Filed to story: The Alpha’s Pen Pal Book
She sits in the seat, and her unique green eyes meet mine. Up close, I can see how they change from a darker green at the edges to a lighter green, to a ring of gold right around the pupil. Her hand lingers in mine, and she gives it a small squeeze before pulling it away and resting it on her lap. “Thanks,” she murmurs, licking her lips before she smiles.
Fuck me. That gesture does nothing to help the conflicting emotions I have about her. It just sends my mind right back down the path it ventured before she and Haven got in the truck. A path I should not be venturing down. Not now. Not with her. No good will come of it. No good ever has.
I push off the door and slam it shut, storming around the hood to the driver’s side. The light scent of daisies follows me, reminding me of the happy yellow and white flowers on the top of my piano, the ones that perfectly brighten up the room exactly as she said they would.
But I’ll never admit that to her. Just like I’ll never admit how beautiful I find her. She may be beautiful, but she’s still annoying. And I have to live with her beautiful, annoying, overly happy self for the foreseeable future. All while pretending I don’t find her attractive. Or annoying. Or an interruption to my predictable routine.
Easy. Totally doable. Just ignore the smile and the optimism and the attraction and I’ll be fine.
Just fine.
We’re all quiet for most of the drive, listening to the radio as we make our way down the mountain. Cassandra watches the trees as they pass, observing everything and taking it all in, and Haven relaxes as best she can, her eyes closed. But when we’re a little over halfway to the city, she lets out a sharp hiss of air between her teeth, clenching her jaw and her fists, and I’m immediately on alert, all thoughts of my annoying new roommate forgotten.
“Luna? Are you all right?” I ask, prepared to pull over or turn the truck around to head home.
“Fine. There’s just a giant alpha baby growing inside my rather small body.”
My grip on the wheel tightens, and Cassandra sits up straighter, observing our interaction closely. “Haven.”
“I’m really fine. This baby is just using my ribs as a sparring partner, which, quite honestly, hurts. A lot.”
“If you need me to turn around, I can. Peter won’t be upset if—“
“I said I’m fine,” she spits out between her teeth, her pupils dilating. A little ripple of starlight pulses out of her and around Cassandra and me, tangible and glittering, bouncing off the mirrors and any other reflective surface and brushing over my skin, teasing my wolf and me with its familiarity. “Fuck,” she whispers. “I’m sorry.”
Cassandra tracks the movements of Haven’s mysterious aura around the interior, reaching out with her hand to trail her fingers through the tail of stardust it leaves behind. She rubs the residue between her fingers, scrutinizing it. “When are you due?” she asks.
“June,” Haven answers.
“Do you know if you’re having a male or a female?”
Haven shakes her head. “No. We’re keeping it a surprise. Wesley claims he does not care either way.”
“He really doesn’t,” I say, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror. “Trust me.”
“I know,” she says, a soft smile on her lips as she strokes her petite bump and stares out the back window.
I flick my eyes to Cassandra, who is still examining her fingertips, a frown on her face, deep in thought. “What can you tell me about your aura?” she asks Haven.
Haven shrugs one shoulder. “Not much. I don’t feel it, see it, or really understand it. But I can tell when I use it.”
I meet Haven’s eyes in the rearview mirror again, and before I can think about it, an explanation leaves my mouth. “It’s like starlight. Shimmery, soft, and sweet, yet playful. There’s a warmth to it that’s unlike anything else. And it’s not just a physical warmth, but a spiritual warmth too. It dances with and teases our wolves and reminds us who you are, putting us at ease.”
Haven’s brow arches upwards. “That was unexpectedly poetic.”
I smile at her. “I have my moments.”
“And when did you first discover the aura?” Cassandra asks, turning in her seat to talk to Haven.
“After the ceremony when we all took over the pack. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’ve been able to control it and keep it hidden. It’s only when I get too emotional that I can’t. But the more this little lycan grows, the harder it is to hide the aura at all. “
“Which is why King Malachi asked for an oracle to help.”
I smirk to myself, keeping my attention on the road as we get closer to the busier streets of the city. “I thought you weren’t an oracle yet?”
Cassandra ignores my snide remark and continues playing twenty questions with Haven. “Has Selene given you any other powers?”
“I can mindlink the pack,” Haven says. “And… I can command other wolves and lycans, no matter what pack they are in.”
“Is your command powerful?”
I nod. “Very.”
“Wesley says it’s even stronger than King Malachi’s,” Haven adds.
I grimace. “Do I even want to ask why he knows how powerful your Haven command is?”
She laughs, and Cassandra joins her. That light and sweet sound bounces around the truck’s interior, mimicking the movements of Haven’s aura and lifting a bit of the weight from within my chest. So much so that I can’t help but join in with their laughter.
“‘Haven command?'” Cassandra asks, a brow raised in interest.
“Reid came up with it,” Haven says, still chuckling. “He said ‘Selene’s daughter’s command’ was too long, and ‘alpha command’ didn’t apply because I’m not an alpha. And since we don’t know of anyone else with this ability, he decided it needed a name as unique as my own. So it’s the ‘Haven command.'”
Cassandra nods. “Sound logic.”
“Can you help her hide it? The aura?” I ask.
“Yes. As long as I’m in the same room as her or I can see her, then I can suppress it, absorb it, or manipulate it so it’s unnoticeable.”
“Which is why she has to come to rehearsals with us from now until I go on leave,” Haven says.
“Speaking of”—Cassandra tucks her hair behind her ears—“who do the other dancers think Nolan is? They all know he’s not your husband since you’re married to Alpha Wesley. How do you explain Nolan’s near-constant presence?”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?