Aryn

"Sometimes I wonder if being an Alpha-male is actually a curse and not a blessing. What with their humongous egos, insufferable pride and oh so annoying stubbornness," Star muttered under her breath as she hauled the last bag of brass hammers onto the tonneau.

The sleeves of her flannel shirt had been rolled up to bare lean arms that had been tanned by constant sunlight exposure. The healthy glow to her face had returned and the vibrancy in her grey eyes lit up with determination just as the sweat that lined her forehead and the redness in her cheeks reiterated the tale of hard labour. Her fiery, red hair buzzed fervently, its intensity was only held back by the floral-patterned bandana that was placed atop her head as it flittered wildly in the breeze about her.

"Star, I said I'd help with that, didn't I?" Roy rushed to her side in alarm and tried to pry the bag out her hands, gently.

"Would you back up!" she snapped, snatching the handle of the bag from his grip. "Pray tell, what hand are you even going to use to assist me, huh?" she added, turning from the tonneau to regard him with a cross of her arms and a wry smirk.

Fred registered the fact that his right arm was bound in a sling and smiling sheepishly at her, he tried another tactic. "I'm a very capable wolf, Star," he rumbled, flexing his good arm. "I can handle that bag with just an arm," he assured, smugly with a puff of his chest but that pride was soon gone when a loud roar escaped his lips. "Star!! It hurts. What did you do that for?!" He rambled on, hopping from one foot to another as he blew rapidly on his slung arm in an effort to soothe the pain.

"All I did was poke it..." she deadpanned, squinting her eyes in disbelief. "...lightly," she added, shaking her head at his earlier show of false bravado.

"A poke?! Just a poke!" He repeated, aghast. "It felt like I had been hit by a truck," he whined, tears springing to his eyes.

"That's what I keep telling you block heads," she groaned, facepalming. "None of you have healed fully to be able to make this journey. The warriors are in a much better state than you both are," she argued, pointing to the agile men, albeit with minor injuries, who loaded some weapons and food stuff onto the tonneau in preparation for the trip back to Alaska.

It was true that Fred and I were the gravely injured of the men who fought in the battle, however, I had just about enough with the fussing and orders to stay rested that had panned out over a period of five days. I was well and truly ready to go home despite Star's logical concerns.

"And here comes the Alpha who won't listen. Ugh! I can't stand either of you right now," she groaned when she sighted my emerging form and briskly walked over to where the warriors were binding large bags of weaponry, tightly, to the tonneau with ropes in an effort to avoid me.

"Is she still mad at me?" I asked once I had reached Fred's side.

"Mad is an understatement," he snorted, running his hands through his hair. He had finally traded in his long, dark locks for a tapered cut only because he had sustained an injury to the nape. "I haven't seen her this angry in years and it's all because of you. Now how am I meant to take her out to that fancy restaurant?" he gave me a sideways glance and quirked an eyebrow.

"I heard the not so friendly conversation between you two on my way here so shove that self-righteous act in the dustbin where it belongs," I rolled my eyes and limped towards the jeep with the aid of the forearm crutches, resting my body against its warm metallic structure when I got close.

"She's like a tiny teeny bit angry at me," he amended, bringing his fingers close together to illustrate his point. "And whole lot, raving mad at you," he enunciated each word, wincing slightly at the pain the movement of his mouth brought to his sore jaw.

His chiselled jawline had sustained quite the beating from a rouge he had none been the happier to claw at, mercilessly, when he had gained the upper hand. Finally, he had ripped his heart out just as he aimed a bullet at close range to his skull. That was his retribution he had said, and it certainly helped that the swell had reduced and as the days past, the bruise had faded to restore his natural skin colour. However, he still felt slight pain from time to time. It was more than I could say for my still aching body, but I wasn't going to admit that aloud.

"S-sure," I dragged out, positioning the crutches against the car as I stretched the muscles of my legs, relishing in the fact that I had finally been allowed to take more than the necessary few steps to the bathroom.

Trust me being an injured wolf looked after by a strict doctor and equally stricter friend was certainly not it.

"You know what, it doesn't even matter what you think," he dismissed, looking around momentarily in search of something. "But you sure you're okay though?" he asked, concerned, walking to stand in front of me when he failed to locate whatever he was searching for.

"I've seen worse days, I'll live," I chuckled, closing my eyes, and angling my face towards the warm sun.

"Well if you do feel any slight discomfort don't hesitate to ask for help. I know it's especially hard for you to..." he trailed off, much to my relief. I couldn't stand another act of sugary, sweet fretting. I was starting to feel like a pup with all this care.

