The Alphas & The Heiress

Syble (Magnolia)

It’s a beautiful day for a swim, and desperately needed. Under the water I can be alone in the silence it offers, away from the roar of the waterfall in my mind. I strip myself bare, leaving my clothes carefully folded on a nearby boulder. I dive into the water and brace myself for the cold, but the cold never comes. The water is deliciously warm. I submerge myself a few more times before allowing myself to float on my back, noise blocked by the water over my ears, everything is perfectly still.

Slowly I start to feel a ripple disturbing the water. I sit up to find two large black and white wolves standing at the water’s edge. Their low growls send ripples across the water from where their paws are submerged near the shore. As if tethered to an invisible line I am pulled towards them. My body is frozen, incapable of fighting against the current that is carrying me to them.

I reach the shore, kneeling in the shallows trying to hide my nakedness from them. They pad around me, sniffing my hair, still growling…or maybe purring. They open their jaws as wide as my head. I’m surrounded by two sets of razor sharp teeth. In a flash they sink their teeth into the crook of my neck and I lose consciousness. Everything goes black.

——

It’s already light by the time I wake up. I’m momentarily disoriented as I take in my unfamiliar surroundings. The room is tastefully decorated with more modern fixtures. Creams, golds, and dusty rose colors are intertwined throughout. I’m laying in a queen size four-poster bed with sheer white curtains draped over the canopy. To my left is an intimate sitting area in front of floor to ceiling windows. In the middle is a sliding door that leads out onto a small balcony.

To my right sits a large dresser with a vanity mirror attached atop it. In front of me are two doors. I throw myself out of bed hoping that one of these doors is a bathroom. I open the door furthest right first and find that it’s a full walk-in closet and it’s completely bare, not a single scrap of fabric. Just a few extra sets of linens stacked on a shelf.

I open the door directly across from the bed and am relieved to find that it is an en-suite bathroom. There’s a walk in shower big enough for four people in one corner. In the other sits a sunken jacuzzi tub. What I wouldn’t give to be back home soaking in the thermal pools. This will be as close as I can get for a while. Perhaps I’ll take a long soak tonight, but for now I settle on a quick shower.

I’m lacing up my boots when there’s a knock on the door. I tie on my blind fold and open the door.

“Morning m— Syble.”

I narrow my eyes at Incandis’ almost screw up. “Morning.”

“Come on, the alphas have invited us down for breakfast.”

I follow him through the halls down towards the kitchen.

“You’re awfully bright eyed this morning. Sleep well?” He asks, smirking at his private joke.

“A bit restless at first but then okay I guess. I had the most curious dream.”

He grins at this but doesn’t say anything.

We’re almost to the kitchen when he stops. From around the corner we can hear elevated voices arguing.

“Of all the irresponsible things! You opened our doors to not one but two dragons.” Booms an unfamiliar masculine voice.

“Honey I’m sure they know what they’re doing, they’ve done nothing but good since taking over for you, let’s not doubt them now.” Another unknown voice says, this one belonging to a woman.

“Enough. They are guests, I expect them to be treated as such. I don’t want to hear another word of it as I’m sure they’ll be down any minute.” Says Ro.

Incandis looks at me. “His senses are uncanny.”

“Lucky guess. Come on.”

We turn the corner and walk into the kitchen. Immediately the room holds its breath, assessing us and our level of threat to them. I’ve only made two people bleed so far, no one has been burned, and I left my blades in my room. It could be a lot worse for them that’s for sure.

Incandis puts his hand on the small of my back and gently eases me deeper into the kitchen. His hand remains glued to me in warning.

“Good morning.” Incandis says for the both of us.

“Good morning.” Kat beams.

“Morning.” Ro and Varian grit out. “Incandis and Syble, please meet our mother Accalia and father Raine. You’ve already met our younger sister Kataria, and beta Runidar. Mom, dad, meet Incandis and Syble. They’ll be staying with us until we find their missing members.”

Their father’s glare doesn’t warm in the slightest. His apprehension and anger at our presence is clearly etched on his face. In stark contrast, their mother approaches me confidently and wraps me in a welcoming embrace.

“Welcome to Shadow Moon, my dears. I, for one, am delighted you’re here.”

Ro, Varian, and their dad all roll their eyes. Varian audibly groans while a snarl tugs on Ro’s lip.

“Don’t sass me boys, if you wanted things to go your way then it should have been your Luna greeting them instead of me.”

“Can we please go one day without rehashing that argument, especially in front of guests.” Ro fumes as he makes his way around the counter towards Incandis and me.

“Please enjoy breakfast, at least as much as you can with this crowd. We’ll be in our office ready when you are.”

With that muttered half-apology he and Varian take off for their office, leaving Incandis and me alone with his parents and Kat. I grab a banana off the kitchen island, nod my thanks, and set off in the direction of the alphas.

I don’t immediately hear Incandis following me. I turn back to find that he is piling his plate as high as he can manage with pancakes, bacon, sausages, and eggs. It’s a shame he’s fire proof because I have half a mind to send a fireball at his plate.

“D!” I whisper shout at him, my arms out to my sides gesturing for the hallway.

He gives the wolves a tight smile before a quick nod and follows me with his mountain of food.

“What? He said enjoy breakfast, I’m enjoying my breakfast.” He says between mouthfuls of food.

“I can’t take you anywhere, this is why we can’t have nice things.”

The door to their office is ajar but I feel the need to knock anyway. Varian calls for us to come in and gestures to the couches in the middle of the room. They’ve set up a map of the surrounding groundlands on the coffee table between us.

Sitting here with them in the daylight it’s easier to see their features. Their muscles are well defined even through their dress shirts. Their faces are square with a small cleft in their chin. Rohanor sports a short beard while Varian keeps a clean face. Just when their eyes begin to soften when looking at me, there’s a flash of some unknown emotion that hardens them yet again. That’s more maddening than anything, I don’t know what to make of them yet.

“Alright, what do you know, what leads did you have initially?” Ro brings me out of my thoughts.

“May I?” I reach for a pen on the table. I begin circling the dozen areas marked with “D.H.” and explain our theory on its meaning. Incandis and the alphas go over the parts we’ve searched from above, noting blind spots from forests or unmarked caves. It’s almost nothing to go off of, and if they have any doubts they don’t let it show. Both Ro and Varian continue to plan and map with us with conviction.

“Thank you for your willingness to help.” Incandis says when we’ve finally reached a search plan.

“About that…” Varian says slowly, rubbing his chin, looking anywhere but at us. “As it so happens, we have something we could use your help with.”

“We’ve been looking for someone to help with training. We’ve recently had to split a few classes to…accommodate some female only groups.” Ro says.

Varian nods in agreement. “Right, and clearly you know how to fight, so…”

“We were wondering if…”

“You want me to train your wolves?” Their beating around the bush was dizzying. Someone had to spit it out.

“Specifically the females, yes.” Varian says. “Please.”

Their request isn’t unfair. They’re doing us a favor, it seems reasonable to request a sort of exchange. Plus, if I can train adolescent fledgling girls then I can teach anyone.

“Fair enough, we’ll start right away.”