Spirit Tales (The Millennium Wolves AU)
Chapter Four

The Alpha was tall. Taller than even Strider, which said something, considering the Guard had significant height. But the Alpha’s height wasn’t what drew my eyes to him like a magnet; his abs bulged underneath his wine-red tee, and his arms were corded with evident strength. His skin was the color gold, as though he was forever sun-kissed, and were complemented by a pair of dark jeans, dark boots, and a black trench coat.

My gaze did a long once-over from the tip of his toes to his face, where they got stuck. His eyes were a terrible and beautiful shade of dark ruby, like the heart of the fire, and so deep, like a bottomless pit, I knew I could drown in them. They were also a little slanted at the edges, probably remnants of some Asian ancestor. His hair was dark with natural chestnut-brown highlights, and it was wavy, passing his ears a little. His nose was Roman-straight, only adding to his godly appeal.

Nobody had mentioned before that the Alpha of the Millennium wasn’t just the strongest, but the hottest werewolf in the world. He also seemed to be in his late twenties, which gave his looks a maturer, more masculine appeal than the others here in college, and I couldn’t help but wonder how long had he been stuck in this age, considering he was immortal.

As the Guard walked through the aisle, my eyes were glued to the Alpha, unaware to anything or anyone else. When the Alpha himself passed the aisle at the part next to which I was sitting, I even saw his nostrils flaring, I was staring so hard at him. He then seemed to be sniffing at the air, albeit very discretely. Werewolves’ senses were much more developed than humans’, I knew, with phenomenal smelling scent, sight that allowed them to notice every little detail and see in the dark, and so on.

I was curious what the Alpha was smelling, seeing as his face changed their expression from carefully blank to a mix of annoyance and confusion. The expression was gone almost immediately, though, and he wore on the perfect poker-face. He moved forward through the aisle, now his back to me, with his four helpers walking close at his heel. I only noticed I stopped breathing when a sigh of relief left my mouth.

The Alpha reached the steps of the stage, where Strider was waiting for him. I hadn’t even seen him moving down the stage, being so busy watching the Alpha. Panty-dropping Strider next to the Alpha of the Millennium was the the sexiest, most gorgeous sight I’d ever beheld - and so had the rest of the female population in the hall. Many girls resorted to fanning themselves, and I pulled at my neckline, feeling hot as well. The two of them were just too scorchingly beautiful to look at.

Glancing at Charlotte and Hazel, I saw the two watching the two men dumbstruck. Even Jane couldn’t seem to avert her eyes, and so did Ethan, like the rest of the werewolves, be them males or females.

Gaping Mr. Redley shook the Alpha’s hand, right after Strider exchanged a manly hug-and-tap-on-the-back with the Alpha, as though they were long-time friends. The Alpha then got on the stage with his convoy and paused at the middle of it, facing the audience. Strider placed himself next to him with a wide smile the Mr. Redley stood to his other side. The convoy sat at their assigned chairs on the stage.

“Good evening,” the Alpha spoke and a radio silence stretched over the hall. The deep, low timbre of his voice was so hypnotizing and charismatic, he had no need for a microphone to make sure he was heard.

The Alpha studied the werewolves in the room and shocked the hell out of us when his eyes paused a little on my friends and me. An involuntary shiver went down my spine; it wasn’t every day a werewolf, not to mention the Alpha of the Millennium, looked at you. Of course, theoretically, I knew he acknowledged us, being the Alpha of all Alphas, but to experience that recognition, that acceptance, from the werewolf at the top of the hierarchy, top of the food chain, it was nothing short of incredible.

He made me feel with just a look like I belonged to this place after all.

“My name is Frederick Rhodes,” said the Alpha, his voice, his presence, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I’m the Alpha of the current Millennium.”

Gasps were heard from all over the hall, as though people were actually surprised by this. But I could understand the shock - it was surreal, having him here.

“I came here as a part of my many duties,” the Alpha, Frederick, said, and suddenly the smallest grin broke the bleak look on his face. His nostrils flared again, too, I saw, which was weird. What smells in here bothered him so? “One of those said duties is to make sure the people under my care are doing good.” Meaning all werewolves and humans were fine.

“I’ll stay here for a few days unless my plans change. Life is, after all, very dynamic.” His intonation indicated there was something under the surface of that statement, something he wouldn’t speak of, not in this forum. But the thought fled my mind the moment my eyes landed on his lips of their own accord. Those lips were full and undeniably sexy, and a strong urge, the stronger than I’d ever felt before, made me want to touch them, trace them with my finger like a paintbrush. Just then it felt like my skin was too tight over my body as if something inside me needed to replace peace. And all of this from simply looking at him.

What the hell was wrong with me?

“I’ll stay at the mansion not too far from here,” the Alpha’s voice caused goosebumps to cover my skin. I had to put a stop to this nonsense, but I had no idea how; I was completely losing it. “If anyone has any question or request, he can make an appointment through Albert, my good assistant.” He motioned with his hand toward a werewolf in his convoy, who was in his late-twenties with sandy hair, sandy eyes, and pale, lean body. The werewolf - Albert, I presumed - smiled weakly at the crowd and waved his hand shortly.

