The alpha and the female warrior Episode 26

The_Alpha_And_The_Female_Warrior
CHAPTER 26
Theme : Caught Unfriendly
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By now they were snarling at each other with hateful
eyes, looking re-ady to fight.
“I swear if you guys even t©uçh each other, I won’t ever
speak to any of you again!” I blurted, worried they’ll tear
each other ap@rt.
None of them even flin-ched at my ‘warning’, ma-king me
glare at them.
“St©p with the whole staring contest and let’s move on!” I
said with a huff, splashing around to get their attention.
Not even freaking a glance.
With each second that pas-sed, I could feel the tension
rising.
I knew I had to do something.
I gro-an ed inwardly, knowing they’ll have to physically be
separated as they won’t do it themselves. I swam to the
shallow p@rt of the lake until my feet could t©uçh the
ground, and started to walk towards them.
Don’t look down at yourself or you’ll chicken out, I
mentally chanted.
The level of the lake decrea-sed with every step I took,
completely revea-ling what I had on. To my relief, they
hadn’t noticed me approaching them; they were too
immersed in staring each other down.
Men, tsk.
When I finally reached them, I did the first thing I though
of. I r0ûghly gr@bb£d the back of their n£¢ks and pushed
their heads towards each other, causing them to head-
bu-tt. Really ha-rd .
They both winced in pain and held their head, alarm and
confusion written all over their faces.
“St©p behaving like children.” I snapped at them,
crossing my arms over each other.
I shouldn’t have done that motion, because what I
wanted to hide was suddenly emphasised. Both of them
simultaneously looked down at my che-st.
“Hey!” I exclaimed, waving my hand in their faces. “Eyes
up here, per-verts.”
At that point I thought I should really put on my clothes,
or at least my hoodie. It might’ve seemed like I was
comfortable on due to my calm exterior, but really I felt
like running to another state.
They took their time looking away from my che-st and
meeting my unimpressed gaze.
“You were swimming in your un-derwear?” Jay staggered,
his green eyes wi-dening a little.
I gave him a sheepish smile and nodded ever so slightly,
honestly I was just as surprised as he was.
I started to walk backwards, being careful not to sl!pon
the we-t rocks and gras-s.
“Why are you w-?”
“Walking backwards?” I said, finishing Theo’s question.
“Because, if you haven’t noticed alre-ady, I’m in my
un-derwear and I don’t want to worry about you staring
at my as-s.”
They both didn’t even try to deny and complain about
my answer, but instead shrugged and grinned.
Oh Lord.
At least they st©pped going at each others throat…
I managed to make it back to my pile of clothes and
quic-kly sli-pped on the hoodie, which thankfully covered
my as-s and reached mid-th!gh. It was then I realised that
it was Theo’s hoodie I’d been wearing the entire day since
I left the hospital. The colours of the sunset decorating
the sky made me realise what a really long day it had
been.
“I’m leaving, you coming or not?” Jay sighed, turning to
leave.
“We c@m£ here by my car, so that’s how we’re going
back.” Theo replied instantly, regarding him coldly.”Not
you.” Jay said, curtly. “Elisia.”
I had just finished putting my sneakers on when he said
my name.
“We’re all going back.” I said, avoiding the obvious
question hanging in the air. Who am I accompanying on
the drive back?
Jay, as usual, didn’t beat around the bush and said, “Are
you driving back with me or with
him ?”
I didn’t answer straight away as I picked up my joggers
and slung it over my shoulder.
Both of them were looking at me expectantly, waiting for
an answer. A couple weeks back, I wouldn’t have
hesitated and would’ve definitely picked Jay over Theo.
Now, I felt like this decision meant more than ‘just a car
ride back’.
My heart was yearning to be with Theo, my mate, but my
mind was telling me to go to Jay. I felt bad for not
responding to his calls, both by phone and telepathy. He
was un-der the impression that I might’ve been in trouble
or danger on this foreign territory. I made him worry
when I was doing just fine, and I nee-ded to make it up to
him. A car ride might not be enough, but it is a start.
“I’ll ride with you, Jay.” I smiled, trying to lighten the
mood. I couldn’t bring myself to even glance at Theo’s
reaction, although I felt the air around me shift.
“I’ll see you at the Manor then.” Theo spoke up gruffly. “I
just nee-d to fetch my clothes before I leave.”
