Chapter 47: The Alpha's Secret

[Dove]
Cole wanted to stroll back to the village.

I wondered what came over him as his fingers weaved through mine, and he clasped my hand, palm to palm, keeping me close while we walked away from the waterfall.

He glanced at me and chuckled softly. "What's wrong?"

"You're unusually cheerful," I noted to him.

He answered with that sunshine smile of his that I loved and I was mesmerized.

Quickly, he looked ahead with a frown. "Stop looking at me like that." His voice was gruff again.

I blinked. Realizing what he meant, I stared ahead as my cheeks betrayed me again.

The forest felt suddenly alive with the leaves crunching under our feet and the distant chirping of birds. Winter's coming, I thought, while admiring the bald trees.

For some reason, Patrick's bowl-shaped hair came into my mind and I laughed.

Cole smiled with furrowed brows. Then, his eyes widened and he glared down at me.

"I hope you're not thinking of another man." He halted his footsteps, pulled up our tightly clasped hands and waved it. "There should only be me."

I glowered back. "My father's a man too." Swiftly, the reality of my father entered my mind and my high spirits fell.

Cole tugged at me and we continued up the slope.

"He wasn't sent for the battle," I sighed. "Abe knew how much it meant to him and left him out on purpose."

We moved onto the patchy grassland.

"I used to wonder why he hated my father so much." I hugged the giant's big, warm arm.

Cole said nothing for a while, so I told him more of my childhood stories. When we reached the top, we fell into comfortable silence once more.

I didn't realize I was humming a tune until he asked me about it.

"My father used to whistle it to me when I was little." I rested my cheek on his biceps and continued humming.


******


[Cole]
When he first heard the tune, he found it strange.

Hearing it for the second time, he felt like he had known the tune for a very long time -- since he was little.

A glittery white fur ball hidden in heaps of white snow flashed in front of him.

He stopped as the vision continued playing in his mind.

His parents were gone. It was winter. He was exploring the snow-covered landscape of Connie's backyard when a shimmer caught his fleeting eyes.

Moving closer, he was greeted with a fur ball - it was as white as snow and Cole would've easily missed it if it didn't glitter in the pale sunlight.

It was a pretty sight, Cole had thought as he reached forward to touch it when its eyes flared open.

A wolf. Cole was stunned but he asked if it could speak. It only stared back in fear.

He remembered calming it with his voice, asking it if it was injured, while it listened patiently.

Then, a tune whistled through the quiet stillness.

The white wolf sprang and bolted off.


Cole swallowed hard as his wife stared back at him with concerned eyes and asked if he was alright.

Slowly, the giant awoke from his stupor, leaned down and kissed her lips. When he pulled away, she had forgotten what she asked.

Studying his wife's dreamy expression, he couldn't help but wondered if that white wolf was her.



******


Cole saw his tiny hands reaching out cautiously to touch the white fur.

The white wolf was staring back calmly until it felt his touch. It closed its eyes, peacefully embracing his caress.

His voice said, "Do you play here often?"

It rested its snout on his hand and looked back in silence.

"Where's your family?" He asked, then whispered, "Where are your parents?"

It caressed its head on his hand as if comforting him.

The tune sounded again and it sprinted off.


Cole opened his eyes and his bedroom ceiling stared back calmly at him. He blinked a few times. It had been a dream. But he knew it was really a snippet of a memory, forgotten over time.

He felt a tickle on his chest and Dove's serene sleeping face came into his view. His fingers skimmed over his wife’s cheek and the white wolf with glimmering fur popped up in his mind. Why did that fragment of his memory surface now? What does it mean?

The first light of the day streamed in softly.

Leaning in, he pressed his lips lightly on her head and slipped quietly off the bed.

He would put this off till later. The preparations would need to start today.


******

[Dove]
My eyes widened at the grinning Alpha before me.

“You can’t do that, Cole!” I stormed out of his bedroom just as Claire carried my clothes in. My hands reached out to snatch them but Claire swiftly turned around so they were out of my reach. Before I could try again, the ox-brain wolf grasped onto my wrist.

“What’s wrong with moving into my room? You’re my wife and I’m your husband.” He wrapped my hands around his waist and drew me close.

“You didn’t ask me!” I breathed as he swiftly took my lips for another magnetic kiss.

When he was done, there was a smug look on his face, like he had won the first round of a fight.

Forcing me to move into his bedroom wasn’t the only thing that he had done.

Phia was measuring me for something and Megan was holding me in place.

“What are you both doing?” I finally stopped struggling and turned around to Megan, who followed Phia’s instructions and lifted both arms parallel to the ground.

“Just shut up and cut Phia some slack.” Megan snapped. “She needs to get this made soon or Cole will breathe down her neck.”

“What needs to be made in time for what?” I was getting frustrated.

“Ask your husband, d*mn it! He’s the one with all the requests.” Megan sounded more annoyed than me.

To be honest, I had an inkling what the measurements were for - any idiot would’ve guessed. But I just didn’t think that it would be true. I tried looking for Cole to get answers, but he was nowhere to be found.

“I’m sure you know where he went, Jude. Tell me.”

Jude stared ahead at the sparring fighters, ignoring my whining and pleas. After barking a few commands at a pair of frightened wolves, he turned to me with a frown, “The Alpha gave orders not to say anything to you.”

He was unusually prickly, which was strange. Guessing that he might have been stressed out by the training, I left hastily.

Patrick intercepted me on my way to Connie’s and asked if I preferred spring snowflake or Violas.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Why?”

Patrick was thrown off-guard. “W-why? Oh my Goddess. Please don’t ask me that, our Luna. Cole gave strict orders not to say anything to you.”

“But, I won’t be able to give an answer if I don’t know what it was for,” I said innocently, hoping to buy some sympathy from the nice elder.

But he looked ready to jump over a cliff, so I gave up and told him to get Violas. He thanked me profusely and hurried off.


Even Claire was busy preparing the mansion.

I followed her around the house as she cleaned the corners.

“Don’t tell me, Cole gave you specific instructions not to say anything to me.” I stood beside her as she wiped the windows.

Without taking her eyes off the rag and the glass, she said, “Just be patient and wait for your turn.”

“Why can’t you just tell me what’s going on?” It’s strange. I could talk to her casually but I just couldn’t call her ‘mother’. I told her that I needed time and she said nothing, looking as cool as ever.

Her hands paused as she turned to me. “Because I want you to be happy, so I won’t say anything.”


******

I was infuriated, staring at the ceiling in the darkness, in the Alpha’s bedroom.

Cole had the doors to all the rooms locked except for his bedroom, so I had no choice but to sleep here for the night.

After a heavy sigh, I turned to my side and stared at the empty space beside me.

He was missing the whole day. Where the hell did he go?

I rolled onto my back again and slammed my fist onto the sheets.

I would be an idiot if I couldn’t see what he was trying to do. Secretly, I wished for it to happen. But my mind questioned my heart’s desire. Am I really the one for him? Am I good enough?