Secret Alpha

Chapter 7

After school, I mind link mom to let her know I will be late and head out to the mall. I need to buy a change of clothes. I cannot even imagine what Cassidy would think if my imaginary sister rocks up in the same outfit. I go to my favourite store and change into denim shorts and a pink t-shirt. I untie my braid and apply some lip gloss. Satisfied that I look like a girl, I pay for my shopping and head off to meet Cassidy.

I easily spot her blonde curls where she is browsing through the garments.

“Cassidy?” I ask and do my utmost best to act clueless about who she is.

“Wow,” she exclaims when she turns around and sees me, “you really do look a lot like your brother.”

I just smile at her but avoid eye contact. I really, really hope it seems that I am a shy, fifteen-year-old girl. If I could blush on demand, it would have been perfect, but pretending to be shy will do.

“It is not a bad thing,” Cassidy smiles, “at least now I know your brother wasn’t lying. What’s his name again?”

O s**t! I cannot remember if I gave her a name and if I did, what it was.

“You did not give her a name,” Storm rescues me.

It is on the tip of my tongue to give a random name, but then I realise that it will be a bad idea. We are attending the same school, the school where I am known as Alex.

“His name is Alex.”

“Alex and Alexandra?” Cassidy’s eyebrows pop up, “Confusing much?”

“It’s a long story,” I wave it off with my hand, at least I’m blushing for real now, “everyone just calls me Ally.”

“You are cute when you blush,” Cassidy says winking at me which just makes me blush even more. “Come on, I’ll stop teasing you now, let’s go shopping.”

Relieve that we can move on to the next topic, I gladly follow her

Two hours later, I am exhausted and praying that this will come to an end. What was supposed to be one or two outfits turned out to become a whole new wardrobe complete with shoes, accessories and make-up.

“You are absolutely gorgeous,” Cassidy exclaims as she makes me turn around in the hundredth outfit. “Purple is definitely your colour.”

“I hate purple,” the words blurt out before I could even think about it.

“Fine, let’s call it violet,” Cassidy smiles.

I refrain from answering and just stare at myself in the mirror. I must admit, purple – or rather violet – does go well with my skin tone and hair. I can only imagine how much my eyes will stand out if I take out the contacts.

“Speaking of purple,” I smile and make eye contact with her, “Alex tells me he met a boy with purple eyes. Is that true or is he just teasing me as always?”

“Nice move,” Storm compliments me and I must admit, I am proud of myself for remembering what I am actually doing here.

“He’s not kidding,” Cassidy’s eyes suddenly bigger and brighter than a moment before, “I actually googled it. There’s an urban legend about a girl in 1329 who had purple eyes and her parents thought she was possessed or something. Most people think it’s just nonsense but after meeting Peter, I know it’s true.”

Peter? There is another one? Holy hell, how many more? It is getting ridiculous.

“I thought his name was Joe?” I ask.

“Well, there’s Peter, Joe and Moira.”

Truly shocked I could just stare at her. First off, she either forgot about Nathan or she does not know and secondly – five? Five, there are five of us aged seventeen to eighteen. How many more are there that have not shifted yet?

“Are they brothers and sister?”

“I really don’t know, but I do not think so. They’re all so different and don’t even live in the same areas. Man, I was in love with Moira.” Cassidy more sigh than speak the last words, but I could hear it loud and clear.

“What happened?” I pry softly. I do not want to scare her off, but I need all the information I can get.

“Peter introduced us, he and Moira are friends. For me, it was love at first sight. We dated for a while, but she is mean as hell. She broke my heart,” she whispers.

I decide to leave it at that. It is clear that Cassidy is still trying to get over what happened – whatever it was. This is not the time or place to probe deeper.

“I’m sorry,” is all that I say before disappearing into the changing room.

When I came out of the changing room, Cassidy was just sitting there staring into space. This whole Moira conversation killed her chirpy mood and immediately I feel guilty.

“Well, since you’ve spent all this time helping me, it would only be fair if I treat you to a latte or something. What do you say?” I ask with a bright smile to cheer her up.

“Maybe another day, but it was really fun giving you a makeover.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” she smiles and hugs me.

“You’re awesome,” I whisper in her hair, “you’ll find the right one.”

We exchange numbers and with one last goodbye, we part ways.

What a dilemma. I look at my arms full of shopping bags and then at my bike. There is no way in hell that I will be able to get everything on it. Frustrated with myself for not thinking this through, I dig out my phone and call Dad. We arrange that he would come to the mall to help me out. While I wait, I start roaming social media to find William’s offspring. At least I have names now.

