The Alpha's Secret

Chapter 4: A Decision

Thea:

I pushed myself up from the ground, fully aware that everyone was staring at me in shock, and i just wanted to run away. I turned to look over at Alaric, and my heart sank. He looked so angry with me, and to be honest, I didn't blame him.

I felt so confused by what had just happened, ne minute, I was running towards his wolf, and the next minute, I was laying underneath his naked body.

“Oh my goddess, are you okay?” Dhalia asked, wrapping an arm around one of my shoulders and pulling me away from everyone. I kept my eyes down to avoid their stares, but I could still hear their whispers, and I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.

“No, I am confused. I am not sure what came over me or what just took place.” I admitted, keeping my eyes to the ground as we made our way into the mansion and towards my room.

“I am not going to lie, I thought he was going to kill you.” Dhalia whispered before pushing open my bedroom door and ushering me inside.

“I am not sure what exactly just happened... I remember that i had an overwhelming urge to get to him, and I remember running towards his wolf, but then the next thing I know, I am under his naked body.” Dhalia turned me to face her and looked into my eyes.

“Thea, you both just imprinted, your mate bond was so strong that it knocked everybody back. What do you mean you don’t remember anything?” Me and Alaric? Imprinted? No way, everyone must be mistaken.

“I think you have all made a mistake. If we imprinted, why didn’t I feel it? Why can’t I remember any of it?” I asked. Dhalia stared at me with a look I couldn’t quite place and then thought for a second.

“Because one of you doesn’t want it, or because both of you don’t? Maybe you’re both fighting it? Maybe you don’t remember any of it because you hit your head, pretty hard, actually.” I pulled away from her and placed my hand on the back of my head, not even remembering injuring myself. I sat on the end of my bed and sighed. I was becoming overwhelmed.

“I think you are all extremely mistaken. What you felt was probably Alaric gaining his Alpha abilities. There is nothing to fight, nothing to want, and nothing to remember. All I know is that he is really pissed off with me and that my head is really sore." Oh my goddess, i had really pissed Alaric off. I had never seen him so angry before, and he had never once been cross with me.

Dhalia sighed and made her way over to my bed, I knew that she was trying to think of things to say to make this situation any less confusing then it already was but all I wanted to do was apologise to Alaric. I hated that I had angered him so much.

“Listen, once Alaric and Elias have returned from their run, we are all having a party to celebrate our new Alpha so why don’t you get showered and changed and we will talk about this all tomorrow?” I nodded my head and stood from my bed. Maybe a distraction was exactly what I needed, some time to just let my hair down and have fun.

After I showered and changed into some denim shorts and a vest top, I slipped on my converses and made my way back onto the mansion grounds.

The only pack members that were left from the initiation were a large group of young men and women. The children and older members of the pack had all retired for the night, leaving the partying to us young ones.

I offered the group a small smile and looked around, hoping to find Dhalia amongst them. But instead, my eyes met Alaric’s and he still looked really angry. I debated whether I should just go back to my room or whether I should just drink myself into oblivion and realised that maybe the first option would be for the best.

I turned on my foot and began to walk back towards the mansion, wondering whether I should just go straight to bed or read a book to take my mind off of everything. I loved reading, I used it as an escape especially when I was upset or had a lot on my mind.

“There you are!” Dhalia chirped, taking my hand and pulling me back towards the party. I looked around and noticed that they had set up an outside bar especially for the occasion and that it was full of all different kinds of alcohol, even some that I didn't recognise.

“So, what’s your poison?” Dhalia asked, looking at me happily. “We have pretty much everything you could possibly think of.” She continued.

I looked over at the bar and bit my bottom lip. I had spotted the large bottle of tequila and even though that drink had gotten me into so much trouble in the past, it had also created many good memories.

“Tequila please.” I said, looking over to the werewolf behind the bar. He raised his eyebrows at me before looking over to Alaric, seemingly looking for his Alphas approval, but he didn't get a response so he hesitantly began to pour me a small shot glass.

“Are you sure that tequila is a good idea?” Elias asked, looking at me with an amused expression on his smug face. I came to the realisation then that he must have thought I had never had an ounce of alcohol before which irritated me a little.

“Absolutely. I will have two shots and an El Diablo please.” I said, smiling at the barman who still looked a little unsure. Dhalia began to laugh excitedly and nodded her head to the barman.

Elias and everyone else had clearly just assumed that I was a sheltered little girl who had been sent to boarding school literally only to learn. They had absolutely no idea the antics I managed to get up to back when I was there and I decided to accept that, clearly we all had something to learn.

Before long I was sitting by myself around a campfire with all of the young males and females of the pack. A majority of them were already drunk, some laughing with one another and others wrestling on the ground. I wasn't too sure where my three friends were, i assumed they had just gone back to the bar and i quite enjoyed getting to know everyone else. I was taken by surprise when one of the young lads handed me a pint glass of beer and I looked down at the yellow clear liquid. Was he trying to get me drunk?

"I dare you to down it all in ten seconds." He grinned as his friends all circled around me. I slowly put the glass to my lips, debating whether that was actually a good idea, but I was never one to back down from a challenge. I tilted my head back and chugged down the drink as fast as I could.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" The excited crowd chanted with one another. The moment that I had emptied the contents of the glass and within only 8 seconds, they all began to cheer.

“I told you she could drink all of these idiots under the table.” A familiar voiced said. Dhalia, Elias and Alaric all came over to see what the commotion was all about, Dhalia being amused by it all and Elias looking rather shocked.

