Rise of the Dark Alpha

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*****

~ SASHA ~

The day passed almost in a blur—sometimes time passing so slowly, Sasha wanted to growl like she'd heard Zev do it. Other times events seemed to whip past her before she could absorb them and understand.

Yhet had taken her back to her house and waited patiently while she cleaned and washed her hair, then dressed in fresh clothing. She was going to have to do some laundry pretty soon, and she made a mental note to ask Zev about where and how they did that. He would need it too, she was sure.

She got distracted by lunch at the trough, though most of the males ignored her, or kept their eyes down near her, which was a relief. She still wasn't sure about how to act around them, and her cheeks kept heating anytime she saw one that had displayed for her.

But Zev found them after lunch, and after a quick embrace, and some breathless concern for her, he instructed Yhet to take her to Kyelle for a dress fitting.

A dress? Sasha's ears had perked.

"I wear a dress?"

"For the ritual, yes. It's supposed to… I mean, it's tradition." Then Zev snapped his mouth shut like he'd been about to say something wrong.

Sasha frowned, but Yhet came through for her. "The ritual is all about building a pack, a family, Sasha. The female wears a dress to allow for easy breeding afterwards."

Sasha's mouth fell open with a splutter of laughter as Zev slapped Yhet's arm, but he wasn't laughing.

Not like Sasha was. "You're… you're joking right?"

"It's just a tradition," Zev growled, not quite meeting her eyes. "You don't have to think of it like that."

Then he'd hugged Sasha, given Yhet instructions to make sure she was at her home anytime she wasn't eating or meeting with Kyelle, then promised to find them before dinner, before leaping into his beast and running off into the forest.

Sasha was still gaping when he disappeared, his dark coat blending into the forest impossibly quickly. She turned to Yhet who stood over her, waiting patiently.

When he caught her stunned gaze, his eyes widened. "What?"

"Nothing," she grumbled, clearing her throat and turning on her heel towards Kyelle's place. "Just… you people are weird."

Yhet shrugged. "It takes one to know one. I have been to your world, Sasha. Humans are very strange and excitable."

She couldn't argue with that, so she just shrugged in return as they walked.

She was nervous about going to Kyelle, knowing the woman's feelings for Zev. But she was excited, too, because this was all going to change everything. She could feel it in Zev's anticipation, and in the slight nostalgia that Yhet got on his face whenever he spoke about the ritual.

It was clear that whatever they were going to do, it was meaningful for Chimera, and if it ended her being close to Zev, and no more of this ridiculous fighting, she was all for it.

As they walked towards the owl Alpha's treehouse, Sasha told herself that it was the day before her wedding, and her stomach trilled, flipping over when she thought about the dress, and why the Chimera thought she should wear it, and what that meant for her and Zev and—

"Uh, Sasha, perhaps we should go for a short walk before we meet Kyelle," Yhet said uncertainly, rubbing his nose.

"Why?" she asked distractedly, her mind still half-on pictures of Zev the night before, the firelight flicking and warming his skin.

"Because, you smell like the mating and Kyelle—"

Oh dear Lord, she'd forgotten they could smell—

"No worries!" she said, her voice high and thin. "I'll stop thinking about, I mean… don't worry about it. I'm… tell me about the challenge of the alphas or whatever. Distract me. It won't be a problem in a minute," she said, clearing her throat.

Yhet looked at her kindly. "It's good that you desire your mate," he said quietly, a soft smile as he turned to look ahead, towards Kyelle's house. "There is not greater blessing between mates than the love bond. Whether offspring come of it or not."

His voice was so sure, and so sad at the same time, Sasha reached a hand up to grip his arm.

"I'm sorry you've lost your mate, Yhet," she said quietly. "I only lost mine for a few years and it was horrible. I can't imagine knowing there's no more… that' they're gone."

Yhet nodded, the smile gone from his face and his jaw tightening. "It remains the greatest wound of my heart," he said quietly, rolling his great head on his shoulders. "But I am glad to be a part of bringing you and Zev back together. He has ached for you without the comfort of the bond. It was hard to watch, the uncertainty of it. I am very glad that you're here, Sasha," Yhet said, reaching for her shoulder.

He meant to pat her, she was sure. To pat her shoulder, then grip it in solidarity or friendship. But when his great palm slapped the back of her shoulder, the sheer force of it almost took her off her feet and she stumbled forward, almost losing her feet.

"Oh dear, I am sorry, Sasha!" Yhet said, horrified.

But Sasha was laughing. She almost fell on her face in the dirt, almost lost her feet entirely, but she caught herself and straightened, giggling like a school girl. "It's fine, Yhet. Really."

"I have always been too affectionate," Yhet grumbled, running a thick hand through his erratic hair and pushing it back. "Zev used to say I reminded him of a Labrador that didn't know it's own strength. I have seen one of those in the human world, but they never liked me. I hope I do not appear as aggressive or… or angry as those dogs."

"You don't," Sasha said, linking her arm in Yhet's elbow on a whim. He tightened his elbow against her side to keep her close and smiled. "I'm really glad that you're here, Yhet. I think I would have quite literally lost my mind by now if you weren't."

Yhet nodded, but rubbed his stubbled cheeks with his free hand. "That's curious," he said, his brow pinched into lines.

"Why?"

"Because, most people say I'm the one that drives them crazy to begin with," Yhet said, then boomed a laugh that echoed off the trees.

Sasha joined him.