*FLASHBACK*
Alaina, Alpha Alexander wants you to clean up his room,” The head maid said to me as though she'd been dying to have the words drop and my heart leaped to my heart. I blinked repeatedly, my grip around the broom I was holding tightening as I looked up at her to ask, “Me?” “Do I need to tell you this in sign language?” She hissed. I knew any more defiance would cause a strike to my face so I retreated, skittering away from her and her fiery eyes as it replayed over and over again in my head that the Alpha wanted me to clean his room. Again! When does the torture end? I sighed, trying to embody the pain that gnawed my chest as I daintily made my way through the large, dark corridors, hoping I would bump into either him or Esmeralda. I wasn't even his personal maid so why was he being so cruel to me? Arriving at the door, I sucked my breath and lifted my hands to know. My knuckles rattled on the door, once but was met with silence. Today might be my lucky day. If the Alpha wasn't in, then I could do my job and leave, without having to watch him rip my pride to shreds. I knocked once more and no voices greeted me, or confirmed my entrance so I pulled the knob and the door pushed open. And hell! It was a pig's sty in there! There were clothes scattered around the heavily adorned room, like used confetti. By the bed were trays of eaten breakfast and lunch, with leftovers that held a sour smell over the atmosphere. I nuzzled my shoulder, as though it helped with the smell and proceeded to step in fully. Dirty people enraged me and Alpha Alexander was definitely on the list. Never had his room been organized, yet it still surprised me how unclean a man heading our pack could be. I started to sort them out. “He must have been a pig in this past life!” I said to myself as I folded his clothes. “How can a person be so dirty? This is horrible for the pack. If I man couldn't keep his own room tidy, how much more an entire state? No man should be this dirty!” “Oink.” That wasn't me. I- I didn't make that sound which must mean, AH! My head shot back and my eyes carried the full appearance of Alpha Alexander, leaning against the door with his arms folded. I didn't know when he came in! My heart started to thump like a band of drums and my fingers were instantly weakened, there, the clothes slipped from my grip. I was no different from a mummy, staring with lips parted open as he pulled closer with such annoying gait, and smirk on his face that taunted the hell out of me. He heard that! He heard everything I said! “I-” “Oink?” I dipped to my knees immediately, “I beg for mercy, Alpha Alexander! T-that. What I meant was- I didn't.. know you were…” His face contorted as laughter cynically forced from his mouth, into every corner of the room. Sardonically, he laughed, his eyes red and watering from how funny it was that I was knelt before him, begging to not be thrown out of the packhouse. “You're really funny, you know that right?” He drawled as he elegantly drifted in the direction of the book shelf. “I should tell the council what I really am. Only then could I really manage the packs, what do you think?” “I'm sorry, Alpha. It was never my intention to belittle you or-” “It's fine.” He dismissed with a wave, his blue eyes gleaming with excitement as he gawked at me. My skin started to crawl and breathing under his imposing gaze was harder than anything I had ever known. People should not be made me this…. beautiful. “I’ll be a pig if you asked me to be.” His voice was a melody of its own. Well, for those stupid enough to be swayed. I wasn't this. This person might as well be a fallen angel. “I'm sorry…” My voice faded into nothing, my confidence dying with me, till I heard him say.. “After all, everything's better when you do it.” His eyes met mine. He smiled. Right before he upturned the entire shelf and had me rearrange it. That devil! *PRESENT DAY* Allie? My name still sounded the same on his tongue and I still felt the same urge to punch him across the face at least once. I knew I was in the wrong here, but this was no longer Alexander's territory where he could bully me however he wanted. (Well, technically it was.) “Alpha Alexander…” Why was my voice so squeaky! I felt like I'd melt if he continued to stare like that. His eyes were ever so blue, holding that boyish charm in them, and a glint for mischief. “Sorry. I didn't know you were on a call.” The same phrase as years ago replayed in my head, people should not be made this beautiful. Why did I have to bump into him here!? Had his family not had enough playtime wrecking my life? Esmeralda was somewhere with my ex-husband, possibly choking on his cock. And here he was, placing me under a microscope with his eyes. His brows flicked upwards and my eyes fell to his thin lips as he spoke. “Don't tell me you grew up to become a violent woman?” Was he kidding me!? Logan must have fed him a lot of lies, and considering the situation of things, he was my enemy. Always have been. “Don't tell you you grew up to becoming a stay at home dad?” I flicked my gaze to his upturned cart. I should not be doing this, but the tables should be flipped at least once. “At Least do it right, Alpha Alexander.” “Sass…” He licked the word, caressed it with his tongue as he sucked the air. I felt it in my lower abdomen. I