He walked pas-s me without a second glance, ma-king my
insides churn with guilt and even regret. Despite all those
feelings, the logical side of me shone throu-gh and
reminded me that I was ma-king the right choice…for
now.
Jay started to walk out the enclosed, beautiful place and
made his way down the steep hill. I followed closely
behind, keeping up with him easily. I noticed a Jeep
parked right beside Theo’s Range Rover as we c@m£
down the last few metres.
We got into the car without saying anything and started
to drive our way back.
“This is Julian’s car, isn’t it?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“Yup.”
“You’re on good terms with him?”
Jay glanced at me with a confused expression. “Why
wouldn’t we be?”
“I noticed you guys weren’t talking or sitting next to each
other on the day of the match.” I explained,
remembering how far they sat from each other at
breakfast.
“That was because Theo and I weren’t on best terms that
day.” He began to explain. “The day before the match was
when I walked in on…Theo moving in on you.”
“Ah, right…”
“Julian, as the Beta, had to stand by his Alpha which I
totally get and respect. Not to mention, they’re like best
friends.”
We stayed quiet for a while after that, I spent a lot of time
looking out the window and taking in the scenery.
“So, what was that all about?” He spoke up, not looking
away from the road.
“Which p@rt?” I replied, wondering where the
conversation will go.
“You’ve gotten quite close to him, haven’t you?” He
asked, not answering my question.
I raised my eyebrows at this, surprised at his observation.
It’s true that I feel a lot closer to Theo, more so than
when I first c@m£ here, but I know we’re not that close.
“I guess I’ve gotten to know him better.” I admitted
slowly, nodding a little.
He sighed and ran his hand throu-gh his wavy hair as he
struggled to compose himself.”He’s not that bad.” I said
quietly, putting my hand on his arm.
“Oh, come on! You’ve known him for just a month,
Elisia.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I’ve heard some of
the craziest things about him, and seeing you with him…I
don’t like it.”
“Those are just rumors, Jay.” I countered, turning to face
him. “You have to get to know the person before you
yield to what you hear. You have too many
misconceptions about him, he is nothing like his father.”
Jay chuckled humourlessly and ti-ght£ñed his grip on the
wheel. “Is that what he’d been telling you this entire
time? The whole ‘I’m not my father’ and ‘Like me for who
I am’ bullsh-.”
“Jayden.” I cut him off with a warning tone.
He looked away from the road and inspected me
curiously; probably startled at the fact I called him by his
full name.
“One of the rumors is that he’s very manipulative and
conniving, I can’t help but feel like you’re at the other
end of that.” He said in a low tone, looking back in front
of him.
“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way but I can take care of
myself. You know that.”
“I don’t doubt that at all, Elisia. What concerns me is
when I come across the both of you in…questionable
situations.”
Like that almost-inti-mate moment on the staircase and
swimming together in nothing but our un-derwear. You
would think Jay would’ve guessed that Theo and I are
mates by now but in fact, it isn’t as easy as it seems.
Usually when mates see each other for the first time, the
overwhelming nee-d to initiate physical contact will arise
thus leading up to them hvgging, holding hands and even
k!ss!ngon first sight. Following that, the mates announce
their discovery of each other to the people they’re with.
Jay was with me the first time we met Theo, and none of
that happened. in fact, we didn’t give away any indication
or clues that we were mates.
Mates usually don’t del@ycompleting the mate bond like
we have. Once the mating is complete, the couple will
officially be seen as ‘taken’ due to the change in their
scents.
So in Jay’s perspective, the ‘relationsh!p’ I have with Theo
must seem pretty peculiar.
“I don’t know what to tell you.” I said awkwardly,
realising he was expected me to say something.
“Clearly he’s interested in you, and his reputation doesn’t
exactly hint that he has innocent intentions.”
“Are you insinuating that he wants to use me?” I
responded with a sigh.
“Well, if the shoe fits.”
i didn’t respond to that; I knew it was pointless arguing
about Theo. When Jay has a strong opinion of someone,
there’s ha-rd ly a chance that it will change.
So we drove the rest of the way in silence and went
straight to our rooms. I didn’t feel like coming down for
dinner, not with all the uncomfortable vibes. Maybe if
Leona was here, then I would probably have more guts.
