Kira
Nearly forty-eight hours had passed since my encounter with D'angelo. I had no idea of the outcome of my actions.
Punishment, maybe?
But I held a strong belief that the alpha wouldn't hurt me.
Ever.
Reflecting with a smile, I pictured the surprise in his eyes when I talked back to him. I made a very reckless move, but the deed had already been done.
I lay on my bed, shutting my eyes and dreaming of how we almost kissed, how his body heat seeped into mine, and how my wolf was so delighted. My wolf read my thoughts and purred in excitement.
Hugging my pillow closer, I felt a weight in my chest. It was extremely difficult to focus on other things without thinking about Alpha D'angelo. Although we weren't allowed to go close to the Alpha's quarters, I kind of wished I would bump into him.
My morning duty was the same—washing the dogs, and Zina being nicer to me every day. Strangely, she never mentioned the alpha, and I wondered why. It made me more curious to know what he was up to.
Did he wake up thinking about me the way I did? Did he miss me the way I did?
"Oh gosh, Kira, you're so foolish," I groaned into my hands, pretending to deny my interest. But some feelings could never be suppressed, no matter how hard one tried.
Amari barged into my room, carrying a paper box filled with stuff. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, and with a loud voice and hyper attitude, she showed me her bounty.
"Look what I saw—slutty dresses, cute shoes. These people are so wasteful; some dresses even have tags on them."
I shook my head in amusement when she brought them out one after the other. I smiled sadly, remembering the gifts I had received from Zina that burned with the rest of our stuff at the Omega tent.
"Let's play dress up and go out," Amari grabbed my feet, attempting to drag me out of bed. I whined and refused, covering my body with a blanket.
"Come on, Kira, stop being a downer and get your ass off the bed. With the way you spend your whole day here, this mattress is going to get flat soon."
I bit down on a smile. "Fine, thirty minutes, and I'm back here," I said flatly.
Amari kept muttering under her breath about my unhurried movements. We headed to Silver Lake, a large lake surrounded by woods, and according to Amari, it had friendly water nymphs.
"Wow, this place is beautiful," I gasped, walking on top of the rocky shoreline with colorful gravel in shades of grey and white, loving the waves lapping the shore.
"Trust me, I know what you like," she giggled. "You need to explore the pack."
"Elder Logan warned us to avoid causing trouble with the higher-ranked wolves; they don't like us," I reminded her.
"Whatever," she waved me off, going into the water until it slid around her shins.
By my left were beautiful flowers; I was a sucker for flowers. My chest tightened when I remembered the flower pots I had grown painstakingly for over a year.
Crouching to stare at them, I smiled, plucking one out carefully.
"Amari, I think we need to start a flower business. The females around here love flowers. We could make some cool cash."
"You seem to have forgotten that we're not allowed to earn any income. There isn't much difference between now and living at the border, except for better housing and maybe more food," Amari pointed out.
I crossed my arms, lost in thought. Maybe I can tell the alpha to let us work for money.
Hiding my smile behind my hair, I bounced lightly. "We can do this, Amari. I mean, we can start planting the flowers and tending after them. If the alpha could let us come in, I'm sure he'll have a change of heart very soon and allow us to work for money."
Amari shrugged, picking a purple hibiscus.
"Are you having issues with Zion?" she asked without meeting my gaze. When she did, I gave her a bleak smile.
"No, why?"
"You don't hang out with him anymore, you argue all the time. I'm your best friend, and you should tell me if there's something wrong."
Guilt tugged at my heart. Amari tells me everything, yet I had never opened my mouth to mention that the alpha and I were mates.
Biting my lip, I looked away, wondering if I should tell her now or not. Leaving it till later would worsen things, and she'd be hurt.
Mustering as much courage as I could, I leaned in. "We're having problems, big ones."
"Oh," she leaned forward, concerned. "What is it about?"
“I um... I found my mate, and it's not him."
Amari's mouth gaped open. "What did you just say? Something so special and big happened to you, and you didn't deem it fit to tell me?!"
"Slow down," I grabbed her arm when she started throwing tantrums. "It's not such sweet news; my mate doesn't want me."
She became still, staring at me and waiting for me to continue, but I remained silent.
"But why? And who is he?"
"It's the alpha," I said with a voice barely above a whisper. "D'Angelo is my mate."
Amari looked like I'd just slapped her in the face. She stammered in bewilderment and shock; the heavy lashes that shrouded her cheeks flew up, and the shock hit her full force.
"Hold on, I need to sit down."
She grabbed my arm and led me to a fallen tree where we sat on the bark.
"Are you pranking me?"
I shook my head, staring at my arms. "I wish I was."
"And when did you find out about this? Why didn't you tell me? What are you going to do?" she spoke all at once.
"I didn't tell you because he threatened me if I told anyone."
"Including your best friend?"
"Look, that's not even the problem. He's refusing to reject me, and my feelings for him grow every single day. That's why I've been moody because I know my relationship with Zion can never work."
Amari crossed her arms over her chest, her voice hardening. "Have you lost your mind? You like the alpha?"
"That's how I feel. It's the bond between us; it's so strong I don't know how to explain it to you since you haven't felt it before."
"Oh, shut up, shut up, shut up," Amari shrieked. I frowned, wondering why she was yelling at me like that.
"You're so foolish to think that alpha would stoop so low to be with someone like you. You're not even anywhere close to being classy and sophisticated. I pity you if you keep carrying these foolish thoughts in your head."
I sat there in shock, watching her walk away. The wind whispered through the trees, leaving me in silence.