- rulynderstood he eaning f he erm, 'urned n'

I rap my knuckles against her door, feeling nervous.

"Mm," A muffled groan comes from the other side.

I knock louder the next time.

"Uh...Come in..." Seneca's unmistakable sweet voice calls, and I take that as my cue to enter.

I twist the cool doorknob with shivering fingers —due to nerves, that is— and slowly open the door. Just as I'd expected, Seneca is lying in the middle of the king size bed. My imagination has done no justice to her because in reality, she's even more beautiful.

Only, the one thing differing from my imagination is, she's clutching a pillow over her face, suffocating herself with it. Okay, she's not suffocating herself, but you get the memo.

Her lean, slim body is spread across the bed, and a dark grey t-shirt the exact color of her granite eyes cascades over her upper body —

I stop dead on my tracks.

She's not wearing pants!

I blush.

I blush five hundred shades of red.

"Um," I start, rubbing the back of my neck uncomfortably.

"Uh, Did anything happen?" She pulls the pillow away from her face, looking up at me. Her ruby curls surround her face in an 'I-don't-care-about-my-looks' fashion, and her face is flushed due to her pressing a pillow on it.

"Hi," I smile sheepishly,

"Do you need my help with something?" She asks, but before I could come up with a reply, She starts to sit up, throwing the pillow to her side.

"No, no no!" I protest hurriedly, rushing forward to her side. I place my hands on her shoulders before she could get up fully, gently pushing her back on the bed.

Such smooth skin...

"Wha.." She starts once again, but I shush her and push her down completely. I lean forward to pull the blankets up, and my eyes fall on her t-shirt, which has now ridden up, revealing black shorts.

Oops, I guess I didn't see it earlier.

I pull the blankets up to her chin, tucking them neatly.

"You came here to make sure I was tucked in?" She asks with a raised brow.

My cheeks heat up once more.

"No...I...um, I wanted to...take care of you?" I stutter incoherently, my voice going high pitched at the end, making it sound like a question. I cringe when I realize how stupid that sounded.

"Huh?"

"Ha," I turn away from her slightly. "Nevermind," I say and quickly spin on my heel to leave.

Only, I don't get to.

A grip on my wrist tugs me back.

"What?" Seneca asks, and I hesitantly turn around again.

"I didn't say anything!" My eyes widen in panic, and I hold my breath, hoping that she'd let me bury myself in a hole already.

"C'mon, Cage." Seneca's voice takes a serious turn as she looks at me flatly.

Oh God, Oh God, Oh God —

"Um, I wanted to sue the bathroom?"

Did I just say 'sue' instead of 'use'?!

"What are you talking about?" Seneca's brows scrunch together in confusion, as she gives me a 'Dude, are you shitting me?' look. But I guess that if she doesn't let me go now, I might actually do that.

Quite literally.

Ew, Micajah, Ew.

"Yeah, the judge is waiting..." I babble, laughing nervously and trying to pull my hand away from her grip.

"Micajah,"

Uh-oh.

"If you don't tell me, I'll make you," She warns, tightening the grip on my wrist to an almost painful level.

"Ha, ha. 'Make me'? How?" I repeat, chuckling nervously.

"I'll tell the whole school about your secret obsession on Wonder woman,"

Oh. My. Goddess.

How did she know about it?!

"Shit, No no no no! Please don't do that! I'll tell you, I'll tell you! BetaEzratoldmethatyouhaveyourperiodandthat'swhyIcame!"

Silence.

Seneca gives me a strange look.

Kill me now.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes!"

"No, I mean, do you really have an obsession on Wonder woman?!"

Does that mean...does that mean what I think it does?

"Wait! So you mean that you didn't already know?!"

"No," She confirms, and my jaw drops.

Did I just dig my own grave?

"Oh,"

Oh? I just gave away the biggest secret of my life, on my own might I add, and all I can say is 'Oh'?

A freaking 'oh'?

"Okay." She says and starts rolling over.

Um, What?!

"I mean, you can stay here."

"Oh,"

I seem to be saying that a lot nowadays.

She pulls the sheets away slightly, and I occupy the corner of the bed, sitting down.

A few moments of silence tick by.

Awkwardness descends in on us.

"So..." I start, trying to say something intellectual. But it seems to me that at times like these, my brain completely bails on me, and in its place is a ball of mud.

Okay, you're weirding me out, Micajah, Just stop.