First, I go to Cassidy’s profile and searched her photos until I find a girl with purple eyes. Moira Yang. Repeating the process, I find Peter Welsh. And fortunately for me, neither of their accounts are private which is a possibility of a lot of personal information.

“You did not exaggerate,” Dad says as he pulls up next to me and my bike. “What’s the occasion?”

“Research,” I smile mischievously and start to load my stuff into his truck. “You have no idea how lucky I got today.”

“Enough to go to the council?” Dad asks hopefully.

“Yes, but not yet,” I reply and tell him what I know. “We need more than just names and faces, Dad. We need to know their packs and alliances for the council to make an informed decision. I need more time to dig into their lives and find out exactly who they are.”

“Don’t take too long, Alex, this thing is time-sensitive,” Dad warns while getting into his truck. “I’ll follow you home.”

Without arguing, I get on my bike and lead the way. Dad’s right, this thing is a ticking bomb. I need to find a way to meet each one without raising flags. But something else needs my attention first …

**

“I’m so excited,” Storm announces when we park at school an hour early. Even though this is my idea, I am starting to question my sanity.

“This is a huge risk, Storm. Not just for us, but also for our family and pack. I don’t even want to think of the s**t we’ll have to deal with if this goes south.”

“I know, but this needs to happen, and you know it.”

I so desperately want to believe that everything will go as planned, but I cannot control the nervous butterflies. With one last sigh, I pick up my backpack and walk to the school, straight to the lady’s room. I would rather risk a female screaming at me for entering the wrong bathroom than encountering the smell of the men’s room. Besides, no one will be crazy enough to be this early at school.

Once I am in the bathroom, I take off my boy clothes and change into the garments Cassidy and I bought. I decided against heels. I want to impress my mate, not embarrass myself. I put on a white, lacy tight-fit blouse with a low v-cut, denim shorts and I round it off with knee-high boots with a low heel. I apply some subtle make-up and untie my braid so that my long, black hair hangs loose and shiny. Nervously I step back and look at myself. Damn, I cannot believe this is me. Cassidy really knows her stuff. The nervous butterflies slowly turn into exciting butterflies, if I do not even recognise myself, there is no way anyone else will. Now I am just excited to meet my mate.

I stuff my boy clothes into my backpack and hide them underneath the sink behind a trash can. Surely not the most secure place, but it is not like I am hiding something illegal or valuable.

I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down, open the door and walk toward my locker. The hallways are still quiet and nearly empty, but there is more movement outside. At the corner, I stop and breathe deeply again. When I take this left, I will be looking straight at my locker … and Logan’s six doors down. Cautiously I peek around the corner.

“Lady Luck is on our side. The hallway is empty except for our mate and two friends.” Storms beam excited. I want to tell her to calm down and be quiet so that I can concentrate, but I do not. This is huge for her. She is way more into the mate thing than me. I am doing this for her and because I feel guilty that Logan’s suffering.

I give that one last step around the corner and it is like a lightning strike in a thunderstorm. My whole body comes alive, and my senses go into overdrive and focus on him. It is like the whole world becomes white noise. All that I can hear, see and smell, is him. I just stand there like an imbecile staring at him. Dear goddess, he’s gorgeous and his mine.

He is laughing at something that one of his friends said, but suddenly he froze. And all I still do is stare at him. He looks around and then his eyes settle on me. His green gaze holds mine for what feels like an eternity before life enters my body again. He just keeps staring at me as I walk up to him. The closer I get, the more he intoxicates me. Finally, we are face to face. My body takes over my cognitive abilities. My fingers curl behind his neck and settle into his hair and I pull his lips to mine. Oh, dear sweet heavens! His lips are warm, soft and have the best taste that I have ever encountered. Somewhere in my mind, it registers that he dropped his books on the floor and that his arms circle my waist until I am solid against his magnificent chest. I want more, I decide and wrap my arms around his neck and push my body closer to his.

I have no idea how long we were making out, but I know we would not have stopped if his two i***t friends did not start cheering. Slowly – and very unwillingly – I pull away, but I do not break eye contact. I am in his arms, staring desperately into his eyes trying to breathe like a normal person.

“I think you’re having a sick day and can’t go to school,” I whisper breathlessly.

“I think you’re right,” he agrees, just as breathless as me.

“I think your friends want to leave now.”

“You heard my mate,” he says with alpha authority, even if it is still a little shaken due to oxygen shortage and his eyes still locked into mine.

“Lucky bastard,” one of them mumbles as they leave, but I do not even care to see who said it. I could stay like this forever. I have never felt this content and this happy in my entire life.