Ayla: Always an Alpha

Chapter 10 - Morning Raga

~Ayla~

A tickling sensation travelling down the bare skin of my back caused my eyelids to jolt open. Saleem grinned and continued gently gliding his fingers along my spine. Enjoying the pleasant sensation, I lazily reclosed my eyes and nuzzled my head further into my pillow.

Just as I was beginning to fall asleep again, Saleem started softly humming.

My interest piqued, I slid my head to the edge of my pillow.

"What are you humming?" I asked softly.

"It's a morning raga." He grinned and removed his hand from my back in order to tap me on the noise with his pointer finger. "It's meant to rouse the gods."

"Sing it for me."

Saleem's entire family was very musically-inclined. Whenever they played together, it was almost magical. Growing up, I had always been jealous of how well they seemed to just fit together like a family should. They were the type of wholesome family that sat together for family dinner every night around a table, a real table in a quaint dining room, not the weirdly large eating space we had.

Sweeping me up in a whirlwind of pleasurable highs and lows, the notes flowed out of his mouth with ease. Caught up in the sound of his voice, I placed my palm against his warm upper chest to feel the vibrations at their source.

"That was beautiful," I told him when he finished. "I quite like being awoken like a god."

Saleem laughed. "Emir is coming to stay for a few days. My brothers and I are probably going to play after dinner tonight if you'd like to stop by my parents' house. You know ammi loves it when you come over."

I opened my mouth to respond and immediately closed it; I had almost forgotten that I had plans with Killian.

"As much as I'd love to, I have some work I have to get done tonight."

Although his expression fell slightly, Saleem had never been one to try to persuade me of anything, so he said nothing in response.

"It would be nice to see everybody," I remarked, feeling guilty. "I can come by for dinner tomorrow if it's not an intrusion."

"It wouldn't be," he responded immediately.

"Perfect." I smiled coyly before I continued. "Now, if you don't mind, this goddess has some things she needs to get done today."

Saleem's gaze followed my naked form as the sheets fell away from my hips. As I rose from the bed, he reached for my hand.

"See you tomorrow," he murmured before placing a soft kiss on the back of my hand.

Squeezing his fingers gently, I promised, "Tomorrow."

On the way to my en-suite bathroom, I made sure to grab the stray clothes from the floor in order to put them in the bathroom hamper. When I was done showering, Saleem was gone.

I always spent my morning doing paperwork in my upstairs study, but today I had to add the list to my morning agenda as well. After taking care of all my essential items, I began the task.

Putting down the names of all the men of my past with pen and paper felt so odd. It made me feel dirty, like some frat boy with his little black book.

While I did tell Killian I'd make a list, I didn't agree to giving him all of it. He certainly did not need to know that I'd made out with Jason from photography club in the janitor's closet of my high school a few times before realizing that Jason had been cheating on his girlfriend with me. And while his then-girlfriend, now high-school-sweetheart, did have a vendetta against me for the rest of my time at school, I hardly thought I'd pissed her off enough for her to (a) learn enough about me to figure out I was a werewolf and (b) then figure out about our underground network of illegal activities. Therefore, I made a second list and left just a few people out. Even though no one came in my study without me, I folded them both up secretively and placed them in my desk drawer.

By the time I'd finished, it was time for lunch, so I went downstairs to make myself a sandwich. Our pack was pretty integrated into the normal world, so a lot of people went off the property during the day for work. We really only offered a pack meal for dinner, and even then, most people decided to eat at home with their families.

Everyone mainly bonded through pack events. During the summer, we'd often have barbeques and day-long sporting events, and during the winter, we'd meet over at the fire pit to exchange stories and munch on warm, fire-roasted desserts. While I was glad our pack was so family-oriented, it had often left me feeling like I was missing out throughout my own childhood.

The rest of the day passed as normal; I checked on all our security points and led the two adult training sessions, but when it was time for dinner, I grabbed three meals to go. Feeling cheeky, when I retrieved the list from my study, I stopped to quickly scrawl "To asshole, From Ayla" on one of the folded sides. As much as I hated to admit it, my bickering with Killian would probably be the most interesting part of my day. Provoking him early on would make it even more interesting.

Because I did truly feel bad about using Marta and her son as an excuse the day before, I stopped at their house first in order to wish the son well and give him a large container full of soup. 

As I approached the house I'd loaned Killian, I took note of how well he managed to keep it looking unoccupied. The blinds were all shut, the curtains were all drawn, and not a single sliver of light leaked out into the night. Not wanting to linger and ruin the illusion if someone were to see me, I quickly rapped on the door before deciding to use my own key to get in.

A few lamps were switched on in the living room when I stepped in, but I quickly stopped in my tracks when I heard a low voice say, "you really need to start being more aware of your surroundings."

"Well good evening to you too, Killian," I greeted him, turning around.

I caught him sliding his knife back into a holster, one wrapped around his bare chest, and raised an eyebrow.

"Can't be too careful," he stated.

Not wanting to appear to be too interested in his unclothed chest, I turned my attention to the hallway in the background, where I could hear the sound of a shower running.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"A little."

"Go on ahead, then," I told him. "I'll finish up my dinner while you're busy."

~~~

Please vote, follow, and/or comment!

For many reasons, the world is tough right now guys. Sorry for the lack of updates.

Question of the week: What do you all think about the Saleem situation?