The Alphas & The Heiress

Syble (Magnolia)

“Sorry to keep you waiting Alphas, Syble. What brings you in today?” Dr. Logan is younger than I expected. She’s shorter than us but not by much and her smile is warm and sincere.

“Syble here broke several bones during training today, primarily her ribs.”

“Not to worry, let’s take a look.” She smiles at me before giving an expectant look towards Varian and Ro. “Excuse me Alphas, did you wish to wait outside?…” She probes them.

Ro’s face heats with embarrassment, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him caught off guard. I don’t think he had any intention of leaving me alone with Dr. Logan.

He clears his throat, regaining his equilibrium, but before he can say anything I am inexplicably compelled to interject. “It’s fine, I don’t mind. They can stay.”

Varian releases a tense breath and Ro visibly relaxes. Man, and I thought Incandis was overprotective. Incandis I get though, I understand his motives and reasons for doing things – well, for the most part anyways. The twins, however, are more difficult to figure out. But then again I haven’t really spent much time with them and what little time we have spent together has consisted of training.

I hop onto the exam table and strip off my shirt, leaving me in my sports bra, so Dr. Logan can see my ribs better. She runs her fingers along my torso, palpating each rib for cracks, breaks, and bruises but I know she won’t find any. I have incredibly fast healing and regeneration, I could tell my ribs were healed before we even left the training center. Dr. Logan’s face is serious as she examines me, carefully concentrating on what she’s doing. She goes over my ribs twice after finding nothing the first time around. I smile to myself wondering what the Alphas’ reactions will be when she tells them they were overreacting and nothing is wrong with me.

“Alright my dear you can put your shirt back on. I didn’t feel any cracks or breaks, in fact I didn’t see a single bruise. Perhaps the impact sounded worse than it was.” She smiles kindly at me before turning to address Ro and Varian. “She’s in perfect condition, Alphas. Is there anything else I can do for you before I release her?”

Ro and Varian look bewildered, frantically looking between Dr. Logan and me, trying to process what she said. Varian finally thanks and dismisses her.

“I told you I was fine.”

“How?” Ro’s voice barely above a whisper. “I heard every break, every snap. Any wolf would have taken at least a day to heal from that kind of damage.”

I shrug, unsure of how much I want to tell them. “How do you explain how quickly wolves can heal? It’s just something that is. Sometimes it feels like I’m leaching energy from enemies, draining them of their stamina, but who really knows.”

They nod thoughtfully, mulling over my explanation. “So, you dragged me over here, and I’m perfectly fine, now you owe me a duel.” I say cheerfully, hopping down from the exam table and slipping my shirt back on.

“Not so fast, little spitfire, we have all day for that. We realized we’ve never given you a proper tour of the grounds. Why don’t we show you around since the center is being used for training and then we can go back later when the crowds disperse?” Varian asks me.

The thought of going back to the training center slowly inflames me. I’d have to face Incandis and his need to reconcile. I begin to realize that the more time that passes since leaving with Ro and Varian, the less restless and angry I feel. Maybe they’re right, maybe I just needed a break. Either way, I think Incandis can wait a few hours.

I am genuinely interested in a grand tour of their lands, I know it’s an honor afforded to few outsiders. Even from what little I know of wolves, I know how territorial and protective they are of their land and pack members. I don’t take lightly their treatment of me and their invitation to peer into the inner workings of their pack.

We leave the infirmary and head the opposite direction from the training center. They walk me past their parent’s house and some houses of ranked members who don’t live in the pack house. Down the path a little ways further is a small lake with clear waters and a floating dock in the middle of it with a slide that juts out over the water at the end. There’s a gravel walking trail that encircles the lake with several benches to sit on and enjoy the view. There’s a gazebo that sits behind a beach-like entrance at one end of the lake and a pier that sits on the other for fishing.

Beyond the lake is another trail through some thinly spread trees that leads to what looks like a small town. There are rows of cookie cutter houses, a school, and a daycare center.

“Wow, how many people does your territory accommodate?” I ask them as I take in the scene.

“We have about 500 in our pack, most live here on pack lands but there are a few who live and work in the neighboring town. It’s good for us to have a foot in the door there.” Varian says.

“You seem to have everything anyone could need here, you even have your own fire department”

Ro and Varian look at me quizzically.

“That’s a joke… because of the whole lighting my blades on fire thing… nevermind.”

Varian’s eyes soften and I even catch the small smile he tries to hide by biting his lip. Ro just rolls his eyes at me and keeps walking. Well, I thought it was funny.

“So…can you both do that or is it limited to just you?” I ask Ro as he continues walking ahead of me.

“We are both gifted with the ability to control fire; creating it, putting it out, immunity to it.” Varian answers for him. “Truthfully, I was looking forward to seeing your face when he first lit your blades on fire. But then it was us who ended up surprised.” He mutters the last part almost to himself.

“Yes, that was fun.” I smile fondly at the memory of their shock when I caught my flaming blade. Yes, that was a lot of fun. Let’s see if we can’t have some more fun. I put my hand behind my back creating a small fireball and throw it at Ro. It splashes across his back and then dissipates into smoke on contact. A low growl emanates from his chest. He stops in his tracks and very slowly turns to me, his eyes flashing black as a grin tugs at the corners of his mouth. He’s absolutely smoldering, there’s something so dark and dominant in his eyes but something tells me it’s not meant to scare me. He’s like a lion stalking its prey – he wants to play…with me. The effect sends a rush through to my core and I fidget where I stand trying to curtail my body’s response to him.

Ro’s eyes are completely black as he comes to stand close enough where I am able to breathe in his delectable scent. I bite my lip and shake my head, surely I have more self control than this.

Suddenly, for no discernible reason at all, a tree off to my left catches fire. I gasp in wonder, turning my head while stepping back closer into Ro. Mindlessly I reach out and grab onto his arm, warmth spreading throughout my arm from the contact. I watch the tree as it burns, mesmerized. Though the tree is completely engulfed, the flames have no effect on the tree itself. It’s on fire, but it’s not burning.

I shake my head slowly in disbelief and look up at Ro. “H-how are you doing that?” I ask softly.

Ro beams at me with a satisfied smile, mischief gleaming in his eyes. “It took me a while, but I’ve finally figured out how to manipulate fire and heat independent of one another. Heating things and lighting them on fire is easy, it’s taking the heat out of the fire that’s the challenge.” He flashes me another toothy grin, obviously extremely pleased with himself.

Then I remember something about the night we met. “The fire on my blade… I remember thinking it was barely even warm… that was because of you, wasn’t it?”

Ro’s eyes go wide and his lips part. He looks like a child who’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. His mouth flounders open and closed a few times unsure of what to say before he finally mutters out, “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

My eyes go wide beneath my blindfold and my jaw hits the floor. I take a step back folding my arms across my chest and face away from Ro and Varian.

“Well that was a stupid thing to do.” The words are out of my mouth before I have a chance to stop them. “You had no idea who I was or what I wanted, I threw a glaive at you for Gods’ sake, I certainly wasn’t holding back.”

“You’re mad that I didn’t hurt you?” He’s incredulous.

“I’m not mad I’m just saying from a safety perspective it was foolish to hold back. You didn’t know anything about me.” I offer by way of explanation.

“I knew all I needed to know,” he says flatly, but it seems like he stops himself short, holding back on what he really wants to say.

I’m not aware that he’s right behind me until I feel his breath on the side of my neck, “now that I know what a little spitfire you are, I’ll have to turn up the heat.”