After the unusual morning I had, it was a wonder I hadn't died of embarrassment.
"You okay there Pen?" Jude rounded the corner, pausing on his way to his office door. There was a cup of coffee in his hand as he regarded me with worry. My gaze dropped to the chains coiled around his forearms, gleaming from the sunlight that poured in from one of the windows.
"I'm fine!" I blurted out too enthusiastically, judging by the way his brows quickly shot up. "And you Mr Alpha man?"
Those brows quickly descended, narrowing. "Mr Alpha man?" He repeated, blinking.
I inwardly groaned, rubbing my temple. I was being more weird than usual. Someone strap some duct tape over my lips because I was making a sorry fool out of myself.
"Sorry, it's been a weird morning." I fought the flush spreading along my cheeks.
"Weird?" Jude craned his neck. No doubt, he already picked up on what I wasn't saying. He was scarily intuitive.
I couldn't tell him that I had literally rolled out from Alexei's bed this morning.
"Nothing Alpha. I'm okay. Seriously. No need to commit me to a specialised institution."
"I wasn't thinking that." He tilted his head, examining me carefully, "Now, what can I help you with?"
"I came to speak to you about that changeling last night." I offered.
"Come to my office." He gestured to the left. I followed him, claiming a seat facing the much larger desk where he sat in the chair. He set the mug of coffee down and clasped his hands, "I hope your ankle is healing well."
I had briefly forgotten about the injury, but I had shifted last night. There was a very slight ache that zipped along my ankle now. Other than that, it was practically healed. Tomorrow, I suspected it would be completely fine. "It's healing fine Alpha."
"Good. Maybe let your wolf surface again. The rest of the aches will disappear soon enough."
"I will." I nodded, although I didn't know the next time my wolf would surface.
Last night had been different.
"What is it about last night that you would like to speak about? You mentioned the changeling. I heard from some Enforcers of what you did. You know that was dangerous. Foolish perhaps. Things could've gone bad for the Pack Pen."
I gulped, nodding. "I'm sorry. I was more focused on my plan."
"Pack safety is always a priority Pen."
"I'm sorry."
"Your safety is also important too."
I hunched my shoulders from guilt as my heart softened. How could I have ever thought this man cruel?
When I first was admitted into the E.S training by Seamus, my first response to the man was hostility, among other things.
Jude had been unaffected by the wary stares of the Recruits. The show of no emotions unsettled me. I had heard rumours but I hadn't paid much attention to it. I had simply been surviving. Searching. Hiding. It was a sad continuous loop until doom had found me and it was too late to stall any further.
Jude sank further into the luscious looking wheelie chair. "One apology is enough. Now tell me what you came here for."
"I placed a tracking chip on the wolf's coat." I began, "I thought it wouldn't hurt to know where it was going. Maybe they congregate together or not. It could even lead us to more red-eyed wolves. The idea sounded good in my head. The execution could've been better, but I wanted to do it quickly. I wasn't sure when I would soon see one. It had to be then and there. When the wolf appeared, I took the opportunity." I didn't mention Alexei's assistance. I was sure he already knew about it, but I didn't want to put the focus on him when I was the one who had led the whole thing. I didn't want Alexei getting into trouble because of my actions.
At some point, Jude had straightened in his seat, listening to my words carefully with quiet intensity. "What device did you use to track it?"
"Just my phone." I tugged it from inside my jacket and switched on the app. "Here. Look."
A red dot moved along the map, lingering near the mountains. According to the little digits on the top right corner, the changeling hadn't moved far from the location in the last nine hours.
"Huh. Interesting." Jude took the phone, zooming in on the map and reading the roads crossing near the blinking red dot. "I wonder exactly what's there."
"Well, we have a place to go to now. I think the faster we go, the better our chances of figuring this whole mess out."
Jude hummed, distracted. "I'll have to let Aella go with you." Judging from his tone, I was certain he didn't want his mate finding danger. The little crinkle between his brows said as much.
I agreed wholeheartedly. It was a wise decision. Aella could sense the wolves. She was the reason why no one had died last night. She had reacted fast, but she could bet her friend still worried about little Daisy. Sure, her friend responded quickly but the whole Full Moon celebration may have side tracked her. No one could have guessed a red-eyed changeling hovered near, waiting to pounce.
They were very fortunate no one was injured.
Except, Daisy might have suffered from nightmares of being so close to the mad wolf's jaw.
I made an internal note to visit her soon. I didn't want her sweet mind poisoned with thoughts that would send her into full body shakes.
"This is good. Very good." Jude handed my phone back. "I'll have you, Aella, Jamison and Alexei investigate today."
"Thank you Alpha." I stood up.
He stood but paused, breathing in as he no doubt took in my strange, new scent. I cringed when his eyes shone with awareness. "I smell one of my men on you."
Jude didn't need to clarify. We both knew whose scent it was, although it was subtle. I had been conscious of every changeling I passed on the way to the Pack house.
"You can scent that?"
He probably could pick it up because he was the Alpha and every scent in his Pack was apparent to him, especially that of the men in his inner circle.
"It's subtle, for now. No one else should be able to smell it except Aella."
"Is it okay?"
"You and Alexei are adults. No one's opinion should matter. If you two decided to go all the way through with it, then I'm content. Congratulations."
I fumbled on a response, not sure what to say.
"I won't tell anyone. I'll leave that up to you two."