“Jeeze! Where the hell did you learn to drink like that?” He asked, passing me another cocktail.

“At clubs and pubs, while i was away at boarding school.” I admitted thinking back to the days me and the other girls would climb out of the windows and sneak away for the night. We would pub crawl until the sun began to rise and then would sneak back into the school before our superiors woke up. I had managed to spend many a lessons, hungover and even still fairly drunk without anyone noticing, it actually became quite a skill.

“Wow, what else did you get up to?” Elias asked, now intrigued. I grinned and stood up from where I was sitting and slowly pulled the top of my denim shorts down revealing a tattoo which I had managed to keep hidden from everyone. Especially Kane, if he had found out i had gotten a tattoo he would have been furious.The tattoo was rather big, starting at my hip and ending on the outside of my thigh and i had designed it myself. It was of Gaia praying over the earth and as I prayed to her a lot, it seemed to make sense to have her tattooed on me.

"Take your shorts off, we want to see the whole thing." One of the drunken men shouted, I laughed at him but I was aware that pulling my shorts completely down would be a bad idea, especially in front of my friend’s boyfriend, my new Alpha and a bunch of rowdy drunk red-blooded males.

"Not today guys." I laughed, actually feeling a little uncomfortable with their request. I couldn't imagine anything worse than taking my clothes off around anyone.

“Good choice.” Alaric growled, finally acknowledging my existence for the first time that night. I looked up at him sadly and realised that he was still so angry with me. We had to talk, I had to apologise to him and smooth things over.

“Can we talk please?” I asked, hoping that he would hear me out. He nodded his head and began to walk over to a tall willow tree which was large enough to hide at least three people.

I followed him until we were hidden and then looked up at his perfectly sculptured face. He stood staring at me in silence, and I took that as a sign he was waiting for me to begin speaking.

“I am sorry for making you angry. I should never have interrupted your ritual.” Alaric stared at me intently and then sighed.

“I could have killed you, Thea. What in the world were you thinking?” He growled. I shook my head and looked back up at him.

“I don’t know! I just had an urge to get to you, to protect you and take away your pain, and stupidly I followed that urge. If I am completely honest with you.. I don’t remember anything else.” I admitted, placing my hand on the back of my head again. The pain had gone and whatever injury I had, was gone. Alaric blinked a couple of times and then frowned.

“You don’t remember anything at all?” He asked, now looking a little sad.

“No, not a thing. But I guess that is what happens when you hi-"

“That is weird, but probably for the best. Anyway, lets re join everyone.” He said cutting me off and then walking away from me. I stood on the spot for a little while wondering why even after I had apologised was he still so angry. Had what I had done really been that bad?

"Thea! Come on." Dhalia shouted as she waved me over to rejoin her, Elias and my new Alpha. I forced a smile at my friend and slowly made my way over to them but i had decided that it was best that I retired for the night. I could not deal with the frosty atmosphere anymore and if Alaric wanted to sulk then he could, but I was no longer willing to deal with it.

“Shots!” Elias called bringing over a tray of twenty shot glasses filled with Sambuca. I shook my head but smiled appreciatively at him.

"I am going to go to bed, I am getting tired." I lied before turning away from the three of them and walking back towards the mansion. I was too upset to stay around Alaric, he had hardly spoken to me and then cut me off when I was talking to him. How was that okay? I understood that I had upset him, but I had apologised! He didn't need to keep punishing me. For some reason my heart broke a little that night and at the time I didn't understand why but it would all become clear to me, soon enough.

Alaric:

I watched as Thea, walked away from the three of us and my heart sank a little. I didn't want to make her feel the way I had that night

Dhalia looked up at me and frowned, clearly wondering what had been said between Thea and I.

"I think I am going to check on her." She said, immediately turning away from me and her boyfriend and running after her friend. I sighed sadly and then turned to Elias, who was still holding the tray of shots and wondering what he should do with them.

“You okay, mate?” Elias asked as he placed the tray back on the bar, much to the barmans dismay.

“I don’t know, man. My head is pretty messed up right now, and I think I just need time away from Thea for a while. I need to think without her being around me because the moment she is near me, my emotions seem to cloud my judgement.” I admitted, feeling utterly defeated.

“It is a bit of a tough situation.” Elias whispered, placing an arm around my shoulder as he tried to comfort me.

Despite what my father had said, I had told Elias everything and made him swear never to tell a soul and that included Dhalia. And even though i trusted him complicity, i still asked him to take a blood oath, because the secret we were holding warrented it.

“What are you going to do?” He asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

“I haven’t got a clue. I just can’t be the one to protect her, let alone marry her. Me and Thea do not even know one another anymore, we have both changed... what if we dont like each other. Yes she is beautiful and probably the most gorgeous woman i have ever laid my eyes upon but she is a stranger. And if I am honest, I am not good enough for her... she is a princess and our future queen; she is above me on so many levels.”

“Dude, you need to stop over thinking things. What are you talking about? Not good enough for her? You are exactly what that girl needs, and she is what you need. That much has been obvious since we were kids. Thea hasn't changed much except for the fact she is now a woman and your still the serious loveable arsehole you have always been. You just need to give her a chance.”

I knew he was right and that’s what made it all worse, because I still could not allow myself to get close to her at least not until she knew her real identity and her truth. I would just be lying to her otherwise and she did not deserve that.

“I just need to be away from her, at least until she knows the truth.” I whispered.