The Alphas prize novel Chapter 24

We walked out the door and into the night air, it was a cool, summer night and all the critters were singing loudly. As we walked down the steps, Cain closed the door behind us and gripped my hand in his. Sitting in the driveway was a big, black bike. I had seen similar ones before when I was little, but none like this one. The black looked almost faded, and it had swirls of silver painted on it, with gold accents. Finally, we reached the bike, and Cain grabbed the two helmets resting on the seat, handing one to me.

My eyes widened. “We are taking this?” I asked in disbelief, as I was a little intimidated by this monstrous machine.

Cain chuckled. “Yes, love. Don’t worry; you will be fine; I would never let anything happen to you.” He said while tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

I bit my lip, feeling anxious about riding on a bike for the first time, but I trusted Cain. I looked at the helmet in my hands and took a deep breath before placing the helmet on my head. Cain put his helmet on as well but seemed to fidget with something underneath it. I wrinkled my nose in confusion, and that’s when Cain extended a hand and reached underneath my helmet.

“There is a strap attached to the helmet for extra protection, and it's best to make sure you do it up.” He informed me. I felt a bit embarrassed that I didn’t know this, that I had never been on a bike before.

Cain climbed onto the bike and started it up; it came to life with a thunderous roar. Cain looked at me and patted the seat behind him. “Let’s go, get on.” He hollered over the roar of the engine. I stood there for a beat, beyond anxious to ride this thing. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to ease my nerves, as I climbed onto the bike and sat behind Cain.

Cain’s hands reached behind him and gripped my wrists, pulling them forward and wrapping my arms around his waist. “Hold on tight, ok?” He shouted.

At first, I nodded my head in understanding but quickly realized he wouldn’t have seen that. “Ok,” I shouted back. I clasped my right hand around my left wrist and held them together tightly. My chest began to rise and fall as Cain revved the engine and took off like a bat out of hell. The bike sped down the driveway, leaving a cloud of dust behind us as we left the territory. I tightened my hold around him, feeling uneasy with the speed we were travelling at now. That’s when Cain’s hand rubbed mine reassuringly and eased some of the tension within me.

After driving for a bit, the tension and uneasiness subsided a little. I was beginning to feel more and more comfortable as we continued to drive. I lifted my head off Cain’s shoulder and glanced around us. The trees were whizzing past us and the night air wrapped us in its cool embrace. Everything felt right in this moment; I felt a sense of freedom, and so did my wolf, as she howled with excitement.

We veered off the main road and turned down a dirt path. Cain had slowed the bike down, and it roared softly now as we continued driving. Finally, the bike came to a complete stop near the river's edge. Cain turned the engine off before getting down from the bike. He took his helmet off and shook his head, tousling his hair. I followed suit and took my helmet off as well, running my fingers through my hair. Cain’s hand reached out, and he helped me off the bike before taking the helmet from me and placing them both on the bike. I turned towards the river and stared at the beautiful water flowing down. The sun began to set and shone down on the river, causing the water to almost sparkle. I closed my eyes, feeling content and satisfied.

As I stood there, listening to all the beautiful sounds around me, I felt a large hand move my hair and swipe it over my shoulder.

“Well, what do you think?” He asked me, a tinge of nervousness in his tone.

I turned around to look at him and smiled. “I love it; it's beautiful here.”

He smiled brightly, and this was the first time I had ever seen him smile like that, making me feel good that I was the one to make him smile like that.

Cain intertwined our hands and walked us closer to the water. As we approached the edge of the river, I noticed a blanket laid out and a bag on top of the blanket, giving me a sense of Déjà vu. We came to a halt at the blanket, and Cain released my hand. “Take off your shoes and sit down.” He said, and I did, feeling a little giddy.

We sat down together on the plush material, and Cain grabbed the bag, pulling it towards him. He reached into the bag and pulled out a few containers, as well as some bottles of water. He opened the containers, revealing some hearty-looking sandwiches and plump berries. My stomach growled loudly upon seeing the food before me. Cain’s attention was on me now, a playful smirk on his face. “I take it your hungry?” He asked.

My cheeks reddened, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Yes,” I admitted; after not eating anything today, my stomach was angry and was not afraid to let everyone know.

He narrowed his eyes on me. “Did you eat anything today?” Cain asked in a demanding tone.

I avoided his stare and looked everywhere but at him. “Freja, answer me.” He said sternly.

I closed my eyes briefly and exhaled heavily. “No, I didn’t. Can we please just eat now?” I asked, getting hungrier by the minute.

Cain’s features hardened. “Damn it, Freja, you need to eat better.” He scolded me.

I stared into those green orbs of his “I will, I promise, but can we please just eat before I eat you.” I teased him.

He leaned in closer. “That might be fun,” Cain said in a seductive voice.

I rolled my eyes at him, not really in the mood at this moment for his games. He chuckled and shook his head at me. “Go ahead, dig in.” And I did just that, not wasting another moment and stuffing a delicious sandwich into my mouth.

A moan of satisfaction escaped my lips as I took my first bite; this had to have been one of the best sandwiches I ever had. I continued to stuff my face, only stopping when I realized that Cain was watching me, with an amused expression on his face. I looked between him and the food in my hand. “What?” I asked, incredulous.

He pursed his lips and shook his head. “Nothing,” Cain said with a mischievous smile. Ignoring him, I turned back to my food and took another bite of the sandwich. I was pretty sure I heard him chuckling, but I was too involved with my food to care.

We sat there in silence as we continued to eat, just enjoying the peace and quiet and staring out at the beautiful scenery before us. Large trees surrounded us as they softly swayed with the wind. The sound of frogs and crickets filled the air around us. The sun was setting now, and the moon would soon take its place.

We finally finished our food, and Cain placed the containers back into the bag and moved everything to the side, giving us more room on the blanket. I laid down on the blanket, sprawled out and stared up at the stars. Cain followed suit, laying down beside me, but he didn’t look up at the sky. Instead, he stared at me. I tilted my head to the side to look at him, and Cain had this odd look in his eyes, a look of longing and fear. I was curious as to why he held these emotions until he finally spoke.

“What do you want to know?” He asked, his tone a little clipped.