Alpha Kael

~Jada

I startle so hard, whoever is in the other end of that voice loses their grip on me.

My senses are jumbled, knocked all over the place from the darkness. Seeing no other option, I run in whatever direction I can. I don’t care about the bramble that catches around the hem of my pants. Nor do I care about the low hanging branches and twigs that snap in my face as I frantically run blindly in one direction.

Head first into a tree.

A flash of bright light in my vision blinds me for a moment. I stand still, gripping my hands to my head, waiting for the spike of pain to diminish.

A rumble of a laugh from behind me. “There are things we learn the hard way, don’t we?”

Twisting around, I stare blindly into the darkness. My breathing is so rapid, I can hardly hear if the man in front of me is talking. Whoever they may be, there is a potential they are out here to kill me. Or… Or…

“I think you need to calm down.”

Embarrassment is the first feeling. Followed by relief, which is soon consumed by dread. Alpha Kael found me. He saved me. This mission, that was supposed to involve me finding out something about Kael that no one else knew turned into him finding out I’m utterly incompetent at doing so. Especially in the darkness.

“I-I, I’m so sorry,” I hear myself saying, wishing I could reverse every movement I made since climbing out that kitchen window.

A light flickers on, the harshness blinding my eyes for a moment. It’s a small flashlight, that lights the entire area around us. It lets me see Kael, finally, standing on a few metres away from me. I’m sure I’m a mess. At least compared to him. He looks untouched, what he was wearing earlier not torn to rags by stray branches. His hair, even, swept back naturally.

“Why are you sorry?” he asks.

I blink a few times. “I followed you out here.”

We watch each other. What am I doing here? He’s the Alpha, and I just followed him into the woods without permission. I’m out of the competition, that much is certain. He might even kill me. Would he do that? Is that the kind of Alpha he is?

His gaze narrows on my forehead, all his concentration moving to that one spot. It was then, that I noticed warmth spill down my cheek and along my nose.

Blood.

“Oh no,” I mutter, pulling my hand back to look at the crimson mess upon my fingertips. “I hit my head.”

Kael goes to reach for me, but I shy away. If he is going to help me, then I don’t want it. Not when my dignity is already slashed to pieces by my own stupidity. I just want to crawl back and never have to look at him in the eye again. Even if he does look nothing but concerned for what has happened.

“We need to get you back,” he says sternly. “At least sit down for a moment, catch your breath.”

To that, I listen. Sinking down to my haunches, I sit, cradling my head. The blood seems to be diminishing with time. It must only be a scratch, with a headache to follow from the initial impact.

“I’ve made such a mistake,” I say, more to myself than Kael.

“Well, I can commend you on your effort,” Kael says, his arms folding his over his chest. I watch the movement. Underneath that ebony coloured jacket of his, is muscles that have surely ended the life of many. At least that’s what I assume, or have heard from rumours and read from school textbooks.

Effort. It seems as though that’s all I have at this point. An effort to get myself in trouble and kicked out of this competition.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter.

Sighing through his nose, Kael crouchs down, reaching my level. It’s strange seeing eye to eye with him. Usually he’s a few inches taller than me, looking down at me without meaning to. He’s less intimidating on this level, as if I can speak and he can hear everything I have to say. The fear that had earlier blossomed within me from his presence begins to diminish.

“Silent’s should never be sorry for doing their job,” he tells me firmly. It’s not a reprimand, simply a reminder. “I understand you drew the short stick in this situation. All I can say is you can be admired for coming after me. Many, I’m sure, would have given up once they were assigned my name. That is what I assumed would be the case. You proved me wrong.”

I quickly swallow the remark that I did, in fact, consider changing my mind about being in this competition when I found out what was expected of me.

“Well I wasn’t very silent about this, was I,” I say hopelessly.

Kael smiles. It’s warm, understanding. I’m not sure if this is just a part of his illusion, as the enigmatic figure we all see him as, or if he is simple a kind soul. No one does really no very much about him, and I’m not going to pretend I do. But I can hope he isn’t the kind of man to remove me from the competition after this.

I hope he keeps his word.

“You tried. That’s the first step to success,” Kael tells me, to which I’m hardly convinced. “We don’t expect you to be incredible Silent’s right away. It takes time. We do, however, want to see the steps taken to get there. And right now, I’m impressed you followed me out here.”

Sighing deeply, I try not to appear as relieved as I am. I still don’t feel off the hook, though. “I snuck out, and followed you into a forest. I broke the rules.”

Kael doesn’t say anything for a moment, just watches me. That faint smile quirked at the corner of his lips tells me nothing about what he is thinking. I’m waiting for him to turn from sweet to livid in a second, to put me in my place for stepping out of line in front of an Alpha. However, it doesn’t seem to come.

“Silent’s don’t follow the rules. This isn’t a perfect system,” Kael tells me.

I want to ask him more about Silent’s, as him what is necessary of me if I win. However, I stop myself. He isn’t going to answer, and I don’t want to ask more of him then I deserve. Not when he is being so nice about me staying here after I followed him out into the woods.

“Come, let’s get back,” he says softly, rising back to standing position. I join him, clutching my head. At least the bleeding has stopped. “You should get some rest for tomorrow.”

“What’s tomorrow?”

He smiles again. He has such a beautiful smile… What am I thinking? He’s my Alpha. “Come to tea tomorrow at my residence. I’ll tell you something about myself that none of the competitors know. That way, you’ll remain in the competition.”

My eyes widen in surprise. Is he really doing this for me? I can hardly believe it, as I stumble over a fallen trunk as we begin our trek back out of the woods. He reaches out, holding my loose jacket in order to keep me steady. I should feel uneasy that I’m burdening my Alpha, but for some odd reason, I feel comfortable in his presence.

Maybe I did hit my head a little too hard.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” I question, looking at his face, cast in shadows from the flashlight. He looks slightly imposing, an impassive expression on his face.

“I can see you have potential,” he tells me simply. “I would be foolish to let that fall past me because you were given a more difficult objective then your peers.”

I shove my hands in my pockets, warming them against the chilling breeze. I’m not sure how late it is, but the darkness is still thick, the moon failing to penetrate past the canopy. Maybe I already know something about Alpha Kael that no one else does. That he has an open mind, and is more inclined to kindness over harshness.

But that doesn’t mean I won’t take his invitation. I’m curious, above anything, and a little privileged for the opportunity. I make a mental note not to make a single mention to anyone else.

“I’m going to try win this competition,” I tell him surely. “Anything is better than what is out there.”

Despite looking straight ahead, I can feel him looking at me.

I don’t feel bad about saying that. It’s obvious he is curious to ask me what I meant, what life was like for me outside of this competition, however, he remains quiet, the border of the forest coming to an end.

Once we are standing back in the field, I realise this is where we part ways. But I have one last question to ask. “Why did you need to go out into the forest?”

He does nothing but shrug, skin glowing under the moons strong light. Clearly, he is not going to share his intentions, however, I know it’s purposeful. That in some way it had something to do with me, and the fact that his name was on my piece of paper.

“Well, thank you,” I say simply, glancing back at the institute. “I should get back.”

Kael takes a few departing steps backward. “See you tomorrow, Jada.”