The Alpha's Shatter Zone
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“Hey, what’s wrong with them getting on with each other? You certainly aren’t being a good friend to Kaiden. Just let them hang, ok,” Lexi tried calming her down, but only managed to rile her up more. “Sis...I’m sorry. I’ll just stop talking now.”

Both girls watched as the two men laid the wood by the growing bonfire. Kaiden interacted happily with the other men of the pack who were building the fire.

“Just give him a chance, ok?” Lexi said softly. “It’s Fire Night, come on,” she tugged on her arm.

“Ok,” Chesca finally surrendered, and linked her arm through Lexi’s. She couldn’t ever stay mad for very long or say no to Lexi’s big brown puppy dog eyes.

“Yippee! Tonight’s gonna be so fun!” Lexi sing-songed. Charles came up beside her.

“Did you have something to do with this, Charles? Trying to get me out here too?” Chesca asked sternly with a hint of a smile.

“No Ma’am,” he shook his head quickly. “Honestly, I thought Lexi was going to bite poor Eric’s head off!” he wrapped his arm around her neck and ruffled her hair.

“Yeah, well, he did challenge my position! He said I wasn’t good enough,” Lexi whined and patted down her hair.

“As long as you’re able to take down a big tough Alpha, you’ll always be my head guard, Lexi,” Chesca reassured her. She would have to have a talk with Eric about it later. There was no way she would tolerate this kind of disrespect and insubordination.

“And how long will that be? I bet you couldn’t even best our Alpha in a contest,” Charles teased.

“Ha ha ha! You don’t know me very well,” she giggled.

“I know you better than you know you, Lexi baby,” he grinned and she poked him in the ribs, but he held on tighter and smushed her against his chest. Their tousle ended in a kiss, and Chesca walked ahead to give her friends some privacy. They were opposites, but oh so good together when they decided to get along.

She headed over slowly to the bonfire that was beginning to take shape. It already rose 6 feet into the air, and still men were piling sticks and wood on. Families were coming from all directions, woman and mothers carrying food for dinner and little pups running and playing tag with each other, some kicking a ball in an impromptu soccer game. That’s what Chesca liked about these nights. Once a month, everyone would forget their differences and worries, and usual pack stressors, and just have fun. Share a meal together, sing some songs, tell scary stories around the glowing fire, and of course toast marshmallows.

She reached the group by the fire, staring at the kindling and wondering if it would light ok.

“Hey,” the deep voice nearly startled her.

“Hi,” she looked up at warm brown eyes and a genuine smile. She couldn’t help smiling back. No avoiding him here.

“Should be a fun night,” Kaiden remarked, dusting off the twigs from his hands.

“Yeah, it usually is,” she nodded. Suddenly her mouth was dry and she scrambled for something intelligent or witty to say. All of a sudden she was nervous around this guy, and she had no idea why. Every other time she’d just argued with him, and that seemed easy compared to now.

Thankfully Roman rescued her from either shouting or stuttering at him.

“Hey Alpha, has Kaiden told you about our camping trip?”

Her eyes flickered to Kaiden’s before narrowing on Roman. “Yes, I did hear something about an unauthorised trip through my territory,” she said coldly, putting her hands on her hips.

“Oh, uhhh,” Roman lost all his enthusiasm and rubbed the back of his neck, realising he was in trouble.

Chesca somehow remembered Lexi’s words about giving the guy a chance and enjoying tonight. She looked once more at Kaiden before saying quickly, “Look, don’t worry about it. Just let me know next time, ok?”

“Sure!” Roman beamed. “Alright, you shoulda seen the …” his voice trailed off as a crowd gathered around to hear some crazy story while Chesca turned to the voice at her elbow.

“Alpha, I brought your favourite—apple pie!”

“Wow, thanks Lena,” Chesca smiled at the sweet woman, and her mate Vlad who came up and rested his hand around her waist. “I’m looking forward to it!” she patted her stomach.

They moved to put it on the dessert table, and Chesca smiled after them.

“....Razorback Ridge, that’s my favorite spot.”

“Hey, that’s my favorite, too,” Chesca exclaimed and looked up, her gaze colliding with Kaiden’s.

He seemed momentarily surprised at her random addition to the conversation, but his face softened into a smile. She ducked her head as heat rushed to her face, suddenly aware of what he’d said and how she’d responded. She didn’t want to have anything in common with this man, yet here he was liking her favourite spot on her territory. She could feel his eyes still on her, and turned to find something else to hold her attention.