“Any questions?” the Alpha suddenly asked, and I realized I was panting. What the fuck was with me tonight?

Nobody uttered a sound or raised their hand; everyone simply stared with awe and reverence they were immobile, stunned. Some even looked a little scared, as though the Alpha would change any moment into his wolf shape and attack them if they uttered a word. Strider seemed pleased with the entire situation, but despite his cockiness, when his eyes landed on the Alpha, they held nothing but respect.

After a few moments of complete silence, the Alpha nodded. “Then I’ll continue with an important story...”

And then, even though his voice, his looks, his charismatic presence, was mesmerizing, even enthralling, he started talking about historical events, and I found myself slowly wandering into daydreams. Even though his voice was smooth and required attention, it was also soothing and monotonical when he spoke about the most boring subject ever. Seeing as I’d already passed my history class back in high school, I passed the time by staring at him, studying the beautiful lines of his face, almost drooling over how sexy his neck was. I had no idea a neck could even pass as a sexy body part, yet here I was.

My eyelids drooped when he started speaking about the war of 1783, which was the most brutal war the world had ever seen, and I found myself on the verge of falling asleep, as though his words spun a lullaby instead of gory, tragic, historical tales. By the time he finished, I was already feeling the calling of my bed - and then he said, “Now, one last thing before we finish the ceremony.”

I was back to full focus at once, my eyes wide open. I stared at the Alpha, waiting for him to speak with a sense of expectancy I was sure everyone else was feeling. Hazel and Charlotte were still entranced by the Alpha, not to mention Jane and Ethan, who stared at him as though he held all the answers in the world. All werewolves were also spellbound, as though they hadn’t found the boring historical events he had talked about boring at all. Maybe it was just me who found history boring after all.

“Tomorrow at five o’clock PM,” the Alpha’s voice boomed, and his eyes, to my surprise, moved to the section where my friends and I were sitting at, “I invite the human students here at college to my mansion for a meeting. Luxford will accompany you to the mansion.”

To say my friends and I were astonished would be an understatement; we were stupefied, transfixed, rooted to the spot, as, for the first time in our life, werewolves turned their head and looked straight at us puny humans. A shudder went through me from the sudden horror I felt under the scrutiny of the many werewolves in this room, yet I forced myself keep my gaze leveled on the Alpha, in hope they would stop staring at soon.

The Alpha cleared his throat, returning everyone’s attention back to him. “That would be all for tonight. Have a good night and bo appetite.”

In less than a few minutes, he, along with his convoy and their Guards, were gone.

The next day, the wolves went back to renounce us, but we were already used to it, so it wasn’t anything new. But we did notice that, from time to time, some werewolves glanced at us with confusion, probably trying to understand what the Alpha wanted with us. I couldn’t help but wonder the same.

I was on edge all day, and it didn’t help that time crawled by, as it had the tendency to do when you waited for something to happen. Charlotte, too, was excited, but from different reasons than mine - Strider was going to accompany us, after all.

“Honestly, I don’t understand how come you’re not attracted to the Alpha,” I told her as we got ready in our dorm room for the big event. Finally, the time was nearing by, and my heart began pounding loud in my ears while a slight flush bloomed on my cheeks. I slid my legs into my best pair of jeans and said, “He’s much sexier than Strider.” And it was the truth; I found the Alpha much more appealing than douchebag Strider.

“The Alpha’s too scary,” Charlotte said, “I can’t look past that since my first instinct is to crawl somewhere and hide when I see those freaky red eyes of his.”

Scary? Frederick Rhodes, the Alpha of the Millennium - he was scary? I mean, sure, of course, he was. Or so I guessed. For some reason, when I looked at him, I wasn’t scared, and now that I thought about it, it was very odd. I should’ve been scared - he could snap my neck with his pinkie if he wanted to - but instead, I felt utterly safe. It also helped he was mouthwatering. My survival instincts must be rusty.

Not that my personal preferences mattered any. The Alpha of the Millennium was still a werewolf, even if he acknowledged humans, and that made him unattainable, like any other wolf. Like Strider.

I put on my blue sweatshirt and turned to look at the girls. Jane was dressed in skinny jeans and V-neck tee with a pretty jacket, Hazel wore a short dress with black tights and heels, and Charlotte wore her best attire - tailored trousers and a buttoned-up shirt. The three were formally dressed, and I wondered if I should put some more effort myself, but after recounting the content of my closet, I knew my current outwear was the best one I had.

Besides, comfort over anything, right?

Once it was time, we left the room and met Ethan out of the dorms. He wore a new set of clothes and reeked from overuse of cologne. We went to the college entrance, where Strider was already waiting for us, chatting easily with a couple of werewolves. When they saw us coming, the two exchanged meaningful gazes with Strider before departing, leaving us alone with the hot Guard.

“You ready?” Strider asked, for the first time ever speaking to us. That, added with his blindingly gorgeous smile, was almost too much for Hazel and Charlotte, who seemed to tremble, blush and spout incoherent nonsense.

I nodded, since no one else was in a state to respond, and then, accompanied by Strider fucking Luxford, we made our way toward the temporary home of the Alpha of the Millennium.