Apologizing to Tala was the most difficult thing Dax had ever done in his life, and as days passed, he began to wish he hadn't done it at all. At first, it seemed she had accepted his apology and things would go back to normal, or at least as normal as they could be with Tala now in his life.
Then the next morning she strode into his room while he was changing clothes—he at least had pants on, thankfully, as he wasn't interested in the woman seeing his privates, though he knew it was inevitable—and told him to hurry up so they could go to breakfast.
This was not entirely unusual; she usually ate meals with him, and though she often met him in the cafeteria, it wasn't uncommon for her to seek him out when she was ready to eat, whether he was or not, because she thought they should share all their meals.
He began to grow suspicious when she followed him on his morning rounds. Her impractical heels usually prevented her from following him across the grounds, so she usually chose to stay in the pack house and wait for him to get back. To his surprise, she had swapped them for a pair of flats in the same red as her usual heels and didn't complain at all as he led the way across the pack complex. Her constant presence was already beginning to wear on his nerves, and it was only mid-morning. What was she up to?
When he returned to his office to do more of the endless paperwork occupying his desk, he again expected her to excuse herself and go off to wherever she went when she wasn't bothering him, but she surprised him yet again by taking a seat on the couch in the corner of the room, a small book in hand. She settled in, opened the book to the first page, and started to read, studiously ignoring the alpha.
Dax wasn't sure how he felt about this new Tala. He was accustomed to spending much of his time alone, and her constant presence unnerved him, but she had also been rather quiet, which was somehow more unsettling. He felt she must be plotting something, but he hadn't the slightest idea what it could be. He'd never known her to do anything not in her best interest, so she must believe spending every waking moment with him was going to have some positive effect.
There was no reason to push her for answers now, not when it was finally peaceful. He chose to ignore her as he draped his leather jacket over the back of his chair before sitting at his desk, drawing a stack of paperwork toward himself and starting to work. And that was how they spent the morning, in eerie silence.
Around lunch there was a timid knock on the door. "Come in," Dax called, not looking up from his work until the door creaked open, allowing in a strong scent that had him wrinkling his nose and finally looking up.
An omega stood in the doorway, shaking slightly with her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach. She was young, maybe sixteen, which would explain why she was coming to him while she was in heat.
Omegas, both male and female, were more fertile than other wolves, and especially so when they were in heat. Unfortunately, the scent they gave off while they were in heat made them nearly irresistible to most wolves. Beta-borns were mostly unaffected by their pheromones—they heightened attraction, but didn't drive them insane like common wolves—and alpha-borns like Dax were immune.
Dax also had his own pheromones, and they counteracted those given off by omegas in heat and could ease them out of heat before anything could get out of hand. Mated omegas often just shut themselves in their homes with their mates, but young omegas like this girl had no one to defend them or ease the discomfort the heat brought with it, so they often came to him for help.
He glanced to the corner where Tala sat. She'd put her book aside and her nose was wrinkled, but otherwise she didn't look affected by the strong scent of the omega's pheromones. He'd expected as much, but it was still reassuring. She was beta-born, after all, so unless she was hiding that she was attracted to the fairer sex, the omega's pheromones would have no effect on her.
"Close the door behind you," he said. The omega was quick to obey, stepping into the room and shutting the door. She had spots of color high on her cheeks, and her dark hair was stuck to her neck and face with sweat.
Dax thought this might have been the girl's first heat. He didn't recall her having to come to him before, which probably explained why she looked so frightened. Her trip into the pack house to his office must have been nerve wracking, worrying about running into anyone in the hallways, and she hardly knew what was happening in the first place.
He glanced toward Tala again. Usually, he would just have the girl sit on the couch for a few hours—it was why the couch was there, after all—until his pheromones had balanced hers and she was no longer in danger or discomfort. But with Tala there....
But he couldn't turn the girl away either. Perhaps she would make it home alright, if she was lucky, and perhaps no one would get close enough to her home to be caught in the control of her pheromones and she would feel miserable for a few days but then she would be fine.
He didn't want to take the risk. He wanted to help her, this was his job was to help and protect and better his people, and he wouldn't turn her away.
To his surprise, Tala quickly composed herself and when the girl looked in her direction, she smiled back at her. "Come on then," she said, holding out her arms to her. The omega sniffled and stepped forward, glancing in his direction before going to the beta-born. "You can sit with me for a while. It'll be okay."
