CHAPTER 52: SLOUCHING
CHAPTER 52: SLOUCHING
Axel’s POV
From the way Alana’s right ear twitched from behind when I caught sight of her, I knew that she could already sense—or rather hear— my presence, thanks to her werewolf abilities coming back to her.
One part of me was happy at her recent development because it solved most of the challenges she had been facing for a while in her life, but as for the other part of me, not so much because now there’d be no sneaking up on her.
Her sleek and thick auburn hair shone in the living room light as she sprawled on the couch uninterested in the turned-on TV. Her slender neck which could be seen from behind the chair remained in its position until I was at eye’s range and she slowly turned her head to me.
I grimaced. “You’re slouching, Alana.”
Her nonetheless beautiful face was wrinkled with frown lines, and her lazy posture told me something was wrong.
“It’s nothing.”
I moved her head away from the throw pillow, sat in its place, and settled her head on my lap.
“It is because you’ve been sitting here and thinking to yourself. Tell me what is bothering you. Don’t say nothing again,” I demanded.
“Fine,” she waved a hand in defeat. “I’m bored.”
“What?” I frowned.
“I went by the nursery and Morey and the others had everything covered. They didn’t need any extra hands so I didn’t have any reasons to stay. Coral has been with her parents for a bit, and Lexi is on a date with Tyler today. You’ve been holed up in your office since we got back which is understandable, you put off a lot of work to make the trip with me. The bottom line is that I have no one to talk to, so there's that.” She finished her mini-speech in a state of breathlessness.
“We talked about opening another nursery to reduce the workload for Morey and give you your own space to take care of the kids. I can get behind that for you.”
Alana had picked up interest in a few things over the months. Aside from reading till she fell asleep face down in the pages of a book, she loved being around the pack pups. I had suggested opening a nursery for her but she blatantly refused every time I mentioned it, just as I was expecting her to do now.”
“No. That would mean dividing the pups and probably separating them from their friends. Also, I don’t want any of the moms to feel obligated to bring their pups to me. It wouldn’t feel right. Morey
has put in a lot of work to build the pack nursery. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I just came and stole a part of her life’s work from her.”
I nodded in understanding. “Alright. Get dressed then.”
“Where are we going?”
“To visit a neighboring pack.”
Her eyes shot wide and she sat upright in disbelief to face me. “Really?”
I nodded, feeling my heart doing a little tumble when she acted all dramatic like someone who just had a brain freeze.
“No, I can’t ask that of you. You have work to do. I’ll go bake some cookies or something.”
I shook my head. How could I go back on my word when she got all excited at the mention of it? “Be ready in ten minutes, Alana.”
Her eyebrows almost shot past her hairline. “I don’t know what to pack. How long will we be gone for? Oh, goddess. This is a lot.”NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.
A silent chuckle shook my chest at the sight of her.
“Just dress up. Casual. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“You’re so sweet,” she threw her soft and delicate hands around my neck and buried her head in my crook, planting kisses on me. “Thank you.”
The little gesture sent a cool breeze blowing through my spine and causing a twitch in my pants. The scent of her and her lustrous hair filled my nostrils, I had the urge to bite down on her.
“Ten minutes,” I managed to hide the smile and the arousal in my voice as I muttered the words.
She cupped her cheeks in her face and ran up the stairs to get ready and my heart melted.
As she had said, I had work to do, most of which I had been putting off for a while but there was no way I could go back to work with Alana in a mood.
After a quick call to Alpha Ada and one to Tyler telling him that Alana and I were going to be away for the rest of the day, I packed up and set the car up with bottles of water, fruits, sandwiches, and more snacks.
Alana was down just in time for us to leave and well, did she make me want to eat her for lunch and dinner in such casual outfits?
All she had on was a gray flannel that brought out her violet eyes and her thick hair, jeans, and a boot. That much did crazy things to me.
“Ready?”
She nodded with a wide smile that reached her eyes before practically running into my arms.
“I should put a leash on myself. I’m all eager and vibrant.”
I shook my head at her. “Be whatever you want, Alana, that’s what I like about you.”
If she was happy, you would see it in her actions because it was that much contagious. And when Alana was sad, it was like all the trees in the world started dying.
“So what neighboring pack are we going to and why? I was so thrilled at the mention of it, it only started to sink in when I was dressing.”
“Let’s leave the pack as a surprise. You won’t have to wait for too long though, it’s just a short drive
away. But since you’ve not been in many packs other than ours, I thought we could take a tour of a closeby pack together. See what they look like,” I laced her hand with mine as I led her to the car parked in the driveway.
“You thought of that in minutes?” She asked, emotion loaded in her voice.
I shrugged as I handed her a sandwich wrap and a bottle of water. “More like seconds, but yeah.”
“Axel,” she said with a sharp inhale.
“Come on, baby, we don’t have all day,” I kissed the corner of her lips and held the door open for her to go in.
With the satisfaction and joy I felt from seeing her all giddy, I would do anything for her. Let the trip begin.