The Alpha's Shatter Zone
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Dearest Chesca, Alpha of Steelheart,

Tears can be deceiving

Scars can tell a lie

Who will you believe

Before your loved ones die?

No signature.

She scrunched up the note and threw it in the trash. She tried ignoring it as she climbed under the covers, like she had with other lame warnings over the years. There were many out there who thought a solitary female alpha mourning her parents’ deaths would be an easy target to scare, but she’d proved them wrong. Not much had gotten under her skin and broken her strong exterior, but for some reason this one was different. For some reason, this note seemed linked to Kaiden and what was currently going on in her life. The last message, the one from his father claiming Kaiden was the runaway Alpha, echoed in her mind. Along with the words from Danella and her siblings.

They were opposite messages, and this most recent note could easily be referring to that.

Tears and scars…

But who knew about all that? Who would know the juxtaposed war in her mind of trusting Kaiden or not?

And who were they really threatening? Chesca had no loved ones left.

Unless…..

No.

She closed her eyes, rolled over, and forced herself to fall asleep.

She awoke with an icky feeling. A sense of dread curled in her stomach and a wave of cold washed over her. Chesca stumbled from her bed before a voice shattered across the mind-link.

Chescaaaaaaaaaa!!

She halted for a second then grabbed her robe. She’d never heard this voice before, at least not in her mind. It sounded different yet vaguely familiar.

She could sense a struggle going on down by the lake, the huge reservoirs where the river flowed into and provided the pack with enough water for everything. Maybe someone had fallen in? Maybe some foolish teenagers had been jumping off the cliff and injured themselves? Maybe a pup had wandered too close and was drowning?

But at this time of the morning, none of those options seemed likely. The pale light of dawn guided Chesca’s way as she hurried through the pack streets and across the field towards the lake. A flock of currawongs squawked and flew up from the stand of trees that surrounded the southern shore, and Chesca could see a small group of people standing near the edge. As she got closer, she heard laughter and one very angry voice. Kaiden. That was who she had heard through the link? Was that even possible?

She absently fingered the mark on her neck.

“I swear, that woman is going to pay!” Kaiden’s threat could be heard clear across the field and Chesca finally saw him through the group. He was sloshing his way up out of the lake, his hair flinging water everywhere as he shook his head madly. He was shirtless, wearing only boxers, and his glistening chest had her eyes riveted despite the glare that was now aimed at her. “As her alpha, I expect you dish out fair punishment!” He growled.

“Oh what, the big bad Alpha is scared of a little water?” Lexi strolled up and put her hands on her hips.

“A little water?” he looked like he was about to strangle Lexi, so Chesca stepped in.

“Woah there, easy boy. Tell me what happened.”

“I wake up to a faceful of water—No, make it a lungful! I thought I was drowning! All the while these goons are laughing on the edge—“ he leaned over and coughed violently.

Chesca looked up as it dawned on her. “You chucked him off the cliff?” she pinned Lexi what a stern gaze.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Didn’t know Pretty Boy was so afraid of heights,” she said sarcastically with an evil grin.

Kaiden growled and looked at the Head Guard with fury in his eyes. Chesca made a guess that his coughing was just fake, meant to earn their pity.

“She tried to kill me!” He pointed a shaky finger at Lexi.

Chesca fought the grin that tugged at her lips. “Oh, come on. Why would she want to do that?” she said with as much sarcasm as possible. It had been years since anyone had been pitched off the cliff into the lake as a practical joke, and that was only because Chesca had had an irrational fear of losing pack members when they had already lost so many. But as teenagers themselves, Chesca and her friends enjoyed many a day jumping off and rollicking in the cool waters of the lake.

“You need to pull your guards in and make sure this never happens again,” Kaiden walked unsteadily toward her and spat seaweed from his mouth.

It was too funny. Chesca giggled, covering her mouth with her hand, but the look on Kaiden’s face was too good. When Lexi winked at her, she burst out laughing. The hilarity of the situation was perfect, justice that had been served to the arrogant jerk who now looked back and forth between them with widening eyes.

“You replace this funny?!”

Tears were nearly steaming down Chesca’s face, and everyone around them cheered and clapped each other on the backs for a job well done. She could only imagine how they actually dragged Kaiden all the way out here without him waking up. He must be a heavy sleeper.

He was coming towards her now, his eyes blazing, and only one thought entered Chesca’s mind—That arrogant smirk was no way going to be on his face for long.

“I demand—!“

Chesca ran forward, wrapping her arms around his midsection, and pushing him back into the lake. He stumbled and grabbed at her, but she carried through the momentum and they both fell into the lake, the waters once more engulfing Kaiden.

He had been asking for it.

“Why, you little—“

She came up for air and heard Kaiden’s enraged voice just before he grabbed her around the waist and dragged her under again. They rolled and tumbled, her hands clawing at his shoulders when he held her under for too long. Was he trying to drown her or something?

She got an idea and gave up trying to reach the surface. Biting her lip, she swam away. Underwater, she was pretty good at holding her breath, but he didn’t know that. She watched his blurry figure turning around and around, and when she finally felt concern seep through the mate bond, she swam up behind him.

“Scared you may have drowned me?” She leapt up on his back, and they both fell forward once again. She laughed as he came up spluttering, an angry look once more in her eyes.

He panted and stared at her, a devilish grin spreading on her lips while he still scowled.

