Filed To Story: Falling for the Alpha As a Student Novel
Not to mention caviar which I had never tried before and I didn’t particularly like, even before my father told me what it was.
Everything was set up at a large buffet table so we could easily help ourselves to what we wanted.
“The steak was hunted this morning,”
Alpha Jonathan explained to some of his guests. “My warriors brought back the biggest bison during their hunt. So, it’s very fresh. Enjoy it!”
Everybody cooed at that news; my mouth was watering as I piled food onto my plate. I wondered if I could get a to-go plate so I could bring some food back to Enzo.
As we sat around the table and ate our food, the conversation felt almost normal. Everything and everybody flowed together naturally. Of course, my mother is the queen of conversations. She had almost everybody laughing at her antics and my father looked at her with such love and admiration that it made my heartbeat quickly in my chest.
I missed Enzo so much. I know I haven’t been away from him for long, but being surrounded by all this love, new and old, made me miss my mate. I wished more than anything that he could be here with me, but Alpha Jonathan couldn’t know that we are mates… at least not right now.
“When do I get to move into the packhouse?”
Bri asked excitedly.
“I’m moving you in as soon as we get back,”
Ethan said, smiling down at her.
Her face reddened.
“That soon?”
She asked, her eyes wide.
“I’ll help you get settled in, Bri,”
I assured her. “You won’t be alone.”
She looked relieved to hear that and gave me a faint smile.
“Okay, thank you,”
she breathed as she continued to eat.
Rachel cleared her throat and wiped her face with her napkin before placing it on the table. She looked uneasy. She sat nearby me, so I was able to see her easily. Her face was incredibly pale, and she looked much thinner than she had a few days ago. She also had dark circles under her eyes, so I knew she hadn’t been sleeping.
“I am feeling unwell,”
she announced, glancing at her father and then at Alpha Jonathan. “Alpha, would it be all right if I excused myself?”
Alpha Jonatha raised his brows for a moment as he assessed her face. Raymond placed a hand on her forehead to see if she had a fever.
I noticed that Rachel flinched when he raised his hand to her though and that made my heart drop. Has he been hurting her again?
I suddenly felt angry, and I needed to fight to keep Val under control. She would rip Raymond’s throat out with her teeth in a heartbeat.
“She’s burning up,”
Raymond announced a fake worry in his tone. I had to stifle an eye roll; I really hoped that no one else was falling for his bullshit.
Alpha Jonathan finally nodded.
“You can be excused. Get some sleep,”
he instructed.
She smiled faintly at him and stood to her feet. But before she left, her eyes shifted to me and they held my eyes for a moment longer. My heart tugged and I knew something had to have been seriously wrong.
I made a mental note to check on her myself later. Maybe we can finally talk once we are alone, and her father isn’t lurking around.
She left the dining hall and everyone resumed their conversations as if nothing had happened. Rachel’s spot was empty now and I couldn’t help but stare at it sadly. It was like a missing tooth.
Once dinner concluded and everybody was stuffed out of their minds, the packhouse staff returned and cleared the table. I offered to help, but they refused to allow me to lift a finger.
Alpha Jonathan stood to his feet, holding a freshly filled wine glass in the air.
“I hope you all enjoyed the meal,”
Alpha Jonathan said loudly and proudly. Everybody clapped and cheered for him. “I’m glad,”
he said, smiling widely. “I’m sorry that my daughter Sarah couldn’t be here. But she wasn’t feeling well herself. However, I’d like to take a moment to congratulate one of the students at my school, Lila, for her victory of becoming the president of the student committee,”
he said, raising his glass high in the air.
Everybody, including my parents, mimicked his moves. They all looked at me proudly and I felt my face warming from the attention.
“You won fair and square against my daughter,”
Jonatha continued, staring daggers into me. “it was a fair fight on both parties.”
I suddenly understood what he was doing. He was trying to make it look like Sarah did nothing wrong and that I won fairly. I wanted to roll my eyes, but I was starting to like Sarah, and not because she was Brody’s mate. Okay… maybe that was part of it. But not the whole reason; I was starting to understand her a little better and I was understanding that her relationship with her father was estranged.
I think she was more misunderstood than anything.
So, I decided not to say anything to out her for cheating.
“So, congratulations Lila,”
he said, smiling broadly.
Everybody murmured their congratulations to me and I smiled at them in return, feeling very uncomfortable.
“And congratulations to our newest mated couple,”
Alpha Jonatha added, turning to Bri and Ethan. “May you live a happy life for many moons.”
After another round of congratulations, everybody drank their wine.
This concluded dinner, but everybody went into the living room to mingle before dessert and coffee.
I, on the other hand, wanted to make sure that Rachel was okay. So, I politely excused myself and began to head toward the stairs. At first, Becca wanted to come with me, but I told her I wanted to speak with Rachel alone first and that she could join us in a little bit or see her later if she wanted.
Becca finally agreed to let me go alone.
I wanted Rachel to talk to me… like really talk to me. I don’t think she would if I came to her with others.
I went down various hallways, following her florescent scent. She always smelled like lavender and cherry blossoms. I think it was her lotion and perfume mainly, but she also had a particular scent that was hard for me to put into words.
But I finally found the door that her scent was potent in, and I knocked on it. At first, she didn’t respond, so I knocked again, louder.
“Come in,”
her raspy voice rang from the inside.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and opened the door, stepping inside of the guest room she made her own.
I was surprised that she wasn’t in bed. She was facing the window, gazing down into the yard. I wished I could see her face, so I knew what she was thinking. But she was quiet, pondering.
“Rachel?”
I asked, closing the door behind me. ‘Is everything okay?”
She didn’t answer at first so tried again.
“Rachel…”
“You shouldn’t have come here,”
she said quickly, and I could tell she’s been crying.
“Why?”
I asked, furrowing my brows together. “What’s going on, Rachel?”
“I’m not safe…”
she whispered.
I still didn’t understand what she meant.
“Are you in danger?”
I asked. “I can get my father and—”
“No!”