On Wednesday morning, my mother and I decided we should take the opportunity and go look around the town, get a few things and maybe meet a few people. My mother especially wanted to go look around the clinic, meet everyone there.
So at around 10 am, we set out and began the trek through the town.
It was as beautiful as I thought. The buildings were all made from the same sandstone as the packhouse, and most seemed to have this sort of organised chaos look to their gardens. Wisteria or ivy grew up the side of the buildings, giving them an overgrown look, blending them into the surrounding areas. The roads and pathways were clean and well kept, as were the little parks we strolled past. Everything was beautiful, like a town out of a book.
Strolling down the path, towards the town centre, I couldn’t help but notice that some of the people we walked past, were glancing at us. It made me feel a bit anxious. I did not like it when people watched me.
I did my best to ignore them, calming myself as we emerged into the centre of town. Shops lined the square, and nestled between shops were little cafes and a few restaurants. In the centre of the square stood a stone clock tower, surrounded, at its base, with gorgeous springtime flowers. Benches were placed around the clock tower, giving people a lovely place to sit and people watch.
“Wow,” my mother breathed, “I was not expecting the town to look like this.”
“Neither was I, it is so pretty here!” I gushed.
“Look, there’s a clothing shop, there,” she pointed out, “let us go see what we can get, the Goddess only knows how little clothing you have now that some of them ripped,” she chuckled, mostly to herself.
Making our way to the shop entrance, we were stopped by a woman, around my mothers' age.
“Hi there, you must be the new pack members, my name’s Eliza Archer,” she beamed, holding out her hand for us to shake.
“Hi,” my mother smiled, shaking her hand gently, “I’m Leigha Baker, and this here is my daughter, Amelia,” she offered.
“Hello, Amelia. I heard that you’ll be starting at the school tomorrow. You’ll be in the same year as my daughter, Danielle. I hope you both get on well together.” she rambled, a genuine smile on her face. “And Leigha, you’ll be working with my husband, right?”
“Your husband is Dr Jacob Archer, right?” Eliza nodded her confirmation, “then yes I will be. I am looking forward to getting back to my work.”
“I’m glad. I heard you are amazing at what you do…” Eliza prattled on for several more minutes, making my mother and I smile. “Oh! Shoot! I’m so sorry, I have to run. I am so happy to have met you both,” she exclaimed. “I will see you both tomorrow!” she added, turning and running off in the direction we had just come from.
We watched after her for a few moments, both of us still smiling.
“She was lovely,” my mother gushed, “quite chatty, but lovely.”
“It looks like you have made your first friend here,” I said jokingly, “Not including Matthias.”
She chuckled at me, swatting my arm and pushing me towards the shop entrance.
Entering the shop, I’m greeted by the scent of fresh, new clothing. Looking around, I’m immediately drawn to the section of leggings and jeans. Picking out a few pairs of leggings and a couple of pairs of jeans, I begin searching for my mother and finding her by the underwear section.
Strolling over to her, I dump my items in the basket she had picked up and grabbed a couple of packs of pants and some bras.
“Is there anything else you need?” she asked.
“Umm, a couple of vests, a nice top or two, a cardigan and a hoodie. I don’t want to have to wear the same thing every day, or people will talk.” I explained.
“Well you go grab those bits and I’ll get a few bits for myself and you can meet me at the checkout. Sound good?” she queried.
“Yep!” I responded.
I headed towards the other clothing sections, looking for what I needed and picking up a few other bits I forgot about. I turned to the section at the front of the store, by the windows looking onto the square. Looking through the racks of clothes, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye and looked up quickly.
It was the Alpha and he was headed straight towards this shop. I began to feel nervous and my heart was beating a little faster, but I couldn’t understand why.
The bell above the door jingled, as he opened it and walked in. His eyes were bright, a smile, hidden inside them.
I quickly bowed my head respectfully, almost forgetting to do so.
“Here, let me help you with those,” he offered, taking the armload of clothes from me. His fingers brushed against the bare skin of my forearm, sending those strange little electric currents up my arm.
“I-... you don’t need to… but thank you” I stuttered, flushing slightly.
Why am I like this?
“You’re welcome, Amelia,” he smiled, gesturing for me to lead the way.
