Ayla: Always an Alpha

Chapter 12 - Just Enough Ruckus

~Ayla~

"That was a lovely dinner, Mrs. Bukhari, thank you," I politely told Saleem's mom.

"You know you are always welcome here," she declared. "And bring Saleem with you! He rarely comes to see his family anymore. He claims he is too busy."

Saleem's cheeks turned red at his mother's guilt trip, and I laughed at his expense.

As Saleem profusely apologized to his parents, his brothers and I exchanged amused looks and carried on chatting amongst ourselves as if nothing was said.

Eventually, we came to Saleem's rescue.

"If you all aren't too tired from last night, I'd love to hear you play together," I stated, raising my voice slightly above the bickering and winking at Saleem's youngest brother, Raj.

"I'm definitely not tired," Emir said loudly, playing along. "But I don't know about abba."

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Bukhari exclaimed, overhearing. She turned to her husband. "Afram, you will play for her."

"Of course, dear." Mr. Bukhari stood and then leaned back down to give his wife a kiss on the cheek. "We'll just be a few minutes."

Saleem squeezed my hand under the table. "Thank you," he whispered, setting his gray eyes, a trait inherited from his Pakistani father, directly on mine.

Saleem's mother and I cleaned up the mess from dinner while the boys set up their instruments.

While Mrs. Bukhari went back to the dining table to gather more dishes, I checked the time on my cell phone. Twenty past seven. Perfect. I had just enough time to listen to a bit of their music before needing to leave.

At 7:45 Killian planned to begin making his way towards the main house. He wouldn't be too overt; that would be suspicious in itself. In order to make this first step of our plan a believable one, he intended to fake covertness but appear purposeful. It would be just enough for someone on watch to catch his trail. Of course, I would then be alerted, and more pack members would be called to the scene, which would transition us into the next step of the plan, something that would cause just enough ruckus that it would be reported back to Killian's boss.

The six of us gathered on the floor of the living room. Saleem's younger brother began the drone on his tambura, and his oldest brother, Emir, introduced the raga of the evening.

The sitar was Saleem's favorite instrument. He always became the most animated version of himself when talking about his music, so while occasionally checking the time, I made sure to concentrate on the performance and pay close attention to his solos. Having all the boys back together seemed to animate their music in a way that truly brought it to life. I'd have to remember to compliment them after everything was settled.

Around 7:50, I received a message from the person leading security.

Simultaneously, Saleem abruptly stopped playing, likely having received a mind-link of his own.

"What is it?" Mr. Bukhari asked.

Although the question was directed towards his son, I responded. "There's a security issue."

There was no need to worry them with the details, especially since the "issue" was in fact the opposite, something that would aid my cause. Still, Saleem's mother appeared concerned.

"It's nothing to get anxious about, Mrs. Bukhari," I explained, standing up, "but Saleem and I will need to be going. Thank you so much for the dinner and the music. It was wonderful."