Outliers

Ten

"I am homesick for a place I am not sure even exists. One where my heart is full. My body loved. And my soul understood."

Melissa Cox

The next morning training between Alpha Harris and I had been tense. We had spoken barely a single word to each other and instead of sparring, we stuck to the training ground warming up with endless pullups, push-ups and sit-ups as if we were competing with each other before I released my frustrations on a large punch bag that Harris held firm. His gaze had been hot against my skin, but I never met his eyes.

Coward.

By the end of the first hour my arms were numb and I could barely lift my water bottle to my lips. I prayed that he wouldn't seek me out again that evening for more 'training'.

After eating breakfast alone on the back porch that faced a clean thick line of trees, suggesting others had been felled to create such an unnatural clearing in the immediate vicinity of the pack house grounds, I escaped to my room to change into appropriate hiking gear. I had to get out of the house, away from the surrounding area where I could feel his gaze on me.

I couldn't stop thinking about that moment, that ridiculous, irresponsible moment in the pool.

Alpha Thane Harris. Thane.

I had never thought about the Alpha's first name before. It honestly hadn't even occurred to me that his name was anything but Harris. Which was absurd. Of course he had a first name.

No Alpha was ever referred to by their first name.

Thane.

"What's on today's schedule?" Nero breathed, suddenly beside me as I stepped off of the porch, breaking me from my musings. He slung a reaching arm to rest across my shoulders, a beaming grin spread so big that his dimples made an appearance.

"I'm going hiking." I glanced down at him with narrowed eyes, watching as he brushed a hand through his curls to bring the hair away from his face. He was dressed in thick soled trainers, exercise shorts and a vest with a backpack on his back. A twin to my outfit.

Nero chuckled as I ducked out from under his arm and shifted away from him.

"Brilliant." He matched my quickening steps into the trees, nudging my hip with his. "I love hiking."

"Did I miss the part where we'd made plans together today?"

"Yeesh, someone's woken up wrong this morning. It wouldn't have anything to do with why Alpha Harris was biting the head off every wolf who looked at him this morning does it?"

I wanted to punch the stupid smirk of Nero's face.

"And why would that have anything to do with me?" I grumbled.

"Oy, Nero," A deep voice bellowed across the field. The younger wolf beside me tensed and when I looked towards the cause I found a burly, mountain of a man baring his teeth towards us in what I was sure meant to be a smile but came across more like a disgruntled ape looking to pick a fight. "That your girlfriend you got there."

Two other males stood beside him and laughed.

"Assholes," Nero muttered under his breath, scowling at the group of wolves. When he saw them start to walk over to us he through his head back, glared at the sky and groaned, "Why gods, why must we deal with these dickheads?"

I barely smothered my laughter and by the time the large wolf reached us, the leer on his face was enough to leave my skin crawling. I'd come across many arrogant wolves like this before, the ones who swaggered around the territory like they were some big shit.