The Alpha's Daydream ✔️

Chapter 37

Madness.

The voice of Jasper the warrior haunted Ariella, and she recalled the unashamed look of disgust as he spoke of his previous Alpha.
Had Dennison come into contact with a poisonous plant, thus slowly losing his mind? Could this explain his reckless and abusive behaviour?

"Do you mind if I borrow this book?" Ariella asked Savannah, her fingers lingering on the yellowed pages as ideas flew like birds in and out of her mind. She needed to look into this more, and maybe do her own research.

"Sure. Why not. I've read lots of it anyway. Mom said she'll buy me some more updated books all about plants, since that's the kind of thing I like to study. Maybe when I grow up I can be a botanist, or haughty callchist, or what's it called?"

"Horticulturist," Emerald pronounced the word perfectly around a few missing baby teeth, as she re-dressed her doll in something blue. "But won't you be Alpha when you grow up?"

"I can still study plants. Maybe I'll plant a whole farm of mango trees, and strawberries, and make my own plant of strawmangoes! Or I'll discover a new plant in the forest when Justin isn't following me like he does all the time—" she gave an annoyed roll of her eyes— "and it will be named after me!" The young girl waved her arms around expressively, her light brown hair swaying in its ponytail back and forth over her slender shoulders.

"You can be anything you want when you're older, Vannah. Including Alpha, and horticulturist, and master storyteller!" Ariella laughed and gave her a tight squeeze before slipping the book in her bag. She was just beginning to rise when Isaiah came toddling into the room and straight for his big sister Emerald.

"Emmy, I wanna pway. Pway with me, Emmy." He wrapped his arms around her neck and fell over into her lap, disrupting her work on the doll.

"No, Isaiah! Don't ruin my dolly. Sit back," she tried shoving him off, only for him to become interested in her neat line of stuffed animals. With chubby fists, he picked one up and scattered all the rest.

"No! Be careful, Ziah, don't mess with my things." Emerald was getting frustrated and Ariella knew that though she loved her baby brother, his innocent actions would quickly upset her.

So Ariella rescued the situation before anyone started to fuss or cry. "I'm going to go see if Mom needs help with lunch. Why don't you come with me, little man?" Picking him up, she carried Isaiah downstairs and left the girls in peace.

After lunch, she tidied up the kitchen and washed the dishes with the girls, giving their moms a chance to relax and chat.
Later in the afternoon after training, Charles came by and led Ariella to the library as promised.

After their discussion last night of her unusual dreams, he told her of some ancient books that had remained in the Alpha library for generations. Mostly filled with speculation, the books spoke of good and evil spirits, their interaction with reality, but most importantly, the Interealm where they resided. Ariella wanted to know how much was factual or based on matters of the heart. Was it just spiritual and dependent on personal faith in invisible beings? Were angels and demons actually real, or thought up by overactive imaginations such as hers?

"So you'll find down here, in this corner, the oldest books on the territory," Charles showed her the tall bookcase that rose a few feet taller than her, the shelves sagging under leather bound tomes. Layers of dust say undisturbed between the spines. "Chesca's great-great-grandparents, the founding Alphas of Steelheart pack, had them brought over the sea from the temples before they were destroyed. No one has read them for centuries, but I'm sure they say something about what you're dreaming of. Even if you don't find out anything for certain, it might be helpful to know that others have experienced similar things."