Dax watched them for several minutes, but neither paid him any attention. Tala sat with the omega in her arms, speaking too softly for him to hear from across the room, but the girl was relaxing and allowing Tala to run her fingers through her hair and down her back.
Eventually he returned to his work, but with more difficulty focusing. He'd never seen Tala do anything for anyone else. As far as he'd been aware, her sole purpose in life was to find her way into his bed, as if that wouldn't happen in a few months anyway when they were officially mated.
He had someone bring the three of them lunch—a beta-born so the omega wouldn't be in any danger, though he doubted it would have been a problem as it had already been an hour by then so her pheromones weren't as strong anymore—and an hour or so after that, still without saying a word, the girl stood and slipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
Without a word of explanation or even a glance in his direction, Tala picked her book back up and continued to read. And that was how the afternoon passed, with Dax casting her curious and confused looks while she continued to ignore him.
No one came to disturb them until around dusk, when there was another knock on the door to his office. This time, there was no pause to wait for his assent; the door started opening immediately, almost before the knock, giving Dax a good idea of who it would be.
Sure enough, Mav stood in the doorway, wearing only a pair of gym shorts and a broad smile. "You coming?" he asked.
It took a moment for Dax to realize what Mav was referring to. That's right, it was a full moon. The time of the month when the whole pack came together in their wolf forms for a long run, the source of a lot of the rumors about werewolves among the humans. They didn't have to, the phase of the moon didn't force them to change forms, but their instincts did urge them to.
"Yeah, of course," Dax said, pushing his paperwork aside. It would be good to stretch his muscles. How long had it been since he was in his wolf form? Days, at least, maybe a week or more. He could feel his instincts clawing at him, urging him to change forms, to stretch his limbs and run and chase and be with his people.
"We're going for a run?" Tala asked, standing from her spot in the corner.
Mav shot her a grin. "It's the full moon, of course we're going for a run. Though, I could be persuaded to do something else, perhaps."
Dax whacked his beta on the back of the head on his way past into the hallway, making the other man yell and protest. He knew the man didn't mean anything by it, he'd seen the man flirt with at least half the people he came in contact with, often with the intention of getting them in bed but just as often for no reason at all. But Tala was to be Dax's mate and as such was off limits.
Not that Dax really cared that much either way, but appearances were important and he couldn't afford to look weak right now, not with the merger and a whole new pack coming under his control who would test his bounds to see if he was really strong enough to lead them, plus every other surrounding pack watching him now that he would have so much more territory and manpower if he decided he wanted to take other packs less peacefully.
That wasn't something he was interested in, but if another pack thought he was and spotted a weakness, they wouldn't hesitate to attack, and he wouldn't allow his own shortcomings to affect his people.
Out in the hallway, he turned right to head toward the front door, but Mav turned to go up the stairs. "Outside is this way," he called.
Mav glanced over his shoulder but didn't pause. "I know," he replied, already halfway up the stairs. "I'll be there in a minute." He reached the landing and disappeared down the hallway toward his bedroom without further explanation.
Dax watched the spot where he'd disappeared for another moment before turning to continue outside. Mav was an enigma to say the least, and Dax found it easier to avoid questioning him as much as possible.
He turned to find Tala waiting for him with a broad smile. He felt the usual surge of annoyance, but it wasn't as strong as it usually was. It seemed Tala was an enigma as well, and he thought that he might have misjudged her, but wasn't sure how this would affect things moving forward.
He sighed and carded his fingers through his hair, shoving it away from his face. He could feel a headache coming, and he was glad he was spending his evening running with the pack instead of stuck in his office working on more paperwork. He could really use the break.
"Come on then," he said, leading his future mate outside to meet with the rest of the pack.
Posted: 1-19-2021
Word Count: 1930
Okay so I'm not super happy with this chapter but what had happened was is I sat down to add a bit to the beginning of the chapter and then somehow an entirely different chapter came out and I'm tired and don't really feel like properly editing it so here ya go super sorry bout it. Also it's a touch short and ya know that's okay too.
Also this chapter made me have a realization about Tala and like I'm glad my characters are real enough to have their own character development but also now I have to go back and rethink everything and I'm grumpy about it
<3Koda