I awoke to sunlight slanting through my windows; to crisp morning air, soft, sliding covers and the melodious thump of my own heartbeat. With all that had transpired in the past couple of days, the serenity in the way I roused was a welcomed reprieve.
My eyes, only fractionally open and still bloodshot from sleep, surveyed the room in one sweeping glance. Phoenix, once again, was gone. I could only guess that he was out training, eating breakfast, or perhaps exercising his beast. Part of me rejoiced at his absence; a larger, more worrying part longed for him; for his touch that trailed fire, for his gritty yet ensnaring scent, for the way his eyes seemed to caress every inch of my skin, scorching and scouring.
I bit my lip, trying to hamper the tingles that crawled up my spine at the thought of the Alpha. He was no good for me, and I no good for him. How could I be? I was a Huntress...his pack would never accept me as their Luna. Even if they did—and that was a big if—I'd face suspicion for the rest of my days, plagued by the sins of my blood.
In need of a distraction from my thoughts, I threw the covers off of my legs and jogged downstairs. Unlike the day prior, the hallways were filled with people, all of whom quieted and stared as I walked. Some looked at me with curiosity, though most viewed me with suspicion. I didn't blame them. It wasn't as if their wariness was unfounded, given my...tumultuous past.
"Isa! I find you at last."
My head snapped up. Alex was stood by the door, smiling broadly. I almost sagged with relief. A friendly face was appreciated...even if that friendly face belonged to a hulk of a Beta.
"You were looking for me?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
"Yes," he said, before pausing with a frown. "Well, no, if I'm honest, but I should've been. The scary witch wants to speak to you."
I scoffed and began walking again, my steps hurried. "That's not going to happen."
"I said the exact same thing when Damien asked me to be his Beta." Alex replied. "And guess what? I'm now the Beta."
"You did?" I asked, stopping in my tracks. "You tried to turn down the Beta position?"
Alex's smile faltered. "Well, no. That was a lie. I basically shat myself with excitement because up until then, my life was going precisely fucking nowhere. But that's not the point, Isa! I'm saying that sometimes, you've gotta listen to scary women with wands."
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to digest what Alex had said. This man was eccentric to say the least. He wasn't the archetypal Beta—of that much, I was certain—and part of me wondered if this role had always belonged to him. I decided that I'd ask Thea about it someday.
"As far as I'm concerned, she can shove her wand up her ass." I said angrily.
Alex snorted. "I must admit that I don't like her very much, either. Just...just do this for T."
I sighed heavily but nodded, caving at the thought of pleasing my newfound friend. If Thea needed me to play nice and pretend to accept Magali's apology, I'd do it. Even if that did mean surrendering what little dignity I had left.
"Fine." I reluctantly acquiesced. "Take me to the bitch. Witch. Whichever she is."
Alex grinned broadly and led me down a corridor, skipping as he went. I watched him with a faint smile—one that tentatively tugged at my lips, teetering on the edge of nonexistence. When I made no conscious effort to keep up with the eccentric Beta, he grabbed my hand and forced me to skip alongside him, albeit less elegantly; my legs seemed to fall behind my torso as I jumped, unused to such frivolous movements.
Just as I was settling into the rhythm, Alex abruptly stopped beside a door. I collided with his back, the breath rattling harshly in my lungs, the smile upon my lips dying like a rioting star.
"Wha—" I began to ask, eyes wide.
"She's in there." Alex answered my unfinished question and smiled, pointing towards the door we'd stopped beside. "Knock 'em dead. Not literally, though, as that'd be hard to explain."
I rolled my eyes and nodded. Alex backed away but didn't leave, watching me intently. I sighed heavily, realising that this was the Beta's way of ensuring that I didn't procrastinate. He held his hands up in feigned surrender, sensing my annoyance. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him.
After a few moments of staring Alex down, I shook my head good-naturedly and pushed the door open.
At the sight of the witch, my blood boiled. She was stood at the foot of the table, smiling softly. I wanted to lash out, to scream that she shouldn't be smiling after what she'd put the child and I through, but for the sake of Thea I smoothed my features into a crisp, professional smile.
