Author's Note
Dear Reader
It's been a while since I updated and the last time I updated I promised that I would resume The Alpha Pair.
Guess what, I'm resuming The Alpha Pair although updates will not be the usual weekly updates.
I just finished writing Chapter 20 and I published it because it has been a long time coming and you've been waiting long enough.
I don't know when I'll finish writing Chapter 21 or when I'll publish it but I think Chapter 20 is a good sign that it's coming regardless of the when.
I hope you've been well and that you're still well and will be well. If you're not well, I hope Chapter 20 will hold you down to lift you up (I think there is a song with lyrics along this line).
Thanks for your patience and support.
Your Amateur FanFiction Writer
IAmKIM
PS
Enjoy!
BEGINNING OF CHAPTER 20
Scott's Building
A few days passed and found Scott standing in an empty but clean building just after two in the morning after spending each night after New Year's Eve sneaking out to clean it in secret.
He didn't know what to do with it yet but now that it was clean he thought about telling the others about it.
For the moment, though, Scott stood in the middle of the first floor and took in just how spacious the building was and how big it looked now that it was clean even with more rooms being out of his sight from his current point of view.
He couldn't believe that he owned the building or know what to do with it yet although it already held a very special place in his heart.
Satisfied, Scott moved to switch off the lights and leave but just as he was about to, he suddenly heard and felt the ground a few feet away from his feet crack, and then a dusty hand broke through.
On guard, he telekinetically reached for the broom he had been using on the other side of the open room and broke the stick into two but didn't bring them to himself, he just kept them at bay.
The dusty hand was joined by another before they parted the ground with ease and then an equally dusty head with two braids followed and rose to reveal a female's face painted with white tribal face paint with red paint across the eyes and nose and down the eyes to the checks and black paint around the eyes, eyes she raised to meet Scott's.
For some reason and to his surprise, Scott felt a sense of familiarity when their eyes locked.
What followed next was her upper body and then her lower body, and clothed in animal skin, and while she rose out of the ground she picked up a spear from the very ground she came from which closed up as though in reverse once she was fully out, but Scott hardly noticed because his attention was captured by her eyes and the familiarity he felt.
"Scott, Son of Battle-chief." She began, her voice distorted similar to Scott's own when he was in his werewolf form. "I am..."
"Nokomis, Daughter of the Moon, Scott found himself saying. "Wait, how do I know that?"
"How do you know what?" Nokomis inquired.
"Your name. How do I know your name?" Scott specified, certain that he has never met or seen Nokomis before.
"How would you not know my name when we're betrothed and share a bond?"
"What? I'm not betrothed to anyone."
"Yes, you are. That tattoo on your arm is the symbol of our union, the symbol of the covenant between our people. Why am I even explaining this to you? You should already know this."
"If I was betrothed I would know," Scott replied, massaging his tattoo. "As for my tattoo, it has nothing to do with a union or any covenant between any people. I chose to get it because I've always wanted to get a tattoo."
"Really?" Nokomis questioned with raised eyebrows. "Then why did you choose that design and why on your left arm?"
"I..." Scott started to reply but cut himself off. "What do you want? I've had a long day and night, and I was about to leave."
Nokomis didn't know what to make about Scott's reaction. She didn't know what to expect when she came, but this wasn't it. An uninformed heir and betrothed wasn't what she expected when she decided to meet him a year early.
"I think you should speak with your parents about your tattoo and its meaning. Come find me when you've spoken with them but make sure you don't come when I have company, we're not supposed to meet until next year." Nokomis said and then readied her spear. "Until then and before I leave I want to see your combat skills."
With that, Nokomis spun her spear to get a better grip for what she had in mind and some psychological play before running at Scott and thrusting the spear at Scott's abdomen.
Scott simply shifted to the side to avoid the spear and then kneed it upwards and out of Nokomis' hand before taking a few steps backward, putting some distance between them.
"What do you mean by 'we're not supposed to meet until next year'?" He asked.
