The Alphas' Legacy (Alpha Eyes: Book 3)

Chapter 10

Zoey

I stared down the empty hall, still trying to figure out what just happened. I hadn't expected a hug and a welcome party, but the way Van had looked at me and then brushed past so fast... Had I done something wrong? Was I not supposed to spend time with his mom? Did he know about that I was looking for a place to hide from him?

"Hi."

I squeaked, whirling around to find Stitch in the doorway. My heart thudded for a moment before settling back into a normal rhythm.

"Sorry; I didn't mean to scare you." He took a step back and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I know you didn't," I sighed. "I was just lost in my own thoughts. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah; everything's fine. Please, come on in." He waved me into the room.

I stepped inside and glanced at the three guys at the table. I'd seen them but hadn't officially met them yet. They didn't look as intimidating as Van had. In fact, two of them looked more like office nerds than tough soldiers.... Not that I would tell them that.

"You... You haven't met the rest of the team yet," Stitch noted, closing the door behind me. "All right. We have Snuff, our weapons engineer."

The tallest of the group waved a hand in greeting.

"We have Bug, our communications specialist."

The first of the 'geeks' nodded at me.

"And we have Goggles, the man with all the intel."

The last member at the table looked up from his laptop and sent a smile my way. I smiled back and took a seat at the end of the table. Stitch dropped into the chair next to me.

"So... does everyone in the military have nicknames?" I dared to ask.

"We're a close-knit group," Stitch explained "As we went on missions together and figured out that we were going to be our own unit, calling each other by our formal names just didn't feel right. It helped us distinguish being in the field and at home."

"...but the names kinda stuck," the guy Bug added. "We got so used to calling each other by our mission names that we never went back."

"That's a unique bond you guys have," I noted, looking down at my hands in my lap. "Not everyone has that."

For a moment, everyone was quiet. Stitch finally was the one to rub his hands together and lean back in his chair.

"Did you have a nice house tour with our luna?"

I like him, but don't tell him about our secret space, my wolf cautioned. He might feel a duty to tell Van, which would defeat the whole purpose.

I agreed with her, so I wracked my brain for a way out. "Yes. She helped me understand the general layout of the house, so I'm not as worried about getting lost anymore."

"Even if you did get lost," Snuff said, pulling a small lighter out of his pocket and flicking the switch to activate the flame, "we'd find you."

A tiny shiver ran down my spine. They'd find me... that was a good thing. They were looking after me, not hunting me. I could trust them.

I glanced back at the door before turning to Stitch. "Did I do something to upset Van? He barged out of the room so fast..."

Stitch waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about him. He's feeling a bit cooped up here at home, so he probably just needed a good run to loosen up."

I nodded slowly. I understood the feeling, but I'd never had the freedom to just 'go for a run.' The one time I tried, even just laps around the house under supervision, Jax ended up tackling me and dragging me back to the room. Apparently I'd been flaunting myself in front of all the guys, and he didn't like it. His fists had beaten any desire to try again out of me. I'd forced my wolf to bottle her anxious energy over the years, dispensing it in the form of keeping us alive.