The Alpha's Daughter

V

There was a gentle knocking, Linus squinted his eyes and sat up. His nostrils flared, that delicious scent her craves constantly was outside his door. He didn't glance at the clock, preferring to cross the room as quickly as possible.

Emma's fist was in mid knock when the door swung open. She blinked up at him as he looked down at her. Emma's blond hair was pulled into a low ponytail, a couple of wefts pulled out to frame her face. Visible skin stopped at the neck as she donned a white turtle neck covered by a pastel blue and grey windbreaker. He could guess what she wanted. Her round eyes reflected his sleepy image, their corners crinkled as she smiled at him.

"Good morning Lin", she crooned gently.

To hear his name like that as soon as he woke up. Linus had to lean against the door frame. God, he felt so dazzled.

"Mornin' to you too", he murmured. His voice was heavy with sleep. The corners of her lips trembled. Linus felt a small smile of his own, "how can I serve today?"

"Don't", she whined but never lost her smile, "wanna come jogging with me?"

"Of course", he hummed. If he didn't, was he really himself? "Give me a little", he raised himself to his full height again.

Emma fiddled with her fingers. "Okay", she seemed to notice her delay, "I'll be waiting at the dirt trail."

Linus nodded and Emma turned away. Linus watched her go before he got ready for the run himself. He glanced at the clock on the way to the bathroom, 4:15. Linus bit his lip, she probably couldn’t sleep. He pushed it to the back of his mind, he’d ask her later. After all, she surprised him, it would be the first in two weeks they would be together.

It took him less than ten minutes to get ready. Linus jogged towards the path, each breath a foggy cloud reflecting the moon's gentle light. His toned body was clad in his favourite long-sleeved compression shirt and matching dark grey running tights. It was easy to spot Emma among the trees even in the low lighting. A stretching blonde in a white, oversized windbreaker has high visibility in any situation.

She noticed him and stopped stretching. “Hey”, she smiled when he stopped in front of her.

Linus' lips quirked up, “hello again.”

Emma nodded to the forest, “let’s go?”

He nodded and motioned for her to ahead. The two paced through the forest, immersed in the night’s symphonies and the metronomes of their feet on the path. The forest behind the family home was very fertile from the fire that had happened nine years prior. The ground was covered in low lying shrubs, the only way to navigate was by the colour tags on the trees and the few dirt paths trodden into the land's memory.

He sped up so he could pace by her side. “Emma”, he breached the silence first, “have you slept?”

She glanced at him before turning away. “Well”, she finally turned back to him, “I have been sleeping better since that kid got here.” Linus was careful not to let his expression falter. “I slept very well so I woke up early and full of energy.”

“Is that so?” he arched a brow, “in that case, good.”

“Speaking of”, she continued, “I want you to meet her first.” Then she chuckled, “well, to meet her as a pack member and not an executioner.”

“I deserved that”, he kept his expression passive, “my bad.”

“Nah it’s fine”, she bumped shoulders, “Mili didn’t see a reason to punish you and I don’t hold it against you.” She smiled at him again, “so do you want to?”

“Sure”, he hummed.

Emma’s smile faltered. Seems he was a beat too late. She scratched behind her ear as she looked at the trail. "If you don't want to you don't have to Lin", she faced him again with consideration on her brow.

He harshly swallowed his disdain for the situation. “I’m honored you thought of me first”, he smiled. She stopped running, conflict heavy on her brow. Linus also stopped. “Oops”, he folded his lips, “looks like I didn’t push hard enough.” He closed the space between them, “Emma?”

She smoothed out her expression and flashed a small smile as if coaxing him to be honest. "If you really don't want to its fine", she whispered. She

While she wanted his honesty, he didn't feel like obliging. "It's fine", he murmured.

Her expression became strained then she shrugged, “alright.”

He smiled, happy she dropped the topic. He can barely stomach the fact that he’s jealous of a child. Linus tilted his head slightly and let his smile reach his eyes, “are we going to finish the trail or what?”

Her eyes ran over him. “Alright”, she smiled.

And so they finished their early morning rendezvous. Despite what Linus said, Emma was still bothered. She went to the child’s room with the food cart as the sun started to colour the tree line in beautiful pinks and oranges. The girl was probably awake already, only one way to find out. Emma knocked on the child’s door, she heard shuffling on the other side.

That confirmed her guess.

