Chapter 2

• Arabella
• One of the things Aurora was good about teaching me from a young age was keeping my heart from racing in scenarios where my heartbeat could put me in danger so I focus and maintain its steady unwavering tempo. I walk up to his door that is mostly open so I walk in and close the door, he gestures for me to sit down and I do so without hesitation. Alpha Zeke is only twenty-four and still hasn’t found his mate, my parents joke about how I would be his mate considering we used to play together as children but I’ve always viewed him more as a brother than as a prospective mate even if he is easy on the eyes.
• “Are you ready for training today?”
• He doesn’t look up from the paperwork that he has on his desk, “Absolutely, I’ve been looking forward to this for months.”
• “I may have pissed off your dad.”
• I don’t know why he is telling me this, he hasn’t confided in me since he became Alpha, “I wasn’t eaves dropping I promise.”
• He looks up at me from the paper he was looking at and raises an eyebrow at me, “I swear I wasn’t I have…other things on my mind that I was preoccupied with.”
• He sighs and leans back in his chair, “You’re birthday?”
• Even though he’s a young Alpha he was always smart and even though his wolf has a nasty temper he himself has always been easy to talk to, I just nod my head at him.
• He looks away from me and leans on one hand and draws circles on his desk with the other, “Have you thought about what you’re going to do?”
• I look down at my hands then back up at him and he is staring right into my eyes, “I don’t know, I don’t think I have enough information about what would be the best thing to do.”
• He sighs and looks away from me, he was my friend before he was my Alpha even though we aren’t that close in age he was still my friend, “Is…is that what you’ve been thinking about too?”
• He quickly brings his eyes back to me, “It has crossed my mind a few times.”
• I feel Maya growing more anxious which is making it harder to maintain composure, “What would you do?”
• He runs a hand through his dark blonde hair and stands up and comes in front of his desk and leans on it just in front of me and crosses his arms, “If…and I mean if that happens, you know that I wouldn’t force you to make a decision right away, however…”
• I feel Maya tense and I hold my breath as well as he continues, “Apollo is growing anxious with the possibility and you know better than anyone how he can get, and I am not sure if I have the capability to stop him and I don’t think he would accept a rejection lightly.”
• I feel a small shudder come from me and Maya, I know what he means, if Apollo gets rejected he could see red and try to kill us if we are in fact his mate and Zeke wouldn’t be able to stop him. Maya and Apollo used to be close until he grew older with Zeke and the pressure of being Alpha changed him and even Maya is hesitant around him. Alpha Zeke has known about my unique situation since we were kids even though I am the only one who knows the truth he has never once treated me differently, in fact no one in the pack has, something I suppose I should be grateful for.
• “I’m not trying to scare you; I’m just trying to warn you so maybe your decision will be easier.”
• I nod my head as he sighs, “Come on, let’s go get in a quick sparring round before they get here.”
• Maya’s ears perk up at the sound of sparring but I have never sparred with him without the observation of my dad, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
• He gives me a slightly cross look, “Don’t make me command you.”
• I don’t hesitate and nod my head and follow him out of his office, even though I still see him as a friend he is my Alpha first and foremost and he will always demand the respect and compliance because of his position. We walk through the kitchen towards the back door, and I grab a few bottles of water and I follow him out of the back door towards the training grounds. Once we get there I put my water down as Alpha Zeke stretches and I do the same, even though I got in a light jog on the way over it can’t hurt to make sure everything is nice and warm before sparring with him.
• “Ready?”
• I nod my head at him as he comes a little closer to me and feel Maya jumping with excitement, “You take the offensive first.”
• Maya’s favorite thing to do, so I ready myself as he does as well and lunge at him with my fists and even though he’s tall he’s quick on his feet. I keep throwing fists and land a few on his midsection, he dodges one and grabs the back of my head and pushes me down, so I put my hands on the ground to brace my weight and pull my legs up and kick him in the stomach which causes him to stumble backwards. I stand up ready to keep going and I notice that we have a couple of viewers so we keep going for another ten minutes.
• “Switch.”
• I had a few feet between us but the second he said it he charged at me and I only had a small moment to block his fist coming to my midsection and damn it hurt. I dance around him as he hurls another fist at me and duck just in time to avoid it.
• “He’s really putting a lot of effort into this.”
• Maya said it while I was thinking it, “Yeah, I wonder if Apollo is more forward with him right now?”
• I block some more of his punches as Maya keeps talking to me, “His eyes haven’t changed so I don’t know, but he seems more upset than usual.”
• I silently agree with her just as he drastically closes the distance between us and I won’t be able to duck away from this one so just as he throws it I grab his arm and bring my foot to his leg and propel myself over him. I turn my head to see him and just as I do I see him do the same, dammit.
• “Too slow.”