“Nice pj’s by the way,” his eyes roamed over her.

She glanced down and cringed. Her wet satin nightie was clinging to her body in all the wrong places, and she quickly gripped the edges of her robe and wrapped it over her chest.

“Yours aren’t so bad either,” she lifted an eyebrow at his Batman boxers. She tried not to look too hard at his broad chest and toned abs.

He just grinned, and stepped closer. She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down and didn’t have to guess much at what he was thinking, especially when his eyes darkened.

She lifted her hands and splashed water in his face, repeating the action over and over until he backed away.

“Truce! Truce!” he yelled and splashed back.

The laugh that rang out from her lips echoed over the lake, and she just threw a kiss over her shoulder before walking up unto the shore.

“Good job, Lex,” she gave her friend a high five.

“Yeah, well I needed something good for Fire Night.”

The girls giggled and watched Kaiden flop about in the lake’s edge. “The restrictions have been lifted from the cliff, everyone,” Chesca turned and addressed the group who were now all swimming and splashing in the water, the yellow sunlight lighting up the droplets like crystals. “You have my permission to chuck my mate off the edge as many times as you like.”

“What? No!” Kaiden got out of there as fast as possible, and she smirked at the way he ran back to the houses, his muscled back glistening in the sunshine. The way his muscles moved was truly a sight to behold, and she couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her lips as she made her own way up through the pack residence to her room.

The day passed slowly for the Alpha of SteelHeart. The pile of paperwork and maps of border lines blurred in front of her eyes as she tried to concentrate. Her beta and gamma were both discussing with her ideas for the recent land acquisition, and the best places for new settlements and agricultural use. Chesca wanted to make the most of the land that she’d paid a high price for. Sunlight filtered in through the window, illuminating the specks of dust that floated in the office. She wiped her finger along a bookshelf and frowned at the collection of dust.

“Let’s call it a day, guys. You can both run along,” she turned to where they were both bent over the desk, drawing diagrams and ideas on tracing paper.

“You sure?” Charles looked up.

“Dude, don’t question the Alpha. Let’s get outta here!” Roman slapped his hands on the table and propelled himself up. With a mischievous smile on his boyish smile, he hightailed it out of the office. Chesca had figured he was eager to spend the afternoon outdoors, instead of putting up with her dour mood. She should be happy that her plans were going ahead, but the thoughts of Kaiden and his constant presence that she could feel through the pack link just didn’t sit right in her stomach. He might not be currently taking over pack, but he was definitely taking over her mind.

And there was the threatening note that kept niggling in the back of her mind. She hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, and as Alpha she had the authority to make that call. She would ponder it on her own time, and remain vigilant in case anything further developed. These types of things never normally did, but then never before had a mate come stumbling into her territory and threaten to assume her domain.

Talk at dinner time was a minefield. At least, to Chesca anyway. The intriguing looks Kaiden kept throwing her had her constantly on her game, trying to decipher what he meant by them. His quickness and easy responses to the casual conversation that flowed around them also had her confused as most of his attention seemed to be on her. She tried not to read too much into his cryptic expressions, but instead focused on the scrumptious lentil dhal and salad on her plate that her cook, Destine, had prepared. At least, she assumed it was scrumptious. She barely tasted a bite.

Sleep wasn’t much better. As much as she hated to admit it, her wolf was pacing back and forth, whining and wondering why she wasn’t with her mate. Her mark on her neck was a tingling reminder of the bond that was stronger now and would keep pricking her with awareness until she did something about it.

Sometime beyond the middle of the night, sleep curled over her and extended welcoming arms filled with sweet dreams.

When morning sunlight crept its way down the pine trunks, Chesca awoke to the first bird’s cheery call. Normally she loved this time of morning, but a slight pebble of feeling had lodged itself in her brain and refused to budge. When she walked to her door, she realised someone was nearby, just on the other side. Feeling the heat and a faint throb of a heart beat was nothing compared to the sense in her mind. As Alpha, she could feel her pack presence, especially when someone was in trouble. She took a quick breath and assumed a fighting stance before swinging it open quickly.

A body tumbled backwards into her room.

Kaiden.

What in the world??!

She jumped back as he rolled and groaned, opening bleary eyes and peering up at her.

“What time is it?” he mumbled.

“What are you doing outside my door?” she asked with ice in her tone of voice, despite the early hour. Her heart raced at the surprise and even though she was a morning person, she didn’t appreciate her nerves being so tightly strung so early.

He stood up and reached for the doorframe to steady himself. His shirtless chest was mere inches from her, and Chesca had trouble raising her eyes to meet his.

“Umm…” he rubbed his eyes, and she forgot what she’d even asked him.

Oh that’s right. “Why were you sleeping out here, against my door?” she repeated and crossed her arms over her chest in case she accidently felt the urge to reach out and touch him.

His eyes met hers with a hint of sheepishness. “I kinda, uhh….thought it would be safer here…”

“Safer?” she raised her eyebrows and voice at his ridiculous and confusing answer.

“Yeah, I kinda didn’t want to be snatched from my bed again by your crazy border guard and her posse of mango heads. I figured if I’m closer to you, they wouldn’t try anything funny,” he yawned, stretching his arms and once more fogging Chesca’s mind with muddled emotions and foreign desires.

She blinked to clear her head. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard.”

“Hey, I just—”

She slammed the door in his face.