**Triple update cause why the fuck not? They officially meet next chapter!!**
Xavier's POV
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I released a deep sigh as I slammed my hand on the alarm clock, trying to turn the annoying piece of shit off. Growing increasingly frustrated, I ripped the small piece of plastic from the wall and chucked it across the room as hard as I could, effectively shattering it into a million tiny pieces.
Running my hands down my face, I groaned. Yet another sleepless night I thought to myself as I stared up at the plain white ceiling. The bed was warm and comfortable. The temperature in the room was perfect: not too warm, not too cold, and the room was silent enough. This was definitely favorable to the normal hard forest floor that I normally sleep on in wolf form. There was no reason I shouldn't have been able to fall asleep. But, there was one thing that had made it impossible to get more than a couple hours of undisturbed slumber at one time.
As cliché as it sounds, it's my thoughts that keep me up at night. The constant wondering of where she is, what she's possibly doing, if she's even still alive. What she might look like. Is her hair long or short? Are her eyes a dark, rich brown that glow in the sun? Or are they a crystal clear blue that could take my breath away and suck me in like a tidal wave. Will she have freckles? Is she tall or short?
My mind runs ramped with all the possibilities. I know that no matter what she looks like, I would love her with everything I have. The throbbing pain in my chest increased with every breath I took. My wolf was abnormally restless compared to what he normally is when we first wakeup. It was probably just because we weren't used to being in our skin form. It wasn't uncomfortable, just awkward. I often found it hard to communicate properly after not being in this form after extended periods of time.
I swiftly sat up and threw my legs over the side of my bed as I let out an annoyed growl for what seemed to be no particular reason; the wolf was just extra snarky today I guess. Showering quickly, I threw on my usual outfit when I took this form; a simple black T-shirt, dark wash jeans, and a pair of timberlands, which were a gift from Alpha Jerrod's kind mate. My wolf always took an extra liking to her in what I understood as a motherly sense.
Mornings like these were the worst. The incredible longing for my mate only got worse over time, and always brought back memories of my past with it. They weren't memories I ever wanted to relive. I wish I could just forget them all together, but I know that's impossible.
My wolf began growling in the back of my head at detour that my thoughts began to take. I missed my parents more than anything. They were strong, fierce leaders who never backed down from a fight. That was ultimately what got them killed. Our pack never saw the attack coming. It was in the middle of the night and came without warning. I'd never seen so many rogue wolves together in one place ever before in my life.
Everybody in our pack fought long and hard, but in the end it just wasn't enough. We'd managed to kill every single rogue, but all that was left of my pack was myself along with about twelve other pack members. All of which were unmated males, like myself. I was twenty-two at the time the attack took place and had only been leading for a little over a year. My members were all wary about me running the pack alone without my Luna by my side, of course, but I had proven myself to them numerous times and had easily gained their unwavering loyalty.
I blamed myself because they misplaced their trust in me and I failed them all. The constant burden hung on my shoulders ever since that night. I never wanted to be involved in pack life ever again because I didn't want to screw something up somehow and make someone else go through what I did. That's why I was so hesitant to Alpha Jerrod's offer to join his pack after first saving him, but he insisted. Once I got to know the man for more than the label he holds, we discovered that we had something major in common – we had both lost an extremely dear person in our lives. That was when I decided that this was going to be my way of redeeming myself and making my parents proud. I was going to watch over Jarrod's pack and make sure nothing ever harmed them ever again.
tI would always hold a special place in my heart for Alpha Jerrod and his wonderful mate. When I finally shifted and told them of the tragedy that my remaining pack member's and I had been through, they welcomed me, as well as all my surviving men, with open arms. The gesture surprised everyone. Even surrounding packs – or so I heard. Bloodlust been known to kill anyone who wasn't their own ever since their daughter had been taken. I wasn't too keen on having to answer to someone after being an alpha myself, especially because I had taken an extreme liking to being a Wild, but I was immediately given the position of head warrior alongside their current one. I trained all of Alpha Jarrod's men in war form and had significantly improved their fighting tactics over the last couple of years.
I hadn't realized how long I had been thinking for until I finally reached the dining hall. I ducked under the doorframe to avoid hitting my head and strode over to the designated table for high-ranking wolves.
Although I didn't have an official title, no one dared speak out against me. Smart. Scanning my eyes across everyone who sat before me, I could blatantly see the fear instilled in their orbs due to my presence. I refrained from smirking at their expense, knowing it wouldn't be a wise decision. I began to eat in silence, as always, enjoying the decent enough breakfast that had been presented to me. I was almost finished when a loud commotion from the corner of the room caught my attention.
I recognized the two wolves instantly by their scent. The taller and older of the two was that bastard Alpha Jack of Nightshade. I know I haven't met the boy he's speaking with, but I'm sure by the resemblances they share, that it must be his son. I've only spoken with Alpha Jack a handful of times, but I really only needed to meet him just once to know that he was a huge dick head. He tried to act as if he was superior to everyone he surrounded himself with, but, in all honesty, he was a terrible Alpha. As was his father. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, they say.
It's no secret that he treats his lower-ranks like scum that you get on the bottom of your shoe, and the way he's trained his warriors is flat out comical. I've called him out on it only once before. It was the first time I spoke in my skin form in front of anyone since the accident. I know for a fact that Alpha Jack is scared shitless of me (most people are) and that's why he didn't try and attack me when I said anything.
I was brought back to reality when the yelling between the two became louder. Alpha Jack appeared to be extremely upset with his son for some reason unknown to me. His face scrunched with frustration as he jabbed his finger into his son's chest, then proceeding to part with a few final words. His son turned on his heels and returned to his seat, which, conveniently, was right across from me. I pulled my lips back and released a slight snarl as my canines extended from my gums. His disgusting scent hit me, but then just a fraction of a second later it oddly mixed with another more alluring one that I couldn't quite decipher.
