UNDENIABLY DESTINED

CHAPTER 26

Aadaya sat beneath the tree shade with Desmond and Marcus, enjoying the weather. The sunny day had a soft, sweet breeze coming from the forest, carrying the smell of earth and flowers. The sun shone brightly overhead, but its rays imparted warmth and laziness to the day.

Birds chirped in the surroundings as children played happily in the park to their right. Their giggles floated to them from a distance, everyone seemingly glowing with excitement in the pack. There was a happy buzz as everyone went about their busy schedule to prepare the pack for the upcoming party.

Aadaya watched from her vantage point as every pack member moved about, while the Alphas gathered for the Alpha Calling meeting. They were getting ready for the walk to the hall, deep in the forest, chosen as the venue for the meeting. The meeting was the main reason for the Alpha Calling: a secret event where only the leaders came together to address various problems, from territorial disputes to sharing information.

The Alphas emerged from the main pack house, joining together for the walk, showcasing the unity among the packs of the continent. The security was top-notch, and Aadaya observed more than five dozen security personnel, knowing that many more would be hidden in the forest along the path. It was the same path leading to the venue. Her tablet lay open in front of her, showing her the security details with several red dots indicating their positions.

Aadaya was snapped out of her concentration when Desmond called her, "Aadaya, I can't solve this question..." he said to her, pointing at something in his notebook. His notebook was filled with his scrawled handwriting, something that the Vampire King, Saddie's dad, was not so fond of. Aadaya moved closer to him, shutting her tablet to look at the question he asked.

Growing frustrated with explaining the question repeatedly, she took a deep breath. "Almond, why are you trying to learn the question? Understand it," she said, explaining the same question to him for the hundredth time. Marcus ate his fruit from the plate, watching Aadaya explain the question to Desmond. Marcus, being smaller and weaker than other kids, usually accompanied Aadaya and her friends as he couldn't play with the other kids.

Aadaya looked up at Desmond. "Okay, do you understand it now?!" she asked, waiting for his confirmation. Desmond, with his badly skewed pencil, making his writing worse, asked her, "But why are we doing this portion again?" He inquired about the most crucial part of the question. Getting frustrated with him, Aadaya groaned, cursing him under her breath.

Marcus, who had been watching her teach Desmond and heard Desmond's sarcastic remark about his nickname Almond, also became frustrated. He screamed at Desmond, standing up, still a bit smaller than the other two even when standing, and came near Desmond, towering over his head. "How can't you understand this?!" he asked in his cute, frustrated voice. Desmond became a bit scared of the small kid he had met just a few hours before.

Aadaya, teetering on the edge of her patience, watched Desmond with a glimmer of lost hope in her eyes as Marcus took charge of the situation, scolding the towering "man-child" with fervor. From the corner of her eyes, she observed the Alphas embarking on their unity walk toward the venue, the crowd's cheers echoing in the distance.

Discreetly abandoning her tablet, Aadaya slipped away from Marcus and Almond's banter, strolling towards the edge of the forest. With a silent call to her wolf for strength, she leaped onto a tree, swiftly donning her earpiece and pulling out a pair of glasses from her light jacket.

Zipping up her jacket carefully to avoid snags in the branches, Aadaya powered on her glasses, her surroundings coming alive with warriors strategically spread throughout the forest. She tied her shoelaces and pulled her mask over her face, Chris's voice buzzing in her earpiece, "There are warriors up in the trees too," a fact she had already anticipated.