• Just as he spoke his eyes went black and his voice deepened, “Ari it’s Apollo!”
• Maya screamed at me as he turned and grabbed my leg and brought his other hand to my throat, I bring my hands to his arm just as he slams me to the ground which slightly knocks the air out of me. He’s kneeling down over me and his eyes haven’t changed so I know Apollo is in control right now then I feel Maya push forward more and speaks for me and forces me to let go of his arm.
• “Alpha we submit.”
• It takes him a moment but usually those words sound good to his ego and I see his eyes change back to Zeke’s caramel brown and he seems a little shocked to see that both of my eyes are Maya’s, he peeks to the people watching then brings his eyes back to me while still holding my throat but Maya refuses to back down as I feel him mind link with me.
• “Where’s Aurora?”
• “She’s not forward with me today.”
• He raises an eyebrow at me as I feel him take his hand away and Maya lets me have control again as he breaks the mind link and grabs my hand to help me stand up.
• “Good round today.”
• He said it flatly which makes me think he wasn’t anticipating Apollo coming so far forward so I just nod my head at him as he walks away to get a drink of water and I slowly do the same.
• “Do you think that you pissed Apollo off with that kick to Alpha Zeke’s stomach?”
• Maya asked and her voice seemed slightly timid, “I don’t know, but Apollo knows how I fight so he shouldn’t have been so overreactive.”
• Maya sighs, “Maybe it has something to do with what Alpha told you in his office.”
• I take a large drink of water as I see some new faces walk around the building, “Maybe, but we can talk about that later, and we’ll need to tell Aurora too.”
• She silently agrees with me and I try to push the thought to the side. We spent almost four hours training the new fighters and I am just leaving the packhouse to walk back to my house for a much needed shower when I feel an arm wrap around mine, it’s my best friend Kelsey.
• “Hey, I saw the video of your sparring session with Alpha Zeke.”
• I roll my eyes, “Someone recorded that?”
• She chuckles at me, “Was it as hot as it looked?”
• I grimace and look at her, “Yeah nothing hotter than someone’s hand around your throat.”
• She laughs at my sarcastic tone, “Well it could be if he’s pounding his-”
• “Kelsey!”
• I interrupted her before she could even think about finishing that statement, “What? It wouldn’t be the worst thing to be mated to him.”
• I scoff at her, “That doesn’t mean I want to think about that stuff.”
• She groans at me, “Ugh why are you such a ninny when it comes to sex?”
• I chuckle and shake my head at her, “Because it’s not at the forefront of my mind all the time and maybe everyone in the pack just doesn’t appeal to me.”
• “Not even Alpha Zeke?”
• She sounds appalled that I would say I’m not interested in him, “I definitely see him as a friend before a potential mate.”
• She rolls her eyes at me, “Well I suppose we’ll find out in a couple of weeks.”
• I put on a fake smile for her, everyone in the pack knows about my uniqueness but only my parents and Alpha Zeke know about why I am hesitant to accept a mate, “Yeah I suppose so.”
• When we get to the end of the road she lets go of my arm and waves at me and starts walking in the other direction, so I wave back and keep walking towards my house. Once I’m there I walk inside and I can feel the tension in the air. I don’t see anyone but I can smell both of my parents scents so I go towards the kitchen and see them both sitting at the table. My mom looks concerned and my dad has the same look on his face after he left Alpha Zeke’s office.
• “Is everything okay?”
• I ask them and they both look at me and my mom gives me a weak smile, “Ari, why don’t you come sit down.”
• Now I’m the one concerned and Maya is as well so I nod my head and go to sit down at the table with them and look back and forth at them until my mom finally speaks.
• “As I’m sure you are well aware of, your birthday is in a few weeks and you still haven’t told us what your plans are.”
• Dammit, not this topic again, “I still feel the same way, I don’t know enough about my situation to make the best decision.”
• My dad looks at me and softens his look, “You may not have much of a choice dear.”
• My jaw clenches slightly so I try and make sure my words don’t come across as angry, “Do you guys still think that Alpha Zeke is…”
• “Your mate, yes.”
• My mom finishes my question because I couldn’t get the words out, “You guys can’t know that for sure.”
• “Well no, of course we don’t know for sure but it would make sense why he hasn’t found his mate yet.”
• I shake my head and look down at the table, “And what if he is? Do I accept him and then eventually reject Aurora’s mate?”
• My mom shrugs her shoulders and I can’t stop the horrified look on my face, “I can’t and won’t do that to her.”
• “It may be a hard decision to make but you may just have to make it for her.”
• I look at my dad and I can’t believe he is agreeing with this too, “Rejecting a mate is one of the most painful things to do and that is not a decision I am going to make for her.”
• I stand up and walk away and tune them out and go upstairs to take a shower.