Alpha Bound (Redone)

Chapter Three

Julia who was now beside her, crouched down and grabbed a cattail, slowly bobbing it against the surface of the pond. To Neira's surprise, a catfish jumped out the surface of the water and with splash disappeared back under. It was amusing for Julia to see the innocence of a child in this nineteen year old girl. "Do you not go out much?" She asked.

Neira's brows furrowed before shaking her head and fiddling with the grass. Most of her years have been spent inside. Only a handful of times has she ever cared set foot on the fields of their pack territory. It just goes to show how limited her experiences were for the last nineteen years of her life. "I hear you've met The Elder, Julius?"

Neira's ears pricked as she gave Julia a questioning look. The omega laughed at her ignorance. "In the library?" In a second, Neira's ears turned red and she fixed her gaze on the pond. The she-wolf laughed again. It was musical in a way as well as her talking and, for once, Neira wished she could speak. "The maids know many things and it tends to go around." Julia informed, smiling.

Embarrassment shed over her. She hadn't made the connection that he was Julius of all Elders, and now that she thought about it, it should've been quite obvious. As Neira was mentally chastising herself, Julia stood and offered her a hand. "It's about lunch time," she reminded and at the mention of food, Neira gladly stood up and walked with her back inside.

At the dining table, it was deathly silent. Probably because she was the only one seated at the long, wooden table. The clinking and clanging of her utensils annoyed her as it echoed against the vast walls. As of now, she was starting to hate Julia's insistence of eating someplace out of her room. Speaking of the omega, the girl was nowhere to be found and Neira was feeling the slight bit nervous.

The windows were tall and stretched across the wall like a cat. Through it, she could look down towards the training grounds where drills were being held. She always wondered what training was like for her brother and sister. Her eyes stung at the thought and her chest tightened unbearably. They were supposed to be here in her mother and father's place. Now all she wanted to do was curl up in her room again, the thought of going outside no longer appealing.

The weather seemed to reflect her mood as the clouds blocked the sun entirely. Pushing back her plate, she was about to get up when the door opened. Max stood at the doorway with wide eyes. "Neira," her alpha addressed. Slowly, a small, strained but sincere smile etched his tired features. His eyes were bloodshot and his eyes held heavy bags. He looked even worse than her. His hair was messy and he didn't even change out of his clothes from yesterday.

"We'll be attending the Ritual tonight," he informed, while she nodded at the old information. A few silent seconds passed before Max crossed the room to her and gave her a bear hug. "Your family was always proud of you, you know," she heard him whisper. Her eyes burned, her heart stopping. "Even if you were the weakest in the the pack, even if you never wanted to go outside and make friends, even if you couldn't talk or shift... you were perfect."

Max kissed her head before going to the door. "You still have me Neira, cry if you want." With that the alpha closed the door, leaving the room silent again. Her hands rubbed at her cheeks furiously as rebellious tears ran down like a waterfall. The burning in her chest was back and she couldn't find it in her to breathe slowly. She sank into the seat, wondering where Julia went as her strangled, hideous sobs filled the empty, dark dining room.

..

The room was overwhelmingly tense and pressurized with the ongoing argument about how to handle him the wolf that managed to go into hiding. Julius found it irritating as the yells kept getting louder. He never thought that he would get hearing impairment at this young of an age. He could literally feel the gray hair growing out of his scalp. The circular meeting room was stuffy and to top it all off, he had a nagging feeling at the back of his head.