Chapter 9
Ali jumped almost a mile high, and she could see the wildness in the old man’s eyes that she saw flashing in Cal’s, even when he was in human form. It told her all she needed to know about him.
“I asked you a question, girl.”
His voice was surprisingly strong for a man of his age. He looked quite old, and she was shocked at how his voice carried in the room and how intimidating his eyes were. They weren’t muddled like his advanced years; they were bright and clear, looking around and taking everything in.
“Cal told me that I could look around.”
“And naturally you went down the deep, dark tunnel to ‘look around,’ you say?”
She agreed but had a feeling that it wasn’t an agreement that was going to make him happy. There was no explanation for why she’d chosen to go down there. Ali didn’t have an excuse, just that it had felt like she should.
“Do you know why you’re here?”
Ali thought he was talking about the village in general and she told him that she had some bad nightwalkers after her and Cal was going to keep her safe like he had at the club.
The old man chuckled. “I mean this room in particular.”
She didn’t know what he meant, and he instead answered for her when her silence drew out.
“You’re here because you’re drawn to the power of this room. This is where the mating rituals of all the Alphas are held. It’s in perfect alignment with the moon and light shines in at just the right moment of the full moon for a very short time. You’re only a few days early from seeing it as the time grows close once more.”
“Oh. Well, I certainly didn’t know that was the reason for the room. It did seem kind of odd to have a bed in the middle of it when there’s nothing else around. I wondered why anyone would want to sleep down here.”
“Why did you reach your hand out to touch it?”
He was asking questions that were rather hard to answer. It felt like he was looking inside of her, and she knew suddenly that he was reading her thoughts. He wasn’t like Cal in the fact that he would do it only when she asked. No, the old man was looking deep into her thoughts, and she had no way to block it.
“I don’t know why.”
He grinned after she finally answered as truthfully as she could. Ali didn’t have any reason why she would feel the way she felt about the strange place. The old man’s words hadn’t helped either.
“I think you do.”
That was all he said and then started to turn around and leave. Michael was leaving Ali with too many questions, and she couldn’t hold it all in.
“What does that mean?”
He chuckled and didn’t even look back at her. “I think you know what I’m talking about, Ali. I think you’ll be a fine addition to the pack. When you’re ready but remember: the moon will be at the right point in three days. That’s all the time the two of you will have to figure it out. It’s all the time that you’ll need.”
Michael, the elder that was so revered, walked alone back down the hallway. He didn’t carry a cane or use the walls to keep him up. Ali watched him go, trying to shake the chill that ran through her. She looked back at the bed and then noticed the very tall skylight that was dug into the ceiling. It looked like it went up for miles, and for some reason or another, Ali wanted to see what it looked like when the moon tilted in just right. The sun didn’t come through at all and she hadn’t even noticed it when she walked in. The old man must be right, she thought to herself. It would only come through at a certain time.
Once she turned back to the hallway to see him leaving, Ali was shocked to see that he was gone. She hadn’t been looking into the room that long and the hallway went on forever. There was no way that he should have been able to leave that quickly. Ali was never going to understand these men, not really.
The man had come at a strange time, and she felt like there was more to him than what met the eye. She didn’t know why, but she knew that she was supposed to pay attention when he talked. He wasn’t just an old man. There was something more to him, and Ali wanted to learn all there was to know.
She was trapped in the camp though. Cal had warned her about leaving and with everything going on, she was liable to listen to him. Ali didn’t want to meet Trenton again. He was scary, and there was something about him that she’d known was wrong as soon as Ali had met him. The craziest part had been the draw that she’d had to him. She hadn’t understood it then, she still didn’t, but it had been there, undeniably.
Ali tried to make sense of her surroundings, but she didn’t try to venture out, and she didn’t go back down that long hallway again either. She was freaked out by it, and Ali was convinced that the best course of action was for her just to wait for Cal to get home. She found the kitchen and made something for dinner. She didn’t know what he liked, but Ali made a stew with what was in the fridge. He may have been a beast sometimes, but Cal was still human enough that he had to eat. She hoped he liked it, but Ali dozed off before he got home. The stew was ready on the stove, she’d cleaned up what she could, and it was dark before she finally closed her eyes.
Ali woke up to Cal saying her name gently. He smiled at her in a way that made her match the wattage with her own grin. “Hey, Cal. I was wondering when you would get back.”
“It’s not that late.”
“It feels like it. I ran out of things to do.”
“I see. I don’t think this place has been cleaned like this in decades.”
