Alpha Without a Pack...

Chapter 55

                                             Sidney

I was too restless to sleep for long wedged between the two brothers Simon and Tucker, I felt like I was suffocating for some reason. I made quick work of escaping their holds and making my way silently downstairs with my pets, thankful that I'd gone to bed with my socks on this time with the considerable chill in the air. I found myself drawn to the window as I stared out into the cool night, the call of the forest was so strong but I forced myself to resist it for now. I could feel the wolf just beneath my skin aching to be let loose, her agitation was so clear that I could practically feel the beast pacing inside me. It was so quiet that I could hear the breath of the dogs as if they were on loud speaker, this still silence was something I both enjoyed and dreaded. 

I loved the silence for the calm it brought over me but this time there was no calming the restless feeling, instead it only agitated it more. The silence could be peaceful but it could also hold unknown dangers, after all the forest grew quiet only when death was around the corner. The creaking of someone coming down the stairs alerted me I wasn't alone as I caught the scent and let out a soft sigh in recognition and slight annoyance that I'd been followed. "What's the matter Sid?" Simon asked in concern as he came to stand beside me, my eyes didn't  leave the window and the night beyond it. "Couldn't sleep, and I didn't want to wake any of you since you have training in the morning." I replied softly into the stillness of the room.

 "Are you feeling alright?" I could hear the frown in his voice and it brought a snorted scoff from me. "Define alright?" I quipped back as I turned my gaze on his with a bitter smile. "Maybe I can help if you describe the issue to me?" He voiced uncertainly. "Relax Doc I'm not an any physical pain, I just can't seem to relax is all. If I was back at the cottage right now I'd spend a night like his running through the trees until I passed out from sheer exhaustion." I stated as I scratched behind Spartan's ears gently. "That's not exactly the healthiest coping option." He retorted.

 "Yeah and neither is letting my wolf rip everything and everyone apart when she's in a bad mood, exhausting her is usually the better option. Plus I think we're both a bit overeager about the snow, I can smell it in the air now." I hummed out as I took a deep breath in, savoring the scent. "You like the cold that much, that's going to take some getting used to for some of us, not everyone likes the cold." Simon chuckled. "I love it actually, maybe not on bare feet on a wooden floor but in thick fur running through the snow covered forest, it's one of my favorite things in this horrid world. Funny thing is Winter is my favorite season despite a few annoying factors I have to deal with, most say Winter is their least favorite though." I sighed softly as he studied me with a smile. 

"You know you get this distant shine to your eyes every time you talk about something you love? The mutts, Sassy cat, the animals at the sanctuary, the pups here and now Winter, it's like your in some far off place instead of standing right in front of me." He whispered softly as I tilted my head back at him. "I don't know exactly what you mean by that but I guess I'm in my little happy place or something, all those things are part of it after all." I shrugged back curiously as I curled up on the couch and stared out the window with a sigh, I could feel his eyes watching me. "You should try to get some sleep Si, you'll be busy again tomorrow." I sighed out. 

"Well I'm certainly not leaving you down here alone, mutts or no mutts, and I'm not the only one who needs some rest. Maybe I can bore you to sleep with stories of my everyday life as a doctor and all the stuff I've had to put up with while treating the others." He plopped down beside my seat and surprised me when he pulled my feet into his lap. "Uh, what's with the unasked foot massage?" I puzzled at him as his fingers worked over my sock covered toes. 

"Well it might help you relax a bit more, there's actually a lot of points in your feet that tie in with the rest of your body." He hummed out as he added pressure to one spot and I sighed at the relaxing touch. "Whatever you say Doc." I puffed as I returned my eyes to the night sky outside the window and was glad that he let me enjoy my comfortable stargazing while he worked and whispered stories about some of his medical exploits. I found some of them interesting but the soft drone of his tone and the relaxing foot massage actually helped focus some of my restlessness on him instead, and soon enough my eyes were heavy again as I drifted off into darkness once more.

                                                   Simon

Her breathing slowly evened out after a while, letting me know she was finally sleeping somewhat peacefully again. She was still facing the window in her sleep, the longing of the forest outside no doubt the cause of her restless energy. We all had times when the call of the forest pestered at us more than others and right now Sid was fighting off the call, only adding to whatever unease she'd been feeling for the past couple of days. When I'd noticed she wasn't in bed with us I'd had a moment of panic before I found her downstairs staring out the window looking so lost for some reason. I rubbed absent circles into the soles of her feet as I watched her brows knit together in her sleep, she really had no idea how much we all cared about her.

 "Is she okay?" Tucker whispered as he joined our little group downstairs, sitting beside me as he watched her fidget in her sleep. "Get a bit freaked out when you woke up alone little brother?" I teased lightly as I lifted Sid's foot higher off my crotch when she kicked out in her sleep, I'd had enough pains from training I didn't need more. "Like you didn't." He muttered back tersely. "She's okay physically it seems, at least as far as I can tell and she told me as much in so many words. She just doesn't seem to be sleeping well for some reason, she told me she was feeling anxious for some reason, we might be in for more she wolf mood tomorrow." I warned him lightly, his shoulders slumped at that.

 "Maybe it's the weather making her so grumpy, I hate it when it's this cold." He grumbled with a glare to the outside world. "I wouldn't tell her that little brother, it seems our she wolf friend loves this stuff, she said she's feeling a bit 'overeager' about it. The way she talks about winters and snow is almost as pleasing as watching her play with the Alvarado pups, she really loves it." I shook my head lightly as she kicked out again, Tucker tossed me a pillow to provide her a footrest and me some padding. "Guess I'll just have to get over it then, I could learn to love the dumb stuff if it makes her happy." He groaned out before setting his gaze on her with a small smile. "What are you even doing anyway?" He nodded to her feet in my lap. 

"Trying to help her relax with a foot massage, it seemed to work when she was awake but now she seems more squirmy than before." I sighed sadly at the deep frown on her troubled face, even in sleep she couldn't seem to relax. "Probably why she ditched us upstairs, she's too nice for her own good, and ours." He grunted, of course she wouldn't have wanted to wake us with how hard we'd been training. "It certainly makes it difficult not to fall head over heels for her." I agreed on a sigh, surprised to hear him chuckling softly as I sent him a questioning look.

 "Si, just face it bro, we've all been head over heels for her for a while now, maybe even since the day we met her, the real her, wolf and all." Tucker stated and I winced internally, he wasn't wrong but I still wasn't used to that fact. "Maybe. I think it came a little later for me than all of you, when she helped me get over my fear of dogs." I huffed back, it was a half lie though, I'd liked her long before then. "Yeah, whatever. I guess we're sleeping down here then, I'll go get some more blankets." He sighed as he headed back upstairs before returning with the extra bedding moments later. So that was how we ended up sleeping in uncomfortable positions on either side of the thrashing she wolf, and yet I wouldn't have traded it for anything as long as she was at our side.

*Update ye, I wanted to post sooner but I got hooked on reading a story myself and wasn't writing anything for a bit, but I'm still here so enjoy!"