Peering from half-open eyelids to ascertain the reason behind his abrupt silence, I soon found out that he had found the thing, or rather the person, that he was looking for earlier. "...Star! I said I'd help with that didn't I?" He shouted, moving briskly towards a far-off tent where she was bent over, trying to carry a heavy weapon. He's baggy jeans flapped, wildly, about him and I had to blink my eyes a few times in disbelief for never in my life had I seen him exert so much physical strength with such ease. If he wasn't sparing or shooting arrows, then he was as 'couch potatoey' as they came. "You'll hurt yourself," he fussed, his tone rising, comically.

"Argh! Why bother?" Star groaned, exasperatedly. "Be gone from me you one-handed, annoying wolf," She swatted his hands away with a glove, but he stuck to her side, trying but failing to help her carry the weapon.

I tuned out their conversation with a deep, amused chuckle and delighted in the warm sun rays that caressed my face. He was trying everything in his power to get on her good side and I was quite happy at the fact that he was failing, woefully. I couldn't be the only one that she was mad at.

The melodious, chirping of the birds tickled my ears as the well-ordered melodies wafted about in the air and the sweet-smelling odour of floury pastries awakened my nose to their mouth-watering allure. The lively chatter of the pack members spoke of their tranquil state of being and the distant, joyous squeals of energetic children added to the bouncy aurora of the pack. The hovering dark clouds of doom had dissipated to be replaced by clear, blue sky's bejewelled with artistically sculpted, fluffy clouds. The war had been won, the agony had been stamped out by unrelenting love and I was quite glad that the pack members had found another reason to smile.

"I congratulate you once more on the win against the Night Prowlers," A deep voice alerted me to Omari's presence and lifting my head I sighted his ebony-coloured features, adorned with a broad smile as he neared the jeep. His chestnut-brown eyes were ever alert, and his stride was one of confidence. He wore his battle scars, proudly, as trophies, a jagged scar running across his chest, quite evident in the loose, black singlet that he wore and a few cuts, overshadowed by his tattoos, lining his arms. However, his jovial nature had not diminished one bit as he radiated an abundance of happiness.

"The win is due to the effort of each and every warrior that fought in that chilly rain, so I congratulate you as well," I smiled, acknowledging his bow, and giving his shoulder a manly shake.

"Star won't have to worry too much. Your strength is surely returning," he chuckled, rolling his shoulder to relieve the force of my hardy grip.

"It never left," I corrected, smugly and he laughed. "But on second thoughts, maybe giving Star a second opinion as to my stamina to withstand this trip would lessen the frown on her face," I mused, gesturing to an advancing Star with a discrete tilt of my head. He understood the meaning behind my words and with a nod of agreement, chuckled at my craftiness.

"Boy am I glad to see you Omari," Star smiled, beaming brightly at him. Lord knows she could be sweet and cute when she wanted to. "Now please could you explain to this Alpha what a bad idea it is to travel in his condition," she emphasized, softly, trying to hide her annoyance.

"I'm actually here to bid him a safe journey back to Alaska because even though he looks like he needs a lot more resting, he's actually much stronger than he was some days ago," he shrugged, much to Star's exasperation.

"What was I expecting?" she murmured, inhaling deeply with a finger to her temple. "Of course, you'd be on his side," she grumbled, and Omari raised both hands in a sign of peace as he chuckled before backing away towards the opposite tent to address the warriors. Smart guy didn't want to get on her bad side.

"Star, I can't keep resting here and being idle," I complained, and she shot me a petulant glare. "I happen to have a main pack that needs running and I'm sure Roy would be none the happier to step down from the leadership role that I've bestowed upon him. Dude called me up yesterday, asking when I was going to come back and that's a sure sign he isn't coping well with the workload," I explained, trying to make her see reason but she was having none of it.

"I'm sure the only problem Roy has is not in relation to the workload but in keeping Dina on the straight and narrow. We all know she can be a handful sometimes," Star argued, and I couldn't help but laugh at the aptness of her comment.

That was an ill-thought out action, however, for I doubled over slightly from the side pain that shot up my nerve connectors. "See what I mean," she threw her hands up in frustration before rushing over to help me balance on the crutches. "Neither you nor Fred can barely drive. How are we even going to get to Alaska? By disappearing or..."

"I said you would drive," I interrupted as she opened up the car door and helped me onto the passenger seat. It dawned on her that I had a point but not wanting to lose the argument, she continued counting off the reasons why she thought this was a bad idea.

"You can't even stand upright," she sassed with a hand to her hip.

"That's why I have you," I counter-argued looking up at her with big, doe, blue eyes which she huffed at. "And these as well," I added, pointing to the crutches.

"You need your bandages wrapped and unwrapped intermittently to avoid infections," she rushed out, her eyes squinting as she dared me to come up with a smart remark.

"You're far better than any doctor I know," I drawled, smiling as she eyed the nearby pails of icy, drinking water in interest and was no doubt fighting the urge to dunk my head into one of them. Cold dose of reality as she called it.

Her cheeks were puffed out as she brimmed with the feelings of annoyance and turning back to me, she stomped her feet. "You sure you want to meet your mate looking like that!"

