ALPHA

Chapter 16- Scattered Pieces

Chapter 16

♫I don't know what to say since the twist of fate... When it all broke down...♫

"I was just taking care of some alpha business, when you hit your head on a lower hanging pipe," I lied. Nolana nodded, and her hand nervously touched the marking I gave to her. She winced, and for a minute I was worried that it didn't actually work and that she would lash out and challenge me to a fight I didn't know I could win. She was incredibly adept at fighting and I was out of shape. 

"Seth, it hurts when I touch the mark," she whined. She was like a child who had just awoken from a long nap, coherent but confused. "Is it supposed to hurt?"

"That's because it's a fairly new mark, love."

She shivered when I called her love. I tensed again. I had called her 'love' ironically when her memory was still in tact, and she had had a noticeable reaction to that too. 

"I like it when you call me that," she mumbled, burying her face in my chest.  In her newly amnesiac state, she stood closer to me than she ever would have before. She was a head shorter than me, and her hair smelled like cinnamon and vanilla. Her wrist was still red and raw. I hoped she wouldn't notice that or the streak of blood on her arm, which was now smudging on my shirt as she wrapped her arms around me. 

I frowned as she pulled away. A necklace hung around her neck, glinting silver in the light. From it hung a lace of silver overlaying a red heart center. She noticed me staring at her chest and looked down, blushing slightly as her hands flew to the pendant. A look of recognition crossed her face. 

"This necklace, you gave it to me for our anniversary," she sighed happily. "I know I don't wear it much, but I guess I put it on this morning without thinking."

Anniversary? I looked her over, amused. It seemed as if she had been implanted with fake memories as well. As far as she knew, we had been mates the entire time. This was all too perfect. If Hunter dared to attack, Nolana would come running to defend me. It would break the poor boy's heart that his mate was now wrapped around my finger. I looked over at my new 'mate'. She stared back into my eyes, a rather blank look on her face. I wondered briefly if I could have some fun with her before Hunter arrived to reclaim his mate. 

"Come on," I stretched my hand out. "Let's go to my room."

She laced her fingers with mine, and I led her up the stairs into the main part of the house. For a split second, I imagined myself holding hands with Lyrica, but when I blinked again Nolana was in her place. She looked at me, concerned.

"Hey, is everything alright?" she sounded genuinely concerned. 

"It's nothing, love, I just..." 

She stopped walking and tip-toed to plant a kiss on my cheek. She regarded me coolly, a smirk on her face and a mischievous glint in her eye. She seemed to be assessing me. It made me slightly uncomfortable since I couldn't read her emotions. My wolf growled in the corners of my mind, ready to pounce should something go wrong. This girl was still an alpha, she still emitted an aura of power, especially when her amber eyes zeroed in on you. She was still very guarded, in a way. I didn't know what I was expecting. For the first time in a long time, I was unsure of my plan.

"Come on," she grabbed my hand again, sending a jolt of electricity running down my spine. Other wolves have always talked about this being a normal thing when you come into contact with your mate, but was it supposed to hurt this much? It felt like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket. My wolf offered no commentary on this. He only growled, and muttered something about "stupid boxes".

"Where are we going?" I asked, dazed. Nolana seemed to be unaffected by whatever just occurred.

"To your room, of course," she gave me a 'duh!' look.