~•~
“A p@rty?” I exclaimed in confusion, staring at Leona’s
excited face.
“Yup! I know it’s last minute, but it’ll be fun!” She gushed,
cl@pping her hands together.
I was sitting in the backyard, chilling and eating breakfast
with Leona and Julian. They returned from their
impromptu business trip; it’s two days since the day I
was discharged from the hospital.
“Wait, so you’re saying a p@rty has been organised and
I’m the guest of honour?” I reiterated, blinking multi-ple
times.
“You were the winner of the match after all, and
everyone is looking forward to seeing you again.” Julian
added, sipping on his protein shake.”I wasn’t included in
any of the planning, who’s idea was this anyway?” I
complained, b!owing a strand of hair away my face.
“Theo.” They replied in unison, b!tt!g back a laugh.
“Ugh.”
The large, white patio doors opened, catching our
attention.
“Did you hear about the p@rty?” Jay walked towards our
table, wearing nothing but swimming trunks and a towel
slung around his n£¢k.
“Do you know what a shi-t is?” I snorted, rolling my eyes.
I noticed the last piece of my pancake chilling on my
plate; I quic-kly snatched it up and stuffed in my mouth
before Jay could even try.
He noticed this and grinned cheekily. “Damn, I should’ve
walked fas-ter.”
“In your face!” I whooped in glee, fist pumping the air.
Well…that’s what I was trying to say.
Instead it c@m£ out as, “Um ro pace!”
Jay and I have returned back to interacting like usual
which I was so grateful about. I noticed that sometimes
his smile doesn’t reach his eyes when Theo is in the same
room; the two of them look on edge when they’re in the
same room.
“Fo whensh tha pady?” I asked, mouth full of pancake.
Leona and Julian leaned forward to hear me again,
wearing matching confused expressions.
“She said ‘so when’s the p@rty?'” Jay translated, ma-king
his way to the pool. I nodded in confirmation as I tried
swallowing the large bite.
“Ah, it’s tonight.”
I took sharp inhalation, shocked by Leona’s answer.
Unfortunately, that meant some food bits and p@rticles
found their way going down the wrong pipe.
I started to cough violently for a few good seconds,
ma-king my eyes water and stream tears. I drank some of
Leona’s water because apparently that’s what you do,
and it helped a little.
“Wow.” I croaked with a small smile.
She proceeded to pat and ru-b my back to decrease my
coughing, which worked immediately.
Kobi walked in throu-gh the open, patio doors, took one
look at my tearful appearance and Leona’s hand ru-bbing
my back soothingly and asked, “Who died?”
“No-one, thankfully.” Julian chuckled, shaking his head at
him. “However, Elisia nearly did because she heard the
p@rty was taking place tonight.”
Kobi looked at me in surprise, once again observing the
tears streaming down my face. “Aw, it’s not that bad. I
really didn’t think the idea of a p@rty would make you cry
like this…”
I waited for someone to correct him and tell him that he
misun-derstood the reason behind the tears, but no one
did. Instead, they all began to laugh and tease me about
my tears. Jay jumped into the pool, resurfaced with
water droplets all over his face and dramatically started
to wipe them off like they were tears.
I glared at them all; they’re lucky that my b©dy hadn’t
recovered from choking on that pancake or I would’ve
given them a piece of my mind. I wiped off any traces of
tears on my face to end the teasing, once and for all.
And that’s when Theo, emitting his usual authoritative
aura, walked into the backyard and caught a glimpse at
my face.
“Why are you crying?” He asked, frowning a little.
I threw my arms in the air in disbelief and defeat. Did I
not wipe them all off? I t©uçhed my cheeks just to find
them a little damp, but found no tears.Theo was alre-ady
walking over to me, his brow still furrowed.
“How did you know I was crying?” I asked, still trying to
find tears on my face. He slid into the chair next to me,
not taking his eyes off me.
“I could tell.” He replied simply, holding my gaze
tenderly.
I could see, from my peripheral vision, Leona’s smile
growing by the second. By the time I looked away from
Theo, her smile resembled the Cheshire cat from
grinning so wi-dely. Catching my gaze, she wiggled her
eyebrows at me in a teasing fashion.
“She was crying because the p@rty is tonight.” Kobi
explained with a sigh, looking uneasy.
Oh my God.
I sagged in defeat, not bothering to protest at this point.
