“You ready to train?” I ask as I lead the way to our positions, mine a few meters away, where I can shift into wolf form and then mimic the demon’s offense attacks.
Rissa isn’t as reluctant as she was this morning, holding her chin up high when she says, “I’ve been training all day. I think I’m ready for this.”
Smiling with pride, I nod and shift into wolf form as Rissa’s eyes become fully green and flow like emerald crystals as she draws her magic into her palms.
I growl in warning before lunging forward, and Rissa shoots bolts of emerald lightning at me. Dodging the incoming attacks, I’m about to reach her when a ringing in my eardrums signals a mind link about to enter.
Stopping suddenly, Rissa doesn’t stop throwing daggers of magic at me, and one nips the tip of my pointed ear. I whimper from the mild sting, and Rissa stops then to giggle playfully.
I shift into human form just as Alpha Elias’s voice enters my mind.
“Blood Moon has spotted a demon dog near Whittier. We need to go now.”
I turn to Rissa, hanging my head apologetically as I sigh. We’d just begun training, and remnants of the adrenaline from seeing her in action still remain. But now I have to wield it for a demon hunt.
“I’m sorry, Rissa, but I have to go.”
Rissa’s brows furrow with worry. “What’s going on?”
“There’s been a demon sighting near Whittier. Alpha Elias has called us to hunt it. We’ll resume practice tomorrow night?”
My question is met with a glint in Rissa’s eyes. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but then she purses her lips in hesitation.
“I’ll be back later,” I say as I turn toward the forest where I’ll shift and meet the others in our designated spot near the north border.
“Be safe out there!” Rissa calls from behind me, igniting a fire of determination in me, my wolf heart skipping a beat when I’ve shifted.
Those words will remain with me throughout this hunt and for the rest of my life, even if it only brings a flicker of hope that Rissa cares about me.
At least I’m making progress with winning her over.
Chapter 15 - Rissa
Going back to Alpha Brooks’s house, I wring my hands in front of me, feeling slightly unnerved and anxious about him going out to hunt the demon.
I shrug off my worries, knowing that he’s not out there alone and is in the company of the other highly-trained Alphas who have been fighting the demon for months now. They’re familiar with the ways of the creatures of the underworld, and no harm can possibly come to Brooks.
But as I enter the house, a cool breeze kisses my cheek, the emptiness of the building housing my concerns, while at the same time, shedding light on why I’m feeling so empty inside.
The empty feeling goes beyond worrying about the alpha’s safety and has more to do with how I personally feel about him.
I think I’ve been taking his presence for granted, because now, in his absence, I realize how much I miss him.
Scoffing at myself, I realize how foolish I’m being. Ever since we shared our passionate tryst in Whittier, we returned home to Girdwood only to not breathe a word about what happened. I can’t bring myself to mention it, lest he remind me of the Council’s instructions for us to be mated.
A means to an end—that’s all it is. That’s the only reason I’m in Alpha Brooks’s house, where he’s steadily becoming kinder than what I remembered him to be all those years ago.
Confused by the change in his behavior, I dismiss his kinder ways as him wanting to please the Council and do as he’s told. He has duties to fulfil as the sub-Alpha of Snehvolk—that’s the only reason he’s keeping me around.
But what about that night, when you lost your virginity to him?
A shiver passes through me when a tiny voice inside my head reminds me of that night. I’ve been avoiding giving it thought, and it seems that Alpha Brooks’s absence threatens the peace of mind I’ve forged for myself.
I don’t want to think about the night I lost my virginity to Brooks, or how he made me feel when he was so gentle and sweet, taking care of me while he soothed my heat. I don’t want to think about the aftermath of our tryst, when we knotted and cemented what the Elders told us to do.
We’re mates now, even if I don’t bear the mark of his teeth on my neck. He is my mate. I am his.
Then why is it still so hard for me to open up to him?