felt his voice as a vibration traveling down my legs. “I love it.” I DO NOT LIKE THIS MAN! “Guess what else you'd like?” “Wh-” “Moving out of the way,” I pushed past him. “Thank you for this pleasant meet and greet, Alpha Alexander. I hope it never happens again.” I walked to the cashier, feeling the weight of Alexander's gaze prick me in the back. No one should speak to the Alpha that way. No one. But what could I have done? I was a bitter woman with years of pent-up aggression towards him. The worst he'd do was have me thrown out of the pack. I doubt he'd be that petty, right? RIGHT?! *** I took a deep breath, my heart racing with excitement and a hint of nervousness. I had been planning this moment for weeks! Lorraine was at the corner of the room, silently watching and flashing me thumb ups right before I clicked the camera. I adjusted my mask and fluffy ears, making sure they were securely in place. From this moment, Alaina Bloodrose was nowhere to be found. I was Queen Of Dawn. I opened the camera on my kitchen counter, and the bright light illuminated the cozy kitchen. Could they tell that I was battling with nerves and could barely unclench my jaw? “You got this…” Lorraine whispered. I do. I got this! I waved at the screen, trying to appear more confident than I felt. "Hello, everyone! Welcome to my channel! Of all amazing things I have planned, i'm so excited to share my first recipe with you all today - chicken curry!" At first, the comments section was empty, and I wondered if anyone was even watching. But then, the notifications started flooding in. "Hello from Germany!" "Love your ears!" "Can't wait to see what you're making!" I smiled, feeling a sense of connection with my growing audience. As I began chopping the onions and garlic, more comments continued to roll in. Ease set in as moments went by and I felt more confident, talking them into the process with a wide smile. "What kind of mask is that?" "Your kitchen is so cute!" “I love cooking too!" I tried to respond to as many comments as possible, grateful for their support and interest. As I sautéed the chicken and added the spices, the aroma filling the kitchen, the comments turned into a lively discussion about cooking techniques and favorite recipes. Before I knew it, we had reached the end of the recipe, and I proudly presented the finished dish to the camera. The comments exploded with praise and thanks. My cheeks hurt from grinning too wide. And Lorraine was jumping excitedly behind the camera. And then, I saw it. ‘PIGSTY sent a diamond!’ A DIAMOND!? That equaled a thousand dollars! I stared at the screen, my jaw dropped in disbelief. Was this real? I clicked the camera off and yelled at the top of my lungs. “Lorraine!”ALEXANDERThe laptop folded back into place after a gentle tap and the borders in my mind finally crashed down, resisting conformity. Now, I had to face it.I had to face my feelings. No one should think this way of a woman married to one's Beta and best friend, but I could help it, could I? Alaina. I tasted her name on my tongue and my mind relentlessly worked up vivid pictures of her.I see her in everything. “Oh shit!” This was exactly why I hadn't bothered to reach out, or even go to the wedding that second I witnessed Logan's proposal to her.That day was my hell, my personal unbecoming and I lost air, lost grasp of time when she jumped into his arms and accepted to be his bride. My confession might as well go to hell. Now, I'd see her again and those feelings, the ones I thought I'd successfully grown out of, were just buried.Her eyes were as vibrant as ever, the liveliest of greens with a kick of darkness in them, like she could pierce one's soul, and when she looked up at me
ALAINA “Do you think Mr Pigsty would be watching today?” Lorraine cooed from behind me and I averted my gaze from the mirror, sparing her a quick glance before carefully placing the mascara back on the ceramic table. “Way to conclude they're a man,” I rolled my eyes, patting her hair before absentmindedly running a brush through it again. It couldn't possibly be a man, right? Though it might be, it shouldn't mean anything but chivalry. They were just nice enough to have gifted me that. And it was no big deal. Right? The corner of Lorraine's lips pulled upward in a smile and mischief reflected in her eyes. “Isn't that much obvious? Would you rather it's a woman then? I fear there's no fun in that.” My eyes flicked to the ticking clock on the wall, right above the borders of the window. I had ten minutes to be live. I smacked my lips, squinting a little. “What do you mean would I rather it's a woman? It's not different to me. Whoever they are, I'm just grateful for them an
ALAINA What the hell? Gulping hard, I pulled closer to the laptop to see the digit and it stared right back at me. One zero. Then two zeros. Then three. Then- My eyes were heavy from being widened for too long and I tried to yell Lorraine's name, but the term, ‘cat got your tongue?’ had never been truer for me. Everything I wanted to say, or could say turned into dust in my headspace, and dollar notes might as well be ingrained in my pupils. “Pig…sty?” I called out absentmindedly though I was already off my channel. Was this…some kind of scheme? Was I going to get kidnapped soon? Trafficked!? I propped to my feet and yanked off the apron, spinning out of the room and in the direction of Lorraine's. She might have answers! That was a lot of money. TOO MUCH MONEY. Mr Anonymous had done it again and what the hell had I done to deserve eight fucking thousand bucks from someone who knew nothing about me? As much as I wanted to enjoy the moment, the terror had started to
