Hidden
Chapter 6

As her mother continued to dish up the dinner Alaya sat in silence, the urge to follow her father and Fen still pestering at her, refusing to let her be. She kept glancing behind her, out the door, despite knowing she would hear them long before they reached that point. She felt as Alexa sat beside her, hair tumbling and hiding her face again.

"How have you been?" Her sister asked under the veil of hair and Alaya reached over and squeezed her hand as a silent reassurance.

"Fine, I'm fine," she whispered, hoping that would be enough. She silently berated herself for staying away from her family, from her home when it had been for no reason. They still loved her like they had always done, her status changing nothing for them. It made her heart swell with love for them, knowing their love for her was as steadfast as her own.

Dinner continued as everyone else took their seats and the conversation flowed with ease. Alaya loved hearing about Alana's newest painting and Alaya felt like she could see it before her very eyes. Alexa mumbled through like usual but the odd smile peeked out from behind her hair and Alaya smiled along with her. An hour passed and it felt like any other day, no past haunting her like before. She was just Alaya here.

As Alexa and Alana started to wash up like they did every night, Alaya wondered over to the window to look out at the night sky. The silver moon shone down strongly, lighting up the street before her. The sound of laughter echoed behind her but it felt muffled as her eyes seemed drawn to something beyond her gaze. It was as if the pull from earlier was visible now, telling her which way it needed her to go. For a split second her heart bottomed out, what if this was a warning? What if her father was in danger and this was instinct telling her to find him? If she ignored this and she was right, Alaya would never forgive herself. And it had been over an hour since their departure. A few lost tourists or lone wolves shouldn't give the two of them cause for concern but her father had looked worried when he had left her. Maybe he sensed what she did too?

Alaya turned from the window and set off towards the front door. Her mother saw her sudden need for departure and bridged the gap within a moment, holding her firmly in the doorway.

"Alaya you must stay here tonight. Your father wouldn't want you wondering the community this late, especially alone," her mother insisted and for the first time Alaya heard worry in her tone. She didn't know whether it was because of what she was or just a mother's fear for her child but Alaya was annoyed all the same.

"I will come back mother but I need to find father first. I need to," she urged as she shrugged out of her mothers hold. Alaya felt as she released her grip and she backed away before her mother could change her mind.

"Your father instructed you to stay here did he not?" her mother asked, knowing the answer already. Alaya smiled as she answered, turning back towards the front door.

"And since when do I do as instructed?"

The moment Alaya felt the wind on her face, the hairs on her neck bristled from more than just the cold. Her eyes focused in the darkness and her feet propelled her forward as if on their own accord. It was as though her body knew something her mind did not, guiding her towards whoever or whatever waited in the darkness for her.

The buildings around her lay dormant as if no one lived there at all, silence echoing all around her. Alaya knew that wasn't the case, most would be simply asleep or out for a run. Her reassurance didn't silence the voice in her head that told her there might be another reason entirely.

Her ears picked up her father's commanding tone well before her eyes caught sight of him. He was at the edge of the compound, Fen in front of him with what looked like two others by his feet and they did not look welcome. Or like tourists. She couldn't quite make out who they were because her father's form obscurred all that the darkness did not. Her wolf paced inside of her urging her to go closer, to see who this person was. She tried to push her down, calm her so she could concentrate but her wolf pushed back harder urging her feet to move. As her inner battle raged she neglected to focus on the one that was unfolding right in front of her as she completely missed when four suddenly became three.

"This is not waiting patiently at your house Alaya," Fen's voice pulled her out of her head for a moment as he gave her something to anchor to. She turned towards his voice then back at where her father stood, his disapproving gaze piercing through the darkness towards her. She turned back towards Fen for a moment trying to focus whilst her wolf still paced, demanding her to carry on towards her father and the strangers.

"Sorry, I um, I needed to make sure you, my father, that you were ok," she mumbled, barely coherently. Her mind felt fractured as the need to get to this stranger became overwhelming. She heard as her father's commanding tone and the voice of another seemed to pierce through the disorder in her mind, pulling her attention back towards them.

"I said remain," his tone felt like bricks through the air, even Alaya sensed the weight behind it.

"Noah. Noah what are you doing? Do as he says."

