The Code Of The Alpha

I could be one stubborn bitch–but, apparently, so could Luca. After packing all my things back into my suitcase and duffle bag, moved myself back upstairs to the spare bedroom next to the loft. I had decided that it was probably best to sleep separately since we now had to wait four weeks to have sex.

During the four days after our argument, I didn’t see Luca once. He was gone when I woke and when I went to sleep.

The only evidence he’d been in the house were the dishes he’d leave in the sink after he drank his morning coffee or ate a late dinner. I begrudgingly washed them along with mine.

Otherwise, my routine stayed consistent.

I met with Fallon in the mornings, made myself lunch after showering, and painted or read during the afternoons. I was miserable and completely bored out of my mind. All I could do was think, think, and then think some more.

The only thing on my mind for those four days was Luca; how much his stubbornness annoyed me, how much I couldn’t stand him for causing me to lose my job, and how much I missed him.

I wanted to punch his perfect face for making me think about him so much-and with how much I was training with Fallon, knew I could make it hurt.

I wanted-no, needed-something else do, something to get me out of my head. By the fourth afternoon, the thought of painting made me sick. I decided to clean with what supplies I could find, even going so far as to wash mine and Luca’s sheets.

On the fifth day, however, Fallon wasn’t able to meet so I slept in a bit.

I was woken up that morning by the sound of the door opening and slamming shut followed by my name being called.

“Caroliiilinee…”

Who is that?

Dragging myself out of bed, I put on my sweatpants and began to walk down the stairs, following the high-pitched voice.

“Oh, Caaarooliiiinnnne!”

I rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs to see someone standing in the kitchen holding several boxes that covered their face.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

“Bates?” I guessed.

He turned to the side so I could see his face.

“The very one.”

Bates placed the boxes down on the floor.

“Those came for you today,” he said.

I walked closer to see they were from Mady. Pulling a knife from a kitchen drawer, I first opened the box on top. My clothes were neatly folded inside, along with a note.

“Still waiting on my picture,” was all it read.

I smiled before putting the note back inside the box.

“Who is it from?” Bates asked.

“My roommate, Mady.”

Bates hummed.

“What’s inside the boxes?” He asked, peeking inside.

“Just a few of my clothes.”

“A few?” He asked, eyeing the handful of boxes around us.

Bates reached inside another box that I had just cut open and pulled out a bright purple pair of panties.

“Thank God I didn’t let security go through these before they handed them off to me,” he said as I yanked the panties from him.

“Luca will love those,” Bates commented.

“Well… not until after you’re inducted, at least.”

I glared at him.

“Strike a nerve?” He asked, laughing.

I sighed and closed the box.

“It’s okay. It struck one with Luca too,” Bates continued.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Neither did he.”

I walked around him to the refrigerator, grabbing almond milk to make cereal with.

“Cereal?” I offered.

“With almond milk? No, thanks.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled out the carton of regular milk also.

“Mini-Wheats,” he told me, “and they better be chocolate.”

“You’re a child,” I said, walking into the pantry.

As if Luca had them there especially for Bates, I grabbed the unopened box of chocolate Mini-Wheats from the shelf, along with my cereal.

“How far you can go before it’s considered consummation?”

Bates pondered aloud.

“Probably not far,” I muttered, placing the box of Mini-Wheats on the table next to him.

“Do I not get a bowl or spoon?” he asked.

“It’s Get-it-Yourself Day.”

Bates huffed before getting off the stool and pulling open the utensil drawer.

“I see the abstinence thing has adversely affected your mood,” he noted.

“Your Alpha has adversely affected my mood,” I corrected him.

“That’s right, because he’s not your Alpha yet.”

Bates snickered when he saw my unamused stare.

I poured my cereal into a bowl and doused it with almond milk before taking a seat next to Bates at the counter.

“He’s so moody,” I explained.

“We argued about this four days ago and I haven’t seen him since.”

Bates laughed awkwardly.

