The Alpha's Daydream ✔️

Chapter 46

4346 words

Ariella was bored.

This wasn't a word she normally liked using, but there was nothing else that adequately described how she was feeling.

Since Malachi had left yesterday morning, she'd already trained with Harlow and the other young warriors, under the careful eye of Gamma Hendrik. He had kept throwing subtle glances at her, making her skin burn under his playful scrutiny, so Ariella brushed off his attention and ignored him all the rest of the day.

Hamilton had gone with Malachi and a few other warriors to Alpha Asa's pack on a slightly secretive mission to talk with a rogue who had been plaguing them the last few months. Ariella couldn't help but be worried for her mate's safety, even with the knowledge that a bloodthirsty beast could easily surface and protect himself from mortal danger. She cared about Malachi, for the goodness she knew was in his gentle soul.

She wasn't ready to give up on him yet, and these thoughts lingered in her mind as she got through the day with his absence heavy in her heart. Ariella keenly felt the distance between them, the physical space apart as well as the chasm in their souls. It felt like a gaping black void that yawned between their hearts becoming one, and she couldn't shake the fear that fully trusting him might result in falling into the endless abyss. That deciding to mark him, binding her soul with his, would only drag her down in the bottomless ocean of despair that lurked under his skin.

So she tried to think of other things. She spent time with the young pups of the pack, playing with them and building kites under Sammy and Jarrel's expert guidance. She used the afternoon to hang out with the mothers and babies, relaxing in the warm sun that showered their gardens and pack playgrounds. She even convinced Devanshi's father Rahul, who recently took on the duties of Head Guard, to let her run patrol with him around the borders. That still didn't provide enough distraction despite seeing new sections of Malachi's territory she hadn't seen before. In fact, it only made her even more curious and anxious about Malachi and his family's history.

While walking across a meadow of poppies, she and Rahul were discussing the width of the western border and the lay of the land when a dirty scent carried towards them on the cool breeze. Rahul had instantly leapt into his wolf form and caught the rogues, Ariella close behind to witness the snapping of their necks. She knew this was the best way to deal with the trespassers, but her stomach still turned at the grizzly scene.

"Couldn't we have talked to them first before you killed them? Find out why they were crossing into DoubleEdge territory when they know it's against the law?"

"No need to talk when I can smell their intentions," Rahul hauled their bodies back across the border and left them near an outcropping of boulders as a message to all. "They think we're weak, unguided. Open to invasion. Ever since Dennison killed himself, the rumor spread that our pack was falling apart and every rogue in the near vicinity has tried his luck at making this place his home. They think without a strong Alpha, they can take it over and we'll be defenceless against them. But there's no damn way I'm going to let lawless rogues run wild on my land." He spat at the bodies as a final condemnation, then zipped his leather jacket up tighter against the cold wind that now howled over the exposed ridge.

Before Ariella could question his statements, he clasped her shoulder and urged her forward. "Come on, let's keep going. No knowing how many more might take advantage of the coming storm to cross undetected." Rahul glanced at the skies, aware of the ominous clouds gathering, but failed to see the tumultuous effect his words had on Ariella.

Ever since Dennison killed himself...

She was reminded of what the warrior Jasper told her ages ago, that Dennison drove his car off a cliff. Did he really commit suicide? Putting some of the pieces together, Ariella remembered the fact that his mate and daughter were both dead, and that apparently Dennison grew increasingly insane after those tragic events. Perhaps it was those heartbreaking losses that pushed him over the edge and made life not worth living. Perhaps he was hanging on for as long as possible, trying to love his new wife and son the best he knew how, before giving up when the pain consumed him?