"Hello, Isa." she greeted, her voice as gentle as summer winds.
Hi, you creepy ass bitch, was what I wanted to say, but instead I settled for "Hi, Magali."
"I want to apologise for yesterday," she began, sighing. "I never intended to cause you—or anyone else, for that matter—harm."
Her words were like a match and they set my anger aflame. I gritted my teeth, resisting the urge to curl my hands into fists, resisting the urge to shout and scream at the woman before me. My outward appearance was mostly untouched by my innate fury, albeit for my thinned lips and set jaw, but inside I was a tornado; whirling and twisting and curling, the fragments of my rationality and calmness lost to this frenzy of anger.
"You never intended to cause anyone harm?" I asked, my voice incredulous. "Then why demand that I hurt a young, innocent girl? Let me tell you something, Magali-whatever-the-fuck-your-last-name-is. You're full of shit."
The witch, if offended by my words, did not show it. "She wasn't real, Isa. She was a projection of a spell—nothing more and nothing less. No harm would have befallen anyone."
I looked at Magali with wide eyes, my brows climbing higher and higher until they touched my hairline. "Then why do this? Why do any of this if the girl wasn't real?"
"Because you're a Huntress, Isa!" at the sight of my hurt expression, her tone softened. "I couldn't be sure whether you were controlled by your own beliefs or those that'd been instilled in you from birth. I had a son once...a boy of incredible power. But despite his strengths as a wizard, he was plagued by many flaws. He was consumed by bitterness and anger and it destroyed him."
I went still. "Is he...dead?"
"In a sense," she replied vaguely, a faraway look in her exotic green eyes. "Do you see now? Do you understand why I needed to ensure that you were not like him?"
The power spoke, it's voice growing stronger. She's different. She's hiding something.
Part of me wanted to confront the witch, spurred by the power's words. Instead, I merely nodded.
"Yes," I said, only half lying. "I understand...well, sort of, anyway. You are forgiven."
She nodded her head, trying to appear grateful but mostly unaffected, but I could see from her broad smile and the twinkle in her eyes that my forgiveness meant more to her than she was letting on.
"Thank you, Isa." she said, grabbing my hand from across the table. When I didn't reply, she squeezed it comfortingly. "Thank you."
I nodded stiffly, unsure of how to react to this genuine influx of emotion. I'd never been particularly skilled in managing my own feelings, much less anyone else's. It was my downfall within hunting, for I couldn't repress any lingering doubts; even here it failed me, leaving me uncertain of how to respond.
"No problem," I said awkwardly, scratching the back of my head. "I've not eaten yet, so I'm going to go...uhm, this was a nice chat. Au revoir."
I left the room with my mind turning in on itself. Au re-fucking-voir? Who says that?! The people around me, as if sensing my inward turmoil, parted like the sea. I would've smirked, if not for my extreme embarrassment. These werewolves, all of incredible strength and speed, paving a path for little ol' me.
My stomach growled overwhelmingly loudly, making me put a hand over my abdomen in a vain effort to muffle the sound. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment as everyone stared, so I stopped and threw my hands up in feigned annoyance.
"What? A girl's gotta eat!"
I sang as the radio blared my favourite song, stopping occasionally to flip my pancakes. Upon reaching the kitchen, I found no one; only the comfort of a music station and a plethora of ingredients, ripe for taking.
"Push and pull like a magnet, too."
I couldn't help it. I tried to focus on the matter at hand—which was the burning glob of pancake batter in the pan—but quickly lost myself to the beat of the music. I smiled, waving the spatula as if it was a prop within my inclusive dance show, and childishly pranced across the room, swaying my hips and flinging my arms outwards.
"Da, eto normal'no...Isa?"