"Exactly what I said," Nokomis replied with a hand out waiting for her spear to fall into since Scott gave her the space to. "I was curious about the boy I'll spend my life with and came to feed that curiosity, but it seems like you haven't been told about the arrangement yet."
"The arrangement? An arranged wedding?" Scott asked and chuckled a little while they circled each other. "Yeah, right. I highly doubt my parents arranged a marriage between us."
"Doubt isn't certainty," Nokomis responded before tapping the staff of the spear on the ground and entering a stance with the spear drawn. "You didn't answer my question about your tattoo."
"That's because it's none of your business."
Nokomis laughed at that and motioned to her left arm where Scott saw two bands of leather, one brown and the other yellow, just like his tattoo and right where it was.
"I was informed about the arranged marriage during my kinaalda ceremony, but I was never told about the symbol until I made and wrapped these around my arm in August last year after weeks of randomly drawing two concentric circles," Nokomis revealed. "I know why you chose that design and I already told you what it represents.
Follow my advice if you want more answers and ask your parents about the tattoo. Just leave out meeting me."
What Nokomis said about doubt not being certainty echoed in Scott's mind because of how certain she seemed, although he really doubted it, more so when he remembered that he somehow knew her name and the familiar feeling he got. He...
Seeing that Scott was distracted, Nokomis threw her spear at him and ran after it.
Sensing the spear heading his way, Scott deflected it by redirecting it to the side but received a kick to his chest that drove him back, courtesy of Nokomis who followed up with a spinning heel kick to Scott's neck which he avoided by rolling to the side and then retaliated with a low kick that knocked Nokomis off her feet.
Down but not out, she quickly sprang to her feet but received a kick that knocked her back down, courtesy of a quicker Scott who followed up with a stomp to Nokomis' abdomen, but she blocked it with both her hands before she kneed the back of its knee and then pushed the foot to the side so that Scott didn't fall on top of her.
Nokomis followed up by mounting the downed Scott and rained fists and forearms on Scott's protected head and chest, not giving him room to breathe.
A room to breath was not needed, however, because Scott telekinetically called on the two pieces of the broomstick he broke earlier while blocking the heavy hits and had them hit Nokomis at the kidneys without piercing through although hard enough to draw a pained scream out of her and stop to the hard fists and forearms.
With Nokomis distracted and in pain, Scott reversed their positions and had one of the broomsticks rest horizontally on her throat with enough pressure to hold her in place without choking.
"Satisfied?" Scott asked, catching his breath.
Meeting his eyes, Nokomis was shocked when alpha red eyes met hers, his eyes had shifted to their alpha red sometime during the fight, but she didn't notice.
"You-you're an alpha?" She asked, although she didn't need to but wanted a verbal confirmation to help her process the new information and get an explanation because dire wolves didn't have alphas like werewolves but rather chiefs and chiefess like skin-walkers.
"You didn't know?" Scott inquired, surprised because he smelled her shock at the colour of his eyes.
"No!" She replied. "How is this possible? Dire wolves don't have werewolf alpha red eyes."
That surprised Scott.
"How would you know?" He questioned.
"Didn't I tell you that our people have a covenant?"
"And I... (Sigh) Who are your people?"
"You're truly oblivious to everything, aren't you?" Nokomis said, wanting to shake her head but couldn't due to the broomstick on her throat. "My people are Naatʼáanii Nééz Yee Naaldlooshii."
"Come again?"
"Shiprock Skin-walkers."
"Oh. Wait, Skin-walkers as in..."
"Navajo 'evil' witches?" Nokomis interrupted with a sarcastic tone. "Yes. Our clans have been allies for hundreds of years and every fourth generation counting from the previous lucky fourth-generation marry to rejuvenate the Covenant. We're it this time.
How did you become an alpha? When did you become an alpha?"
"I'm a True Alpha. I ascended in September last year. What now?" Scott answered and then asked, his mind racing, looking for explanations but couldn't find any since Melissa didn't know about the supernatural before him and Rafael was for the most part clueless.
