The Alpha Academy

chapter 26

"Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude. It's because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them." - Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper.

26.

Ethan

"What about black?"

"No."

"Grey?"

"Nope," Aiden shook his head, "come now Alpha-Sir, there are hundreds of colors to choose from yet you only wear that boring color. What's the deal with that? You need to dip your hand into something new."

I decided to ignore his question and continued searching my closet. Aiden was my new Beta, twenty one years of age. The minimum age mutually agreed upon for a Beta was twenty four, however after Elliot, I was in need of a capable and strong replacement.

Since a very young age, Aiden had made a name for himself in our pack. He was one of the strongest warrior, and his sheer strength and courage, accompanied by his high IQ, was deeply praised by the Alphas when he attended the Academy last year. But what I liked the most about him was his brutal honesty. According to him, it 'saved an awful lot of time' as he could say whatever he wanted to say without sugarcoating anything. This meant I won't be bullshitted or lied to - exactly what I needed.

Aiden was once a part of a group assigned to me by Father, who was the Alpha during that time. I had to teach the group how to spar, and during those days, as a sign of respect, the trainees called me Sir. Instead of replacing that with the title of Alpha, Aiden decided to customize it and make it Alpha-Sir , saying how it didn't feel right to not address me by Sir.

When I told Father about my choice, he wasn't quite keen on having such a young wolf as a Beta for the pack but gave in when he realized that he was the only one in our pack who checked all the boxes after Elliot.

He tried to reason with me and tried talking me into bringing Elliot back to the pack, if not as a Beta, then at least as a pack member. But that couldn't happen, not if he wants to die by the hands of my wolf.

The human side of me was still filled with rage but now understood that he was unaware about Vivian being my mate when it happened. However, my wolf fails to acknowledge the fact. Elliot's face was enough to trigger the memory, enough reason for my wolf to massacre him, which is why I kicked him out of the pack. I didn't want to kill him - I couldn't kill someone who was like a brother to me.

"If you haven't noticed, I haven't got any other color, my entire closet is..."

"Fifty shades of black...?" Aiden offered and then gently pushed me to the side to scan my closet, "Hmm... there has to be something inside this world of lost shirts... hmm... too ugly... too dark.... too grandpa... What about this?"

He pulled out a hanger with a blue shirt but after noticing that the other half was black, he shook his head. "Never mind, back you go inside the black-hole."

I still fail to understand why I called him to my room. Till today, it never occurred to me to ask for someone's opinion on what to wear.

But today's a special day.

The day Vivian will finally decide if she will give us another chance or not. I could feel the pounding of my heart. Just thinking about her made my heart race.

I couldn't mess up today.

Today was important. I couldn't lose her. For so long I had longed for a mate and now I can't bear to lose it - lose this thing that will make me feel peace, make me feel complete.