I jolted as if I'd been electrocuted. Phoenix stood in the doorway with a phone to his ear and an amused smile painted upon his lips. My singing died to a quiet hum and my hips, which I once swung with unbidden carelessness, were frozen as if in a state of rigid-mortis. The Alpha said a quick goodbye to whoever he was speaking to, returned the phone to his pocket and laughed aloud, the sound like thunder rolling across rooftops, like rain crashing against metal, like water rushing over rocks. My cheeks flared red and I bit my lip, unconsciously bowing my head in shame.
"Hi?" I attempted a greeting but my voice faltered, caving to irrepressible embarrassment.
His eyes flashed dangerously as he waved a hand, motioning to continue. When I didn't move, he leaned a shoulder against the doorframe and crossed one leg over the over, smiling crookedly. "Please," he said, amusement offsetting his serious tone, "continue. Don't let me stop you, tigritsa."
I looked around, flustered, and upon noticing my significantly charred pancake I pointed at it in triumph. "I can't. I have a pancake to eat."
The werewolf walked towards the oven, brows furrowed. "You call that a pancake?" he asked, his tone one of disbelief. "In Russia, we call that a fucking mess."
"In America, we call people like you assholes!" I snapped, worrying over the burned mass of batter. "Don't insult my pancake."
Phoenix skimmed a hand over the mark on my neck and his touch ignited fire. "Duly noted."
Whilst I busied myself with scraping my pancake off of the pan, Phoenix turned towards the radio. Before I'd even brought the first burnt morsel to my lips my favourite song was back on, filling the air with its addictive beat. I wheeled around and rolled my eyes at the grinning werewolf.
"Nice try, Alpha." I said, folding my arms across my chest. "I've been trained to withstand temptation...it'll take more than my favourite song to make me cave."
Something dark blazed in his eyes as I spoke. Something raw, primal and eminently carnal; something that made my toes curl like waves nearing the shore, made my nerves tingle in anticipation, made my lungs inflate with thick, searing air. I looked back at him, biting my lip.
"You were trained to withstand temptation?" he asked, his voice rough with possessiveness. I stepped backwards, narrowing my eyes at the Alpha and contemplating bringing up his promise, but he covered the distance between us in three easy steps.
I almost fell backwards in shock but he wound an arm around my waist, pulling me firmly against him. He smirked, noticing how my chest heaved in his presence, how my eyes wandered from his eyes to his upturned lips.
"Hmm..." he mused, dragging his thumb across my bottom lip, "it seems that you're not as good at resisting temptation as you thought."
I gritted my teeth and, after a moment of regaining all sense of being, I pushed him away. He staggered backwards, and I knew that with his werewolf strength he was merely doing it for my dignity.
"I wasn't fazed." I lied, breathless. "Just a little...flustered, is all."
"Y'know, you looked pretty fazed to me."
I muffled a shriek with my hand and Phoenix was in front of me in a flash, shielding me from view. I rolled my eyes as I recognised the voice as Thea's and manoeuvred out of his hold, smiling abashedly at my friend.
"How much of that did you see?" I asked, half dreading her answer.
"Well," said the grinning Luna, "I think it's fair to say that the sexual tension between you two is undeniable."
Her words were embarrassing enough; the way she waggled her eyebrows, however, was positively blush-inducing. I scratched the back of my neck and mentally destroyed the Alpha, spears and silver arrows and all. As if attuned to my vicious thoughts, Phoenix tilted his head and smirked, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"You're blushing," he remarked, sharing a knowing look with Thea. "A little...flustered, are we?"
I pushed my tongue against the roof of my mouth in feigned annoyance. "Did you need something?"
"Other than a way out of that staredown? No, not really." she said, arching an eyebrow.
"Okay." I said, looking at my discarded breakfast. "Well I'm going to leave now in an effort to save the last scraps of my dignity...if anyone wants my pancake they're welcome to it."
I slid past an incredibly amused Thea and walked out of the room, my cheeks still burning.
A/N: The tension grows stronger! And I just want to quickly say that if the russian translations are wrong, I'm really sorry. I'm having to use google translate so there may be some errors!
QUESTION FOR TODAY: What's your favourite book genre? I like romance, crime, and fantasy.