"Now we kiss goodbye, and you do what I suggested and enjoy the little time you have left with whoever owns the scent that's mixed with yours because I won't tolerate it the next time we meet nor will I tolerate sharing you," Nokomis responded.
"Kiss? The scent that's mixed with mine is my girlfriend's and I won't break up with her because of some arrangement that was made before I was born, and I didn't agree to." Scott stated. "As for your 'tolerance', I..."
He didn't get to finish because he was cut off by Nokomis' lips upon his own, Nokomis having taken advantage of his distraction to remove the broomstick across her neck and initiate the kiss she came for and the moment their lips met all thoughts left her and all she knew was that he was hers, and she was his, body, mind and soul.
The initial surprise prevented Scott from immediately pushing Nokomis away, but he couldn't say what prompted him to reciprocate the kiss or what caused him to deepen it and his hands to wonder as intimately as they did.
All that he knew was that Nokomis' fresh earthy scent with hints of wild roses and eastern honeysuckle flower and rain and sand, and her surprisingly soft and sweet lips felt like the warmest welcome home and that she was his all and he was her all and her tongue...
Her tongue and hands, which had disappeared under his shirt, suddenly withdrew and so did her lips, leaving him completely lost and wanting more.
Hence, it took a moment for what happened to sink in but once it did Scott quickly got to his feet and away from her although a part of him didn't want to. He was shocked.
"What just happened?" He breathlessly asked more himself than Nokomis because he knew that he wouldn't have normally reciprocated the kiss or felt what he did, not when he had Lydia.
"My tolerance is courtesy, betrothed," Nokomis whispered equally breathless while getting to her feet, her voice far less distorted now, almost gentle. "You'll realize soon that our ancestors took the Covenant extremely serious and made sure that nothing would ruin it and that we will honour it as our predecessors have.
I've spent many nights wondering if I was on your mind as you have been on mine since I was told about our pending union. I no longer have to wonder.
Good luck getting me out of your mind now that we've come in contact with each other. I suggest you enjoy your last fling while you're able to.
Keep my spear, you'll need it to visit me. 'Til we meet again, betrothed."
With that, and a satisfied smile, the ground where Nokomis had tapped her spear opened up, and she moved towards it only to be stopped by Scott's hand on her arm.
"Wait!" He said. "What just happened? Why did I kiss you back like that? Why...?"
"Why did you choose that design? And why on your left arm?" Nokomis asked back, looking at Scott's tattoo and then locked eyes with him. "Answer these questions, and you'll begin to understand."
That said, Scott let go of her arm and she walked over to the hole and sat with her feet dangling in the hole before looking around the room and upstairs.
"Our people aren't welcoming to outsiders, but I think this place could be a nice restaurant with a bar and pool tables and serve as a hotel for supernaturals passing by." Nokomis thought out loud. "It could also use an in-house medicine woman and her own shop.
Thrust and bury the blade of the spear on the ground and focus on our bond to summon a way to me. It will be easier for you to find me than it was for me to find you now that we've touched, and we're both aware of each other. See you soon, Son of Battle-chief."
Nokomis proceeded to jump into the hole and soon after it closed up, leaving the place as clean as it was before her arrival, and a confused and conflicted Scott was left all alone, eyes fixed on where the girl just disappeared and mind going a mile a second.
It took a while for him to compose himself and once he did his eyes landed on the spear Nokomis left behind.
"What just happened?" Scott asked aloud.
TRANSITION
Beacon Hills Preserve
"You know, you have more stamina than I had at your age," Kate told Allison while they spared early in the morning.
"It's one of the advantages of having a pack that pushes me to be at my level best," Allison replied.
"I wonder what's the disadvantage. Having to deal with your ex ordering around your current boyfriend, perhaps? Speaking of, what do you think about Scott buying forty-nine percent of our family business?"
"Everyone has a role to play, and they're all crucial," Allison responded with a kick Kate avoided. "I think having Scott as part owner can introduce us to new clients that we couldn't get before."
"What about the percentage? Don't you think it's too high for an inexperienced kid who doesn't even want to be involved in running the business?"
