Every pack and its Alpha had a connection that allowed everyone to communicate and understand each other better when desired. Alpha Alexander had trouble keeping his pack in the dark about the dangers they were in. As the days passed by, Alexander's anxiety increased affecting everyone's mood.
Adira used to believe Alexander had a lot of patients in him, but as days went by, it took less and less to make the Alpha go off on someone. Fortunately, Nora helped him stay calm most of the time, but even she could not deny the weird faint sensation in the pack's bond.
There had been some progress since the first time Dalia and her friends gave them information about the hidden spots in the canyon. Luca was in charge of almost every mission, leaving the safety of the pack and going on these adventures with just a small group of warriors.
Leaving Adira behind.
And she hated that.
Somehow, Luca had convinced Alexander to keep her inside the pack lands. This was a complete waste of her talents, and everyone knew it! And every time Luca returned, he would stay for a bit and then go back out leaving her alone.
She started to feel useless.
On the bright side, there had been more good news regarding her other weird ability.
She visited the hospital every few days. Together with Dr. Shirtz, she discovered that she could trigger the "mind reading" whenever she desired. At first, she had found his exercises very tedious and frustrating, but as she progressed, she found herself being able to intrude in people's minds at will.
But only at a certain distance.
She decided to keep everyone out of the loop for now. Alexander had too many issues already, Nora would tell Alexander, and Luca was never around anymore. She could tell her friends, but she knew she needed better control of the ability before she could share the secret with them.
Adira made her way back to the packhouse after spending half the day with Dr. Shirtz reading his mind. He wanted to help her strengthen her ability to read minds at a greater distance, which made them spend a lot of time way too close. It was weird, but she felt close to him the more time they spent together. It was probably the fact that she spend a lot of time inside his head and Adira started to consider him a close friend as time passed.
She greeted the people in the kitchen who were cleaning after dinner. With an apologetic smile, she took out a can of tuna and the sandwich bread out of the pantry, and the mayo from the fridge. When she closed the door, she knew who was on the other side.
He was back.
"Hi."
"Where were you?" Luca asked, concern in his face.
"The hospital," He took the bottle of mayo and place it on the counter, then he took her by the shoulders and looked for any injuries on her body. "I'm good. I was just talking with Dr. Shirtz."
"Why would you be going to the hospital to talk to him if you are not injured?"
Adira ignored his question and opened started to look for the can opener. People moved it too much it was hard to keep track of it, maybe she should get one for herself.
"Adira," Luca reminded her of his presence.
"It's nothing to worry about."
Adira knew Luca did not believe her but she was thankful he did not pressure her for an answer, instead, he grabbed her by the hips and placed her on to of the cold counter.
"Nora told me you were out all day. Let me make you something better than just a tuna sandwich."
She felt weirdly comfortable with him there. They were mates, yes, but they barely spend time together since those firsts few days after they met. Now, almost two months later, they had only seen each other about once or twice every week.
"Where did you go this time?" Adira decided to ask him. Now that she was stuck inside the pack thanks to him, she would try to make know her point of view.
"We found leads for an underground camp. Isabella told us it was just a simple cave but it's actually an entrance to an underground cave. We found cans of food, water, clothes, money, and other stuff in there. It's the perfect hiding place for their materials."
Luca moved around the kitchen, taking out tortillas, tomatoes, and other items and placing them next to Adira. The people who had been cleaning left the kitchen after reminding them to clean after themselves.
"And?"
"We left it untouched."
"What the fuck? Why?"
Luca started to cook the ingredients for a salsa before answering. "Because we don't want Miles to know we found the place. We left people watching over the place who will monitor it, see who enters the place, and hopefully, identify if Miles is one of those."
"What makes you think he is not aware that you've been after his safe camps? Maybe he already knows that that place is compromised, and you will not see him show his face anywhere near the cave."
"I am aware of that. I know he's a smart man and has probably figured out he was betrayed by Isabella and the rest," he blended everything before continuing. "However, I am just making sure everything is covered before we continue looking. What if this cave is their only storage unit? What if there are more?" he continued with the tortillas, rolling them with leftover shredded chicken before throwing them in the pan. "Cutting off their supplies is the easiest way to weaken them, Adira."
"I could find more storage places, you know."
"No," he cut her off. "I can too, there is no need to put you in danger."
She crossed her arms over her chest, straightening her back. "Luca, we spoke about this before. I am a warrior of this pack and I have a responsibility to it. I am its best tracker, even better than you," She could hear the oil cooking the tortillas. Adira watched him make flautas for her, his back to her. "Luca," she called him. "Stop this."
He placed the food next to her and moved one of the stools from the kitchen island to where she was. He then lifted her up and sat her on the stool.
"I'm scared," he finally said. "It took me a while to come to terms with it but I can tell I am scared."
"Of what?" she was mad with him, but she was really trying to understand him and have a good conversation with him.
Nora always said communication was key to a good relationship. Well, this was her trying to communicate with him.
"I tried talking to my mother the week after I met you," he leaned on the counter, watching her as she took a bite out of the flauta. They were delicious. "She's… ignoring me."
"…Oooh-kay? What does that have to do with this?"
He let out a prolonged sigh. He sounded tired.
"She never ignores me whenever I want to talk to her, even when she is mad at me, she never cuts off the link we share. I tried multiple times but the only thing I could get out of her was an 'I should not get involved until you fix this for her.' And I don't know how to interpret that."
"All this time, you've been afraid of mating with me?"
