Safe and Sound

Alexandra

My heart hammered in my chest when an unexpected voice echoed through the room, “knock, knock.” There stood a tall girl with a mystical type of beauty that I had never seen before, she had tight burgundy curls and light lavender eyes. She gave me a bright smile, her enthusiasm nearly contagious.

She had a powerful aura about her, not quite Alpha but certainly neither an omega either. “I hope you’re feeling better Lu-“, she said confidently, only to be abruptly cut off by Beta Jax’s coughing fit.

We both looked at him as he stifled a breath, but his amber eyes were filled with urgency as they locked with the girl’s lavender ones. I cocked my head at Beta Jax, positive that I had seen that uncanny look between shifters before. He was undoubtedly mind linking her.

As a low ranking omega, I never had the privilege to experience the mind link in Shadow Pack. Alpha Axton had been concerned that we would use the blessing given to us from the Moon Goddess to stir up trouble in the pack. Considering we were weak and forbidden to shift, it also was unnecessary. I often picked up on the gaze that shifters gave each other like they were deep in thought.

“Lexi right? Hi! My name is Mia, the Alpha sent for me to bring you some clothes. I guessed your size, I hope they fit,” she said as she approached the side of the bed and handed me the pile of fabric. I ran my hands across the white fuzzy sweater, it was soft and unlike anything I had ever seen. Much less ever owned.

“The Alpha sent these for me?”, I asked, unaware of the surprise now painted on my face. Anna purred inside at the mention of Alpha Liam’s name. She seemed to become more active and lively whenever I thought about him. It was nice to feel her again. Although, I wondered if it was just because she sensed danger and was eager to protect me.

An instant burst of panic exploded inside of my chest, while the gesture was kind of Alpha Liam – it wasn’t my dress. “Where is my dress? Please give me my dress,” I begged, feeling water start to form behind my eyes. While the dress wasn’t important, what was hidden inside the pocket meant everything to me.

“You don’t like the clothes? Shit, I’m so sorry, I can fetch you something else,” she said with instant regret tinged in her voice.

A rush of smothering heat began to envelop my body and my chest became heavy, making it difficult to breathe, “No, they’re great. Thank you really. But please, where is my dress? Please, I really need my dress.” I begged, urgency probing from my words and making my voice nearly crack.

Worry lines formed across Beta Jax’s forehead, “Shh, Lexi. It’s okay.” he comforted, “No one except the pack doctor and the Alpha have been in here. Your dress is fine. I’ll bring it to you right now.”

He stood up from the end of the bed and moved towards the corner or the room, I hadn’t noticed my dress had been neatly folded on a navy blue regal chair. Adrenaline taking over, I jumped out from the covers and raced over, ripping the dress out of his hold. The two of them had been staring at me with an undeniable look of curiosity and intrigue but none of it mattered – what mattered was that the only thing I had left from Luna Fraya was safe.

My hand trembled as I slid it into the side pocket of the dress until I felt my body instantly relax when my fingers grazed against the emerald stone on the necklace. Thank the Moon Goddess, it was still here. It hadn’t been taken from me. I carefully drew it into the palm of my hand, relieved that neither of them had seen me pull it from the pocket of my dress.

Feeling the intense stares at me, I knew that I needed to acknowledge my sudden hysteria. I heaved a sigh and said softly, “thank you Beta, this dress is the only one I have. I have to take care of it. I guess I’m a little attached to it.” I clutched the emerald necklace tighter in my palm as if I was searching for strength within it.

Mia clapped her hands and squealed, her cotton candy perfume thrashing into me like a stone wall. “You know what that means?! Shopping! Forget pizza, we’ll grab something at the mall. Come on Jax, can we go?”, she said, displaying her wide doe eyes.

Beta Jax’s honey eyes were drowning in pity as they narrowed in on me. I was relieved when his eyes shifted to Mia, not giving me a second glance. “I’ll talk to the Alpha about taking our new friend to get some clothes tomorrow,” he said with a chuckle, “no chance am I missing pizza, my wolf will rip you to shreds if you or anyone else tries to stand in the way between me and that oozy goodness.”

Mia huffed and crossed her arms in agitation at Beta Jax’s threat, “we’ll see what my mate has to say about that Beta!”

Beta Jax chuckled and shook his head, “then don’t touch my pizza pup.”

Mia rolled her eyes at Beta Jax’s sarcasm and sat on the corner of the bed, “you heard the man - he wants pizza. Do you want me to go get you something else to wear?” I shook my head, “no, no. This is perfect, thank you Mia,” glancing around the room. As a shifter, I should be used to being naked around others but not having shifted in far too long has made me uneasy to be completely exposed around others.

Picking up on my hesitation, Beta Jax pointed towards a door that I hadn’t noticed on the other end of the room. “Washroom is in there, if you want to shower and change, feel free to use whatever you need. Towels are in the cabinet,” he shot out as he pulled his cellphone from his pocket.

I gathered the clothes that Mia had brought for me and headed towards the door, carefully locking it from the other side once I had entered the washroom. My eyes widened in amazement, the washroom was nearly the size of Alpha Axton’s entire bedroom. “Mmm, I wonder what Alpha Liam’s bedroom looks like,” Anna murmured. I gasped, Anna retreated back into hiding as fast as she had come out.

I slipped the silk nightgown off my body and turned the knob in the shower until water began to shoot from all sides. The shower had three shower heads, one each on both sides and a giant one in the middle. Stepping under the water, I couldn’t help but increase the temperature, feeling soothed as the steaming hot water spilled against my skin.

I searched in the shower for a bar of soap to wash my hair with but instead felt my eyes light up in excitement when I found a bottle of shampoo as well. I hesitated, nervous that maybe this isn’t what Beta Jax meant. Why would he want a rogue being treated to his shampoo? “I like Beta Jax. Beta Jax said to feel free and use whatever we want and I want to smell nice for Alpha Liam,” a small voice echoed in my head. I shrieked, dropping the shampoo bottle all over the shower floor. “Anna! Please don’t leave me, I need you,” I protested.

Hard knocks banged against the washroom door, “Lexi? Are you alright?”, Beta Jax called out.

“Yeah, sorry! Be out in a minute”, I yelled back.