CHAPTER TWO
A Bad Name
Chris and I had grown up together, and we'd also been doing these walks home together as far as I could remember
He had become an important part of my routine and an important part of my life, so much so that I couldn't see any version of the future without him in it.
Nana Sam, my guardian angel from the other side of town, had dropped me off with his family when I was just a baby. In her words, I'd '... stand a better chance by being with a stable family'. And so I did.
Although we grew up together, we had never thought of or treated each other like siblings. We were more like best friends who stayed in the same house and saw each other every single day. This is why I never thought of it as weird when I started noticing Chris as the man that he was, about a year ago.
He'd suddenly grown taller, and his broad shoulders sat perfectly on his lean frame. His voice had also developed into a rich, dark tone that made everything that came out of his mouth seem to be full of wisdom. His olive skin that shone brightly with health contrasted with his rich, black hair; it all worked together to compliment his best features: his perfect set of teeth, his intimidating height, and his dreamy, green eyes.
Likewise, his musky scent was so rich that I sometimes took big sniffs of him when he wasn't looking, not minding the heady feeling and lightheadedness that was sure to come afterward.
Every Alpha wolf develops a unique scent as he edges into adulthood and Chris' own was a unique mix of earthy scents, musky, sandalwood, and just a hint of citrus that always left me a little disoriented whenever I'd breathe deeply around him.
In Ava, every 30 years an open competition is made available for young and capable Alphas, Betas, and Omegas who are interested in the position of the Ultima Alpha.
It didn’t come cheap though. The contenders are made to go through various rigorous tasks. Each task is made more difficult than the previous one and with each round of tasks and challenges, one participant will be dropped till there are only two contenders left, thus ushering in the last and perhaps the most difficult of all tasks- being chained to the bottom of the Thiaga to test the strength of their lungs.
He trained every day like his life depended on it because he'd always had the dream to take over from his Father, as the Ultima Alpha. Despite this, he was gentle with everybody and he made everyone feel seen. He made me feel seen.
'Do you know my favorite thing about you?', I'd asked on a particularly hot afternoon, while he trained.
'No, let's have it', he said.
'It is how you're surrounded by so much wealth and influence, yet you're so kind, even when you don't need to be'
'Why are we having this conversation now, Nina? I'm busy'
'Nothing, I just thought you should know'
After a moment, I asked, 'So, what if you don't win? What if all this training ends up being for nothing, what will you do?'.
'I don't… think… training every day for several years suddenly goes away.', he responded as he strained under the weights. 'If another contender beats me to it for the title, I'll simply become the most fearsome and deadliest killing machine that this community has ever known.'
He had already made up his mind about winning and that was that. No buts, no whats.
I didn't need Nana Sam's spiritual powers to know that I hadn't handled that one well. Most girls are known for their tact, but not me. Not Nina Thunderheart.
The atmosphere in the Nexus mansion was different when we arrived. I could tell from the doorway when we arrived. The servants stared at me a little longer than usual, there were more whispers than normal and there was just a general hush that fell on the house as soon as we walked into the foyer. The tension was tight enough to slice through.
I searched Chris' face to see if he could sense it too but even if he did, it didn't show. Even as a child, he never allowed his face or words to give away his thoughts. He never did.
'Welcome, we've been expecting you', Chief Cody said from the top of the stairs.
'Please join me in my study, we have something important to discuss. Both of you. He said with a final note before he turned around, heading towards his private study on the east wing of the first floor's hallway.
I'd always wondered what it would have been like if I had grown up with my family, instead. Would I have been a different wolf? More outspoken? More fierce?, and most importantly, would I have met Chris?
As soon as we walked into the study, Chris first before me, I knew that I had been right to worry. Already seated were the butler, Mr. Williams Lester, a beta wolf with blue eyes that had a knack for picking out errors immediately; one of the maids, Lisa Hagin, another beta wolf who refused to look up at me even though I beamed my brightest smile at her, and Chief Cody who had walked in only a few moments earlier.
Between them, on the table, lay the object of interest. It was a small, gold-plated chest that was made particularly to store priceless jewelry. I knew because I had some faded memories of Nana Sam owning some around her house, even though it'd been ages since I last went to see her. For some reason, the maid wouldn't take her eyes off the chest and as I lowered myself onto the plush study chairs, a sudden panic hit me.
'Okay, now that everyone's here', Chief Cody started, 'Lisa go ahead and tell them what you told me.'
Lisa began to stumble through her explanation, while still refusing to look at me. Something wasn't right.
'I woke up early today, bright and early like I usually do, and I reported to Mr Williams here for my duties. I take this job very seriously, so I do this every day because…'
'Lisa, get to the point!', Mr Williams cut in quickly.
'Right. I apologize. It was a new rotation, coming up ahead of the summer months, and Miss Nina's room was one of the new rooms on my rotation.'
At the mention of my name, my heart began racing as a plot began to form in my mind's eye. The issue was I couldn't quite grasp it yet. Thankfully, I shut my inner voice up in time to listen to Lisa's closing statement, the one that would cause my entire world to come crashing down…
'.... While cleaning, I stumped my left toe against a loose floor tile and it hurt.'
'I hadn't known that any of the floor tiles could come undone because of how impeccable the mansion is. At that moment, I guess I was more upset about the fact that her entire room might have to be redone, so I bent down to pick up the offending tile, and it revealed a gaping hole right underneath the tile.'
'Naturally, I reached in' she continued, 'because my first thoughts were rats, until I touched something hard and cold to touch. I grabbed it and withdrew my hand. The chest that's now on your table was what was in my hand.'