Secrets of an Alpha

Chapter Six

Natalia’s POV 

The alarm sounds loudly from the bedside table and I reach over to turn it off instantly. Its reminder is irrelevant anyway, since I’ve spent the entire night lying here awake. The whole charade from yesterday played on loop in my brain over and over all night long. Damn I really f****d up. Not only did I break my promise to Lucille but I caused my father to lose face in front of his peers which in turn reflects badly on our pack. 

What the hell was I trying to achieve anyway? Some deluded fantasy of me swooping in to save my pack with my cunning negotiating skills and business acumen. Urrgg what an i***t. I swing my legs around the side of the bed and rub my tired eyes in an effort to get my s**t together. There’s nothing to do now but hold my hands up and own it. I tried my best to make a change, to help out but in the end I’ve probably just made the situation worse. 

I haul myself out of bed, wash up and get dressed quickly. I leave my room and head towards my father’s office where I know he’s sure to be at this time in the morning. I knock the door gingerly and await for his go ahead. 

As soon as I open the door, I can feel the anger radiating off of him in waves.  

“Dad I…” 

“Don’t Natalia!! Do you realise what you have done and how incredibly stupid it was?!” he booms at me from across the room. 

I let out a low sigh and nod my head in admission. 

“I know dad… I’m really sorry… I-“ 

“All night!! All damn night I’ve been on the phone reassuring Alphas around the state that I was not in-fact insulting them by sending my daughter in to make extra negotiations. Luckily I have managed to explain the situation and most have been understanding. You’re lucky you didn’t start another feud!” 

I open my mouth to speak but he cuts me off again. 

“You had no right to do that! To make those calls and carry out those negotiations without my say so! It was incredibly immature!” he says finally as I wait for permission to speak. 

He nods at me subtly and I move forward carefully to take a seat in front of his desk. 

“Dad all I can say now is that I am so so sorry. I was trying to help the pack, to find a solution to our problems but I went about it the wrong way entirely and I know that now.” I say sincerely. 

“Despite your good intentions Natalia… you really messed up. You should have come to me.”

I nod again and rub my forehead slowly, trying to ease the tension headache that has plagued me all night. 

“I should have… you have my word that I won’t interfere again.” I say sadly, hanging my head down. 

“The thing is Natalia… some of your ideas were inspired.” he states, causing me to look at him in both shock and confusion. 

“Alpha Samson told me about the five year plan that you pitched him and to be honest I was kicking myself that I never came up with that plan myself.” he says in slight annoyance. 

“Really?” I ask carefully. 

“Yes and I could tell even he thought the plan had merit but what you don’t understand is that these men will never negotiate terms such as these with the daughter of an Alpha. The mere fact that you that had the audacity to approach them personally was enough to put their noses out of joint.” 

I let out a puff of air and shake my head gently. 

“That’s really messed up.” 

He nods and stands up from his chair, walking over to look out of the window. 

“I realise that but it is the harsh reality that we live in.” 

I slump back in the chair and feel the gravity of the situation crush me once more. Our pack is a sitting duck. No allies. Pissed off neighbours and Crimson River’s threats becoming more severe by the day. 

“Dad… I’ve come to a decision about Alpha Eric.” I say tentatively as my father turns around to look at me with intrigue. “I’ve decided to accept his proposal.” 

“Natalia no-“ 

“No dad it’s okay.” I tell him gently with a soft smile. “This is my pack, my family and I will do whatever it takes. Besides… I really like him.” I say in slight exaggeration in an effort to ease his guilt. 

“You do? You could have fooled me?” 

“I wasn’t a fan of how he approached the situation but as a man he seemed nice and goddess knows he’s handsome and successful and-“ 

“But would that make you happy Natalia?” he interrupts, his face awash with worry. 

I stand up from the chair and walk towards him, throwing my arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. 

“Don’t worry about me dad… I’ll be just fine.” 

*** 

I pull my cardigan around my shoulders tightly as I walk down the familiar dirt road to Silver Moon Farm. It seems this day is solely about making amends for the stupid s**t that I got up to yesterday and there are two more individuals who deserve an apology whilst on my tour of shame. The black clouds cover the sky in stark contrast to the clear blue of yesterday and the cold air nips at my skin relentlessly. Just then it’s as though the heavens open and rain begins to pelt down on me, soaking me through to the bone instantly. 

