A MELROSE AFFAIR

 Tristan 

I was beyond frustrated as I emerged through the thick foliage of the woods once more and appeared in the backyard of the manor.

Bridget was standing in front of the backdoor holding a pile of folded clothes.

When she spotted me, her eyes dimmed.

She was mad.

"I told you, it's no use. If he was here, he's long gone." She spoke.

I growled and remembered I was in my wolf form.

I was always more comfortable in my wolf form, everything was sharper, everything was clearer. I primarily ran in instinct. And basically, it felt like most of my problems could be solved when I was in my wolf form.

"You have to meet with the Defence wing in an hour, Tristan. You might want to turn back now." Bridget spoke.

I detected the annoyance in her voice. I could tell I had been frustrating her all evening by constantly brushing off her suggestions.

Another of my favourite parts of being in my wolf form is that I couldn't talk to people in their human forms.

The water in the pool rippled with the winds.

"You're ignoring me now? Well I get that you're mad because things didn’t go your way. I hate to tell you this but maybe if you had just listened to me and not acted impulsively -"

Bridgette, turn around. I need to shift back.

Bridget gave me a cold look but turned her back to me anyway.

No, I couldn't 'speak' to people when they were in their wolf forms but all wolves of the same pack had the ability of communicating via telepathy on the condition that the other party was willing to let the other inside their head.

It was more common in the olden days but in our time and age where secrets were prevailing more than ever, hardly anyone used it.

Bridget is my beta so it was a given that we would use this mode of communication. Almost everyone in the pack had no choice if I requested them to open their mind to me. As the alpha, I had the right to my pack members information but I would never invade someone's privacy for my own selfish gain.

I felt the warmth that accompanied the shift and soon instead of four limbs, I was on two and the absence of fur made me more aware of the chilly weather.

Clothes.

I communicated telepathically, not ready to exchange actual words with her just yet.

She tossed them over her shoulder. First the shirt and then the boxers followed by the pants.

"Can we now talk about your reckless behaviour earlier?" She begun.

I rolled my eyes just as Bridgette spun around just as I was finishing up by throwing my shirt over my head.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Oh, real mature!"

I sighed as I walked passed her and into the house through the back door. "Maybe next time, wait a minute longer before you catch me naked."

"Nothing I haven't seen before." She spoke with a slight smirk.

In all honesty, Bridget didn't have to open her mind up to me, we already knew each other inside out.

We had been friends since we were born. Our mothers were best friends. We even used to take baths together. Choosing her to be my beta came almost instinctively.

"I'm serious, T, you need to answer my questions, Captain Park is going to ask the exact same ones."

"We'll tell them what happened, there was s security breach and I took action." I told her as I navigated the hallways and made my way to the kitchen.

"That might work on them but lets talk about what really happened. You thought you saw Roman and made a big deal out of it.”

I scanned the refrigerator for the leftovers from the meal the boys must have had for dinner and I ended up taking out a plate with a turkey leg and potatoes soaked in gravy on it.

"I know what I saw." I muttered gruffly as I took a folk out of a drawer.

Bridget crossed her arms and stood across from me by the island.

“Do you now?”

I could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

“I know it was the traitor. He didn't have a scent." 

Halflings don't have strong scents like werewolves and humans. It's frustrating.

Especially since Crystal rejected the mating bond, I really have no way of tracking her in emergency situations.

"Okay, let me rephrase. We can't tell them you thought you saw your failed mate's lover."

I stabbed the folk into the turkey leg. "I know what I saw. Roman is back."

Bridget rolled her eyes. "He would be an idiot to come back."

"The punk is smarter than you think. How do you explain the strange behaviour in the northern woods?"

"Horny teenagers?" Bridget responded. "We were in high school not too long ago. You know what happens in those woods, Tristan."

"I'm not being paranoid, Bridge. I know Roman is back. He didn't get what he wanted and now he's back to finish off what he started." 

Bridget was silent for a while as I chewed.

I looked up at her.

A quiet Bridget was never a good sign.

"What?" I demanded.

Her lips formed a straight line.

"He's back to finish what he started, huh? And what is that, alpha?" The way she said 'alpha' was mocking. "The rest of the pack info or Crystal?"

"Don't start." I told her.

