Ayla: Always an Alpha

Chapter 24 - Camouflage

~Ayla~

After getting off the phone with Alpha Cox, I ran for the back door, stripping along the way, with no regard for anyone who may have been around. Pausing only to fold my oversized sweater and lay it gently on the porch, I shifted into my wolf form and welcomed the familiar stretching in my joints. Careful to not catch it in my teeth, I grabbed my sweater with my mouth and made a break for the woods.

Embracing the cold slap of the wind, I pushed my strides out to as long as my legs could stretch. Stray branches scratched at my snout, and pieces of weeds tagged along for the ride in my fur. I ignored it, all of it. I ran circles around my territory until my feet ached and my lungs burned for more air. I pushed until I knew it wouldn't be healthy to push anymore. Then, coming to a secluded spot without a lot of underbrush, I shifted, slid the chunky sweater over my head, and without a care in the world, collapsed onto a nice spot of dirt and leaves. After minutes of my loud panting, my pulse calmed, but I continued lying on the ground.

The night before, a cold front had passed through, so it was both freezing and utterly gray outside. A dull sky peered at me from behind a blanket of bare limbs, and a thin layer of frost muted the natural colors of the forest. I'd told Jorge to lead the day's training sessions, so I had all the time in the world to bask in the barren landscape. So I did.

As my toes turned bright red, I tried to push all the conversations I'd had through the day out of my head. I'd cut things off with Saleem and given my weekly update to Alpha Cox all within 24 hours of each other, which had been a poor decision. A girl could only handle so much frustration with herself and others before she wanted to scream. My main issue at the moment, however, was that I couldn't scream. Not unless I wanted someone to think I was being murdered, that was.

Instead, I sighed loudly and watched as a vertical cloud of condensation traveled up from my mouth and into the gray abyss. Every time I shut my eyes, I could see the dismay in Saleem's, so I tried to keep mine open. Instead of finishing off Lord of the Rings, I'd sat him down and told him I couldn't ever see a romantic relationship with him. Since I didn't think it'd be fair to him to ask to continue hanging out as friends, I mentioned we probably shouldn't see each other for a while. That's when he completely shut down, and his eyes lost all their smile. In response, all he said was a quiet "I understand." He left immediately after, and although I knew it was the right thing to do, I selfishly have regretted it since. Saleem was my only friend.

"Ayla?"

The voice was quiet, but I'd know it anywhere.

"Welcome. Just wanted to see if I could camouflage with the earth. You should come join. You'd probably be better at it."

To my surprise, Killian stretched out beside me and leaned back on his elbows.

"You're going to get dirt all over your nice goth ensemble."

With a concerned look in his eye, Killian ignored my quip. "Ayla, there's over a dozen leaves in your hair."

I turned my head to give him a wry smile. "All part of the camouflage."

"Are you not cold?" One of his hands reached for a leaf near my face before stopping short.

"What would you do if I was? Lend me your jacket?"

The question was rhetorical. We both knew he couldn't touch me when the entire pack was awake and the closest shower was a far walk away. He shouldn't have even stopped to sit next to me. His scent would linger in the area.

A man of few words, Killian didn't have a response to my caustic remark.

"Do you ever get lonely?" I asked. "Doing what you do?"