The Alpha’s Daughter

Chapter Three

            The Cafeteria was enormous, big enough to fit a hundred wolves and fifty or so teachers and leaders. I was seated with Redly and four other people I didn’t know. Looking around, I noticed that most people didn’t seem to be comfortable where they were seated, no one really knew each other all that well yet.

            Well except for the wolves who were here last year. Although Redly claimed that all the friends she made last year hadn’t returned for another summer. We both picked at our food and mumbled words to each other. It was hard to talk when we were seated with strangers.       

            There were a few fights that broke out as the males claimed their specific territories and the lower ranking wolves were set in their places. Female wolves who were of higher ranking also claimed dominance, but they used cutthroat looks and viscous words instead of growls and fists.

            It wasn’t long into the meal that I found him. I hadn’t been aware I was even looking for Axel until his eyes met mine. My wolf hummed contently in the back of my mind but the human side of me felt upset.

            He met my gaze unblinkingly and with no sort of emotion at all. He was sitting by himself, not eating, with his arms crossed over his chest. I took that moment to look at the rest of him, the only thing I had noticed earlier was his eyes.

            He had dark brown hair that seemed to turn auburn at the edges when it caught the light. His skin was tanned, and his jaw was strong and square. His nose was crooked at the bridge but that only seemed to make his face more appealing. His cheekbones were high and prominent, like the cheekbones of a model.

            Even after outright staring at him, I still couldn’t decide if he was good looking. I found him attractive, yes, but that was because of the mating bond. I wondered briefly if other girls thought he was attractive. I felt a growl start in my chest and quickly swallowed it down, feeling startled that such a reaction was produced from a mere thought.

            “Ebony?”

            I snapped my head around to look at Redly, whose brown eyes were trained on my face. “Yeah?”

            “You alright?”

            I forced myself to nod, smile, and eat. I didn’t look back at Axel for the rest of the meal but I could feel his gaze on me. After we had finished eating and we had cleared our plates Redly and I headed outside, intent on joining the rest of the group at the lake.

            “Your shoe is untied,” Redly informed me. I looked down at my sneaker and sighed, moving to the side of the crowd so I could bend down and tie it. “I’ll save you a seat!” Redly shouted at me as she walked. I waved at her once and then turned my attention to my shoe.

            My knot was messed up when someone grabbed a hold of my arm and dragged me upwards. I knew who it was before I saw their face. The sparks travelling the length of my arm was enough to tell me it was Axel.

            He was leading us behind the building and I instantly felt a leaden ball drop into my stomach. I tried to rip my arm out of his hold but it was useless, he was too focused on what he was doing to even notice that I was struggling.

            “Will you please just let me—”

            “I want to get something straight,” he rumbled, cutting me off. I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling my heart rate pick up by the double. Every time he spoke he mumbled almost incoherently in his deep voice. It was hard to understand what he was saying at times.

            “I’m able to walk myself, I don’t need you to guide me.”

            He went on as if I hadn’t spoke, “We’re mates.”

            “No shit Sh—”

            “You’re not going to tell anyone,” he demanded, his eyes sharp as he stared down at me.

            I felt my lips part open stupidly and then close. “Wha—are you rejecting me?”

            “No.”

            I frowned, “Then you’re accepting me.”

            “No.”

            I looked up at his face, feeling myself growing upset. “Then what? I’m stuck in limbo? No.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, staring at my face without stating a word. I set my jaw, “I won’t let myself be treated like this.”

            He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

            I felt tears sting as I grew angrier, “You don’t get to rule this stupid bond! I’m rejecting you!” The words flew from my mouth before I could register them. At first I was worried he would take them seriously but I should have known that he wouldn’t.

            “No.”

            I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to stop the tears that wanted to come. “Axel, you don’t get to—”

            My saying his name seemed to get a reaction from him. His lips fell apart for the briefest second before he was back to glowering silently. He tightened his arms around his chest, seeming more distant then before.

            I felt my hair start to slip from my bun and pushed it away angrily, “Fine. You want to be stupid? Then I’m not going to talk to you.”

            “Fine.” Upset by his reaction—or lack of—I turned and stomped away, feeling petulant and ridiculed. I walked down to the lake, feeling a few tears trickle from the corners of my eyes. I didn’t bother wipe them away, it was dark anyways.

            I found Redly talking to Ethan and another girl and walked over, stiff and hurt still from my encounter with Axel. “Hey Ebony!” Redly called, waving me over.

            I sat beside her on the log and smiled briefly at Ethan before letting my smile drop. He didn’t seem to notice, “Ebony, this is my cousin Vicky.” The girl beside Ethan smiled at me and waved briefly before letting her hand drop. She was beautiful with skin so flawless and glowing she had to be from an interesting background. I looked at her eyes and smiled to myself, I was right. She looked to me to be half Thai or Japanese.

            “It took a long time to get your shoe tied,” Redly noted.

            I shrugged, “I got lost.”

            “Even with the fire posts leading a clear path?” Ethan prodded.

            I glowered at him, “Yes, even with the fire posts.”

            He raised his hands in defense and laughed, if I had to guess he would be a Beta. He was too comfortable with me to be anything else. “Everyone usually chills down here at the lake when there is free time. People swim, talk, make out.” He looked to me and wriggled his eyebrow. I didn’t have it in me to react.

            In fact, the entire evening I was only half there. Most of my mind was focused on Axel, trying to decipher my feelings for him. Redly must have noticed my distraction because every time the conversation was directed my way she easily answered for me and continued on.

