The Alpha's Alpha

Eighteen

Tino's POV

"We've already upped patrol on the borders, what more could we do?" Q spoke up, distress all over his face. 

It had been five days since Koa came back. Four days since we had dinner together, and four days since I have heard from him. 

I don't know what I expected. I expected something...I don't know. But it just feels the same. The same before he left. Where I was begging for anything. CRUMBS. Begging for him to treat me in the way I was so desperate for. 

Maybe I wasn't deserving of it. 

"We need to kill the bastard," I spoke up rubbing my chin as I looked across the room. We were in our weekly council meeting that my father had told us we were going to start doing. 

Of course, Koa was here. He was the soon-to-be alpha of the Lycans. A fact I will never forget. His scent was intoxicating. Even stronger than before. His hair was pulled back into a tight bun. With a basic white T-shirt that hugged every muscle. Goddess, he always looked so good. 

"We can't just kill him." My father chimed in. 

"Why not? We know where he is, we just go there and kill them all." I huffed out.

"That's exactly what he wants, Valentino. He is trying to make us impatient. Push us to do something that would not be beneficial to us at all." 

I hated when he called me by my full name. It always sounded like I was in trouble. It made me feel like a child again.

"I think what Tino means is that--" Koa starts speaking up his eyes flicking towards me. 

"I know what my son meant. But it doesn't matter. We need a better plan." My father interrupted and for a second I thought I saw Koa's eyes flare up with anger. But then his cool calm face was back on. 

He was trying to defend me. 

"What do you think we should do then, Father?" Vin asked him, as I leaned back in the chair keeping my eyes low. 

"We stay on the course. We stay scouting. We keep killing and protecting." 

"We can't be sitting ducks, we have to do some--" I tried to say, but he again interrupted me.

"I said, what I said. You are not the alpha, Tino. I am. So you will behave as such. Do you understand?" 

Embarrassment flooded my cheeks as my father reprimanded me in front of all these people. In front of Koa. I already felt useless and unprepared. This was just his way of saying he felt the same way too. 

"Perhaps we should send a few wolves to scout his territory. Do some recon. Then we can come back next week once we have the information and go from there." Koa spoke up, his eyes flickering to me as if waiting for me to shut him up. Or like he didn't want to overstep.

"Yes, that sounds great Koa. We can do that. I will assign some of our trained wolves this evening. Meeting adjourned." My father stood from his chair and walked out immediately. I did the same but kept my eyes low. Wishing I could just disappear. 

But with my head down and my quick pace I of course ran into something. And the electricity shooting through my body as I did was enough to tell me who it was. 

"Sorry," I mumbled, but I didn't move. Neither did he. 

"Tino?" His voice was dripping with concern and it almost made me whine out as he spoke my name. "Tino." He repeated since I had yet to answer. Instead of waiting he gently wrapped his hand around my arm and began pulling me, moments later we were outside and it felt like I was able to breathe.