Once she had uttered those words, she gasped and slammed a hand to her mouth, horrified by her exclamation.

I almost guffawed at her facial expression, she was so desperate to convince me of acting contrary to what I'd planned that at the moment she was just grasping at straws. However, seeing this as an opportunity to eliminate her crankiness and get her on my side, I assumed a hurt expression and turned to look at the rear-view mirror.

"Touché. Here I was thinking you'd still love me despite the slight alteration to my face," I sighed, deeply, trying hard not to break character as I traced my scar.

I exaggerated the changes to my facial features for added effect and from her guilt-stricken expression, I knew I had her in the palm of my hand now. The swelling in my head and left eye had gone down, tremendously, and what was left of it were some minor bruises which were sure to clear up in a day or two. The claw wound over my right eye had healed as well but it had left its residue, a diagonal line scar that ran across my eyebrow down to my cheek bone. Blade had sure left her mark, but I had left mine as well for her rogue pack was now displaced with most of her men beheaded and her prisoners set free.

"Aryn, I really didn't mean that," she apologised, softly, moving closer to me.

"Don't worry about it," I waved off with a droopy shrug. "At least now I'll know who truly loves me seeing as I don't have beauty on my side anymore. I'm the beast now," I smiled, sadly.

"No, no, no. You still look incredibly hot. Pffft, who are you kidding?" she was quick to assure me. "The scar only highlights the perfect arch of your eyebrows and the rugged sculpt of your jawline and cheekbones. Now don't get me started on those deep, blue eyes, that curly hair that's soft to the touch and those lips that I've always wanted to..." she trailed off, abruptly and stared in horror at my gaping expression. "Please tell me I didn't just say all that aloud?" she whispered, slamming a hand on her forehead.

"I mean I love the whole raise the morale of your friend but damn," I sputtered, quite flustered by what she had just said. I swear I could feel my cheeks warm up with colour. What the actual heck? "Star have you been checking me out?" I smirked, eyeing her.

"Never!" she denied, her voice rising up a tempo. "That was all to raise your self-esteem," she removed her bandana and brushed her hair to the side of her face to hide her blush. "In fact, look at the time we should start going. I told the men to move at exactly this time," she added, peering at the car's timer as she changed the subject.

I could have let the subject end at that stage but there was a little part of me that really wanted to know if that was really how she viewed me. It shouldn't have mattered, but it did. Maybe it was just my ego, wanting to be stroked.

"You totally checked me out," I pushed, wiggling my eyebrows. "How else would you know my features in such great detail?" I questioned.

"Don't flatter yourself Aryn," she waved off, placing my crutches by the backseat, and avoiding my stare. "I happen to have someone who I like in that way," her voice wobbled but she hid it under a forced smile. "Fred! We are leaving, get in now!" she shouted to Fred who was engaged in conversation with Omari.

"Coming Mistress," he replied back, cheekily, to a few wolf whistles and amused laughter.

She closed the backseat door, promptly, and rounded the car, slowly. From the rear-view mirror, I caught the way she talked to herself and shrugged her shoulders, repeatedly. It was as if she was psyching herself up for lord knows what.

"Star I need help with changing my sitting position. It's quite uncomfortable," I called out of the window when it became quite evident that she was stalling as she waited for Fred to hurry over.

That did the trick as she made the last few steps to the driver's side and opened the door to get in. "Do you want me to push the chair backwards to give you more leg space?" she asked, concerned.

"No, I'll just like to know if your mystery heart-throbs' name starts with an A," I replied, settling comfortably into my seat with a smile.

"Aryn I'm seriously holding back the urge to thwack you in the forehead with my finger," she frowned, placing her head by the steering wheel while I laughed.

"Hey, hey beautiful people let's get this car on the road," Fred chirped, entering into the backseat. "Star my love, I know with you by the driver's seat, my life is in safe hands," he smiled, showing off his pearly whites.

"About time you got your slow legs here," she muttered, turning on the ignition and backing away from the parking space to lead the other jeeps that followed suit. "And I'm not your love, you Casanova," she grumbled, staring straight ahead at the road as Fred looked towards me and mouthed: What did I do?

I shrugged with a smile at his question and before turning to look out the window I heard his silent words, "Or does she have a prejudice against guys with piercings?" he questioned, tugging at his earlobe with a confused expression.

The poor wolf had to take the burn resulting from my teasing.

Besides he was going to have to try harder at winning her heart, especially as she now had a mysterious crush. I looked towards her and was tempted to find out more on this male but her strained knuckles on the steering wheel advised me against that plan.

I'd make sure to find out later just to make sure that he wouldn't try to take advantage of her. She had never had a boyfriend or lover before, so I was just being extra careful.

This I told myself as we rode towards Alaska, banishing the thoughts that rose up to tell me otherwise.
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