My entire throat area felt weird, scratchy and tickly;
talking would just take too much effort.
Theo, however, remained oblivious to my reaction and
his eyebrow raised at this. “Is this true? I know it’s last
minute, but I was told that you had no plans.”
I would’ve face palmed right there and then, if it weren’t
for Leona speaking up. “Her tears are from choking on
her food, not because she’s upset about the p@rty.”
Finally, someone said it!
Realisation flashed across Kobi’s face for a split second,
before he frowned and shook his head. “You waited way
too long to cover it up. I wont tell anyone you crying
over the d@t£ and time of a p@rty, I promise.” He said
solemnly, holding his hand against his che-st.
What the-
I gaped at him in disbelief while he shrugged off his
denim jacket, revea-ling his plain, white T-shi-t. He
honestly believed Leona made up a lie to cover up the
fact that I’d been ‘crying’.
“No, I really choked on my food.” I spoke up, cringing at
my raspy voice.
He regarded me closely with suspicion before saying,
“Oh, so why didn’t anyone correct me?”
“They had a chance to tease me and they took it, knowing
I couldn’t speak straight away.” I pouted, taking another
swing from Leona’s water bottle. I guess it’s technically
mine now since I used it…
“How are you feeling now?” Theo asked in a low voice,
putting his hand on mine.
Woah, what is he doing?
He’s casually holding my hand in front of everyone.
Julian and Leona aren’t a problem, but I didn’t want the
events from two days ago to repeat itself. I could alre-ady
hear Jay getting out the pool…
Kobi stared at our hands with a frown and then looked
me with an unre-adable expression.
I gulped nervously, and stared back, unsure what he was
thinking. I began to slowly take my hand out from un-der
Theo’s and placed it on my l@p.
“I feel better, thanks.” I replied with a polite smile. My gut
was telling me to watch my behaviour more carefully
around Kobi, he’s a nice guy but also Irene’s brother. Just
then, I felt a warm hand on my right shoulder, Jay c@m£
over to our side pretty fast. His we-t golden, blond hair
was sli-cked back and was standing tall beside me, his eyes
flashing with dominance.
Theo chose to ignore Jay’s pres£nce, which definitely
didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. Without even glancing at
him, he began to tell us the details of the p@rty.
“This p@rty is specifically organised for this pack and it’s
visitors, so no outside guests. It will be held in Elisia’s
honour and will be celebr@ting her win in the previous
fight against Irene. She will be expected to make a speech
at the beginning of the celebr@tion, out of tradition. Of
course, food and drinks will be served throu-ghout the
night. Everyone should be re-ady and dressed by ten
o’clock this evening; the dress code is smart and fancy.
I’ll be hosting the event as per usual, and I look forward
to seeing you all there. Any questions?”
We all looked at each other, shrugging when no one
spoke.
“I do.”
We perked up at Jay’s voice and looked at him to
elaborate.
“I would like to propose for us to leave as soon as
possible, after the p@rty of course.” He announced,
watching Theo carefully. “You have to take account the
health of my pack members, they should return to their
territory and home soil or their wolf will get restless.”
Despite being surprised by his sudden request, I couldn’t
help but agree. My wolf has been less eager to shift these
days, and is starting to feel homesick. But I still had to
solve the mysteries of The MoonKnight Pack as well as
finding out who my biological parents were. I couldn’t
leave just yet, but what excuse could I give to Jay and the
others?
Theo didn’t answer straight away, but looked at me
instead. After a few seconds, he let out a loud sigh and
started cracking his knuckles. “We will talk about your
dep@rture when the p@rty is over.”
Jay nodded, satisfied with his response and put his arms
around my shoulders. Although it was a gesture that I
was used to, I flin-ched un-der Theo’s intense gaze.
“I’ll see you all tonight, then.” Theo declared, standing up
and walking back into the manor. He paused at the patio
doors and turned back around, catching my gaze.
“I especially cannot wait to see you.” He added, wearing
his devilishly handsome sm-irk. He, somehow, said that in
such an alluring way and yet, still held that charm of his.
Ignoring everyone’s surprised looks, I calmly took a sip
of water.
What does fate have in sto-re for me tonight?
——————————————————————–
#TBC
You shouldn’t miss the next chapter,
there awaits, a crazy and unexpected moment.
Theme : At The p@rty