I turn to steal a quick glance at her. I expected her to be looking around in awkwardness as well, but the expression on her face lets me know that she's in no mindset to do so, because, the wrinkle between her brow, the hard set of her jaw, and the sweat slightly beading on her upper lip, makes one thing clear.

She's in pain.

And she's hiding it.

Or at least trying to.

"Seneca? Can I help in any way?" I ask, feeling agitated.

"Uh," She grunts, finally revealing a slight crack in her stoic expression. "No,"

"Are you sure? You seem to be in pain?" I deliberate, feeling anxious to do something.

"This is nature." She pants, "You can't do anything about it," She breathes out in-between grunts and moans, shutting her eyes tightly.

"How about a back massage?" I blurt out and instantly slap a hand over my mouth in embarrassment.

Where did that come form?!

Oh yeah, From Beta Ezra's dirty influence.

"A massage sounds good,"

With that, Seneca rolls over, placing her hands under her neck and resting her chin atop them.

Wait, is this really happening?!

I guess it is.

"Um," I hesitantly push myself up and kneel on the bed, close to her side, wondering how to go on about this.

"May I...?"

She pauses for a beat.

"Go ahead."

I smile a little and put one leg over her legs, practically straddling her. My Wolf purrs lowly, and I can almost feel the naughty thoughts he's having.

'Stop thinking, you damned beast!'

I raise my hands to the hem of her long tee, my fingers curling around air as I hesitate once again. Finally, I force my hovering fingers to grab the material and slowly raise it up, exposing a strip of her bare skin, about the length of a finger.

It looks softer than butter...

I tentatively reach out with both hands and apply pressure on her lower back, feeling more settled when she doesn't show any indication that it might be feeling unpleasant. I increase the pressure on my fingertips and rub a few circles when the deepest, sexiest moan fills my ears.

Goddess, This girl will be the death of me.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is when I first experienced and truly understood the meaning of the term, 'turned on'.

What is she doing to me?!

It has been approximately ten minutes since I offered to give her a massage and I'm already sporting a...how do I say it without being crude...um, an...'aroused lower region'.

"Wow, Cage. You have such good hands...Mmhm," Seneca moans, craning her neck slightly to look at me.

"Y-yeah..." I grin, trying to act normal.

I let my fingers venture slightly upwards, close to the rolled up hem of her t-shirt, rubbing thoroughly.

'Hm...' Wolfie groans.

'I'm already in deep, will you stop being so damn sexual?' I snap at him, trying to calm my erratic breathing.

But he ignores me. He's lost in his own world.

Seneca, who's usually very keen and in tune with her surroundings, seems oblivious to the inner war I'm having, the struggle to keep my hands to myself and not wander to...other parts.

"Goddess..."

If she keeps that up, I might even— I hope you know what I mean.

"Uh, Seneca..." I groan, clenching my muscles to withhold my reaction.

"Yeah...?" She breathes, in-between making...sounds.

"Um, Nothing." I mumble, swallowing hard.

"Mm...'Kay,"

So I decide to talk and divert my mind.

"Has Beta Ezra ever given you a massage before?"

Shit, Did I really say that?!

Way to sound like a jealous Mate, Micajah.

"What? No," She sounds repulsed by the idea.

Thank Goddess.

"Why are you asking?" She asks, glancing back at me.

"Nah, It's nothing," I say dismissively, trying to change the subject.

"Do you like chocolates?"

And time passes by like that. In the past hour, with the limited conversation we had, I've come to learn three things about my Mate.

!. It's so damn hard to pry answers off her mouth.

2. She is a tomboy. Kind of.

3. She will do anything for her Pack members.

"Okay, I guess that's enough." She says after a while.

"Um, Can I go to the bathroom?"

Not waiting for her reply, I get up and turn around, rushing to escape before she sees...it.

☆ ☆ ☆

"Alpha, you might want to wake up."

I blink my blurry eyes rapidly, trying to clear my vision and get a bearing of the situation.

And then it comes crashing on me.

After that teasing sessi— I mean massage session, I'd come out of the bathroom and glanced out the window. I'd been surprised to see that the rain was still pouring quietly. But thankfully, there hadn't been any thunder; which from my observation had been the reason for Seneca's breakdown earlier.

But that is not to say that, thunder won't come.

So, I'd pushed open the almost opaque glass window, and had looked at Seneca inquisitively. No words had passed between us, and it will remain that way until she's ready to open up more.