“s**t!” I shout out in annoyance as I run up the path and knock on Lucille’s door frantically. 

“Just coming…” she calls out before opening the door a crack, peering out at me with a raised eyebrow. 

“Lucille please!” I plead with her as the heavy downpour continues. 

She chuckles softly before opening the door and pulling me inside. 

“Okay okay… keep your hair on honey.” she says in amusement. 

I wipe the loose raindrops from my face and look at her apologetically. 

“So I heard your father was on the rampage this morning… something about his daughter interfering in his business… the very thing you promised me you would not do.” Lucille says knowingly. 

I should have known that she would have found out quickly. As the head cook she literally has contact with all the omegas who work all over the pack house. 

“You heard right… I messed up bad and dad was pissed. I came to say sorry.” I say with a sad smile. 

She nods and walks towards the kettle, flicking it on before turning back to me. 

“Ahh it’s partly my fault. I’ve known you since you were a pup and knowing how determined you are I should have guessed that you’d jump into the thick of it.” 

I let out a breath of relief and shuffle awkwardly from side to side. 

“Do you want some tea? We can get those wet clothes hanging up to dry?” 

“No Lucille, I was wondering if Uhh…Aiden is around?” 

She looks at me in confusion and tilts her head. 

“Aiden? Why?” 

“Well he kind of stumbled upon me last night after everything and I was less than civil to him. He didn’t mention it?” 

Lucille shakes her head and chuckles softly. 

“No but he doesn’t say much at the best of times anyway.” she grins. “Last time I saw him he was in the barn. Never stops working the lad.” 

I leave the house and run back out into the pouring rain that is still lashing down at a rate of knots. I run towards the barn and grab hold of the large handle pulling it back with all my strength before throwing myself inside. I look around the seemingly empty barn and gather my hair into my hands, wringing it out tightly. It is then that I see him over in the corner piling a large haystack on top of another. I walk towards him slowly, stopping a few feet away. I clear my throat loudly but he doesn’t turn around, instead choosing to ignore me and continue the task at hand. 

“Sorry.” I say gently. 

My single word causing him to stop in his tracks and turn around slowly to look at me. I gulp audibly, unable to stifle the nervous energy that begins to creep up on me as I take in his appearance. His wet t-shirt hugs his muscles like a second skin, whilst tiny droplets of water fall from the wet strands of hair on his head. 

He doesn’t say anything, he just folds his arms across his body and looks back at me blankly. His cold demeanour a far cry from the warmth he displayed last night. 

“I uhh came to say sorry to you for what I said to you last night. It was really rude of me and definitely not the way to welcome someone new to our pack. I just wanted you to know that I was sorry and that it won’t happen again.” 

He nods curtly before turning away from me and going back to what he was doing. 

My mouth drops open a little and I look at his large back in confusion. Did he just completely ignore me? Goddess I know I was an ass but my apology was genuine. 

“Uhm excuse me… Aiden is it? My name is Natalia. I don’t know if you heard me there… I really just want to check that we are okay and if you’d let me, I’d like to start over.” I say in a friendly, yet more forceful tone. 

I stick my hand out towards him and watch as he turns around to look at it nonchalantly before completely ignoring it. I drop my arm back down by my side in defeat. 

“I heard your apology and I’ve accepted it.” he says simply, sitting down on a bale of hay and loosening the laces on one of his boots. 

I watch as he removes it and empties it upside down, water coming out and splashing onto the ground. 

“See uh it doesn’t seem like you do accept it?” I say, unsatisfied with his detached responses. 

He shrugs his shoulders and looks back towards me. 

“What do you want me to say?” he asks, his handsome face expressionless. 

“Well I don’t know… I thought we could maybe get to know each other. Maybe we could be friends.” 

“I don’t need any friends but thanks for the offer.” he replies with another infuriating nod. 

I let out a huff of frustration before I decide to let the issue slide. Yes I was an asshole. Do I deserve the silent treatment? Maybe But it doesn’t mean I have to stand here and suffer it. 

“Well I’ll see you around then.” I say hurriedly. 

He replaces the boot on his foot and stands up, before walking towards me. My breath catches slightly in my throat as he gets closer to me and I focus on maintaining the same cold display that he has shown to me. I watch carefully as his green eyes wander over my face slowly before he stops a mere foot away. 

“I guess you will. See you around… Natalia.” he says lowly, before walking past me, leaving me standing there in a jittery mess.