"The percentage is high but between selling almost half of an inactive company with debts high enough to drown it, including taxes and months of overdue salaries, and taking a loan to pay off the debts and restart the company, plus pay bribes and incentives to speed up the process, I would choose selling, it has more benefits than taking a loan."
"But are you aware that this ties Scott to our family indefinitely? We might have an alliance with his pack, and you might be friends right now, but you are Matriarch of the Argents and things change."
"It's already done. There's no point in speaking about it now."
"It might already be done but don't you think it would be wise to think ahead?" Kate asked, pausing their spar. "You're the leader here, Allison. Not Chris. Chris was trained to follow orders and then pass them to his fellow foot soldiers. He might be your father, but you're in charge, he follows your lead.
You might not realize this, but Chris' decisions are not entirely his own, they are heavily influenced by you just as they were influenced by Victoria and before Victoria, our mother, that's part of the reason he didn't follow all of da-Gerard's orders blindly.
You'll be eighteen soon and Chris won't be able to shield you from your responsibilities once you do.
Expect some of the allies we still have in the hunting community to ask for permission to enter Beacon Hills to meet with you to either outright cancel our alliance with them or discuss things before they decide.
You're not just another one of Scott's little betas, Allison, you're a matriarch, the Matriarch of the Argent Family. You are our present and future, and you need to think about the future and prepare for it to secure it.
The fact that Scott bought part of our family business tells me that he's already thinking about the future.
He has his pack, Beacon Hills as his territory and the respect of everyone in and around it along with their fear to keep them in check, and now he has cash flow secured to support his pack, who knows what's next.
It's time that you think about the future and secure it for yourself, starting with the gun deal you have coming up."
"What gun deal?" Allison asked while what Kate said echoed in the back of her mind.
"I shouldn't be telling you this, but your father is going to send you and Scott to your first gun deal after your eighteenth birthday, it's tradition," Kate revealed. "It will be your signal to the world that you have officially taken over the reins.
It'll also be Scott's debut in the arms dealing world which you'll use to announce our partnership with him beyond McCall Pack. I don't know the details, but you'll be the lead.
My advice from experience: expect anything and adapt to the situation, quickly. And make sure there's no miscommunication between you and Scott.
The world needs to see you two as nothing but a well-oiled machine without a hitch, but take it to another level and be like a dance duo, the kind that can dance perfectly with their eyes closed.
You better pretend you don't know when Chris informs you."
"I will, but can you tell me about your first time?"
"My first time?" Kate smiled but there was mischief in her eyes. "My first time was a typically disappointing one-night stand in..."
"Not that first time, Aunt Kate!" Allison stopped her, not interested in her aunt's sex life. "I mean your first arms deal."
"Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Kate replied with a chuckle while motioning Allison to join her for a walk.
TRANSITION
Dunbar House
"I'll see you at school on Monday, right?" Mason Hewitt asked his best friend from his car as he was about to leave after sleeping over.
"If you want me to take the bus on my first day at your school," Liam replied.
"You'll be fine, and it will be a nice welcome to public school experience," Mason said. "I'll drive you home from school."
"I thought you were my best friend."
"We'll be late if I pick you up on Monday and I don't want to be late. Waking up will be bad enough." Mason responded and then departed.
Liam sighed.
"I guess it's you and me, school bus," He said to himself and turned to the house.
"I could give you a ride," Someone suggested, gaining Liam's attention.
"No, I'm cool," Liam replied turning to the person to find a boy maybe about two years older than him walking over to him.
"Really?" The boy inquired as though he didn't believe him. "Not from what I've heard about you."
"What you've heard about me?"
"I've heard that you're hot-headed. It's kind of why I'm here."
Feeling uncomfortable, Liam began to retreat to his house the closer, the stranger came.
"I don't know what you're talking about, so I suggest that you leave," Liam responded.
"Come on, man. We both know that you have an anger streak, and I'm here because I understand you more than anyone can. I have that anger streak myself, only I can control mine without taking pills that fuck up my life and I use it to my advantage. Check this out."
