The Shadow Alpha novel Chapter 41

“It’s time to make our move.” Devin’s strong voice carried across the room and with it a look of astonishment settled on the faces of each and every person cramped up in what I’d always considered a big office. We were all equally puzzled when Devin requested for us to gather in my office this afternoon, but I chose not to pry and allowed him to take the lead.

It’s been two days since the attack and Devin has been distant to say the least. While it irritated me to no end, I opted to give him space rather than forcing him to talk to me when he clearly wasn’t up to it; he would talk to me when he was ready.

This on the other hand was not what I bargained for.

A part of me wanted to call him out on his rash decision, but the more I thought about it, the more I became curious to hear his reasoning. Once everyone got over the initial shock, a rumble of murmurs erupted amongst the pack members, each one holding a sceptical look on their faces.

“Hear me out!” he held his hands up in a ‘wait’ manner and on cue everyone’s attention focussed solely on him once again. Devin reached down into the secret compartment beneath my desk and pulled out the map that we had previously marked the rogue camps on and yes, I added him to the security system so that he is able to access my office without my presence.

He unrolled the map on the table, but instead of being in the condition I expected, a series of new markings greeted me.

“We went back to Full Moon pack land yesterday to look for any clues that Austin may have left behind. We found a book hidden under a floorboard in the Alpha’s office; it was a record of all the rogue locations in the past twenty-two years.” he spat the last part through gritted teeth.

So that’s what he’s been up to.

The tension in the room increased with each word that he uttered, before he could continue a thought struck me,

“Why would he keep a record of such a thing, that too in a place that would obviously be found if someone actually looked?” Devin eyed me with an ‘exactly’ look.

“By now the rogues must have word that Austin and April are compromised and they knew we would look for evidence and clues of their deception. I spent every day for almost three years in that office, I think I would have noticed a loose floorboard.” He reckoned and the picture was suddenly becoming clearer.

“They planted the evidence knowing we would look for it and placed it in plain sight to make it seem like it would have been there for years without question.” I added to which he nodded.

“I cross referenced the locations in the book to the ones we had marked on the map and noticed that each one is about a mile from the ones we have. I once overheard Austin talking over the phone about an ambush under false evidence, the conversation was vague, but enough to raise suspicion and when I asked him about it he simply stated that it was an age old tactic to feed the enemy false information to be ready for an attack.” A soft warning bell was sounding in my head, a sort of instinct when something was wrong.

“We’d have to assume that everything Austin did and said in the past was to further his plot, that being said, we need a foolproof plan should the original strategy fall through.” I added and with an affirmative nod from the other occupants of the room Devin proceeded to convey his proposal.

A total of five hours later we emerged from the office, there was a deafening silence amongst the group as each person remained lost in their own thoughts.

Devin fell into step with me as we walked towards the kitchen to feed the monsters growling within us. Shadow grumbled in annoyance at me and I giggled out loud mistakenly earning an incredulous look from Devin which caused me to grin. It must have been contagious, because for the first time in two days I saw his eyes light up as he returned my smile.

I couldn’t look away from that smile.

The smile that I unexpectedly fell in love with.

Noticing my stare, gaze, his lips quirked up into a smirk, “Like what you see?” he asked cockily and cued the eye roll.

“I was just admiring the cutest smile I’ve ever seen.” I replied with innocence plastered across my face.

“Cute? I am not cute! Sexy, handsome, hot, beautiful even, but not cute. Never cute.” He emphasized in what could only be described as a whiney voice. That did it for me; I could not stop the hysterics from breaking loose.

I must have looked like a dying seal, but I ended up hanging from Devin’s arm for support.

Through the tears I noticed the disbelieving look on his face and when I was finally able to control myself the fits of laughter turned to a low breathless chuckle, I looked up at him with tears of amusement still swimming in my eyes and cupped his face in my hands.

Despite the irritation he displayed, he still leaned into my touch and relished in the electricity between us.

“Such a man. You are indeed very handsome-” his huge smile made me pause for a moment before continuing, “but, you’re also cute-” the smile fell and his eyes narrowed, “I love you just the way you are and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I declared honestly, but the smile I had anticipated never came, instead his jaw clenched and before I could speak another word he pulled away and disappeared through the nearest exit.

I stood frozen, gazing at the spot where he stood just seconds ago.

I could feel Shadow’s hurt increasing mine tenfold. I hadn’t noticed the people around us till I heard the whispers and the bitter feeling of rejection washed over me once again

A feeling I did not miss.