“Luca’s probably not mad at you, he’s just a busy guy,” he tried to explain.

My eyebrows furrowed.

“Too busy to see his mate who is living in his house?” I asked.

He shrugged.

“Maybe.”

An awkward silence washed over us as I chewed my cereal slowly, watching Bates stare at his bowl in thought.

“I think Luca deserves some credit,” he said suddenly.

I raised an eyebrow.

“He’s going through more than he’ll let on,” Bates explained.

I put my spoon down.

“Like what?”

The side door opened suddenly, startling both Bates and myself. Luca walked through the door and closed it behind him, his attention immediately drawn to where Bates and I were sitting at the countertop.

“What are you doing here?” He asked Bates.

Bates held up his spoon.

“Eating cereal.”

Luca raised an eyebrow and Bates sighed, pointing towards the boxes.

“I brought those over.”

“And you just thought you’d stay for breakfast?” Luca asked sternly.

Someone’s still in a mood.

“I offered breakfast to him,” I interjected.

“I appreciated the company.”

The last part was a petty jab in Luca’s direction and the air grew thick with tension after I’d delivered it.

It wasn’t a lie, though. Bates was the only one I’d had contact with besides Fallon and I’d hardly count someone screaming at you to duck and dodge as a pleasant interaction.

“What are these?” Luca asked, walking over to the packages.

“They’re my clothes,” I informed him.

“They came this morning?” He asked Bates, ignoring me.

Bates nodded awkwardly, sensing he was in the center of tension.

“You had them run through security before you brought them over, correct?” Luca asked him.

“No, I figured you wouldn’t want your mate’s lingerie being aired out by the guys on Lincoln’s team.”

Luca rolled his eyes before beginning to walk away, into the living room and towards his bedroom.

“Well, we don’t have to wonder who’s on the lead float in the Bitch Parade, do we?” Bates asked under his breath.

I narrowly avoided spewing almond milk all over the countertop in front of me as I covered my mouth in an attempt to conceal my laughter.

“You’re gunna get me in more trouble,” Bates scolded, despite holding back laughter as well.

We both finished our cereal in silence before Bates decided it was best that he leave.

I couldn’t blame him.

The whole house was under a dark cloud. I wished I could escape it too.

Maybe I can, I thought.

Hopping off the stool, I walked over to a box I had previously opened. Inside were a few pairs of gym shorts and running tanks. As much as I dreaded the thought of running the steep Montana hills, it sounded more appealing than staying in the house all

day.

I began to grab each box and take them upstairs, placing them all in the guest bedroom to be unpacked later.

I quickly changed into a sports bra, tank top and nylon-spandex shorts. After pulling on my socks, I went downstairs to find my tennis shoes.

Luca was standing in the living room, looking out the glass doors into the backyard. He turned his attention to me as he heard me coming down the staircase.

“Where are you going?” He asked.

“Running.

“It’s about to rain.”

“I’m waterproof,” I said, picking my tennis shoes up from beside the side door.

Before Luca could say anything else, I walked outside and put my shoes on in the breezeway. As it turns out, I had been right: there was a dark cloud. And,

unfortunately, Luca had been right as well.

It certainly looked like it would rain.

Shrugging, I walked out onto the driveway and towards the gate that would lead me to the road. Remembering the roads being much flatter on the other side of the pack land where the meeting house was, I decided to run in that direction.

Hopefully I can get there and back in time before it falls a flood, I thought. I walked about half a mile before starting with a slow jog.

Eventually, I paid less attention to the dying ache of soreness in my legs and more to the scenery around me. Houses of varying sizes were scattered in between trees, each of them resembling those I remember seeing in higher-end snobbish neighborhoods back home.

I reminisced about the times when Mady and I would drive through those neighborhoods while we were in high school, picking out our favorites and daydreaming about what it would be like to live in houses like those.

After I chose not to go to medical school, it was a dream I thought that I had given up.