As I walk towards the office, I hear the guys. Lucas sounds really amused while another guy, I'm assuming it's Austin sounds really angry. My only assumption is that Lucas is egging Austin on in some way or another. I roll my eyes at this until I hear Alpha Nate's voice. He sounds concerned for the two which has me smiling like an idiot. I quickly shake my head because it's ridiculous. I open the door, fully aware that they're all expecting me. I raise my eyebrows as I take in the scene in front of me. This is definitely not what I was expecting; the Alpha is holding his brother in a headlock while Lucas is crouched behind the Alpha's desk with a smug look on his face.
I sigh before saying, "what did you do this time?"
Lucas stands up and dramatically gestures his offense, "what makes you think I did anything?"
"Because it's you, Luc," I reply as I try to hide my smile.
"Well, I'll have you know, he started it!" he insists as he points his finger towards Austin. In response to this, Austin tries to lunge towards Lucas in anger but because his Alpha brother still holds him, he doesn't get far. But it doesn't stop Lucas from crouching down behind the desk again.
I can't help but laugh. Unfortunately, this distracts the Alpha and his grip loosens on Austin. Austin uses this to his advantage and lunges for Lucas but Lucas evades him and stands behind me, using me as his personal human shield. The Alpha doesn't take kindly to this and growls at Lucas. I sigh before I walk away from Lucas towards the desk that he once occupied as refuge. I sit down in the Alpha's chair and wait patiently for the tension to defuse itself because there's no way I'm going to be in the middle of this mess.
To his credit, the Alpha notices my indifference to this situation and uses his Alpha command on his brother, "Austin, back down."
Austin doesn't take too kindly to this, but stops his pursuit of Lucas regardless of his rage - not that he'd have a choice because as it turns out, an Alpha's command is final regardless of family status.
I give the Alpha a look of appreciation, because at this rate, the reason I called for them would not be heard otherwise. At that very moment, the door opens and in walks Roddrick. He looks ragged. Like he hasn't slept in days which is saying a lot because he always looks put together and composed. Something is clearly up with him, but for now, it'll have to wait. Maybe I can talk to him privately about this. Alpha Nate looks at me and nods as if to tell me it's okay to move forward with this conversation. I'm surprised he trusts me enough to set this up without even knowing what I'm about to say. In my mind, it makes him an admirable leader who listens instead of jumping to conclusions. It, unfortunately, is softening my perspective of him especially since he hasn't given me a reason to not trust him yet. This is a dangerous game to play, especially since I'm the one looking for reasons not to trust him to begin with. By doing this, I'm very much aware that I'm only going to burn myself in the future, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. The supernatural world is at stake and I can't let myself get wrapped up in something that could hinder the mission at hand.
I take a deep breath before I start, fully aware that I'll be leaving out a few details from my recollection, "While I was asleep, Kora visited me."
My voice cracks at the mention of one of my best friends. Lucas looks at me intently, knowing exactly what I'm referring to. Kora would only use this type of magic if she were in danger of not making it out alive. Kora once explained to us that she'd never use this magic unless it's a matter of life and death because by intersecting a person's mind, it drains a lot of her own energy making it harder for her to recuperate in time to protect herself. So Lucas is fully aware of the implications of Kora's visit - she has officially left herself open to a possible death sentence. And with how weak she looked, it's only a matter of time.
I feel tears pool down my cheeks as I try to compose myself, "she mentioned a witch named Salem. He'll be able to help us. Apparently, The Truth are looking for some sort of enchantment to execute their plan."
"What kind of plan?" Roddrick interjects, looking like he's about to punch something.
"I- I'm not sure, Kora didn't mention what the plan is. But Madalyn will be able to help us."
"What aren't you telling us, Riley?" this time it's Alpha Nate who speaks.
"I- I don't know what you're talking about," I say as I cross my arms in front of me.
Lucas rolls his eyes at this, "oh please, Ri. You're always scheming. What happened to working as a team?"
"Fine," I surrender. It seems like I can't get anything past the two of them these days.
"While you're looking for Salem, I'll try to break Kora out of The Truth's cells."
"And how exactly are you going to do that?" Austin asks with a raised eyebrow.
"With Roddrick's help?" I say, which comes out as more of a question. I look sheepishly towards Roddrick and he has both eyebrows to the air clearly not expecting my response.
"What do you think?" I ask the Alpha.
He sighs before he says, "I really don't like this, but I understand that it needs to be done. I'll go with you instead of Roddrick though."
"Actually, I wouldn't recommend that," Austin says and we all turn to look at him so that he could elaborate, "well, you see, Riley is your mate. Not to mention the Luna of this pack, if anything had to happen to her, you'd go ballistic and we don't need you to be distracted. And besides, Roddrick is a damn good Gamma and will make sure his Luna is safe every step of the way."
"I still don't like this," Alpha Nate bites back.
"It's the best option for you not to be there, Nate. We all know this," Lucas says between clenched teeth.
"So, it's settled," I say, "we'll split into two teams; Lucas, Nate and Austin will go looking for Salem with Madalyn. And Roddrick and I will get Kora out of The Truth's hands."
I look at Lucas who has a shit-eating grin on his face.
"What?" I ask bewildered.
"You just called the Alpha, Nate," he teases.
"N- no I didn't," my eyes widen as I look to the Alpha for confirmation. But he looks away, clearly affected by my slip up.
"It's not the first time," Austin says under his breath as he winks at me.
My eyes narrow, "what are you talking about?"
"Oh, don't tell me you don't remember calling him 'Nate' in the hallway?" he says louder while laughing.
"I did not!" I huff feeling my cheeks get warmer.
"Oh, look at her!" Lucas ribs.
"That's enough," Alpha Nate booms, "stop being childish! She can't help that she's falling for me."
"You can all go fuck yourselves!" I say angrily. Before I storm out of the door, I turn to all of them, "you'll all regret this!"
I slam the door behind me before I march out of the mansion. I need some fresh air. I need to clear my damn head before it explodes. I can't believe I've been slipping up so much recently. I need to keep my composure around him.
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