"Alright. Thanks Alpha. I'll be waiting for you to call when everything is set up." I walked myself to the door, "Now you have a good day Alpha."
"You too Pen."
***
It seemed like I wasn't the only one who decided to check up on Daisy in the afternoon.
Aella and Kian were at the house, both arguing with the triplets at the foot of the stairs although they hastily claimed they were just having a friendly chat.
I was more than surprised when Alexei walked out of the house, holding Daisy's hand. She caught sight of me first, releasing Alexei and bouncing to my side with a big, fat grin. Her eyes were practically sparkling when she flashed her teeth. "Hey Pen."
I absolutely melted. "Hey Daisy."
Her little arms clung onto me, wrapping around my thighs as she pressed her cheek to the side of it. "Are you here to visit me too Pen?"
I nodded, "Yeah, I wanted to check up on you."
"I'm fine. See?" She held out her arms and twirled, sending the hem of her yellow sundress up around her knees. I caught sight of two, purple gel sandals with glitter adorning her small feet. "I'm okay. The scary wolf didn't bite me." She assured me, "Thank you for leading it away. I saw you and Alexei do it."
"We're here to protect you." Alexei's voice responded.
The little girl visibly flushed under his attention, twirling a loose lock of hair around her finger. "Y-yeah. I know. You're super strong and stuff."
Alexei laughed, working his charm that I knew he kept well refined. "Well, I think you're brave. You remind me of a certain someone I know."
"Really? Who?"
He crouched to one knee and cupped a hand over the girl's ear, whispering. I didn't catch a single word but whatever Alexei whispered, the girl responded with giggles.
"You agree?" Alexei leaned back to his haunches.
Daisy nodded, "Yeah, she's brave."
The girl ran off, leaving Alexei behind. He dusted the smear of dirt from the tops of his thighs and stood, hovering over me. His scent filled my nose, and I was momentarily struck still by it. I wanted to plant my nose against his neck and maybe breathe him in for next few hours or so but that would only raise questions about my sanity.
Therefore, I settled with offering a small smile. "You're good with her."
His brown eyes shone, "I've known her since she was a pup. She has always needed a little more protection than her brothers but she's a fighter."
"I'm shocked she's smiling and giggling. I didn't think she would be."
"People usually underestimate how resilient kids can be. Daisy has always been a fierce little one. I don't think any red-eyed changeling will snatch that away from her." He said proudly as we watched her fumble onto Kian's back like a baby koala.
"She's lucky to have you."
"I'm lucky to have her."
"I went to see the Alpha today." I spoke, feeling his gaze swing back to my profile. I studiously watched as Leon, Maxim and Nyall bickered amongst each other. I still remembered the story Aella told me several months ago about the triplets and how it had been them who had tripped the alarm. All they wanted was Jude's crown to gift their little sister Daisy but instead, they had the whole Pack sent into a frenzy. I had laughed the whole time Aella recounted the story with a mirthful gleam in her eye. I had tears rolling down my cheeks when she finished.
"Why did you need to see him?" He suddenly sounded alert.
"It was about the changeling."
From my peripheral, he turned, facing me completely so I didn't doubt I had his whole attention. His arms slanted over his chest as he waited for me to face him.
I did, after counting to ten. I really needed those seconds to keep myself from jumping om him.
He perked a brow, silently demanding my words.
"I planted a chip on the changeling to track it. I have an app that shows me where that changeling from last night went. It may have been foolish, but I couldn't help but think that maybe we could get somewhere with this. We can't always rely on Aella sensing them. She's so busy these days with all the Luna and Pack stuff. I thought these changelings must meet up somewhere together or at least visit some place frequently. It would be a good chance for us to catch them and see where they all hideout, if they do that. I'm not sure if they do but this could help if they are hiding somewhere together-"
"You're rambling." Alexei gently said, slicing through my jumbled words.
"H-huh?" I paused, feeling out of breath.
His lips twitched, "I think it was a good idea Penelope."
I blinked, frozen and whole heartedly astonished by his support. "Thanks Alexei."
He took a step closer, and I didn't know why I took one step back. His approach startled me. He paused, glancing between us as if he was confused by something. Instead of speaking a word, Aella called for his attention. He sighed, rubbing a palm over his jaw, "Can I see you later? We need to talk."
I nodded, already retreating. "Yeah, of course we can."
"Ok." He blew out a breath and turned, striding over to Aella.
As the day drew on, I was pulled into one thing after another. Jane had spotted me on my way home and made a grab for me, stealing me into her kitchen. She was in the midst of baking banana bread for a competition and needed a helping hand since her mate Joel was out with their son doing other errands.
I had lost track of time and by the time we finished, it was already late in the evening.
I'd forgotten about meeting Alexei. I didn't even have his number to call him, and it seemed rude to rock up to his house when it was nearing midnight.
So, once I got home, a message from Jude awaited on my phone.
'I've organised everything to happen tomorrow. Jamison, Alexei, Aella and you will go to the mountains. Time of departure will be 1600hrs from the Pack house. It will be a single night stay, so pack a little. I have already informed the others of the arrangements and what you've executed with the tracking chip. If you have any questions, let me know- Jude S.'
I plugged in my phone to charge and prepared for bed. I wondered what Alexei was doing but refrained from thinking about it too much or I'd lose sleep. I needed enough rest to conquer tomorrow's obstacles. Nestled beneath my warm pile of blankets, I closed my eyes and dreamed of golden-brown eyes.