"What? No!" he pulled away from the counter, passing a hand over his white hair… he needed a haircut again soon. "I just think she meant that you are in danger somehow and that we cannot mate until it is fixed."
Adira wanted to laugh but she kept it to herself. She found him adorable.
"You are overthinking it," when he started to argue, she cut him off with one hand. "She's giving you privacy, you pighead."
"She said I need to fix it. I'm trying to keep you safe."
"Yeah, she said you need to 'fix this for her.' The only thing that I need to be done is you trying to stop me from my duties as a warrior. She is not getting involved in this relationship, that's what she meant."
"Love, I've known my mother for centuries. I think I know what she means. "
Adira ignored the jump her stomach gave when he called her love. "And I've known women for all my life."
Well, that argument had no power with him. Luca was centuries old and she was aware that he had had his share of relationships. Technically, he knew women for way longer than her.
But as far as she could tell, he did not understand them.
"By the way, these are amazing," she pointed at the plate where there was half of a flauta left. "But really, Luca. I am not going to stay behind anymore."
She finished her food and washed the plate, then she helped Luca clean the kitchen and the ingredients he had used. Adira left the kitchen, leaving him behind but he followed her to her room. She did not stop him, after all, she had missed him and enjoyed his company.
She grabbed her night clothes, which consisted of a white tank top and grey shorts. Aware that Luca was watching her from the door, she took her shirt off and turned her back to him. Slowly, Adira unhooked her bralette and threw it on the floor next to her.
Before she could put the tank top on, she felt Luca's fingers on her lower back, tracing her spine to her neck. She stopped moving, enjoying the sensation of his skin against hers. He got closer, and Adira rested her head on his chest, allowing him to touch her bare abdomen.
His breathing fastened, and her nipples hardened as he ran his hand up to the valley between her breasts.
"You are beautiful," he whispered to her ear.
Adira was still a little upset at him, but her instincts were taking over. She wanted this man, she wanted to mate with him. She wanted him to kiss her.
He turned her around, making her nipples rub against his thin shirt. A primal desire started to build up.
She took the bottom of the shirt and pulled it up, over his head. Helping her, he took the shirt off and threw it somewhere in the room.
He leaned down and placed his hands on each side of her face. Adira pulled him down to her, her lips parting as they got closer to his.
Someone knocked at the door, taking them out of their trance.
"Luca?" a woman's voice came from the other side. "Alpha wants to talk to you."
That was it. She was committing murder today.
Who dared to call him by his name so casually? Usually, everyone called him Sir or Son of the Moon Goddess.
He went to open the door but she reached the handle first and opened the door, letting the person on the other side see what they had just interrupted.
The woman on the other side was Rose. And she looked embarrassed when the first thing that came into view was Adira's hardened nipples.
"What?"
Rose recovered quickly, looking over at Luca who was looking for something to cover his mate with.
"Alpha wants to talk to him. I did not think I would interrupt… anything."
"Well, you did."
Finding nothing quick enough, Luca placed his hand over her chest, covering her and pulling her against his chest.
"Thanks, Rose. I'll be there soon."
He closed the door and pulled Adira to the center of the room. She was fuming.
They were about to kiss, for fuck's sake!
"Why are you opening the door like that?"
"So you are on first name basis with Rose?" she asked him.
"Well, I don't like to be called all those other names. I asked them to call me by my name, which she did," He turned around and started to look for his shirt. "I'll be back in a bit."
She took her tank top from the bed and put it on. "I'm coming with."
It was obvious he wanted to protest, instead, he bit his lips and shook his head. Arguing was futile.
They made they way to Alexander's office. Rose, Caleb, Dalia, and Nora were already there, listening to Alexander as he went over what they had found.
"Ah, Luca. Thanks for coming so quick."
"Yeah," Adira replied instead of him.
"What's going on?" Luca asked instead.
"We were going over the reports and found leads on the origin on the Meat."
They went over details about how Dalia had kept tags on a few people who managed the meat along with Miles. She explained the order on how Miles got his hands on the meat, or at least what she suspected.
"But we won't be able to tell for sure unless we have someone inside."
"Well, it'd been great if one of you had stayed there with him," Rose commented.
"Yeah, he never told us about the meat. What we know is what we were able to gather from his men."
"And who are these men?" Adira asked her.
"Some are dead already. After we left, he got… very angry and paranoid. He killed half of those, all people we'd had some kind of relationship with," something dark crossed her face as she explained this. "But I know one of the new people, he's in charge of bringing the meat to the main camp."
Adira understood what kind of relationship she meant.
"And can we trust this man?" Alexander asked.
"Nope. But he's our best bet."
"Okay, what do you need us to do?" Luca asked Dalia.
"I need to talk to him, personally. So, if you can lure him to a safe spot next time he leaves the main camp that would be great."
"I can help you with that," said Adira.
"No," Luca interrupted her. "This is dangerous, love. You won't be bait."
"I'm not asking you, Luca."
Everyone looked between the two of them, they barely spend time together and when they did, it was… uncomfortable for everyone else.
"Maybe if we can make it look like you are injured or something…," Dalia offered. "Maybe he'll follow you."
"I think that's a great idea. Adira is a great warrior; she can handle him."
"I can bring him without having to set her as bait," said an angry Luca.
"He'd sense you for sure. They travel alone so they stay away from trouble. A weak injured female would definitely call for his attention. We don't need him running away," Dalia explained.
Seeing that there was no winning for Luca, Adira crossed her arms over her chest and smiled at Luca, happy.
"Fine."