“I’m coming in”, she announced before opening the door. The girl sat on her bed with her little legs hanging off, she smiled as she waved at Emma. “Good morning to you too”, Emma smiled back.

The little girl got off her bed and moved to the small dining table in the room. She looked at the Alpha and waited patiently. Emma had to smile, this charming child had made so much progress in two weeks. She uncovered the tray and set the meal before the child. The girl took up the fork and ate normally as any child her age would.

Emma moved to sit on the bed as she watched the girl have her breakfast, she recalled the first night they had dinner together. As Emma had expected, it was a mess, but it was an adorable mess.

That night she had brought a stake as well as chicken from the kitchen. Emma did so to assess the possible situation of where the child originated. Although the child herself was a clue of that. Emma had set the tray on the bed and handed the pup the knife and fork. When the pup looked at her confused, Emma thought she could draw a conclusion. To her surprise, the child held the utensils well but was confused when she couldn’t get food on them.

So she’s seen someone do it.

“Sit back”, the pup did as much, “you use them like this.” She put her hand over the pup’s slightly cold and skinny hands and cut the juicy steak aiming it for the pup’s mouth.

The pup eyed it wearily then looked back to Emma. The alpha stared at her for a moment then burst into giggles. Emma had that slice to show it wasn’t tampered with. She cut another piece and made aeroplane noises aiming again for the pup’s mouth. She cautiously had a small bite before her face lit up and she ate everything on the fork. The pup reached hungrily for the stake with her uninjured arm and broke a piece of the savoury delight, quickly stuffing it in her mouth.

“Aye you”, Emma accidentally in English as she laughed. “No”, Emma barked softly tapping the child on the wrist. The pup looked at her apologetically. “Don’t look so down yea?” the pup nodded and Emma smiled at her, “I’ll teach you to use these, ok”, she put the utensil in the pup's hand and guided her.

The clink of metal on ceramics brought her back to the present. Emma glanced at the cleaned dishes and felt such pride. She crossed the space between them and gave the child the glass of orange juice off the cart.

"You ate so well”, she praised as she ruffled her hair.

The girl’s nose scrunched cutely, when Emma stopped she looked up to meet the Alpha’s eyes. Emma nodded to the drink and the child picked it up and drank without hesitation. Emma crouched in front of the child, “little one?”

The girl looked at Emma as she sipped her orange juice, blinking slowly. "Am sure you've noticed that behind those doors are a lot of wolves", Emmer continued, "Don’t be afraid they're my family."

The child lowered her head as she placed the drink on the table and nodded slowly. She was content to stay in this safe space with her alpha forever, yet that image was so easily shattered. Unlike her, this Alpha had a pack. A place to call home and people to call family.

Emma tilted her head, trying to get in the child’s field of vision. “Sweetheart?” she called. The little girl met her eyes again. Emma smiled gently, “I’m telling you this because they’ll want to meet you soon.” The girl pointed at herself and Emma nodded smiling.

They want to meet her? She could feel a smile pulling at her lips. However, her excitement was short-lived. Sooner or later she'd face the scent that always stands by the door. Who knows how many wolves were outside? The very thought made breathing laborious.

“Hey”, Emma called to her softly as she held her hand, “breathe darling. One, in. Two, out.” The girl followed the instructions, keeping her eyes on Emma’s encouraging smile. “There you go sweetheart.”

Emma said nothing, merely watching the girl’s state. After the girl finished her drink Emma put her on the bed once again. She moved to start cleaning when a tiny hand held her in place. Emma turned back to look at the child.

Her mouth moved silently before a broken unused voice emerged. "Th....ank..y..ou." Her face suddenly coloured red. The pup became embarrassed she lowered her head. Emma was stunned. It was the first time she heard her voice. The girl braved and met Emma’s eyes again after the prolonged silence.

The alpha shot her a dazzling smile, “it is my pleasure.” The girl started to resemble a tomato, Emma couldn’t help but coo. She waited until the girl had let go of the hem of her shirt before she began to tidy. When she went back to the metal cart her nose twitched. “You don’t have to worry”, she communicated, “I won’t introduced you to the entire pack at once.” She looked back to the girl, “is that okay?”

The child pursed her lips as her brows furrowed then she nodded slowly.

“Alright, bare with me then”, Emma smiled. She opened the door and let the visitor in. “Little one, this is Linus.”