Page 43 of A Chance at Redemption for the Alpha
“No, my father killed my mother after she gave birth to me,” I say bitterly. “I don’t think there is anyone else, or he would have killed them, too.”
“I am sorry for asking,” she says quietly. “Sometimes I am too blunt.”
I shake my head. “I prefer it that way.”
Without noticing it, we have made it through half of the pack while chatting, and I haven’t shown her much yet. I hurry to explain the structure of the pack and coven to her, and explain how it’s run. Nova shows interest in almost everything, asking questions and commenting on parts of our organization. “It’s amazing how there are vampires here, too,” she says. “They normally keep to themselves and don’t interact much with others.”
“Silas and his coven are different,” I reassure her. “We all belong here together. See for yourself.” I lead her through a small path, towards a secluded training area where some of the vampires are currently training. A couple of wolves are watching to learn from them.
“Hey, Benji,” Lucian, the best vampire warrior after Silas, greets me. Like most vampires, he is a handsome man, tall and lean with slick, dark-brown, shoulder-length hair. “I see, we have a guest.”
“This is Nova,” I introduce her. “She is Alpha Cassian’s sister.” I turn to her. “This man here is Lucian. He is Silas’s right hand and close to what we would call a beta.”
“Oh, I heard about you from my brother. He said they nicknamed you ‘Slave Driver’.”
Lucian frowns. “Who calls me that?” He glares at me, making me recoil nervously.
“Not me,” I hurry to say.
“Hm.” Lucian crosses his arms in front of his body, a devilish smirk on his lips. “If the lazy bunch has time to gossip, I’m probably not training them hard enough.”
Nova glances at me. “Oops,” she mutters.
“Don’t worry,” I whisper. “He is always like that.”
“Did you say something?” Lucian asks.
“No, not at all.”
“Alpha Marcellus told me you are going to join the training soon,” he says.
“I will pick up my training,” I say, feeling nervous at the prospect of having to join his training one day. “But I doubt I am ready for your class yet.”
“You will be eventually,” Lucian says, with so much confidence in his voice that he almost convinces me, too. “I expect you to work hard and do your best.”
I feel equally flustered and motivated by his words. Both he and Marcellus have told me the same. Maybe I should really try to show a bit more confidence. “I will do my best,” I promise.
“See?” Nova says, when Lucian smiles at me approvingly before turning back to his warriors. “I knew it.”
“Yeah, you did,” I smile.
Nova returns my smile. “That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile genuinely. That’s nice. You have a beautiful smile.”
I feel my cheeks turning red at her comment. I am not even sure if she intended to be flirty or was simply genuinely kind, but either way, I feel embarrassed. I have zero experience with women. In my old pack, I pretended like I laid a new girl every week, but it was a lie. I even tried to flirt with the only female pack member who was seen in high regard due to her gifts, but obviously failed miserably.
“Oh, Benjamin, we need to pick up Isla!” Nova points out. “I completely forgot.”
“Right,” I say, glad about some disruption. “Where is she?”
“Probably waiting at my brother’s jeep,” Nova muses.
“Are you friends?”
“Not really,” Nova admits, as we walk back towards the pack house. “She is the beta’s daughter, so obviously our paths crossed occasionally, but we never became more than acquaintances.”
“How come?”
“We just don’t share much,” she says evasively.
