Caine

“That’s it?” I glance at Amira as she walks down the stairs with a small duffle bag in her hand. After Brayden gave me a pep talk at training, I realized he was right. I need to mark Amira. Who knows, maybe I’ll grow to like her. I doubt it, though. I’m not one to settle down and no mate is going to change that. If I wasn’t the Alpha I wouldn’t be wasting my time.

“No, I have one more bag,” she set her bag down and ran back upstairs.

I turn and examine the small book shelf in the corner of her living room. It is full of old folk tales and history books. She really is into what happened in the past. When I walked in before she was reading about the first Obsidian-Malignity War, which could actually be helpful in the following weeks. Maybe I’ll show her the archives just to keep her busy.

A small red book catches my attention. There is no title on the binding, like the rest of her books. I cautiously pull the book off of the shelf and turn it face up in my hands. There is no title on the front, either, and my curiosity gets the best of me as I flip the book open.

I find drawings inside. The first is of a man kneeling on a pillow. Most of the drawing is done in charcoal, but the pillow is dark red. I can’t see the man’s face, his head is down, but I think I know who it is based on his red and black crown: Trenton.

His fists are clenched at his sides. What surprises me about the drawing is the background. The sky is scribbled red and black, giving me the sense of anger. I flip to the next page and see the same man, who I still assume is Trenton, since he’s wearing the same crown, but this time he doesn’t have a shirt on. His arms are chained to the sides of the page and a crescent moon lurks behind him. His head is down again, and there’s a large, red X in the center of his chest. I didn’t understand it. It looks like a Changing, but the X doesn’t make sense to me. The moon would also be full, as it always is on an Alpha’s twentieth birthday.

On the page next to that one, there is a drawing of a younger man sitting on the ground with his head buried behind his arms that are resting on his knees. I turn the page again and this time there is an elaborate drawing of the younger man’s face.  His jaw is sharp, his hair dark, and a scar stretches from his ear to his cheek, running right beneath his eye. What catches my eye is the color of his irises. They’re the same crimson red as the pillow from the first drawing. I’m not a big art guy, but in this drawing even I can see what the boy is feeling in his eyes: lost.

Suddenly I hear Amira running back down the stairs and quickly shove the book in my jacket. I turn towards the stairs to see her lugging a large suitcase down the stairs one step at a time. She changed and I stop my eyes from roaming down her body too late. Her shirt hugs her frame and my eyes grow dark with lust. Maybe trying to seduce her won’t be the worst thing…

“What the hell is that?” I raise my eyebrows in disbelief.

“My books,” she huffs as she reaches the bottom. I turn to look at the bookshelf then back at her.

“You don’t need those, sweetheart. I have a library bigger than your house.” She cringes at my nickname for her, which makes me smirk.

“First things first, Alpha,” she emphasizes my title, “rule number one: if we’re working so close to each other every day, don’t expect me to be respectful.” Her hand remains on her suitcase handle and I swear she can see the mischief dancing in my eyes as I move closer to her. Just to be a tease I bite my lip as I stare at her and I see her gaze drop to my mouth before quickly flicking back up to my eyes.

“What if I do?” I lower my voice and see her eyes darken. She may not know we’re mates yet, but the pull is already affecting her. She’s attracted to me and soon she won’t be able to fight it. Luckily, I have more self control.