Alpha Aria

Chapter 3- Suspicion Grows

**ARIA**

Diego had to go back to school after we left the hospital, but my uncle insisted that I go home to rest. I begged him to let me train after school, and he finally agreed as long as I promised to be careful.

As soon as it was close to the time for school to be out, I raced out the door to head to the training grounds. It wasn't a very long walk. My uncle's house was only about half a mile away.

When I got there, I entered the large building. It was basically a well equipped gym, with open spaces on mats for sparring and a lot of different exercise and strengthening equipment. I headed straight for the ladies' locker room. I opened my locker and grabbed out a clean set of workout clothes, a loose-fitting cropped tee and stretchy leggings, then changed quickly. I pulled my long curly red hair back into a loose ponytail because my head was still sore, and I didn't want to disturb the stitches. I glanced in the mirror to check for any unruly hairs and attempted to smooth them down, but as usual, my hair had a mind of its own.

My mom used to marvel at how much I looked like my dad. His genes were definitely strong in me. My skin was fair and lightly freckled, like my dad's. My eyes were slightly large for my face, making me look younger than I was. I did love them, though. They were the same bright green as my dad's, and I felt they were my best feature. My nose was small, my face heart-shaped, and my lips were full. I swiped lip balm across my lips and smacked them together. Then, I left the locker room to find Diego.

He was on the padded mats in the open area of the gym, stretching. I heard some tittering coming from the corner by the stair machines. Ugh. Zoe and Laurel. They were a year behind Diego and I, and Zoe had a major crush on Diego.

Zoe was tall and slender with an upturned nose and straight dark brown hair that matched her eyes. She was the kind of girl who always seemed like she was looking down on everyone. She had on layers of makeup that was a bit overkill for the gym. Her friend, Laurel, was shorter and more plump. She had short blonde curly hair that framed her round face. She was by far the nicer of the two, but she was a little dim and gullible, which made her the ideal lackey for Zoe.

Zoe leaned over and whispered in Laurel's ear, causing her friend's face to flush, and she burst out in giggles. Both of the girls were eyeing Diego appreciatively. I rolled my eyes. I was used to it. Diego was the Beta's son, and he exuded confidence. That along with his good looks and fit body, he had girls drooling after him wherever he went. Fortunately, he didn't let it get to his head. I don't think he even realized it.

I approached him while he was on the floor, touching his toes in the middle of a stretch. He looked up at me, his caramel eyes sparkling, and he blew his shaggy brown hair out of his face. He shot me his signature lopsided grin. "Hey, Ri," he greeted me warmly. "Get down here and help me stretch." I dropped to the floor and grasped his hands, lining my feet up with his to make a square, and we took turns leaning forward into a stretch while the other gently pulled on them.

Once we were finished stretching, we headed over to the weapons checkout counter. The man working greeted us with a grin. "What's it today, ladies?"

Diego ignored the playful dig and replied, "Hello, Zack. Four padded escrima sticks, 22 inches, please."

At this point, Zoe and Laurel had abandoned the stair masters and walked up to us. "Hey there, Diego." Zoe said with a saccharin voice.

Diego turned to look at her. He smiled politely and replied, "Hey, yourself."

There was an awkward silence, and Zoe dug her elbow into Laurel's shoulder. Laurel straightened her back and blurted, "So... have you found your mate yet, Diego?"

He shook his head and raised his right eyebrow questioningly.

Zoe smiled seductively and said, "You should come by my place later. I'm having a small get-together and maybe after we could... " Her voice trailed off as she openly gazed up and down his body. Then Zoe's eyes zeroed in on me, and her smile dropped. "I would invite you, too, but... wolves only." she sneered.

I turned my head away, suddenly interested in the inspirational posters on the wall. 'Seven Days without exercise makes one WEAK.' Groan. 'The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.' Ha! If that were true, I would be the Incredible Hulk by now, I thought wryly.

Then, the negative energy rolling off of Zoe pressed into my chest. I took a step back, and I saw her eyes flash victoriously, knowing she had affected me.

I could feel the irritation radiating from Diego as he scowled at her. "I would just love to, Zoe, but I already have plans tonight. With this gorgeous wolf-less girl." He draped his arm across my shoulders protectively. The corners of my mouth curled up at the realization that he had just called me gorgeous.

Zoe's mouth fell open, stunned for a moment. She quickly regained her composure, and with a loud harumph, she spun around and flounced out the door, Laurel on her heels.

