room.

There he was, the same sleek black hair and warm brown eyes as Sheena. Though this man appeared some years older, and his mirror image was kneeling beside him with tears in his eyes and a smile broader than I could have ever imagined. Sheena was there, wrapping her arms around Evan’s neck and sobbing. Nikolai looked up when I entered, beckoning me closer to stand between himself and Trevor. Once I was within arm’s length, I could feel his grip on my waist and his voice in my ear whispering welcomes with a joy that seemed so distant yet so real. “Evan,” he said. “I want to introduce you to my mate.” He looked between me and the man in the chair, who I could now see was bandaged aroung the head with his left leg splinted and raised up on an ottoman.

He had the same gentle look to him that his younger sister did, and she looked up at me witht he same emphatic joy that I’d seen so many family members show when their loved ones came back from other tough missions. I let out a sharp breath of relief. Though they weren’t my people yet, I could already feel my deep affection and care for them growing. I wanted them to thrive, wanted them to survive. “I’ve heard so much about you,” I said to him, kneeling down to keep him at eye level with the warmest smile on my lips.

Evan’s eyes widened when they met mine, and he turned his shoulders as much as he could towards me. “You’re Alpha Zachary’s daughter,” he said in almost a gasp. And when I nodded, he reached forward and clasped my hand tightly. “I’d been hoping to get to meet you or your brother,” Evan said enthusiastically.

“You have?” My hand pumped in his automatically, but my eyes were locked on his.

The man looked hopeful, darting between me and his brother Avery. “Tell her, Ave. Tell her how you guys found me.”

The second man, Avery apparently, wiped some tears away. “I’d been trying for days,” Avery said. “Kept trying to reach you. Couldn’t mind link, couldn’t do anything. I even went out on hunts for you, but couldn’t pick up on any of your scents. “

There was a lump in my throat as he spoke; I couldn’t begin to imagine how I would feel if anything happened to my siblings. That was an irreparable bond. Unflappable, and without comparison. It started to click, and I looked between the two of them. “But you could see,” I said under my breath.

“Exactly.” They both spoke in unison with this boyish glee that seemed far off from their years. Evan spoke up, clearing his throat. “When we heard that you’d be joining us here, I knew we’d have to talk to you.”

The swell of my chest rose with anticipation, and nearly the whole room seemed to vanishes I listened to this battered and broken man. “We don’t have any other twins in Black Opal,” I said. “Haven’t for generations.”

“We know,” Avery spoke up, reaching out to grip his brother’s hand. “So we knew we’d have to find you and Alban eventually.” The quizzical stare shifted, and I was hit with a wave of realization. Once they saw I understood, they both beamed with mischief and delight before saying to me in unison.

“We can teach you two how to control it.”