Sometimes I wish I never had Bridget open her mind to me after I named her my beta.

It's then that I dove into her mind and discovered her greatest secrets. Including her crush on me.

To say I felt the same way even before I met Crystal would be a lie.

But I couldn't deny that at a point, I had come to decide that marrying Bridget would be the most convenient thing to do.

She was one of my closest friends. Someone I could trust with my life. My parents had adored her. She was great in combat, I believe she could even take me on. She was knowledgable about all aspects of our pack, she was the perfect choice at some point.

At least that's what I thought before I met Crystal.

"No. Let me give it to you straight. That's why I'm your beta, right? Because I'm honest with you no matter what."

I knew she would keep talking no matter what I said so I just sat down and focused on my meal.

"You're acting like a paranoid boy, Tristan! Having someone who was working right under your nose betray you bruised your ego and now you're working overtime to get back your glory. But such recklessness and childishness is not expected from an alpha."

"I didn't like Roman from the beginning, I admit that. But my hunch was right in the end. He was trouble." I responded calmly.

If there's one thing I had learnt from growing up with Bridget it's that if you raised your voice, she raised hers and she was never one to lose a shouting match.

She placed her hands on the island surface and leaned forward. "Oh, don't act all high and mighty. The issue here wasn't that you got bad vibes from the kid because he turned out to be a spy. You hated his guts because he did the one thing you failed to. Get into your precious Crystal's pants."

I swept the plate off the island and shot up.

I clenched my fists tightly.

I could feel my temper rising.

"Boundaries." I let out through gritted teeth.

There are some things I don't let even Bridget say to me.

She took a step back. That haughty, self righteous look was still on her face but I could tell she knew that she had crossed a line.

"All I'm saying is that it's inevitable... you don't want to hear this but it's my job to tell you this. I said it in the beginning, Captain Park said it as well and the whole freaking town is probably  still thinking it. Your precious Crystal might still be in contact with Roman. She might be a spy as well."

I growled at Bridget. "Watch your mouth."

She wasn’t exactly scared but I could tell she was second guessing herself.

“Why did you let her into the AAP?” Bridget asked in exasperation.

”I didn’t. She got selected by -“

“One of the elders, I know.” Bridget snapped. “But why did you let her in? You had the final say in the end.”

 I remained quiet.

 I had seen Crystal’s name and honestly I had been caught off guard. I didn’t know which elder would even select her. Or why.

 I could have easily rejected her and put someone else’s name. So why didn’t I?

“This program could be good for her.” I finally spoke.

And I really convinced myself that it would. Crystal would grow stronger, she would learn to defend herself. She would learn more about the pack. This would be good for her.

Bridget scoffed. “Do you even hear yourself? You just let an under qualified halfling into your program yet again. Do you know what people will say?”

”Crystal isn’t Roman.” I spoke.

"No?" Bridget continued. "Crystal was his girlfriend for four years. You can't tell me in all that time, she didn't uncover his secret. You might not want to consider this so let your right hand woman do it for you -"

"She was interrogated and investigated over and over again in the most thorough ways." I spoke up.

Putting her through all that was the worst thing I ever did.

I knew she was innocent but everyone else was still suspicious.

If she had just accepted the mate bond and let me tell everyone about us, she would never have had to go through all that.

I would have protected her like I've always wanted to.

"As you said, Roman was smarter than he seemed and whoever he was spying for must have known what they were doing as well. Keeping Crystal innocent in all this would be the smartest strategy."

"She's not a spy." I told Bridget.

"Every hypothesis requires an experiment, T. You believe she isn't so prove it. Have someone tail her like I wanted to do initially."

"We're not spying on her." I told Bridget point blank.

"Okay, Romeo, don't think of it as spying. Putting a tail on her will also ensure her safety. If Roman is really back as you suspect, he'll want to see her. We're killing two birds with one stone."

I thought about it.

Bridget was right. If the traitor was back, I know he wouldn't be able to resist seeking out Crystal. It was the one sure way of catching him.

"Fine." I finally relented. "Choose someone we trust."

Bridget knew what I meant.

The list was pretty short. The only people who knew about me imprinting on Crystal were Bridget and my two apprentices; May and Peter.

