Chapter 36

A week had gone by since the rogue attack and I was itching to get back to HQ. For some reason, HQ felt more like home than the house I grew up in. I stood on my balcony watching Brian and Derek do training with Clark. He was physically fully healed now and had requested to learn how to fight. Emotionally, he was still suffering. Dad had called for a psychiatrist to help Clark sort his mental health out. After 3 sessions, the psychiatrist narrowed his eyes at me and said “his mate avoiding him is not helping his healing,”
       I leaned against the railings and sipped my coffee, keeping a close eye on Clark. He had gone a little too far with the fighting yesterday and Leo thought he had a concussion. He wasn’t meant to be training today but his determination was like a raging fire. Something in him was adding fuel to his fire and he was just pushing ahead. As much as I didn’t feel anything for him, I didn’t want him dying.
     Derek tackled him to the ground and he managed to flip him over and get on top. It was only day 3 of his training and he was learning fast. From the corner of my eye, I saw a few of the omega girls standing at the doorway gawking at the training boys. Brian, Derek and Clark in particular. They kept whispering in each other’s ears and giggling about something. I laughed at their reactions and kept watching the way they were acting.
     “Jealous?” Matt’s voice came from behind me.
     “Of what exactly?”
     “The girls checking out your mate, what else?” You could hear the irritation in his voice.
     “Umm no. Why would that make me jealous? I could care less” I finished my coffee and turned towards him.
     Matt was leaning against the railings and Ethan stood a few steps behind him, avoiding eye contact. Dad, Matt and Ash had a little chat with Ethan after what happened. Since then Ethan kept his distance while everyone was around. I wasn’t very happy with them about this because it wasn’t a decision he had made by himself, I was the one that initiated it.
     Dad pulled me into his office and demanded I turn my emotions back on. He didn’t want me whoring around and even though I wasn’t doing that, it made me feel shit about my choices. He was very worried about both Clark and me, especially since Clark still had my mark and felt everything. I tried talking to him about maybe getting the mark removed but Clark avoided me like the plague and I honestly wasn’t complaining. If he wanted to keep feeling the pain then it was his problem.
     Dad asked me to go visit Sensei Gideon so I could get more information on the legend and how to proceed. But I wasn’t going all the way to Tribeca for that. I made a few phone calls and was going to have Sensei Gideon flown out to us. He lived at the School for Special Wolves that was located on the Alps of Tribeca. It was part of the Southwestern mountains. The school was on top of the mountains between snow and wild weather. I had spent 8 years in those mountains, learning how to control my wolf. 8 years I will never forget.
     “Seriously Alex, how long will you keep doing this? Running from your emotions? When it was about the rejection and you being in pain, that I understood. Now that Clark is back, it can all be fixed, now what’s your excuse?” Matt had been on my case just like dad.
     “I don’t need an excuse, Matt. Let me remind you that I’m the Alpha here, not you! So watch your tone.” I snapped at him. They were really pissing me off now.
     From behind me, the sound of revving engines filled the air. I turned to find 3 black SUV’s coming down the driveway. Matt put his fingers in his mouth and made a loud whistle, signalling for the training to stop. We didn’t want everyone seeing our fighting technics.
     Everyone on the grounds stopped moving and started to clear out. I turned around and handed my cup to Ethan.
     “Put something stronger than coffee in there. My senses are tingling. Something bad is about to happen” I walked past both the boys and headed down the stairs. I could hear them right behind me.
     I got to the bottom and found everyone rushing around.
     “The hell is going on?” My loud voice echoed through the area.
     “No need to shout Hunny. We can all hear you just fine” dad came out of his office.
     “Okay, then do explain what’s happening?”
     “King Parker is here” dad sighed.
     “Is he now?” I chuckled. Well, this day got very interesting. I didn’t expect my senses to tingle for this.
     “Alex, I don’t like this. Nicholas has always had his eyes on you and with you being so promiscuous right now, it’s not gonna end well.” Dad scolded.
     “Well, I didn’t invite him. If he's here on YOUR territory then you permitted him. So, it’s a you problem father” I laughed and walked towards the door ignoring dads grumblings.
     I stood at the doorway watching the black SUV’s create a trail of dust in their path. They finally stopped in front of the main entrance and I noticed the first SUV was different to the other two. A smirk played on my lips as the passenger door opened and a tall built figure stepped out. He was wearing a grey 3 piece suit with a black tie and had dark shades on. The guy straightened his jacket and buttoned it up, turning around to close the door. He looked around and spotted me standing at the doorway. I watched as his signature devilish grin formed on his face.
     He pulled off his sunglasses and let his eyes scan me from head to toe. His hair was slicked back into a little man bun. He arched his eyebrows and licked his lips. It had been a while since I had seen him and honestly, he looked yummier than I remembered.
     I felt a little underdressed in front of him. He strode over to me, keeping his eyes glued to my face. The group of girls that were previously staring at the training boys had now turned their attention to the delicious man walking towards me. I felt a presence behind me. I knew it was dad and Matt.
     Mr Eye Candy stopped 3 steps away from me and looked at the audience behind me. He smiled at me and turned his gaze towards me.
     “Alpha Alexandria Danton, may the Goddess be with you. It’s a pleasure to meet the Queen of the South again. It's been a while,” he bowed a little.
     “Alpha Nicholas Parker, may the Goddess be with you. The pleasure is all mine. It’s always an honour to see your pretty face. Tell me, what brings the King of the West to our doorstep?” I laughed.
     Nicholas Parker was the King of the West. His father, Alpha Alex Parker, had stepped down and given Nicholas power when he was 21. The boy was born looking like a God. He was hot, sexy and radiated power. He had a Viking look to him with the beard and hair to match. It really suited him. The muscles and chiselled features made you wet just looking at him. No woman could resist his charms and as far as I was aware, I had been the only girl to ever say no to him.
Nicholas was now 24. He and I had always been really good friends. Even though he was 6 years older than me, we hit it off right from the beginning. Friendship was all I had offered Nicholas because we had found out very early in our friendship that we weren’t mates. However, this didn’t stop me from falling for him. Over time, my feelings for him overpowered our friendship and I ended up walking away from our friendship, a decision I regretted everyday.
Nicholas still hadn’t found his mate.
     People speculated that Nicholas and I would be mates after my first shift because he was the Yin to my Yang. Where I was the pure white wolf, blessed by the Moon Goddess, he was the pure black wolf, blessed by the Gods of Darkness. No one could understand how we didn’t end up together given the dynamics we shared. If we did mate, we would be the power couple of the century. We could rule the South-Western Hemisphere making both territories impenetrable.
     “I was told that a certain Alpha had finally turned off her sentiments. I thought it was a good time to visit and see if I could finally get that yes out of her” he winked at me and smirked. His devilish smirks were always tempting.
     I laughed and closed the distance between us, pulling him into a hug.
     “Oh, how I’ve missed you, Nick”
     “I’ve missed you too, Alex. You need to come to visit more often. I’ve been dying to see that pretty smile of yours” he buried his face in the crook of my neck and took a deep breath in.
     I laughed at his words and closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of his hug.
     ****Alex, let go of him! Clark is watching**** Dad’s voice growled in my head.
     ****Fuck off, Dad**** I opened my eyes to see Clark standing next to the SUV’s with Brian and Derek. His shoulders slumped, and eyes filled with sadness.
     I didn’t have an ounce of regret. Clark’s sadness didn’t faze me. I had a plan and this not having emotion was coming in handy.
   I had lied to dad. Nicholas being here wasn’t an accident. I had invited him here. Now, it was time to put the plan into action...