To prove his point, the boy changed direction and went to Liam's neighbour's parked car on the driveway and raised it two feet from the ground from its rear without too much struggle before bringing it down.
"That's just a taste of what I can do," The boy said afterwards, smirking as he saw Liam's shocked expression. "Since you played lacrosse at your old school, and I'm almost sure you're going to try out for Cyclones, I bet you can become the best and fastest player on the team."
"Who are you?"
"Theo," Theo introduced himself approaching Liam and Liam met him halfway. "I just transferred to Beacon Hills High, so I'm looking for new friends. Interested in my friendship?"
"What do you use? Steroids?"
Theo laughed.
"I want to enjoy my success, not die early," He replied. "How about I give you my phone number, and you can think about accepting or declining my friendship and a way to be better?
I'll take a call in the morning asking me to pick you up as you accepting but if you don't call I'll accept your decline and look for a friend somewhere else."
Having said that, Theo gave Liam his phone number and then left in style by running home, at least Liam thought so, but it wasn't an ordinary run, it was a sprint, and Liam was shocked at how fast Theo ran, especially when Theo jumped over a moving car that was about to hit him and landed on his feet before continuing his run.
TRANSITION
McCall House
With Monday around the corner, Stiles wished school didn't open for some time, maybe a few more days but weeks would be ideal.
If only Scott could come up with a spell for time travel if one didn't already exist.
"Hey, Scott," Stiles said as he let himself inside the house. "Do you have a time travel spell lying around?"
"Stiles the Boy Without Manners, Scott is still asleep," Isaac responded from the kitchen and so Stiles went to the room.
"Again? It's like to ten."
"Again," Isaac replied between bites of his breakfast.
"I don't blame him, school is reopening on Monday which means waking up early in the morning."
"I doubt school has anything to do with it."
"Why?"
"I just doubt it. What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have plans with your dad?"
"He had to cancel," Stiles answered. "Something came up, and by something, I mean a dead body."
"And you're not interested in investigating it?"
"A little, but I'm not going to unless we're called in."
"Great," Isaac said standing up to put away his breakfast dish and glass. "I've got somewhere to get to."
"Where?"
"Somewhere," Isaac replied, not wanting to let anyone know that he was working on pushing through his claustrophobia and being at ease in his car. "Don't go to Scott's bedroom. He's having one of his weird witchy sleep talking episodes and by the sound of it, he has something spinning with his telekinesis."
"And he says he wants to keep his telekinesis a secret. I came here for some company, you know. What am I supposed to do with you leaving and Scott sleeping?"
"There's Malia. Isn't she available?"
"She's got a thing with Morrell."
"And Lydia?"
"Is still at the lake house, remember?"
"Wow! We don't have many friends."
"Yeah. But the ones we have are the real deal.
"When they're available," Isaac responded from the front door. "Lock the door when you leave."
With that, he left.
Stiles thought about checking on the case he mentioned earlier but stopped that thought from being an action. Jordan and Valerie had it covered.
He looked around the mostly quiet house for something to do but found nothing, and as a result, his resolve to not get involved in the dead body case began to weaken until his phone notified him of a message from the online supernatural game community that he hadn't been active on lately.
Glad for the distraction, Stiles checked the message.
TRANSITION
Martin Lake House
"What do you think about moving here?" Natalie asked Lydia while they watched a movie.
"I think not."
"Just think about it, honey. It's quiet here, and safe with the mountain ash..."
"That any human can walk through and I think we both know the potential humans have of being more monstrous than the 'monsters'."
Natalie sighed. She couldn't argue with that but it wasn't like every human was out to do bad and the same could be said about supernaturals.
There were good people out there that didn't deserve to be defined by a few of their fellow humans' actions just as supernaturals couldn't be judged by what some of theirs did regardless of species.
"I'm human and you don't see me practising my potential for monstrous actions just as you're not practising yours," Natalie pointed out. "And you didn't let me finish. Whatever Alan, Marin and Scott did to secure the property on New Year's Eve is still active and will remain active.
