7. MIA

Chapter 7

MIA

The distinct and pleasant tug between my thighs allows a smile to grow on my face. I stretch my arms above my head as I open my eyelids, and smile up at the ceiling.

Though I feel like I’m riding on cloud nine, I can’t help but feel like something is missing.

It’s only when I turn my face to the empty side of the bed that my smile disappears.

That’s the problem – it’s empty. The man responsible for the delicious sensation between my thighs isn’t there.

“Alpha Theo…?” I call out whimsically as I lift my weight to my elbows. I scan the room slowly from left to right, but there’s no indication of him. Frowning, I hike up the sheet just to make sure I hadn’t been dreaming.

The purplish bruises on my thighs serve as evidence of where his strong hands had been. That’s enough proof I need to know that I hadn’t been dreaming.

It’s even more heartbreaking, though. Sighing heavily, I fold my knees and hug them to my chest.

“Mia!” comes Ana’s cheerful voice from outside the bedroom door. “Are you awake?”

Sniffing back the tears I’ve been trying my best to hold back, I quickly dab my eyes with the balls of my palms. “Y-Yes,” I call out before clearing my throat. “I’m awake!”

The door comes flying in and Anastasia bounces in, dark hair flowing behind her like a veil. “Good morning!” she bleats as she flings a pink gift-wrapped package across the room. It lands at my feet on the bed.

“What’s this?” I ask with a light chuckle as I reach for the package.

Anastasia lifts a mischievous brow as she closes the door behind her. “It’s a brand new Summer dress for today’s adventures.”

“Adventures?”

She nods as she comes over toward the bed. “Yes! I’m gonna show you around Overton!”

I’m a bit reluctant to sight-see in Overton, but Anastasia assures me that I have nothing to worry about. According to her, she’d received strict instructions from the Alpha – her brother. We’re not to inform the others that I’m from Blackclaw.

With the knowledge that Alpha Theo spoke to his sister about me this morning, I’m filled with a deep sense of sadness. As we make our way out of the main house, there’s no sign of Theo around.

I’m about to ask Anastasia where he is when she grabs my wrist and pulls me along toward the meadow.

It’s the first time I’ve seen the lavish gardens in broad daylight.

The pretty jasmine field behind the house leads up to the pine trees at the ingress of the woods. Sprinkled with sunflowers and daisies all around – it’s a picturesque scene meant for an artist’s canvas.

Beyond the woods, the valley between the mountains opens up a waterfall with an everlasting flow of spring water. Mesmerized, I find myself staring for a long moment before Anastasia distracts me.

“Don’t get too caught up in the view, Mia!” she giggles as she slides a hand through my arm. “You should see this place at night!”

“I’d love to,” I muse with a glance over my shoulder.

Anastasia and I take a walk around town as she shows me to the local library. Once there, I discover that the girl is as much a bookworm as I am, picking up a pile of books she intends to take home.

Once we’re done there, we end up at the market where fresh produce is being sold. I must admit, our day serves as a much-needed distraction from thoughts about Alpha Theo. I only appear to be excited while deep down, I keep wondering what went wrong.

And why he wasn’t there beside me this morning.

“Mia?” Anastasia calls for my attention when we’re in front of a strawberry stand.

I must have drifted off into my thoughts, but I snap my attention back to her. Planting a smile on my face, I pick a basket of strawberries. “Wow!” I chime appreciatively. “These are gorgeous!”

From my periphery, I notice a frown flit across Anastasia’s face. I don’t dwell on it, and soon it passes. It’s not like I can explain her mood changes.

I find something else to distract myself with. The market’s huge variety of the richest and freshest fruit is surprising, considering where I’m from.

It’s not like Blackclaw ever cared to fill the fields with crops to benefit the pack.

“So Overton is self-sufficient?” I wonder out loud as I bite into a juicy strawberry.

“Pretty much,” Anastasia reveals as she grabs a strawberry from the basket. “Why do I get the feeling that all of this is new to you?”

“Because it is,” I scoff. “Where I’m from, the Alpha couldn’t care less about…” I gesture around us, “... All of this.”

It’s true. Cyrus Savage would never care about building filtration systems from the natural springs to distribute water to the houses. Or growing crops to feed the pack members and fill their fridges.

“Woah…” Anastasia’s eyes grow wide. “He sounds great.”

“He is,” I sneer sarcastically. He’s as great as any Alpha who would allow his pack members to bully an Omega for their rank. Or because she’s an orphan.

I’m just glad I’m not there anymore. Even if I’m not sure how long my time will last in the Nightwalker Pack. After falling victim to the Alpha’s charms, it’s probably only a matter of time before he kicks me out.

The steep incline of the path brings us over a hill. At the bottom is a large oval building made of steel frames, missing a canopy.

“What’s that?” I ask Anastasia, hanging on the tip of the hill.

“That’s the training arena,” she informs me. “It’s where we train our wolves. Come on,” she calls me forward with a nod toward the huge white structure.

As we near the training arena, the sound of growls and whimpers becomes evident in the air. Shuffling steps and clinking metal resounds within the metal structure of the arena. My curiosity is piqued by the commotion inside, and a flood of laughter rings out.

I can’t help but smile as we go closer. Even Anastasia throws a smile over her shoulder, beckoning me closer.

“Come closer,” Anastasia waves me over, pointing to a window. Reaching up on my tiptoes, I peep through the parted window when I see the Nightwalker Pack members spread out in the arena.

Those in wolf form are in a fighting ring, while those in human form are either hooked to machines or sparring with swords.

“What are the swords for?” I ask in shock. I’d never seen werewolves fighting with swords before.

“In case we’re fighting vamps,” Anastasia giggles, but there’s something rather serious about her statement. That’s when I remember Theo mentioning something about an alliance with Blackclaw.