I nervously walked forward, towards the checkout where my mother was waiting for me. She glanced towards me, shock shooting across her face at who was behind me before she quickly bowed her head, the cashier following suit.
“Is there anything else you both need?” Alpha enquired, glancing at my mother, then turning to look at me directly in my eyes.
“I swear, my cheeks are going to burst into flame any moment!” I silently uttered.
“Ha, looks like somebody might have a teensy little crush on her new Alpha!” Atonia teased, her laugh flowing through our bond.
I blocked her out. Nope, not listening to her!
“No, thank you, you’ve been so generous already, Alpha,” my mother complimented, raising her head and offering him a kind motherly smile.
He placed all my items on the counter and waited as the cashier scanned them all. Before she could utter a word about the total, he asked her to send the bill straight to his office. She nodded quickly, printing the receipt off and handing it to the Alpha.
“Thank you, Penny,” he smiled.
“Of course, Alpha,” she responded, bowing her head again.
The three of us exited the store with our bags in hand. The Alpha turned to me and took one of the bags I was carrying.
“Right. Follow me, I have something for you both.”
Curiosity flowed through me as we followed him, back in the direction of the packhouse.
We came to a stop outside a large building, much like the packhouse. Full of windows, a large oak front door and covered in gorgeous growing vines. Our Alpha led us into the building, the walls were the same oak and paint panelling as the packhouse, but the floor was a smooth granite tile. A small section of brass letterboxes filled one wall and large ficus-like plants were placed decoratively. Doors lined the corridor directly by the front doors and at the end of the corridor stood an elevator.
We were led to the elevator, and once the doors opened we all piled in. Our alpha pressed the button for the 4th floor, the doors slid closed and the elevator shuddered to life and began climbing. As we reached our floor destination, the doors slowly hissed open again and we all stepped out into a grey carpeted hallway. There were only a few doors up on this floor and the Alpha had taken us to one of them.
He unlocked the door and pushed it open, gesturing for us to enter. My mother strolled right in, but I took a moment before I followed.
It was a flat, readily furnished and decorated.
My mother had already wandered off, to have a look at everything. I stood near the door, taking it all in.
The walls were a clean, creamy white and the wooden floors were a warm oak. Large grey sofas took up a big portion of space near the windows towards the back, looking out onto the forest and the field outside the packhouse. A TV sat on top of a small unit of drawers, and a large bookshelf sat on the opposite side of the room. Looking to my left, I studied the kitchen. Pale grey cabinets, with white marble countertops, lined the walls. A small breakfast counter separated the living room from the kitchen.
I was shocked, stunned into silence.
“This is your new home,” the Alpha stated, breaking the silence. “Do you like it?”
“Like it? Of course, it's beautiful, and that view!” I exclaimed walking towards the windows. “Thank you.” I breathed.
“I am glad you like it.” he smiled, “I had your belongings brought over from the packhouse and also had the fridge and pantry stocked up. So all you need to do now is settle in and I suppose, ready yourself for tomorrow,” he added.
I turned and looked at him, and smiled shyly.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” he settled, placing my bags on the sofa and heading towards the door. Placing the keys on the counter, he strode out, closing the door behind himself.
I stood watching after him in wonder.
This can’t be the same Alpha who everyone had said was cruel, ruthless. He can’t be. Can he?