My wolf began to stir in my head as I continued to take big breaths in. I was confused beyond belief. I could tell the strange scent didn't belong to the kid in front of me, which led me to believe that it was somebody he'd been hanging around earlier in the day or possibly even last night. My wolf's relentless whining finally got to me. I abruptly pushed my chair back, with enough force to push it over, and stalked out of the dining room. I shifted right when I reached the entrance of the building and darted off into the woods that surrounded that building. I ran for hours, only stopping once I realized it was growing increasingly darker, meaning I need to start getting ready for tonight. Why the hell did I say yes to Jarrod?
Once back in my confined room, I quickly showered to rinse off the sweat and dirt from my body before letting my shoulder lengthy wild hair air-dry like usual. I located the only pair of decently nice clothes I owned that I brought with me and put them on. I fiddled with the buttons on the black dress shirt for far longer than I should have, but with massive hands it's quite impossible to get the tiny buttons in their respective holes. I did a quick once over in the mirror, examining my matching dress pants and a black tie for wrinkles, not that I actually cared if I even had any. I was in the middle of putting my snug suite jacket on when my Alpha burst through the bedroom door. I growled at him for the intrusion, highly annoyed with him already because he'd forced me to participate in this ridiculous event. My growl was cut short when I saw his red-rimmed, puffy eyes.
He's been...crying?
The sight caught me off guard. I've never seen him cry. Hell, I don't think I've seen any Alpha cry in my 25 years of living. I immediately took a fighting stance, my body tense and waiting for instructions on who to kill. I wasn't at all prepared for what he did next.
Tipping his head back, he let out a loud, hearty laugh. My stance faltered as my eyes widened with surprise. I stumbled back, completely caught off guard by his actions. In the two and a half years I've known him, I've never heard him laugh.
"Calm down my boy, I have come bearing good news. Hell, not just good news. This is the best news I've received since my mate told me she was pregnant with my pups." He said while patting my shoulder in a fatherly way. I scrunched my brows and blinked a few times before nodded for him to continue.
"We have located our missing daughter. Alethia has been hanging out with her ever since we got here. Our little angel has been right underneath our nose this entire time. She's been living with Nightshade, those fucking cocksuckers. Listen, I will introduce you two later tonight, but for now this information needs to be kept highly confidential. I don't want Alpha Jack getting wind of our discovery. There has to be a reason behind their pack kidnapping her and keeping her for so long. I intend to get to the bottom of this, but for tonight we would just like to celebrate having our family all together once again." I tried to concentrate on his words as he spoke, but it became increasingly hard. The same scent that surrounded Alpha Jack's son earlier was now lingering on Jerrod as well, but it was much stronger this time. I couldn't help but take in a lungful of air. My wolf slammed against our barrier, and I could feel my eyes changing between my human side and wolf side.
"Xavier, are you alright?" He questioned, worry lacing his tone.
"Fine. Wolf and I ready to get night over." I curtly replied. Try as I might, I couldn't ignore Alpha Jerrod's sympathetic stare. It was burning holes into the side of my face. I growled under my breath, my only warning to him that I wanted to be left alone.
I knew what my chances were going into tonight's festivities. I was already 25; my chances were slim to none at this point. He cleared his throat and mentioned that we needed to get moving before we were late to our meeting place. We eventually made our way to the giant crowd of nervous males. I crossed my arms and leaned against the farther wall, observing my surroundings. Jerrod said his quick goodbye, explaining that he left his mate and girls in their room with strict instructions not to leave without him.
"They're going to murder me if I'm the reason they're late." He murmured nervously before practically sprinting away. The edges of my lips quivered with the possibility of a smile due to his eagerness to be with his family, but it stopped a moment later after realizing that what he's feeling now is the one thing I will never have the joy of experiencing. My mood turned even more sour, if that was even possible. My anger was tangible in the air and caused the large group of males closest to me to turn and watch me with fear in their eyes. I ignored them completely as I watched Alpha Jack stride into the room, his mate hanging on his arm.
Odd. All the Alpha and Luna's are supposed to be with accompanying the unmated females.
I shook the thought away and let myself admire how well this function was run. The council really did have everything planned out to a T. They kept all the males and females separate, with the entire group of mated Alpha's in the female wing with their mates to make sure that no male snuck into their wing and caused problems. They also made sure that the females were escorted to the building where the ball took place. I could understand the extreme precautions when it came to making sure someone didn't claim what wasn't theirs. A mate was the single most important thing to us male wolves. Nothing else in the world mattered to us once we found our other half. Well nothing else but the pups that she would soon bare. The need to be around your mate is stronger than anything else, only the scent of your mate or one of their belongings can curb the craving for their presence and attention. I couldn't stand being around my previous Beta, simply because his mate was never too far away. It made me feel even worse than I already did, knowing that I would never have that.
We finally reached our destination and I waited until everyone had already entered the now cramped building to finally make my presence known. People scurried to get out of my way as I walked, and didn't dare look me in the eyes. They already knew that I would be in a no bullshit mood tonight. Good. Within minutes the same scent that had been taunting me all day hit me with full force like a wall. My wolf forcibly broke the mental barrier I had put up between the two of us and took complete control of my mind.
He snarled, making me go rigid as I watched from the sidelines of my own body. It wasn't a snarl of anger, or annoyance. No, it was a snarl of pleasure. Delight. He growled at everyone around him, letting them know to get the fuck out of his way. He had his sights set on something across the room. Something that I had yet to navigate with my own eyes just yet.
When I did, my mouth went dry instantly. This can't be...