Hey, they are just being jerks. Ignore them. Diego said in my head. I looked up at him and smiled gratefully. I couldn't mindlink anyone without my wolf, but others in the pack could link me.

I gestured to the escrimas that were now waiting for us on the counter. I wiggled my eyebrows playfully, grabbed two of the sticks, and hurried over to the training mats.

"Let's get this ass whoopin' started!" Diego laughed as he followed me. I stuck my tongue out at him.

We spent the next 2 hours engaged in Escrima, my favorite martial art. I think it was because using weapons was my best form of defense and I was really good at it. I also just liked beating things up with sticks. It was so satisfying!

We both managed to get a few good hits in, and by the time we were done, I had several deep bruises. I liked that Diego didn't hold back in our training sessions. So many people treated me like a China doll since I was wolfless, but that didn't help me get strong and fast. Diego knew that o looked to be pushed and he did a great job at it. We were great training partners.

Diego had gotten some bruises, too, but his wolf healed his within minutes of receiving them. Mine would last longer, but even without my wolf, I healed fairly quickly.

After showering and changing at the gym, we went to my house. The delicious aroma of lasagna hit us as soon as we opened the front door. "You only hit your head to get Uncle Bill to make your favorite dinner. I'm on to you." Diego teased.

I blew a raspberry at him in response.

"Aw, you know I'm just kidding." He opened his arms to me, and I leaned in to his hug. He was a great hugger. I sighed contentedly, feeling safe and happy in his arms. Then I realized that I felt an emotion coming from him that I hadn't ever felt before. It was a mixture of love and protectiveness with something else. Longing? That didn't seem quite right.

Diego suddenly dropped his arms and stepped away from me, his arms placed stiffly at his sides. He stared at me intently, and I noticed his usual calm eyes were flashing as he wrestled with his wolf for control. What was that all about?

He abruptly turned his head away and exhaled a huge breath. I looked at him, puzzled, trying to understand his weird behavior.

He cleared his throat. "So. What are we going to watch tonight?"

Something was off about him, for sure, but I could tell he didn't want to talk about it. I tried to put it out of my mind. My face brightened when I remembered the movie I had picked. It was one of my favorites. I jumped over and grabbed the remote, flicking on the tv and showing him the film I had queued up already.

He followed behind me and groaned at the screen. "Pretty in Pink again?" He whined. But he was smiling. I knew that he secretly loved it, too.

*****

After dinner, Uncle Bill, Diego, and I went to the living room. Diego quickly took the swivel chair my uncle normally sat in after I flopped on the couch. Uncle Bill looked momentarily surprised but sat next to me. I tried to cast a questioning look to Diego, but he was staring at the screen and wasn't looking my way. So I texted instead.

//You okay?//

His phone vibrated with the text alert. He pulled it out of his pocket, and he read it, slightly frowning. He replied via mind link. I'm fine. Ugh, I wished I could mind link him back.

//Why are you all the way over there? I miss you!//

He glanced in my direction when reading my question. His eyes locked into mine a moment, and I thought I saw sadness flit behind them, but he flashed me an apologetic smile. I forgot to put on deodorant and don't want to kill you. He mind linked.

I snorted, and Uncle Bill raised an eyebrow, curious as to what we were silently talking about. "Hey, I'm trying to watch a movie here. Can you two keep it down?" He feigned annoyance. Diego and I burst out in laughter.

After the movie, Diego got to his feet and stretched. When he pulled his arms back, his tee shirt lifted, and I could see his six-pack and belly button peeking out.

There was a time I had wondered if maybe I wasn't straight because I had never felt attracted to boys. But I wasn't really attracted to girls, either. Maybe it was just another way in which I was broken. That was why I was slightly surprised that my heart did a little somersault at the sight of the trail of light brown hair traveling from his navel downward.

Diego headed toward the front door to leave, calling out, "Later, gater!" Then he opened the door and left quickly. I frowned, wondering why he hadn't given me his customary hug goodbye.

I went to my room after waving goodnight to my uncle. I found my favorite pair of pajamas, brushed my teeth, and sank onto my comfortable bed.

As I waited for sleep to take me, I wondered about Diego's strange behavior this evening. I hoped he was alright. I would try to figure out more tomorrow at school. There were only four days left, and then we were graduating. Maybe he was acting weird because he was going to leave soon to search for his mate? My heart sank at the thought. I would miss him terribly, and I worried that his mate would be unwilling to share him with me. I knew it was selfish, but I couldn't help it. I just couldn't imagine a world without him in it.