Alpha Kael

~Jada

I didn’t get much sleep last night.

Jess’s words clung to me, even during the trek to the next camping spot. At least by the end of it, my aching feet and sore back distract my mind enough. I’m not going to listen to what the rest of the Silent’s have to say. I’m sure they are just messing around with us, telling fake stories and luring us to believe something that isn’t true.

If it’s some kind of initiation, I don’t like it. I’m not sure why they are out to get me in particular, since Ace isn’t getting any of their attention. He just lingers on the outside, head down. He passes by everyone’s radar.

I’ve decided I wouldn’t hang around the fire tonight, but instead lay in my tent until sleep passes me by. Instead of that, I’m interrupted.

It’s by Kael, at least.

He came over to my tent, flipping the flap up to poke his head in. When he suddenly appeared, I jumped. For some reason, my cheeks flushed. Seeing him when I’m lying in bed, vulnerable and unprepared makes me want to jump and fix myself, but I’m stunned at the sight of him.

“Want to go for a walk?” he asks, much to my surprise.

Wordlessly, I nod, and he flips the flap back down. I only regain my composure when he has walked away, Quickly I shove my shoes back on and join him outside. As much as my entire body aches, I’m going on this walk with him because he asked me. Who knows what he might reveal.

He looks up when I approach. “I was thinking about a walk. I thought maybe you would like to accompany. There’s a lovely path along the riverside just around the corner.

“Of course.”

I follow by his side, careful not to say anything too out of turn. He leads me down the path a little further until we reach the side of a surging river. The sound is satisfying, however, I don’t get too close to the edge. One wrong step and I could be swept into the depths. And I’ve never been known to swim well.

Kael looks down, noticing my gait. “I’m sorry about the walk to get to the base. It’s not easy and I can see it’s taking a toll on you.”

He’s not wrong. Every inch of me aches, but I refuse to show weakness. Not when all the other Silent’s are watching my move, deciding whether or not I should be taken seriously.

“Does if always take so much effort to get to this special place?” I ask.

I can only hope it’s not going to take so much walking every time we have to leave for a mission or to travel. Maybe that’s why he takes us out here. So no one will want to wander out and leave. The only reason I’ve gotten through this is because of a heel salve one of the Silent’s was kind enough to lend me.

“Most of the time. Unless it’s an emergency. And I wouldn’t call it special. It’s just isolated. How I like it,” Kael tells me, pulling a tree branch out of my way. I step under it, smiling at him gratefully.

He looks so handsome today under the setting sun. His skin is vibrant and flawless, shadows and colours mixing together across his features. I quickly look away before I look too deeply into his eyes to notice how the darkness of them seems so much lighter here.

“Why so many secrets?” I ask. “If that’s not me over stepping a boundary.”

“It’s just safer if the general population doesn’t know what’s going on here. I have Silent’s to protect them, and me,” Kael explains, “it’s a dangerous world out there.”

True. But still.

I’m hoping when I get to this place I get let in on all the secrets too. Whatever those secrets might be. I have an guess that it has something to do with Sinful or maybe even some more immortals. If so, I’m not going to get too close to it if I can help it. Sinful’s warning not to delve too much into Kael’s life haunts me after those nightmares.

“I suppose. I just never saw the effects of Silent’s in my short life. I mean, I was trapped within that institution,” I tell him. Thinking about my parents and how it affected them caused my tone to turn sour, and Kael immediately seemed to notice.

“I promise with time that will change,” he assured me, his voice soft. “Believe it or not, I don’t like things like that either.”

Glancing at him, I decide whether I believe him or not. He seems sincere, and I know for a fact he’s mentioned it before. It just seems like Kael is an impenetrable wall which seems impossible to get past. Whatever lies beyond his head and within his mind fascinated me. But I’m not sure how much he’s willing to offer me. At least he chose me to take on this walk.

“Why were your ancestors so strict?”

“Tradition, I suppose. Our Pack was founded on rules and discipline. That’s why we are one of the most prosperous, successful Pack’s,” Kael tells me. He doesn’t sound as proud, though, that his Pack is doing as well as it is. It always has. All my teachers would brag about it. They would insist we should be patriotic and glad we were born into this Pack.

I watch Kael kick a small stone ahead of us. “I hate it.”

“I know,” Kael says, looking down at me. I watch the way his eyes glints. Beautiful. “That’s part of the reason why I selected you. Change doesn’t happen when everyone is in the same frame of mind.”

Looking out into the river, I sigh. I definitely don’t think the same way as everyone else does.

“I’m not going to be so good at this, you know. Being a Silent and all,” I tell him honestly. I can’t imagine myself fighting people, watching and stalking and collecting information. I hope I get the easy jobs that include travelling and getting out this Pack. That all sounds amazing.

“You’ll surprise yourself, I’m sure,” Kael says surely, to which I don’t respond. I don’t particularly believe him. “As long as you don’t get distracted.”

I frown. “Distracted?”

“Yeah. By Ace,” Kael says, and when I glance up at him I don’t see anymore amusement. He looks eerily serious. “I see the way he looks at you. Whispers in your ear. I don’t blame him for being interested, but I’m sure I’ll have to have a talk to him about watching his advances. If he does come to you let me know.”

I’m almost unsure of how to answer him. I had a feeling he felt off about it by the way he looked at us on the bus. But I didn’t know he would warn me about Ace like this.

“Don’t worry, I can deal with it. I doubt he’s interested in anything but getting on my nerves or getting into my head,” I assure him, letting him know calmly. Ace called me pretty to mess with me, and that’s it.

“I wouldn’t want you being harassed by any of these guys,” Kael says. “You don’t deserve it.”

Looking at him, I’m surprised to see him so troubled.

No has paid me much mind since I was taking to the institution. Mistresses left me out of everything and all the girls at school teased me whenever that had the chance. So having someone chose me over others for something, or even care about what happens to me is a strange feeling. But I must say, I like it a lot.

“I’m surprised you care so much. You hardly know me,” I remind him.

When I look up from the path, Kael is watching me intently. For a moment I thought he was going to stop me or maybe grab me. Maybe even kiss me. As foolish as the idea is, it still makes my heart skip a beat.

“I like you a lot. I scary amount, even for not knowing you,” kael tells me gently, still watching me, even as the path narrows for a moment. “And I trust you. I’m happy to have you around. More than you’ll ever know.”

His words can’t help but make me smile, however, before I can respond we come back around to the camp.

I’m surprised to see no one paying us any mind as we come back. I assumed plenty of rumours have started, especially after last night and what jess said, but everyone’s attention seems to be on something else.

Or rather someone else.

Kael and I walk toward the group, and it takes me a moment to see what is going that I cannot see. Just when I look over a Silent’s shoulder, I realise who has shown up.

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