Perhaps there’s a war on the horizon…

“Oh, look!” Anastasia perks up excitedly. “There’s Theo!”

As soon as she says his name, my attention is drawn to the ring. A round of cheers goes around the crowd, and Alpha Theo emerges into the center.

He’s wearing a smirk reminiscent of the one that played on his lips while his head was buried between my thighs. The memory of it sends a chill down my spine, which coils up as heated awareness at my core.

The tip of my thumb absentmindedly strokes my bottom lip as I watch him address his wolves. The imminent presence of the dominating Alpha is something everyone can feel. They bow their heads and offer him respect the position calls for.

It’s a sight to behold, watching him with his arms behind his back, pacing the fighting ring as he hands out instructions. As the floor clears when the werewolves disperse, Theo is left alone in the ring.

He closes his eyes, muttering a string of inaudible words. He’s invoking his wolf, which comes to him in a blink of an eye. It spreads dark fur across his limbs which become distended. Larger than the limbs of his human, his head morphs into his wolf head.

He tosses his large head through the air, dark, silky fur billowing through the air as if the wind carries it. He lifts his muzzle and howls toward the sky – hence the absence of a canopy.

The powerful sound sends silence through the air before he picks the first volunteer to fight him.

A prod to my arm is what snaps me out of my daze. I close my mouth quickly, licking at the drool caught in one corner.

“We should get going,” Anastasia offers as she stands back on her soles and dusts her dress.

“I wanna join,” I blurt out without thinking. When Anastasia frowns at me, I realize what I’ve just said and purse my lips sheepishly.

“You wanna join training?”

She snorts when I nod shyly. I don’t know what I was thinking, except that I had an intense need to go inside there and join Theo.

“Oh, Mia…” She turns around when we’re back on the stone path. “... You’ll have to race me first.”

“Race you?” I ask with a frown.

“Yeah!” she muses. “A race against the Alpha’s daughter to secure a training spot!”

When Anastasia called for a race, I didn’t think she meant one in wolf form. Standing at the border of the woods, she’s the only one excited about the race.

Hanging my head with my fingers intertwined in front of me, I bite my bottom lip.

“Ready?” Anastasia asks when she stands beside me. She kicks off her shoes and throws down a pile of clothes at the base of the closest tree. “For when we’re back.”

“Erm–” I lift a trembling hand to Anastasia’s arm. “I don’t think I can do this,” I admit bashfully.

Anastasia does a double-take, frowning deeply at me. “What do you mean you don't think you can do this?”

“The race,” I shrug dismissively. “I c-can't.”

“I don't think I under–”

“I can't shift, okay?” I throw in quickly without giving her much time to think about what I'd just revealed. “I don’t know how to shift on command, okay?”

Heat rises on my face, creeping up my cheeks from the base of my neck. Anastasia comes forward to stand in front of me, tilting my chin up with a hooked finger.

“Mia… Why didn't you tell me this before?” she asks gently, eyes full of encouragement as she stares into my face.

I shiver in response, unable to hold her gaze much longer. Averting my eyes, I admit, “I was embarrassed. It's not like I can go around saying this out loud.”

“Hmph!” Anastasia huffs as she takes a step back. Planting her hands on her hips like she's about to scold me, she clicks her tongue. “This won't do. Tell me everything.”

With my head hung in shame, I go on to explain to Anastasia that I'd only just recently received my wolf. The shift only occurred once, and I have no way of controlling it.

“Oh, my…” she breathed in surprise, her face pale from the shock. “I didn't know that someone might face a challenge like that. I'm sorry, Mia.”

“My only consolation is that it finally came,” I sigh.

“Well, now that it's here, let me train you,” Anastasia offers with a huge grin. “First, you need to close your eyes and imagine your wolf.”

I do as she instructs, closing my eyes and trying to picture my wolf. The details are unclear, only its shape painted in my mind.

“Now…” she calls from beside me, “... Take a deep breath and picture yourself becoming one with your imagination.”

“Wait!” I snap my eyes open. “How do I get out of wolf form?”

Anastasia giggles. “Just reverse this part. So when you're in wolf form, just picture your human form and become one with your imagination.”

“Hm… Sounds easy.” I close my eyes and reimagine the wolf in my mind.

It takes a few tries, but I finally get the hang of it. Mentally, the image of the wolf morphs into a cloud of smoke that swallows my vision.

The crack of bones and the flush of fur in the air makes my eyelids spring open. When I do, my sharp vision belongs to the wolf.

I gasp, but the sound escapes my lips like a wolf's whimper. Pleased with myself, my lips curl to a smile as I turn my head to Anastasia.

All she does is nod her head toward the opening of the forest before turning that way. She waits for me to join her, then runs out into the woods.

I follow her, dodging tree trunks and boulders as they flash past. The cool air billows through my fur, cooling the run as my body heats up.

With every quickening heartbeat, my temperature rises. But not in an alarming way – like the way it did the first time I shifted.

This time, it feels more controlled.

As we near the river's edge, I get flashbacks of the night I stumbled on Nightwalker territory. Panting and out of breath, both Ana and I slow down.

She leads the way to the riverbed, dipping her head there to lap at the water. I follow suit, stopping when my face is an inch from the water.

I hadn't been able to stop and take a good look at my wolf before. Doing it now, I notice the silver streak of lightning across my back. My fur is a dark brown color, only reflecting the lightness under the moonlight.

Beside me, Anastasia whimpers to grab my attention. Her dark wolf smiles at me, but the smile fades when a voice enters her mind.

‘Is Mia with you?’

It's Alpha Theo…

The only trouble is, I shouldn't be able to hear the mind link he sends to his sister…