A voice, a woman's voice that Alaya wasn't familiar with, followed after her father's. It pleaded to someone to follow her father's command. But not even an Alpha had the strength to just defy him regardless? That realisation silenced her wolf for a moment, long enough for Alaya to focus on what was happening mere footsteps in front of her.

As Alaya looked up and her mind and wolf quieted, she saw a figure in the darkness. He seemed to come towards her but stopped as the woman's pleas finally appeared to reach him. He turned towards her and his steps faltered as if the pressure to obey had become too much. He must be an incredibly strong Alpha to have even risen in her father's presence. Alaya's wolf became restless again as the strangers effort to bridge the gap between them had ceased and she couldn't take it anymore. She must meet these strangers before she went insane from her wolf's incessant pacing. She was acting as if their body was on fire and her wolf was trying to somehow escape it.

Once Alaya's footsteps continued there was no stopping her, she made her way to her father within a heartbeat and she didn't miss Fen's steps beside her as they mirrored her own. She took note briefly of the woman crouched down next to the man who had tried to reach her moments before. Her hair was dark, pitch black in fact, as if made of living shadows. It seemed to ruffle in the breeze as if it was breathing, the motion mesmerizing her for a moment. Her wolf quieted even more being this close. Alaya felt as she relaxed and breathed softly instead of pushing the boundaries of her mind, desperate for a way out. It allowed her to refocus and her gaze landed on the man that seemed half crouched, half stood as if undecided just how much he was willing to give to her father. His hair was the same as the woman's but shorter. It fell messily about his head, not quite long enough for a ponytail but long enough to tuck behind his ears. She knew he felt her eyes upon him and she urged him to meet her gaze and he obliged, as if he heard the thought like words had actually been spoken. Alaya couldn't contain the gasp as their eyes connected, beautiful pools of silver colliding with her own like the moon reflecting off a lake. Her wolf rose up once again, pushing and pacing insisting she was not close enough to him. Alaya tried to quieten her but her wolf just grew louder and more impatient.

"I can't think!" Alaya screamed out loud, needing an outlet for the frustration inside of her. She just wished her wolf would be silent long enough for her to catch her breath and filter through exactly what was happening. She screwed her eyes shut, breaking away from his gaze but that only made her wolf go insane. She pushed and clawed at the cage that kept her inside Alaya, at the veil that separated them both.

"Luna?" His voice cut through it all, like a knife through flesh. She opened her eyes again finding his instantly. Alaya didn't know when she moved towards him or how she moved but with her next breath she was next to him. He rose up to meet her and the moment his hand touched her cheek her wolf stopped it's attack. She lay down and curled up like a new born pup, her mission however confusing had been completed.

Alaya looked at the man that was in front of her. He stood taller than her so she had to tip her chin up slightly to take him all in. He was handsome but not overly so, a slight rugged look that normally told Alaya trouble was close by and to steer clear. His silver eyes captivated her, she had never seen others with eyes like her own, not even other Omegas. Maybe that's what they were, Omegas like her? But then that wouldn't explain this man's ability to nearly defy her father. Her eyes wondered lower, taking in his broad shoulders that were covered tightly in a grey t-shirt with some sort of motif scrawled across the front in red. Black jeans clung to his hips and they were actually where they were meant to be, not halfway down with boxers on show like most of the men, no boys, around here. As her eyes found his once more she didn't miss the playful glint in his and the smile on his lips at her study of him. He enjoyed having her eyes on him, she could tell.

"I suggest you take your hands off my daughter before I remove them completely," her father's command trickled through the air and over her body. She felt as Noah's hand lingered for just a moment before dropping it and taking a step back. Alaya felt the shift in her wolf as he did so, tension filling her body for the onslaught that was to come before she decided to ensure it didn't. She moved towards him once more and took his hand, it felt as natural as breathing and she broke away from his gaze to meet her father's.

"Please father. My wolf demands it," she begged and felt as Noah's hand tightened around her own.

"Alaya you shouldn't even be here. He isn't safe," Fen's words pulled at her and she felt his anger in the last few words. She realised she didn't know who this stranger was or what he wanted but she knew one thing with every fibre of her body.

This was her mate.

Her true mate.

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