Chapter Thirteen

Hayden mindlinked Ace, “My office, now. We need to talk.”

“Okay, Hayden. Be there in a second,” replied Ace.

Hayden walked into his office and sat down on his chair. He leaned back and a smile came to his face when he remembered the kiss he shared with Alexia. She was all fire and brimstone, but her lips were soft and tentative under his.

God, she tasted like mint and chocolate and a little sweat due to the workout.

The sound of the opening door snapped him out of his daydream. It was Ace.

“You called for me,” he said.

Hayden recovered quickly, “Yes, I did. Sit down, please.”

Ace took one of the seats in front of his desk, with a slightly expectant look on his face.

The Alpha cleared his throat and started speaking, “You said that you already know that Alexia is my second chance mate, right?”

“Yes, but I don’t understand how that is possible. It is unheard of,” answered Ace.

Hayden nodded solemnly, “You’re right. It is unheard of. But there’s a reason for it. Have you heard of the prophecy of the Sisters of Light?”

Ace was puzzled, “Nope. Haven’t heard of it.”

“That’s because it was kept a secret. The prophecy states that a time will come when the Supernaturals—the werewolves, vampires, wizards, and hunters—will be neither friend nor foe. When that time comes, the forces of Dark will rise, hell bent on destroying us forever. They will not spare us on each Half Moon, until the second-chance mate is found.”

“So that means that…it is you and Alexia who are the one to save us from these ‘forces of Dark?’” Ace asked.

“Yes, in a way, but I don’t know how, yet. But basically, the fate of all the clans rests on our shoulders,” Hayden clarified.

His Beta expelled a noisy breath through his mouth, “Woah. That’s…huge.”

He nodded in agreement. “I just thought I’d let you know, as my Beta and second-in-command. Some things will change around here, like the state of the packhouse. The packhouse will remain open, and some members of the other clans will be staying. Likewise, we would be sending some members of our packs to the other clans. I haven’t informed the clan leaders, but I am quite sure that they would be in support.”

Ace’s eyes widened in surprise, “That’s huge, but it’s actually a good idea. It will enable us to keep a unified front during the attacks,” he trailed off, “But there’s one more thing you’re forgetting. Clara. Have you told her about all these?”

Hayden huffed and ran a hand through his hair, “I…I don’t even know how I’m going to breach the topic with her. You think she’s going to be devastated?”

“I really don’t know what to expect of her, but you will be doing her a disservice if you don’t tell her. She has helped you out a lot,” stated Ace, and stood up. He bowed slightly to Hayden, and left the office.

Hayden sighed heavily. It was like a rock had settled in his stomach and drained away all the lightness he was feeling after spending time with Alexia. Speaking of Alexia, he left her alone in the room. She was probably hungry, he thought.

He exited the office and crossed the hallway to the bedroom. When he opened the door, he expected her to be watching a movie or rifling through his stuff—not that he would mind—but instead he found her curled up on the bed, asleep. She was dressed in one of his t-shirts and her hair was splayed out on the pillow that she rested her head on.

He smiled and took off his t-shirt, then climbed into bed with her. He moved closer to her, and placed his arm on her waist, pulling her close. She stirred and moved nearer to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Her soft breaths tickled his skin and he smiled, sighing contentedly before falling asleep too.

***

The afternoon sun streamed in through the window of the Alpha’s bedroom in the White Flame packhouse and reflected on the face of the Alpha himself. He stirred and opened his eyes, then squinted when the sun burnt his retina. There was a warm, light weight on his body and hair tickled his nose whenever he took a breath. He looked down and saw that Alexia was half sleeping on him, and his arm was braced around her.

‘I would love to wake up like this every day,’ he thought for a fleeting second.

Whoa! he cautioned himself. Where did that come from? Probably his wolf, he concluded. His wolf’s feelings were starting to get too strong for him to handle. He erected a mental wall and barred his wolf from his mind.

He gently turned and laid Alexia on her back. His arm still supported her waist, so he used his second hand to brush hair away from her face.

“Alexia,” he called out gently, “Alexia, wake up. It’s afternoon.”

She stirred and mewled in her throat, but she didn’t open her eyes. She tried to move closer to him, but he scooted away a little and tried to rouse her again.

“Alex, wake up. It’s afternoon, you haven’t eaten,” he said gently, again.

She stirred and her eyes finally opened.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” he whispered, smiling.

“Hey yourself, Wolfie Boy,” she whispered back, “How long did we sleep for?”

Hayden’s gaze flicked up to the wall clock above the window, “We slept all through the morning. It’s a few minutes past 3 pm now,” he said.

Without warning, her stomach growled loudly. She yelped and covered her face, embarrassed. Hayden just chuckled.

“So, you’re hungry. I am, too. Let me get us some food, and then we’ll watch a movie, okay?” he suggested.

Alexia nodded with her hands still over her face. Hayden pulled her hands away and kissed her firmly. She responded quickly to his kiss as their lips melded and slanted over each other.

Her tongue darted out and swiped at his bottom lip in a daring move. He gasped, and she tried to deepen the kiss but Hayden pulled away quickly. His irises flickered between blue and gold, and his pupils were dilated.

“That escalated quickly,” Alexia commented, breathing heavily. Hayden nodded and climbed off the bed. He wore the t-shirt he took off earlier.

“Give me five minutes. I’ll be back with some food,” he said and left the room.

Alexia grabbed a pillow and squealed into it. She and Hayden had kissed. Three times! If someone told her last week that she would kiss a werewolf and enjoy it, she would have driven the person down to a mental asylum by herself. She calmed herself, and sat up on the bed.

“What next now?” she asked herself.

There were still a lot of hurdles to be crossed, although their relationship seems to be progressing nicely. That can be attributed to the mate bond pulling them together and capitulating on their physical attraction to each other.

Was she going to move to the White Flame pack?
Does she have to become Luna?

How were they going to solve this issue of the forces of Darkness? Was there a power within that she needed to unlock?

What about Clara, whom Hayden was seeing before she suddenly came into the picture?

And the most important question burning on her mind, when were they going to mate? When was he going to mark her?

All these questions tousled and jumbled in her mind, leaving her anxious and confused. She jumped off the bed and started pacing up and down the length of the bedroom, pulling at her hair. She became so lost in thought as she sought to find the answers to the questions that her brain posed at her, that she did not hear the door creak open and Hayden enter.

“Hey, so I hope you like cold cut sandwiches…” Hayden did not finish his sentence because Alexia shrieked and threw the first thing she could lay her hand on at him. The heavy glass paperweight shattered as it collided with the wall because Hayden ducked quickly.

His hands were laden with a tray containing a stack of sandwiches in a plate, a jug of water and two cans of soda.

“What was that for, Alex?” he cried in incredulity.

Alexia quickly came over to collect the tray from him, “I am so, so sorry,” she apologized frantically.

“I didn’t mean to. I was startled when you spoke because I didn’t hear you when the door opened because I was lost in thought…” she stopped her word vomit when she saw that Hayden was looking at her with a bemused expression.

Alexia rolled her eyes and grunted in exasperation, “I’m here trying to apologize and you are laughing at me!” She turned away to sit down on the bed but Hayden grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him.

“I couldn’t help myself, I’m sorry,” he chuckled, “But to tell you the truth, you looked pretty adorable rambling like that. When I tell myself there’s only the hard side to you, you surprise me by showing me your soft side. I really mean it when I say I like you, Alex. I like you,” he said, stroking her fingers.

“You make it hard not to like you when you say stuff like that, Hayden,” Alexia whispered.