Chapter 5

Dinner with The Alpha

Alpha Ken was standing in my doorway. His head almost reached the top of the door frame. "Is it ok if I come in Zaya?"

"It's your house."

I sat up on the bed and he took a seat on my couch. "We missed you at breakfast Zaya."

"I wasn’t hungry."

"I understand you may not be feeling well, but we have rules here and it's important to abide by them." When I didn't respond he continued talking. "Listen, it may not seem to be that big of a deal but when we come together for breakfast in the morning, it's more than just a rule. It's our way of showing up for each other. It's our way of communicating and showing everyone that no matter what happens, we are still here. I can't imagine what is like to just be thrown in this life but I promise you will learn to love it."

I was shocked. I thought Alpha’s were supposed to be hard asses. Rude and unkind to show strength. But Alpha Ken was kind. "Ok. I will make sure I am at breakfast tomorrow." I ensured him.

"Great. You can get some practice by being on time for dinner tonight. You are for now a member of my house. Therefore, you will eat dinner with my family every night. Which by the way is in one hour." He glanced at the watch on his wrist.

I looked at the clock and it was already 6 in the evening. He got up to leave. "Wait! What do you mean a member of your house for now?"

"Well, we are working on finding you a permanent residence here in our land. Your father tells me you will be coming of age soon. I'm sure you don’t want to be here living with people you barely know. Especially once you get your wolf. You will want a space of your own. But don’t worry about that for now." Then he left.

I rolled out of the bed to get ready for dinner. I took a long shower and washed my hair. Then threw on a pair of blue jeans and a baby blue blouse. After a few turns in the mirror, I felt like I was ready to face the world. I looked at my phone to see the time and noticed 8 missed calls. All from Luke. I wanted to call him back but only had ten minutes before dinner started. Luke was going to have to wait.

I heard a voice say as I entered the intimate dining room. "There she is!" It was Alex, sitting alone at the table. He was smiling from ear to ear. I couldn’t deny it, it was a nice feeling seeing a smiling face.

"Hi, Alex. Nice to see you again." I took the seat next to him at the round table.

"Nice to see you again too. Where have you been all day? I was starting to think you ran away. Maybe we were going to have to send a search party out to find you."

"Yeah right. You wouldn’t do that."

His voice lowered and he pointed to the doorway, "You’re right. I wouldn’t. But maybe he would." I looked up and in walked Godric. I was confused by Alex's words. What did he mean by that?

Before I could ask, in walked the Alpha and Luna. Alpha Ken had his arms wrapped around her. At that moment I thought of Luke. I closed my eyes thinking of how we used to cuddle. The memories of how my life used to be, flowed through me. I should be hanging out with Luke right now. Vegging out on the couch while watching old vampire movies. I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. "Are you ok little one?"

When I opened my eyes, everyone at the table was staring at me. I hadn’t even noticed the happy couple had already sat down. Nor did I see anyone sit the food on the table. "I’m fine." I said a little embarrassed.

The Luna looked around the table at the men staring at me. She cleared her throat. "So Zaya, did you enjoy the Remembrance Day Festival? I'm truly happy your parents made it in time."

"Yes, I did. Thank you for asking."

She continued with her questioning. "And did you meet many people?"

"No," I responded quickly. "Well, I met a few." I said eyeing Alex.

"I’m sure you will meet more people tomorrow."

"Yes, tomorrow." Alpha Ken interrupted as if Luna Ariel had just reminded him of something. "You will start training with the rest of the pack."

"Training? But I haven’t trained since I was a child."

"Yes, and it shows. You are weak and we can tell. And if we know it, then the rogues can tell. What if there is an attack on our pack? You will need to be able to protect yourself."

"I thought I was safe here." I questioned Alpha Ken.

"You are safe, but we can’t be everywhere all the time. Unless you want to be cooped up here all day, every day then you will learn to fight and defend yourself."

I nodded my head, understanding what he was saying. If I was to leave the Alpha’s house and live on my own, I would need to learn how to protect myself.

"Don’t worry my dear." Luna tried to comfort me. "You might like it. I know I did. Fighting was so freeing. There is nothing like letting off a little rage in a friendly environment." I could hear a small growl under her breath. As if on cue, Alpha Ken let out a small growl matching hers.

"Oh, come on guys, take it upstairs." Alex complained.

"Thanks for the advice son. I think we will do just that." I watched as Alpha Ken grabbed the Luna by her waist and picked her up. They excused themselves from dinner as they left the dining room. I admired how lovingly they reacted towards each other. I could hear them heading for the stairs when the front door of the house burst open.

"Alpha! We found him!" I could hear a few men shouting in unison. Alex and Godric jumped up from the table at the same time. Naturally, I followed to see what the commotion was about. Alex and Godric piled into the foyer, just as three guards dragged a man into the house. They threw him down to the floor. "Here is the trader."

"I’m not a trader Alpha! I promise." I heard a guy yell.

"Then why did you run?" I looked around to see who that last comment came from. It didn’t sound like any of the men that came in. They were anxious and loud. He was calm and smooth. But you could hear the anger behind his words. "Tell me Westly. Why did you run?"

I brushed past Alex to get a better view but Godric was still blocking my sight. When I tried to wiggle around his tall body, he held his arm out to stop me from passing and going any further. He looked down at me and shook his head no. I folded my arms knowing there was no getting around him. I would have to be satisfied with the partial view.

The whimpering guy kneeled on his knees with his head held down. Blood was dripping from his forehead. "Alpha, please. I did not run. I…I was.." He struggled to form words.

One of the guards threw a bag on the floor next to the guy. The zipper was open and it was full of money. "He was carrying this Alpha."

"Care to explain?" I heard the calm voice again. This time I knew where it came from. It was the Alpha speaking. Up until now, I had never heard this calm voice come from him. It was definitely a change in his tone.

"I’m sorry Alpha I cannot explain where the money came from."

Alpha Ken looked down at the man and began to growl. "Explain yourself!!!" He yelled. His voice bounced off the walls causing me to jump. Godric placed his hand on the small of my back calming my nerves. A few seconds after his hand made contact with me, I sensed an electric surge run up my spine, causing me to jump once more. Godric looked down at me and removed his hand.

He glanced at Alex and gave him a head nod. Then Alex grabbed my arm and said, "Maybe you should go back to your room. This could get ugly."

"But I want to see what’s going on." I looked back towards the crowded foyer as Alex hurried me up the stairs. I could feel Godric’s eyes watching us, ensuring that Alex completed the task of removing me.

"No, you don’t." Alex said in a grim tone.