N.J and I finished our ice creams, chucking the rubbish into the bin just outside of my car. I threw a wet wipe at him since he had spilt some down his shirt, like he did every time. The kid was messier than a toddler.

Mila strolled towards my car at just the right time, carrying her gym bag and dressed in running clothes. I held open her door for her, shutting it behind her as she climbed in. N.J followed suit, sprawling across the backseats, and I headed for the drivers seat.

"Hey, Alexandros?" A voice yelled across the busy carpark, surprising me.

I spun around and saw a familiar face looking at me from where a big crowd of human and wolf kids were standing, obviously just having finished cross country. The kids he was with were all shuffling away from him, trying to avoid being associated with the kid who speaks to the Omega.

Nico's hopeful face was across the parking lot, his eyes practically burning a hole into me with how intense his gaze was. The whole carpark smelt like wet rain and petrol and my wolf wanted me to just leave before he had a chance to talk to me. Nico stepped away from his group, hoping to walk across the carpark and talk to me now that he had my attention, but I was already in my car and starting the engine before he could take even one more step.

He must be a determined kid, however, as he didn't slow down his pace. Mila's eyes were darting between me and Nico, her face full of concern, but I simply shifted my car into gear and sped off before he could get any closer to us.

"That was a little dramatic." Mila hummed, judgment clear in her voice.

"I don't want to talk to him." I shrugged simply, "It's easier if I keep my distance from him."

"Whatever." Mila fell silent.

We drove in silence, N.J drumming his fingers along to the beat of the song playing quietly from the speakers. Nico had been relatively easy to ignore, since we had no classes together, but his proximity to Mila made it hard for me at times.

"Do you wanna watch a movie before dinner when we get back?" Mila broke the silence, playing with my car radio settings.

"We have pack drills, did you forget, Alpha?" N.J teased, "God, what would you do without your Beta?"

"Rely on Xan, like I do ninety-nine percent of the time anyway?" Mila scoffed.

"I wonder if your future mate will be jealous, or something." N.J laughed, "Or if anything will change when we meet our mates."

I groaned internally. I hate how often this topic comes up.

"Nothing will change when Xan meets his mate; he won't be interested." Mila giggled, "And any mate of mine would have to be okay with my two favourite boys. Otherwise they wouldn't be my perfect mate, would they?"

I zoned out as they started their usual mate talk, wondering who is their moon-goddess appointed, so-called soulmate or perfect person. They were far too young to care, but I let them get on with it. They're both sort of hopeless romantics. Hopeless being the key word.

I pulled up to the pack house and flipped my engine off, following the other two out to the training field which was essentially just a large clearing in the trees behind the pack house that we used for events and training.

Cameron was stood at the front of the crowds, which made me smile internally. He always insisted on leading these, despite being a human. Not only could he not shift, but he didn't have the same kind of strength as us. Plus, humans aged faster. It made Xavier look like his toy boy, despite Xavier being older. I admire Cameron's passion for the pack and its safety more than anything, though, so I appreciate his training sessions.

I waved to my father, who was by Cameron's side, and stepped into line. The old lady next to me took a shy step to the left and I fought back a groan. I just love being the guy who scares old ladies. N.J, obvious to her needing her space, thought she was making room for him and shuffled in line between us, thanking her. She looked faint from having the beta basically touching elbows with her.

Of course, N.J didn't notice any of it.

It was a while before we were ready to begin, with the majority, but not all, of the pack here. It was hard to organise times when everyone was free, so it usually fell to when the vast majority could make it and those who missed out would just have to make sure they attended the next one. It was a system that compromised, sure, but it worked.

We had been doing these trainings for as long as I could remember. From the diaries, I knew that they had been introduced by Cameron when he arose to the Luna role to combat and prepare for rogue attacks. While we hadn't had even one of those in the last sixteen years, it was still good to be prepared. Made my job easier, at least.

We started the training, which was a little low-level for the three of us, but it was more of an appearances thing to attend. We tend to have private training sessions with my father, since this kind of training was catered towards all-abilities and all age ranges. The old lady next to N.J was just about keeping up as it is.

Zoning out, I followed the motions mindlessly as my eyes trailed over the people around us. I vaguely knew everyone, but there were a hell of a lot of pack members nowadays. Xavier was excited that we were expanding numbers, and had plans for new neighbourhoods to be built in the western blocks of woods before Mila came to be Alpha.