The chill air surrounded me as I stepped into the lobby, my eyes scanned the area for Logan or Esmeralda. I'd left this division in his care a while ago, and because he'd already rejected Esmeralda, I didn't see a reason why their working together could be a problem.Until yesterday when I was informed that she was carrying his child! What madness was that? The receptionist leapt to her feet at the sight of me and her smile started to falter at the edges.“G-Good day, Alpha Alex-xander,” She stuttered, staring like she'd seen a ghost. Usually, the entirety of the staff was informed whenever I planned to visit.I'd never once made an impromptu appearance like this one, and if a secretary could react this way, I wonder what expressions I'd be reading off Logan. With a curt nod, I stepped into the elevator and found my way up to Logan's office.The hallway was quiet, unusually quiet for a manufacturing branch and one could almost hear a pin drop. I flicked my eyes to either side of the
ALAINA*TWELVE HOURS EARLIER*I looked like a completely homeless bum sitting before my computer with my feet endlessly tapping the edge of the table as I scanned through the website.My thumb was in my mouth and I'd nearly chewed off the entirety of my fingernail. The frustration was enough to turn my hair into spikes and I might just disappear into thin air at any moment.The realization glared at me in the eyes. I NEEDED TO FIND A JOB! “Why did you have to say that!?” I groaned, grabbing my face and patting little slaps to my lips since no one would do it for me.I ran my fingers through my hair as I remembered my conversation with the Pack's radio. It was nearly time for the Pack's monthly moonlight meeting, a feast for the elderlies, and undoubtedly, I'd be a trending topic!Ugh! That vain old woman. I was quite sure the moon goddess didn't want her quite yet, that was why she still roamed the corners of…. like a vengeful ghost!But that wasn't the point, was it?! I was the one
ALAINA“Do you…want to find out?”First I thought I was hearing things, but it dawned on me that it wasn't a figment of my imagination when I spun around only to find the bane of my existence leaning against the door frame with a sardonic smirk blessing his amused expression. My mouth fell open and gradually his scent filled the entire room. “A-Alph..”I hadn't heard the door make any sound and one question, what was he doing here? I staggered back as the shock shot through me and somehow landed back on the chair, slamming my ass against it and boy did it hurt?Alpha Alexander seemed to be enjoying every single second of watching me turn into water. Jeez! What had I done? He trudged in, tucking his arms in his pockets. There was no form of lividness in his demeanor and I didn't know what scared me more. The fact that he might have heard every derogatory remark directed at him, or that he'd managed to infiltrate the only company that I thought I'd never see him in. I braced the sides
ALEXANDER“What did you just say to me?” The next question that slipped right out of her mouth and made me realize that I'd indeed slipped up. Alaina jerked away from me, her thick brows furrowing in disgust. I could tell that she was mad at me, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't help how I felt around her, the kind of feelings that built up inside of me when she was near.I said nothing, still leaning against the table as she spoke. I could smell her. Her sweet scent had filled the room and I had several thoughts running around in my head. Now that Logan was out of the picture, they were not bound by fate in the first place.Her wolf had no ties to him, which might give me a chance but first, I needed to straighten my reputation. This gorgeous woman didn't like me very much. “Are you…hitting on me?” She asked though her eyes were locked on mine and she blinked repeatedly as though that was the most preposterous thing her eyes have ever spoken. Alaina laughed. “You're not only a bul
ALAINA I absolutely hate him and I didn't want anything to do with him, ever! What? Money? Did I look like some starved wench who could just do his bidding all because they were in some kind of financial pit? It stung that he would even think that way of me. I worked in the packhouse, so what? That was in the past! I wasn't the same person as those times but he just wouldn't see it that way. I had a thousand emotions running up my head as I glanced out through the window of the vehicle and the landscape blurred by. I might not be able to get a job, and I didn't care at all. If it meant I could stay away from Alpha Alexander, then the pack and their gossip might as well go to hell. It was barely ten minutes with him and my heart was still pounding like I'd just run a marathon and collapsed in the middle of another. And that particular scene haunted me. Why did he have to hold my hand that way? Why did he have to touch me and make me feel all those sensations that I'd been trying