Chapter 8

• ALIYAH’S POV
• "You can always move the rook in a straight line, either vertically or horizontally…" Reid explained it to me while he was teaching me how to play chess.
• I scratched my head. Even after watching him defeat Klaus twice in a row, I couldn't figure out how this game worked.
• I moved my last pawn forward, and it was eaten by Reid’s Queen. I looked at him and noticed that he was enjoying the game and was eager to win against me.
• I pouted my lips. "What are the moves that the king could make again?"
• "Only minimal moves like these." He then moved his king a few times to teach me, but my forehead creased even more,
• "She seems not to be enjoying the game, Reid." Klaus laughed a bit as he tapped the Alpha’s shoulder.
• My eyes widened.
• "It’s not that I’m not enjoying the game. I—I’m having trouble following the rules," I honestly said," and lowered my head.
• I used all my white pawns, and all of them were eaten by the black pawns. All that was left on my side were the queen, king, and rook. I couldn’t figure out how the rook could defend the royal couple if they were outnumbered.
• On the other hand, Reid chuckled. My heart raced fast as it was like music to my ear. I gazed at him, and I could see the amusement in his eyes.
• "Don’t worry, Aliyah. It’s just a game. No one really masters chess in their first game."
• My wolf seemed to be dancing in glee deep within me while Reid and I stared at each other, and I only looked away when Klaus cleared his throat loudly.
• "How about Checker? Have you ever played that game before?" he asked.
• "That! I played that before!" I exclaimed.
• After a second, I suddenly felt ashamed of my unexpected reaction.
• Reid chuckled. "Get the checkerboard, Klaus. Aliyah and I will play."
• "What about me?"
• "You can watch us," Reid stated without breaking our eye contact.
• "Wow, that sounds fun." I could sense the sarcasm in Klaus’s voice, but I ignored it.
• All I ever felt was happiness. Seeing Reid smiling at me washed my worries away. I couldn’t figure out why. But my wolf was delighted with our situation right now.
• Klaus prepared the checkerboard on the center table. I clasped my hands together as I felt so excited about playing the game. Reid used the white pieces and I used the black ones. Both of us were focused on winning against each other.
• "I won!" I shrieked in glee and raised my arms.
• We've played three times already, and I kept winning!
• Both Reid and Klaus laughed.
• "You’re great at this." Reid shook his head and smirked at me, which made my emotions run high.
• "You beat the Alpha three times. No one had ever beaten him. You’re great, Aliyah!" Klaus said, applauding me.
• "It’s pure luck, though," I said and smiled.
• "Alright, let me see if you can beat the Beta. Move away, Alpha!"
• Klaus elbowed Reid, and I chuckled, figuring out they were really good friends, as Reid didn’t seem to care even if the Beta teased him. He was completely different from my brother, who never showed mercy, even to his so-called friends.
• "I’ll be the black pieces, you’ll be the white ones," Klaus told me after they switched positions.
• "Sure!" I happily collected all the white pieces and put them in their positions.
• "Defeat him, Aliyah. He’ll surely cry afterward," Reid teased Klaus.
• "Says the man who was defeated three times!" Klaus shook his head.
• I fought the urge to smile and only nodded at Reid. The fourth game started with me making the initial move. Klaus captured some of my pieces during the first half of the game. I thought I was about to lose, but I was able to catch up and win afterwards.
• "I won again!" I exclaimed and laughed at how Klaus pulled his hair and winced.
• "What kind of sorcery do you have? I gave my all in the game and I still lost!" he said in disbelief.
• "Just admit that you’re dumb," Reid blurted out.
• All of us laughed. I couldn’t remember the last time I got so delighted in this way. I was so happy that I could feel the tears forming on both sides of my eyes as I laughed with them.
• My heart skipped a beat when I heard a loud slam of the door downstairs. It was followed by a loud voice and the footsteps of a woman who was running upstairs. I was afraid of being seen by another person, and I went into an instant panic. I immediately stood up and stormed into the bathroom.
• I even heard Reid calling my name, but my entire body was trembling at the mere thought that somebody was here. I locked the bathroom and hid inside while trying to calm myself.
• "Klaus! Goodness, I’ve been looking for you! I need your assistance in the clinic!" said the unfamiliar woman from outside. "Oh, did I interrupt something? Were you playing?"
• "What do you need, Charlotte?" Reid asked her.
• "Well, I need Klaus to come with me. There is some medical equipment I need to pick up from the boundary. Oh, by the way, how is she, Reid?"
• "She’s fine." Reid’s voice turned serious and low. "Klaus, go with Charlotte now."
• "Here comes the boring part," Klaus declared.
• I was clutching my chest as I eavesdropped on their conversation. My heart couldn’t stop beating violently despite taking several deep breaths. I then heard footsteps of them leaving, and that was the only time I was able to sigh in relief.
• "They are gone, Aliyah." Reid knocked on the bathroom door twice. "Please come out now."
• I gulped and slowly opened the door. Reid’s intense eyes were the first thing I saw. I lowered my head as I headed out of the bathroom.
• "Why did you run like that?" he asked, sounding as dangerous as he looked.
• "I—I don’t want to be seen by anybody," I stuttered as I gazed up at him.
• His jaw clenched. My heartbeat soared more than I expected as he stared at me intently. I inhaled and glanced away quickly as my desire started to overpower me now that we were alone here.
• I heard him sigh. "My packmates will not hurt you."
• "Of course, I know that. It’s just that..." I sighed in defeat. "For most of my life, I wasn’t given a chance to associate myself with anyone."
• Reid went silent. His mood really changed, and I felt bad about it. Even my wolf showed displeasure at what happened.
• He stepped back and went to the living room to clean up our mess. I was so eager to shove the negative emotions away and show him that I was still happy with all his help, and so I followed him and tried to talk things out.
• "I enjoyed playing games with you and Klaus," I said as I watched him clean up the center table. "I probably would have won so many times against Klaus if the woman hadn’t shown up, but that’s fine." I laughed and shook my head at that.
• Reid turned to me as he collected all the pieces of Checker.
• "You sounded like you enjoyed playing with Klaus more than with me," he said.
• My mouth dropped open and I instantly shook my head.
• "That’s not true! Of course, I enjoyed playing with you more than with him." I hissed.
• I covered my mouth, realizing that I was being so blatant with my feelings.
• "That makes two of us," he replied, grinning.
• I suppressed the desire that built up within my body. I sucked in a breath and I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the voice in my head that was telling me to touch him.
• I forced myself to step back, which made him frown a little.
• "What's wrong, Aliyah?" He asked worriedly.
• I shook my head and I whimpered. "I'm not exactly sure."
• "Hey, you can tell me about it." He walked near me, but I took two steps backward.
• "We only met for a short period of time. But I don't understand why I am starting to harbour affection towards you." I bit my lower lip and gazed up at him.
• "Aliyah…"
• "Why am I feeling this way, Reid?"