Without an expansion to the pack house, however, I didn't see how this could be possible to maintain. As young pack members come of age, they'll all want to move and it would be unfair to allow some and not others. It's a little hard to expand a historical building, however.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a familiar face whispering to their friend as Cameron ran through the instructions, clearly bored. That pack member I had caught wandering through the halls a couple of times after hours was to my left, and it was the first time I had spotted him in daylight. He almost seemed cuter in the light.

He could probably sense me staring at him because his eyes shot up to meet mine, widening before dropping to the floor again. Cute. Icarus growled at me, reminding me to keep myself focused on work. I groaned internally at that, making sure to remove my eyes from staring at him before any pack members noticed and got the wrong idea. Icarus was no fun.

For the rest of training, I snuck glances at him, despite Icarus' warnings. A few times I found his own eyes snapping away from me once I looked up; he was staring at me too. Icarus was not happy about it. It was only a little fun but I knew better and stopped doing it for the remainder of the training. It wasn't worth the trouble, especially since my father had full view of everyone from up on the stage.

I made sure I was a picture of innocence, copying every move as if I was a mirror and listening diligently. I even nudged N.J to keep him in line when he started getting distracted by the grass on the floor and ripping it out, his mind wandering to anywhere but here.

When it was finally over, N.J was about ready to rip his own hair from his head from boredom. Even I found that session a little torturous without the distraction of the cute guy in the corner of my eye.

"Is it finally time to go and check out this grocery store mystery you told us about?" N.J pouted, "I'm dying for a little excitement in my life."

"As soon as Mila is ready, sure." I nodded, swinging my keys around my fingers as I leant against the brick wall of the back of the pack house.

"I think she's talking to Uncle Xavier." N.J lowered his voice, "He's not been the happiest with her lately."

I shot him a look telling him to zip it, since I didn't want Mila's dirty laundry to be aired in front of nosy pack members, and N.J nodded respectfully. Leaning against the brick of the wall separating the small, gravel carpark and the open field, we waited for Mila to be done. When she finally appeared, her face looked a conflicted mess of emotion. Knowing it wasn't the place to talk about it, I silently opened my arms up for a hug.

The three of us weren't the most affectionate, but I could always tell when she needed some comfort.

She stepped into my arms, looking teary, and I wrapped them around her tightly, squeezing her to try to make her laugh. It worked, briefly, but it was a strained and weak laugh that sounded more depressing than anything else. She quite often got worked up like this when it involved the pack and her looming role as Alpha, but usually Xavier was cautious to not push it so hard. Things seemed to be changing.

"Hey, no tears." I murmured, "I hate it when you cry."

Mila buried her face in my shirt, soaking a small patch of the fabric with her tears. Undoubtedly there would be a mascara stain there now, but it was worth it as her sniffles faded and she emerged looking a little drained but better overall.

"Sorry about the shirt." She frowned, looking at the black blotchy mark on my top.

"No harm done." I shrugged, "We're going on a little mission, you coming?"

"Of course she is, hurry up!" N.J urged, "I could meet a real life rogue!"

Shaking my head at his antics, I climbed into the drivers seat ready to drive us. I think N.J would be the only wolf on earth to be remotely excited about the prospect of meeting a rogue wolf. It was just in his nature to be overly excited about everything, I suppose. At the back of my mind, I suppose I was aware that there could be a real security risk in this situation, and that we should probably tell Xavier, but I didn't really think it would come down to that.

From the last time I smelt it, it seems like they're just a grocery store worker in a small town in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't exactly scream mastermind, menace rogue of the century. Besides, if there was any kind of danger in the situation I had no single doubt in my mind that three ranking pack members could handle themselves against any kind of attack. It felt weird to include myself under that category, but I knew it was true and it was apparent in my strength.

Throughout the drive, Mila was quieter than usual. It was glaringly obvious that she was still thinking about whatever happened earlier, but she was attempting a brave face for N.J. Whatever happened, it was clear that she didn't want to talk about it in front of N.J.

"If it really is a rogue then I'm asking them, begging them, to take you with them." Mila quipped at Noah.

"You're the adopted one." N.J snorted.

Usually Mila would retort with a 'at least that means my parents wanted me', but it seemed to hit her like a pile of bricks and her plastered-on fake smile crumpled from her face and fell. N.J, of course, didn't notice, but I had been watching her every move.