She spotted Lexi a dozen yards away, holding hands with at least three pups as they all tried to pull her to the ground. She loved playing with the young children, and their squeals of laughter echoed around them. Lexi picked one up and blew on his tummy, making his scream and laugh, before throwing him over her shoulder and running around the other pups like a deranged kiddy monster. The children loved it. Lexi loved it. She was a natural when it came to making them excited. She knelt down and smiled when a little girl ran up to her, holding out a purple flower. The pup’s dark pigtails bobbed and twirled against her little shoulders, framing a chubby face. “Lexi! Fower for you!” she grinned.

“Ohhhh Ari! It’s beautiful! Thank you darling,” and Lexi squished the little girl in a big hug before taking and smelling the flower. The girl beamed and hugged Lexi’s leg tightly.

Chesca frowned and chewed on her lower lip. It wasn’t that she was a cruel Alpha, she just didn’t have time to spend with the children like others seemed to. And she honestly didn’t like flowers. But maybe that wasn’t the point of her problem, she mused with a pained look in her eyes.

“Alpha, we are ready. You can have the honours,” a man stepped up and handed her a rock. As was the tradition, the fire would be lit with flint and rock.

She accepted the fire starters and moved to light the wood. Kneeling close to the kindling, she felt Kaiden close behind her, watching. She swallowed hard, struck the flint, and prayed it worked the first time. There was an art to lighting a fire this way, and after years of practice she was confident she knew how to get it right. The spark landed on the scraps of paper, then onto the small twigs and kindling, then the crowd cheered as the bigger logs and sticks roared to life.

Her pack. Her life. This was what is was all about.

Food was soon passed around as songs filled the countryside, and sparks lit the night sky as they danced upwards. Chesca carried her plate of food to one of the many log seats and squeezed between Lexi and Charles.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Can’t say no to my Alpha,” Lexi nudged her. Charles groaned and promptly got up, and sat on the other side of Lexi, who rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.

“You got enough salad there?” Lexi asked with a raised eyebrow at Chesca’s overflowing plate.

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”Girl, I’m kidding,” Lexi raised an eyebrow before laughing. They all knew Chesca loved salad.

“Mm this steak is so good,” the familiar deep voice made Chesca jump slightly. “And that roast pork—perfection!”

Who invited him again? Oh wait, they didn’t.

Kaiden plopped himself down beside Chesca, who in turn wiggled even closer to Lexi.

“I don’t know how they do it,” he motioned to the men cooking a large cut of meat on a spit above the fire, “but it’s great. You should have some,” he suddenly turned to Chesca and examined her plate. She nearly stuffed it in his face.

“I’m ok, I don’t eat meat,” she said briskly.

“Say what now?” Kaiden turned to her, his arm brushing against hers.

“It’s called vegetarianism,” Lexi leaned over and spoke slowly like she would to a five year old, “but I doubt you know what that big, intelligent-sounding word means, you dumb idiot,” and she pushed Chesca over, making her bump against him.

She knew Lexi was only sticking up for her, but she still rolled her eyes. Not many wolves didn’t eat meat, and she didn’t want to particularly discuss this with Kaiden. He’d just think she was weird, on top of everything else.

“I do. My mom was a vegetarian.”

“Really?” Chesca stared at him, once again shocked by his words.

“Yeah, I think she woulda really liked you, especially the whole tough Alpha thing.” His rich brown eyes stared into her own, and the firelight sparkled in their depths. They seemed to draw her in as if a mystery story written just for her. “Really?” She repeated herself dumbly, and just wanted to face-palm. Then a logical connection wedged itself in her muddled brain. “You said, would have, and was. Your mother …?”

“Died when I was a little boy. But from what I remember of her, she was a fighter,” Kaiden’s warm eyes held hers, and the rest of the pack seemed to fade out of awareness as Chesca’s heart thudded harder, faster, as she realised she had yet another thing in common with the man she didn’t want as mate. But this time, she understood and even wanted to feel this heartbreaking bond. “My parents died five years ago. I know what’s it like to miss them and wish they were still here,” she whispered quietly. His fingers brushed on top of her knee, and the simple touch spoke a thousand words no one else could hear nor would have dreamed to say. It was like a piece of his broken heart reached out to hers, and hers to his, partly completing each other’s in a mystifying yet completely normal way.

“Ooohhkayyy, story time!” Lexi jumped up, snapping Chesca from the trance, and making her wish she could punch her—or kiss her. Because when she looked back at Kaiden, his usual cocky smug look was sitting on his handsome face, and Chesca had no idea why she could ever see a bond between them.

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