And I had already asked May to keep me posted about how she was holding up with the apprenticeship program.

How she had gotten on that list was still a mystery to me and I really hadn't had the time to look into it with everything going on in the pack and with the Werewolf Union. 

Why couldn't the packs just make my job easier and freaking get along?

"Okay, I'll get right on it, alpha." Bridget smiled.

She was way too happy about this.

I didn't like this at all but I knew she wouldn't find anything.

Crystal could be trusted. I was sure if it.

"Hey, bro."

My mind had been so preoccupied, I didn't even hear Joshua's footsteps as he walked into the room.

"Josh, you're still up?" I asked.

My little brother walked into the room.

His eyes found the plate on the floor which was shattered now but he didn't say a thing.

"Um yeah, I was studying. May gave us a boat load of work today." He explained. "And I thought you'd be home earlier. You were supposed to hang with Mikey and I, remember?"

I cursed internally.

Right.

I never thought I would have to schedule time to hang out with my own brothers but that's what life had come to now.

"Sorry, Jay, I guess it slipped my mind. Something came up."

I saw the disappointment on his face. "It's cool." He shrugged. "Mikey was already fast asleep when I got back from school anyway. He only woke up because Anita made him eat supper."

I smirked.

"As if Mikey could ever say no to food."

"Let's just hope his mate won't have such a huge appetite or else we'll never have food." Joshua spoke.

I chuckled but soon there was silence.

An awkward silence.

I knew what this felt like.

It was what started happening between my own parents and I when the war just begun.

It was just like this. We went from hanging out all the time to them having to schedule in time for me. It was even worse for the twins because they never saw them at all.

I even joined the pack’s army just to be closer to my father and my mother. With my father being the army commander and my mother being the alpha.

The twins lost their parents at too young of an age.

And I feel like they didn’t get to spend enough time with them.

When I became alpha, I promised that wouldn’t become me but I didn’t know what I was signing up for.

Being the alpha wasn’t an easy task. It required all your time and attention. Especially if you didn’t have a spouse by your side to share the responsibility.

I was only fifteen when my parents died and I had to become alpha.

Just a three years younger than the twins are now.

I never wanted what started happening between my parents and I to happen between my brothers and I but it seemed to already be beginning. Joshua had joined the AAP, I suspect to be closer to me.

Micheal was a bit more relaxed. He has always been a goofball who doesn’t get too affected by things. But I know the distance between us is affecting him as well.

He was quieter around me. As quiet as Micheal could be, anyway.

”How was your first day in the apprenticeship program?” I asked, breaking the silence as I leaned on the island.

When I first saw Joshua’s name on the list of approved candidates, I was pretty sceptical at first. I had to grow up at a young age and I didn’t want that for him and Mikey.

But I figured they would have to learn the ropes of the Alpha title eventually. Afterall, they would have to take over in any case if anything ever happened to me.

 And it was also mandatory for them to start getting involved in official pack business eventually.

“Okay, I guess.” Joshua shrugged. “I mean it was just the first day so I guess I can’t say much but it’s cool. The only problem i’m really facing is people thinking Mikey and I only got in because of you.”

I could hear the anger in Joshua’s voice even though he tried to cover it up.

 I couldn’t blame him. When I was younger, I had gone through the same thing. People assuming I only achieved certain things because my mother was the alpha.

”Then do what you have to do to prove them wrong.” I told Joshua with a smile.

He returned it.

“Already on it.” He responded confidently.

Josh actually reminded me of my younger self. So determined and eager.

”But you know, it would be easier without my assigned partner. That halfling girl from school, Crystal. She’s so -“

“Hey, J-man.” Bridget spoke, interrupting Joshua.

She walked towards Joshua and threw an arm over his shoulder and started leading him out of the room.

“Why don’t you show me what May has you reading, I swear, they’re always loopholes with May’s teaching techniques. I can show you some.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re not supposed to do that!” I called after her.

“Ignore your uptight brother.” I heard her tell him before they disappeared further into the hall.

I sighed.

I took a cup and filled it up with water from the tap.

As I drunk, I looked out at the quarter moon in the starless sky.

Bridget might have called me out on being paranoid but I know I saw Roman. He was back. I was sure if it.

Why did I have a feeling that something bad was about to happen?