"I'm gonna go and see if I can smell them around the store!" N.J barely waited for the car to come to a stop before he rushed into the store, leaving us sat in the empty carpark.

"What happened with Xavier, Mils?"

That brought a smile to her face.

"God, you haven't called me that since we were, like, eight?" Mila reminisced, "Dad was just reminding me that I needed to submit a mock-report for him to look over. He honestly didn't say anything out of bounds, it's just me being silly."

"If it's upsetting you, then it's not silly, Mils"

She looked down at the coins in my cupholder, letting her hair fall into her face slightly. The sky had darkened outside and angry grey clouds had filled the air, dribbling down fat raindrops that soon turned the light grey of the carpark tarmac to an almost black shade.

"I've just been thinking lately that maybe the whole Alpha thing isn't for me, you know?"

I held back from doing a double take at that. It probably wouldn't be the most helpful response, but what the fuck?

"Why's that?" I coaxed her to explain.

"I don't know, it's just been on my mind a lot recently and I don't know if it's meant for me." She sighed, "Everything seems so far out of my depth and it just seems too hard to do the right thing and know what you should do all of the time. I'm just worried that it wasn't supposed to be me that was going to take on the Alpha role."

"Who else would it be." I chuckled, "N.J certainly isn't up to the job of Alpha."

"Maybe they adopted the wrong kid."

It seemed like the words left her lips before she could stop them, and a shadow of regret passed her face as soon as they did. She didn't mean it, or at least she didn't mean it deep down. Nobody loves anyone more than Xavier and Cameron love their child, and Mila is their child beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"Look, Mils, you know more than anyone that I doubt all of this Moon Goddess stuff. Can't stand it, right?" She nodded, "But if there's anything that could convince me it's all true and that everything's fated to happen the way it does, then it's you. No offence to the other kids at the orphanage, but they would have just been wrong: wrong for Xavier, wrong for Cameron, wrong for auntie Ava, wrong for N.J, wrong for me, but most of all, wrong for the pack. Would anyone else fit so perfectly into our little trio? Groan at N.J's antics and put up with my moodiness? Everything around you fits perfectly because you were supposed to be here, so if you feel like the Alpha thing isn't working, just give it time. It will work because it's you, Mils. Nobody is as headstrong and unnervingly themselves. I don't know if you've noticed, but the universe practically bends itself over backwards to work for you, so, yes, you're supposed to be here."

By the end of my little speech, my mouth was slightly dry. I wasn't used to speaking that much all in one go, but I suppose it was necessary. It was all true; Mila was loved and there could be no single universe where she wasn't my best friend.

Mila didn't say anything, but hugged me extra tight. Albeit, the gear stick of the car made it an incredibly awkward position for me to be in and so it didn't last very long. I could see that my words had resonated with her and she was almost back to her usual, cocky, self.

"Besides, not everybody inherits the Alpha role through genetics. N.J's dad became Beta because the previous Beta left the pack and because he was made for the role. Then, aunty Ava. I wouldn't dwell on any kind of genetics; it's purely fate."

"You're right, per usual." Mila smiled, "It's weird hearing you speak about fate, though. Let's drop it for now."

I chuckled at that, feeling the same way myself.

I passed Mila an umbrella from the glovebox and climbed out of the car myself, relishing the feeling of the cold raindrops hitting my warm skin. It wasn't often I got to experience that cold sensation since we were innately so hot-blooded, and it was quite often a sensation I craved. Most wolves hate getting wet, but I find it calming.

Through the illuminated glass windows of the store front, I could see N.J with his face pressed up against it, waving his hands frantically to come in. He had clearly identified the scent from my description and knew the source, so Icarus grew a little impatient and our pace quickened.

"Do you think he's going to befriend the rogue?" Mila joked, entering the store as I held the door open for her.

"I really don't think it'll be a rogue." I sighed, "But he's clearly excited about something."

Even as you walked in, the scent was there. It was faint, sure, but it was undeniably there.

"I can smell chocolate." Mila scrunched her nose, "But you're right, there's a little of the pack smell there, too."

"Peanut butter chocolate! You're right." N.J appeared by our side, "You'll never guess where it's coming from."

"The confectionary isle?" Mila teased.

"Follow me." N.J ignored her, his eyes gleaming with excitement.