Marin said that she'll need to maintain it every six months if I want to keep the house protected and I asked her to."
"Being closer to the others is safer."
"Is it?"
"Yes, mom. There's strength in numbers."
"What's the plan for post-senior year? You still want to go to Massachusetts, don't you? What about your friends? Do they want to go there? Can they?"
"They can if they want to but we have a year and a half to figure it out."
"OK. But before you know it a year and a half will be gone. Let's hope you'll have figured it out by then," Natalie replied and did hope they had it figured out although she doubted that they would.
Things changed.
TRANSITION
McCall House
With an hour having passed without Scott making an appearance, Stiles put away his phone and went to check on him.
He found his best friend asleep facing up with gibberish coming out of his mouth and a spear spinning anticlockwise horizontally above him.
The spear part had Stiles' complete attention because it was his first time seeing it and he wondered where Scott got it.
A thought popped up that maybe Scott teleported it in his sleep with his gibberish and that opened way for the possibility of a time travel spell and...
And the spear suddenly came to a halt and then flew straight at Stiles with the tip leading the way, his chest to be specific.
Stiles didn't have time to react, only to register that he was about to die without having used his new paralytic claw.
But the spear stopped right as it was about to pierce his chest although it had already nicked his jacket but he was too frozen in place to notice.
"Good luck getting me out of your mind now that we've come in contact with each other," Nokomis said and she wasn't kidding.
Scott found every corner of his thoughts occupied by her all the way home and they also lulled him to sleep, and now they woke him up along with her scent coming from her spear.
Well, not exactly.
What woke Scott was the presence his subconscious sensed in his sleep and identified as an intruder and took steps to take care of the intruder.
Luckily Scott's consciousness woke up and noticed Stiles' scent, hence the spear stopped before physical harm came upon him.
"Stiles, are you OK?" Scott asked getting out of bed.
"I don't know," Stiles replied a little panicked. "Am I?"
Not smelling fresh blood, Scott figured Stiles was alright and told him as much while he telekinetically brought the spear into his hand and felt its slight vibration.
"You're alright."
"You're not just saying that to make me feel better, right?" Stiles questioned, afraid to check.
"No. You're fine."
Stiles breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't scare me like that, Scott," He said slumping against the doorframe. "I really thought I was going to die!"
"Sorry. But don't try to sneak up on me when I'm asleep." Scott responded heading to the bathroom.
"What's with the...?"
"Where's Isaac?" Scott cut Stiles off, becoming aware that he took the spear with him and placed it by the washbasin before he went to urinate. "I don't hear him in or around the house."
"He went 'somewhere'," Stiles answered but he was not going to let the matter rest. "And don't think I don't notice that you're trying to avoid answering my question about the spear."
"It's... It's a gift."
"From who?"
"From the person who gifted it to me," Scott replied while turning the shower on, wanting to keep his meeting with Nokomis to himself. "Stop right there with the questions."
"What's with you and Isaac being all vague and mysterious?"
"I'm not being vague or mysterious. I'm being clear with you. You interrupted my sleep and I'm not interested in answering your questions."
"Not even if I ask if you're interested in doing something fun?"
"Like what?" Scott asked entering the bedroom to check his phone.
"Anything. I'm bored and I don't have anything to do. Anything is better than nothing."
Scott found a good morning message from Lydia and sent a response before looking at Stiles for a moment.
"How about rock climbing and then bowling?"
"Sounds like a plan. As I said, anything is better than nothing. I'll see you downstairs." Stiles responded and left Scott to take his shower while he booked them a rock climbing session.
Scott's mind immediately shifted to Nokomis and what she said about his tattoo, and he was glad Lydia wasn't around to read his thoughts but he had to find a way to avoid her reading these particular thoughts.
Speaking about thoughts, Scott thought about calling his father to ask him a few questions because it was obvious that Rafael had to be the one with the answers as McCall meant son of battle-chief and since Nokomis addressed him as such, he knew where to start getting answers.