That's kind of hypocritical of me, because there's a lot I haven't told anyone yet.

Back to the point, she'd glanced out the window from her lazy position on the bed, and for a moment, she'd looked vulnerable, almost child-like, as she'd clutched the blankets closer to her chest. Without saying a thing, I'd crossed the distance between the bed and the window, switching off the lights as I did so. I'd fleetingly wondered of she'd protest, but when silence was the only answer I got, I'd smiled and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Now, an all too familiar voice has dragged me out of dreamland.

"What is it, Ezra?" Seneca queries as she sits up. My arm around her waist falls at the movement, and I quickly withdraw it back, hiding a blush.

"Alpha, last night's rain has resulted in the Alridge Dam overflowing. Cracks in it have further resulted in damage, so the houses situated in the western border have been flooded." Beta Ezra reports, looking serious and responsible. He has already taken a shower and has gotten ready for a new day it seems, because he's wearing a fashionable brown jacket, paired with a red shirt and blue jeans, looking and acting the part of a Beta.

I sit up as well, picking up my glasses from the nightstand. I put them on and rub my forearms, just as the cold morning air sends a slight shiver up my spine.

"Fuck," Seneca cusses under her breath, but my close proximity to her, enables my senses to pick it up.

"Yeah, but there's not much of a problem since the 6 affected families have friends who have taken them in, until we repair the damage done."

"Oh,"

"I've called the construction contractors, and they'll be here in a couple of hours. The affected families can manage for a week, but more than that, they'll not withstand 'cause 10 to 12 people are crammed in one house. There are other spacious houses, but the people are not willing to take them in. So I thought, why not let a few in my house, since its practically empty all the time,"

Wow, so thoughtful and considerate of him...

"Wait, did you say 'Western border'?" I intervene, when it finally dawns on me.

"Yes," He acquiesces, nodding once.

"That's where Nicole's house is in! Oh Goddess, I should find out if she's okay!" I turn to Seneca, "Hey, do you mind if I use your house phone?"

She gives me a look. "Of course, not."

"Thanks!" I jump off the bed and rush outside, barely paying any mind to the cold air biting my bare skin.

☆ ☆ ☆

"Thank you very much for this help, Alpha." Nicole bows her head, waiting for Seneca's response.

Seneca gives a small pat on her shoulder, before nodding and rushing to her car. I watch as she quickly enters it and closes the door, and speeds out of the driveway, all within a second.

I grin as I pick up her small bag, leading the way in.

"I still can't believe that Alpha allowed me to stay here!" Nicole exclaims, as she trudges behind me. I quickly turn and look at her, only to find her sporting a joyous grin.

"You think Seneca is heartless, or something? You were sleeping on the floor when they found you, for god's sake!"

It is true. I'd dialed Nicole's number, but it had been 'not reachable ' as her phone had drifted away in the water overnight. Seneca and Beta Ezra had gone to meet with the families, and they'd returned home with Nicole. All others were dropped in Beta Ezra's house, but since all the rooms there were full, they'd brought here the only girl who'd been a little familiar to them.

And me.

But still, Seneca doesn't trust letting another person living in her house, so she'd ordered Nicole to share a room with Magdalene, the house maid. Oh, don't go ahead and think that Maggie lives in the attic or something. She lives in a quaint little room, close to Seneca's office.

I knock on Maggie's door.

A few seconds later, the door opens and Maggie herself greets us with a polite smile.

"Aleph," She bows slightly. She then turns to Nicole. "Hello," She nods and walks back inside.

In my short stay in this house, I've never really come to know Maggie. She is a lean woman in her thirties; with straight black hair which is always in tucked into its trademark bun and sloe brown eyes. She never really talks unless directly addressed, and always seems to be absent during meal time. I feel ashamed to say that I haven't made an attempt to get to know her.

"Okay, Micajah. Thanks for the help," Nicole turns to me with a grateful smile. She receives the bag from me. "See you later," She waves, as she places the bag inside the room. She gives me another smile as she closes the door behind her.

I pirouette on my heel to leave to my room, but something doesn't sit well with me. While a part of me is happy that Nicole is here...I can't help but feel bad, like I've done something wrong...like I should feel guilty.

Should I feel guilty?

So I come bearing GOOD NEWS!

FROM NOW ON, UPDATES MOSTLY A WEEK. (LONG CHAPTERS)

You're welcome. :)

If i can't, i'll update once, but i'll try as much as I can to update TWICE.

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