After the Alpha had left us, I slowly ambled through the flat, hunting for where my mother had disappeared to. I twisted as a noise came from the end of the small hallway, to the right of the living room. Turning and heading down the hall, I opened the first door, finding it empty. Carrying on, I reached the second door, opening it softly. There, sat on the edge of the large bed, was my mother, tears in her eyes, head hanging low. “Mom?” I called softly. She looked up, trying to hide her tears, but failing. “Are you okay? What happened?” I asked, concern lining my voice. “Nothing, I-... I’ve just never had such kindness shown to me, not since I was a child,” she confessed, taking a shuddering breath. “The generosity, and
I had awoken early, my dreams throwing me out of sleep. Why was I dreaming of the Alpha? Is it a side effect of drinking his blood and swearing myself to him? Confused, I threw my blankets back and stood up out of bed. I stepped towards the window, pulled the curtains back and opened the window, letting the cool morning air surround me. The early morning mist was sitting low in the air, the dew-wet grass shimmering in the light of the sunrise. The colours, pale and soothing. It had rained that night, leaving the damp earthy scent lingering in the air. Thick, dark clouds hovered in the distance, a promise of rain. I took in the air, waking myself up fully. Sifting through the view, I caught a glimpse of two figures out on the field, fighting. Focusing on them, I realised that it was Beta Matthias an
Standing outside the school, I began to feel my nerves fighting to take over. I could see a few people glancing towards me. Clearly, I was going to be the topic of conversation for some. Nothing new then. Taking a deep breath in and letting it go, I strolled into the school, aiming for the main office. The school was clean, recently redecorated, by the faint scent of pain in the air. The corridors were packed with students, all either rushing to their lockers or to their first class of the day or just gossiping. I eventually managed to find the main office, I opened the door and walked in. Glancing around I see a familiar face behind the desk. “Ah, Amelia, there you are,” Eliza motioned me over. “I was wondering if you’d gotten lost,” she said, a kind smile on her fa
My first class of the day went well. Dani helped me adjust quite quickly, and nobody paid me much mind once the class started. I hadn’t felt so relaxed in a school for some time. But I knew that it wasn’t going to always be this easy, this chilled out.Walking to our next class, Dani chatted enthusiastically, the entire way. She pointed people out to me, even introduced me to some. They all seemed quite nice to me.Entering our Math class, Dani ushered me straight to her table in the middle and we sat. Some of the people she had introduced me to, were sat nearby and had started chatting to us while we waited for the teacher to arrive. While we were chatting the rest of the students walked, taking their seats, but still no teacher. There was one girl in particular who was watching me, openly glaring.&ldq
I stood outside the changing rooms, waiting for the others to get changed, and decided to check in with my mother. She was really enjoying her work and was getting along great with her new colleagues. She wouldn’t be back until 7 pm so she asked me to make dinner. I agreed, happy to help her out, excited to tell her how things went for me. Ben was the first one out, heading straight to me. As soon as he reached me, and the moment Grace walked out of the changing rooms, I felt my hair get yanked backwards and being slammed into the ground, hard. My eyes watered from the impact, head throbbing after it connected with the hard floor. I jumped up, having to catch myself as I felt a little dizzy and spun around, and I was honestly not surprised at who I found behind me. Marissa was fuming, I could almost imagine steam coming out of her ears.
Walking into the flat, I saw everyone sitting in the living room, chatting and laughing. My mom turned and smiled at me, getting up to give me a hug. “What did the Alpha want?” she asked, being nosey. “He just wanted to tell me to contact him directly, if anything like this happened again,” I told her, pointing to my head. “Wait, as in mind link him?” Grace quizzed. “Yeah, that’s what he said,” I replied. “Literally nobody is allowed to mind link him directly. Well unless you are one of the Patrol officers, commanders or Beta Matthias, that is,” Ben stated, shocked. “I think it’s because I’m new? And he knows the situation mom and I have come from,” I explained.
I needed to have a quick shower, especially after the state I was in when I woke up and I needed to cool myself off. My body feeling hot. I jumped up off the bed and started to make my way to the bathroom, but I stopped and glanced out the window. He wasn’t there this morning. Feeling a little dejected, I padded into the bathroom and turned the water on. Once I was done, I dressed in legging and my long grey hoodie and slipped on my socks and shoes. I walked into the kitchen, finding a small note on the fridge from my mom. I had to leave early this morning, I should be back by 5 pm, but you go out and have fun, make sure to call me if you need anything! Love mom x x Smiling to myself, I grabbed a granola bar
Getting changed for training was a little awkward. The girls in the changing room were constantly glancing at me, but I managed. “Damn girl!” Dani whistled, “look at those curves!” I flushed beetroot red at her compliment. My leggings fit comfortably, but they really accentuated my curvaceousness. And my top, well it pushed my breasts up slightly, they were a little larger than. I was a little curvier than most, and a few people had told me that I should be proud of my body, but I had such a lack of self-confidence, making me feel uncomfortable with compliments about how I looked. I wasn’t worthy of them. I offered her an uncertain smile at her compliment and pulled my loose vest over my head. I yanked my hair back into a ponytail and tucked the little wispy bits behind my ears.