            Half an hour into the night, Vicky’s mate Jordan joined us, completing our group. He was nice, quiet but funny. The only thing I really noticed about him was how close he kept Vicky to him and how he kept his arm around her waist the entire night.

            I decided to leave early and Ethan volunteered to walk me back to my cabin. He walked close to me, our shoulders bumping every few seconds. He seemed at ease and was gracious enough to leave me to my thoughts for most of the walk.

            “So, see anyone interesting?” he asked, wriggling his eyebrows again. It was something he seemed to do a lot. It took me a second to remember that he was asking if I had found my mate yet. Since the mating incident on the field, four more couples had sprung up. Well five if you included Axel and I, I didn’t.

            I blew out a breath, intent on playing it cool. “Nope.”

            “Me neither,” he said, looking down, “Well except you.”

            I looked up at him dryly, “We’re not mates.”

            “No,” he agreed, “But we’re part human, and humans date.”

            I snorted, “Keep dreaming.”

            He held up his hands, “I wasn’t asking you out, Ebony. Geez.”

            I rolled my eyes and looked around, to my surprise we were already on the stone pathway that lead to my cabin. “Try not to let it happen,” I advised.

            He spun around so he was walking backwards ahead of me, “I don’t know if I can make any promises. You’re interesting.”

            I rolled my eyes, “So is every other female.”

            “Pfft,” he scoffed, “They’re all boring.” Ethan’s hands went to my waist and I pushed them off, giving him a deadly look. He only grinned, thinking I was being playful. He went to reach for my hips again but  a growl cut him short.

            He looked around, confused at first until he found the source of the noise. “Axel?” Axel himself was walking towards his cabin from the woods, I guess he had went for a stroll.

            “Ethan,” Axel grunted.

            Ethan grinned, “Hey bud! Long time no see! Excited for the summer?”

            Axel’s eyes narrowed, but strangely he was glaring at me. What had I done? “No.”

            The smile dropped off of Ethan’s face, “That guys such a freak,” he whispered to me. Of course he made sure he was loud enough that Axel could hear. I looked to Axel, expecting him to get angry but he didn’t, his face remained frustratingly passive.

            I looked over at Axel and narrowed my eyes at him. He met my gaze steadily, not at all perturbed by my glare. Finally, he turned around and went inside. No goodbye, nothing. Ethan turned back to me and whistled.

            “He’s so weird,” he mumbled.          

            I nodded in agreement, “Yeah.”

            “Well, I’d better go,” Ethan hitched his thumb over his shoulder and smiled. I waved him off absently and turned to my cabin before rushing inside. I dropped down on my bed, pulling the elastic from my hair and letting it fall crazily down my shoulders.

            I looked over at my side table and more specifically at my phone. As I tried to debate whether or not to call home, there was a knock on the door. I sprung up from my bed, aware that I hadn’t even bothered to unlace my sneakers and walked to the door.

            As soon as I saw who was behind the door my heart started to thud in my chest. Axel loomed in my doorway, leaning forward slightly as he peered over my shoulder. He was so tall he had to bend his head a little so it wouldn’t hit the top of the door frame.

            “Can I help you?” my tone was bitter.

            He looked down at me, no trace of emotion anywhere on his face. His eyes were dark and focused. “Are you going out with Ethan?”

            I was almost shocked by his question, “N-no.” He nodded once and turned to leave. I stood there, gaping at him. Who in their right mind came to someone’s door, asked one question, and left?

            Right when I thought he was going to turn to walk down the lane to his cabin, Axel turned and said, “I like your hair down.” My cheeks burned as I reached up to my head, noticing the fuzzy mess it was in. I tried to smooth it down over my ears even though there wasn’t a point—he was already gone.

            “How was your first day, Ebbie?” my mom asked. She sounded excited, giddy almost. I closed my eyes for a moment, debating on whether or not to tell her about Axel.

            “Fine,” I told her, “It was fine.”

            “Meet anyone—interesting?” her tone was careful, but I knew she was hardly restraining herself from giggling like a child and prodding me for gossip.

            I trained my gaze on the door across the room. “No.”

            I heard my mother let out a long breath, “Ryan wants to talk to you.” There was a muffled voice and some static and my mother quickly added, “I love you, hun. Be safe, have fun!” She barely got the last word in before the phone was snatched from her ear and Ryan was talking.

            “How awful is it?”

            “Pretty awful,” I told him. The camp hadn’t been horrible. The sports was fun and the lake would’ve been fun if not ruined because of Axel. But I knew if I told Ryan that it was nice here he’d feel terrible.

            “Good.” It sounded like he was smiling.

            “How was the long day without me?” I asked, picking at a loose thread on my blanket.

            Ryan laughed, “It was amazing actually. For once I didn’t have to go to the bathroom to cry. I was able to spend a whole day without the urge to bang my head against the wall.”

            I rolled my eyes, “Ha-ha,” I said dryly, “You’re hysterical.”

            “I do try,” Ryan admitted. He took a deep breath before he said, “You didn’t find your—”

            “No,” I lied, “Nothing to worry about in that department. It seems as though my parents sending me here was pointless after all.”

            He let out a deep breath, “That’s great! I mean—well not great for you but—I—”

            “I gotta go, Ryan,” I said, watching the doorknob twist as Redly worked her way inside. “My roommate’s back and I’d rather talk in private.”

            Ryan sighed, “Alright, I’ll talk to you later, princess.”

            “You’re still a toad,” I told him.

            “As long as you kiss me.” I hung up on him and smiled, it felt nice to talk to my family again. It had only been a day but I already missed them. I sighed and leaned back, if I missed them after a day, how was I going to survive an entire summer? 

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