Cara’s POV
The room they had given me was simple yet comfortable, a small bed, a wooden dresser, and a window that looked out onto the forest. It was quiet, much quieter than I was used to. After spending so long on the run or surrounded by the chaos of Brian’s pack, this silence was unnerving. The shadows outside the window seemed too still, too calm. For the first time in a long while, I felt a strange sense of peace. But that peace didn’t last long.
My wolf has been silent strangley and the mysterious powers. I could sense a feeling of longing or sadness, but that’s all. I tried tapping into the mysterious powers several times but nothing. The Superman strength was no were to be seen, I guess I overused them in my haste to escape Brian, and now they refuse to come out.
A soft knock on the door broke the silence. I tensed, instantly alert, but relaxed when I heard Emily’s voice from the other side.
“Cara, can I come in?”
The event of the previous day, where I was played by a little girl, rang through my head. I hesitated for a moment before answering. “Yeah, come in.”
The door creaked open, and Emily stepped inside, her usual playful expression replaced with something more serious. She glanced around the room as if checking for something before closing the door behind her.
“I, um…” she started, fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve, which was so unlike the grinning and smug Emily I had seen yesterday.. “I wanted to apologise. For, you know… fooling you back in the woods.”
I blinked, caught off guard. This was not what I had expected. “Apologise? For what?”
She gave me a small, sheepish smile. “For pretending to be helpless and lost. I know it was wrong, and I shouldn’t have tricked you like that. It’s just… it was part of our training, and well, I got carried away.”
I studied her face, looking for any signs of mockery, but there were none. Just genuine regret. It was strange seeing her like this, vulnerable, again, i can’t help the feeling of nostalgia. The Emily I had met in the forest had been helpless and vulnerable, and i have fallen for her tricks, but here, she was just… it felt real, but who could know? Maybe it was another trick of hers, and i refused to fall for that.
“Eehhh, I don’t know, you could have told me….” I was saying, but one look at her cute and round big eyes already filled with tears, I actually fell for those cute eyes.
“I guess I can’t blame you,” I finally said, sighing. “You were doing what you were trained to do. Besides, I wasn’t exactly in a position to protect anyone.”
Emily’s shoulders visibly relaxed, and her smile widened. “Thanks for understanding. You know, you’re not so bad, Cara. I think we could actually be friends.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that. Friends. It was a concept I hadn’t allowed myself to think about in a long time. Not after everything that had happened. But maybe… maybe things could be different here.
Before I could respond, Emily’s expression shifted back to her usual mischievous self. “Oh, and by the way, the Alpha wants to see you.”
I frowned. “The Alpha?”
She nodded. “Yeah, big brother said he wants to talk to you and show you around the pack. He doesn’t usually do that with outsiders, so… you’re kind of special, I guess.”
Special? How special can i be? I didn’t understand what Emily meant by her words, but I nodded, figuring it was better to face Alpha Alexander than to stay holed up in this room.
*********
I followed Emily through the narrow halls of the pack house, my mind racing with questions. Why was Alpha Alexander interested in me? What was his real motive? I stooped thinking about that, Alpha Alexander looked like a good man, and the pack people i have seen so far are actually nice people. Especially the two sisters, and looking at Emily, I can’t help remember the mischievous and ruefully little Emma, I guess both girls truly are sisters.
When we finally reached the main hall, Alpha Alexander was waiting for me. His presence was as commanding as ever, his alpha aura practically radiating from him. But today, his expression was softer, almost curious.
“Cara,” he greeted me with a nod. “I thought it would be a good idea to show you around our territory. Get you familiar with the pack.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Is that necessary? I mean, I won’t be staying long.”
His gaze was unreadable as he studied me. “Humor me.”
“Thank you, Emily, for bringing Cara here. You can go back to your training” Alpha Alexander beckoned his sister.
“But you said I can come. Besides, I have been training since morning, please” Emily pouted,
“No Emily, this is important. Go and help Emma on her training,” he looked at her sternly, with a vacant look in his eyes. from his look, i realised he was communicating with her through the pack link.
Emily didn’t argue further, stomping her foot in of rage, she glared at her brother, before turning to me giving me a small, encouraging smile before running off to wherever she was going, probably to cause ruckus. I watched her go with a smile. Her actions were adorable.
Alpha Alexander sighed, mumbling something under his breath before gesturing at the door ” “should we..”
I nodded, an uneasy feeling settling in my chest. Following him out of his office. Something told me he was hiding something. It was just a subtle feelings but it was there.
Alpha Alexander led me outside, and for the first time, I got a proper look at the pack.
“Welcome, cara to my pack, the Silverware pack” he announced. The Silverware Pack wasn’t like the sprawling, powerful packs I had imagined. It was small, surprisingly small. Only about twenty to thirty people, all of them busy with various tasks. There were no grand training grounds or large pack houses like in Brian’s territory. Instead, the homes were modest, nestled, and close together as if to protect one another.
I looked around in amazement, unable to hide my surprise. “This…” This is your whole pack?”
Alpha Alexander glanced at me, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. “Not what you expected?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ve seen packs with hundreds of members. This… this is different.”
He chuckled softly, but there was a hint of something darker in his voice. “We may not have the numbers, but we are strong in our unity. Every single member of this pack has a role to play, and we take care of each other.”
I nodded, taking in the sight of the tight-knit community. There was a sense of closeness here that I had never experienced before. In Brian’s pack, they were close and lived in harmony but you could Still notice the tension in the air, even if its small but it’s still there, i guess its the disadvantage of having large members and them being rogues wtih their nature about strength being everything, and the weak were left behind. But here… here, it was different.
The closeness was appealing, and the way people go to their normal business, they were almost like a family.
We continued walking through the territory, and Alpha Alexander explained the various aspects of the pack’s daily life. From hunting and gathering to training and protection, each member contributed something vital. It was all so… ordinary. But in its simplicity, there was something beautiful about it.
Eventually, we reached the edge of the pack’s territory, where the dense forest met the horizon. Alpha Alexander stopped and turned to face me, his expression serious.
“Cara, I know you’re not here by choice,” he said, his voice low. “But I need you to understand something. The Silverware Pack isn’t like the others. We protect what’s ours and look out for each other. we don’t allow outsiders to disrupt the peace we’ve built. We are family”.
He said that the last word strongly emphasises it, and the word ‘family’ it kept on ringing in my head. It was a word so small but mighty on it own.
After a while, I noticed that everywhere was eerily quiet, making me look up to see that he just stood there looking at me, his eyes filled with something I couldn’t seem to recognise. He was observing me with a creepy look that sent shivers down my spine. it was then I realised that we were already past the border and past the bubbling parts where people were. we were alone in the middle of the forest with no one in sight.