Chapter 3 Alpha Paul

The clock in the lobby had just struck nine when Alpha Paul made his appearance.

Stella, was flipping through a magazine in the living room, heard how Mother Tashia welcomed him at the front door and her gaze briefly wandered around the room to see if everything was tidy. There is not a thing out of place and Mother Tashia has made sure everything is tidy.

Stella took a breath. She cannot understand why she is so nervous.

If there is anyone who knows how she must feel today, it is Mother Tashia, because over the years she was not only a good Den Mother but was like her own mother, confidant, comrade and someone she looked up to.

Voices are suddenly heard in the corridor and the next moment the door opens.

"Alpha Paul is here miss Stella." She announced formally and stood aside. Her head bowed, out of respect for Alpha Paul. I can't help but smile. Alpha Paul is the only Alpha who gets that type of respect from her. Usually, she disappears when the other Alphas come and visit. I felt my stomach tighten as he extended his hand to me in greeting. Alphas just don't do that. Does this mean that he also no longer considers her part of a wolf pack, and only as an ordinary human?

"Hello Stella." His handshake is quick, and he shoves his hands in his pockets. There is a slight frown on his face, but it is quickly replaced with a slight smile. "I hope you don't mind me arriving here so untimely, but I had to come to Bacdrane today and thought I'd come and offer my condolences."

"Evening Alpha Paul. No, you're not late at all. Sit down." She turned to Tashia. "Will mother prepare something for Alpha Paul for dinner please." Maybe it will keep him here a little longer, even if she feels as nervous as a schoolgirl standing in front of the headmaster, at least she won't feel so alone.

Before Tashia can answer her, Paul says: "It's not necessary at all, Stella, I've already had dinner - thanks Tashia."

Stella felt a lonely pinch in her chest and just nodded. It's just another proof of rejection by the wolves. With a last hope she still tries.

"Oh, but then Alpha will probably drink a cup of coffee with me?" Paul saw the anguish and desperation in her eyes. He would like to hold her and tell her that everything will be ok, but he dares not.

"That would be lovely, thank you. Please call me Paul." He notices the sadness taking over her whole body, and he frowns.

There it is, he doesn't see her as wolve anymore. Stella feels the abandonment struck her like a sword in her heart. She bravely forces a smile.

Only when they are all alone does Paul take a seat. There is a short, almost palpable silence in which only the faint calls of the border patrols can be heard.

Paul leans back a little in his easy chair. He needs to make the space between them a little bigger. She is only human, and he has already mentioned to Daphne that he is considering her as his chosen mate. He is already thirty and no matter how much he wants the Goddess to send him his chosen mate he had no luck so far.

"It's probably quiet here in the house without the pups."

Stella looked up with a lost lonely look in her eyes.

"Yes, it is, and I think I'm going to miss dad for a very long time. Life will never be the same for me."

Paul must use all his self-control not to wrap her in his arms.

"I know how you must feel, because losing someone who was so close to you is the most bitter experience a person can go through."

The way he says it sends a strange sensation through Stella's insides.

"My chosen mate who was also my friend from childhood, she passed away two weeks before her Luna ceremony." There is pain in his eye.

It is if Stella sees Paul for the first time. He looked away at the painting of her hanging on the wall. Around his handsome mouth was an expression she has not seen before; A curl of black hair hangs over his forehead, and she only now notices that he is starting to turn grey near his temples. She wants to reach out and let his head rest on her chest, but she knows that would be a big mistake.

It surprises her so much that she can't immediately think of anything to say.

"I'm sorry to hear that . . . My father never told me about it."

He looked at her with longing in his eyes. "I don't believe I ever spoke to him about it. It happened before I even met your father."

This confession of Paul is a surprise. She was always under the impression that he and her father were confidants who had no secrets from each other. But now, it's probably not something you talk about with an Omega."

"Was it an accident?"

"No, the Rouges ambushed her in the forest during her run."

Before Stella can stop herself, she gasps for breath and exclaims, "Oh, that must have been a tremendous shock!"

"It was, yes, but fortunately time brings relieve, and one learns to accept..." Paul looked at the painting again. Goddess must have had punished him for not waiting for his true mate.

Tashia appears with the coffee. Tashia glanced at Stella and winked slyly.

When they were finally alone again, she saw Paul's eyes on the painting of hers again, she got a pinch in her stomach and frowned. He felt her eyes on him and looked at her. His voice is soft.

"Stella, it doesn't matter what your circumstances are, I want you to know, if you ever need help you are welcome to come to me. My door and my pack's door will always be open to you. " The tone of his voice and the look in his eyes make her feel like an emotional wreck, yet safe. He doesn't reject her because she's just a human! A tear rolled down her cheek.

It takes a few moments before Stella can answer him.

"Then . . . then does Alpha know about the auction being held on Friday?" her voice barely audible.

He nodded.

"Yes, I am aware of that, and I also know that you need to move away from Bacdrane because you are not a wolf. I realize that this is not easy for you to talk about, but Stella . . . please do not hesitate to come and talk to me."

Stella lowered her gaze.

"Thank you very much, but I'll be able to manage . . ." Because she can't talk about it, she steers the conversation in another direction and asks him how his mother, Luna Crystal, is doing.

"She is doing very well, she said just this morning to ask you when you will come to visit her again."

She shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"I don't know; everything is still a bit confused at the moment and I can't say when I will get an opportunity, although I would very much like to see Luna again." And for you she thought to herself, she frowned. No, Stella, you are not going to let his empathy reawaken that infatuation within you again.

He chats for a while in general, He just has the feeling in the pit of his stomach that he shouldn't go now. The attraction of being with her doesn't make sense to him. She is not a wolf. Is it possible that a wolf's true mate can be human? He shakes his head; no Daphne is Beta Charlie's daughter, and she will make a good Luna. Ather his wolf growls and he ignore him.

"Are you planning to buy back Irish Wind on Friday?"

Because Stella doesn't immediately know what to say, she gets up to close the inner curtain.

"I will still have to think about it Paul. Now that my father is no longer here, I don't know if I will still be interested in racehorses. It was just a hobby of my father's."

He looked at her in surprise and a feeling of anxiety took possession of him, it was the only connection he still had with her!

"But you probably don't really mean it. What about Irish Wind then? Aren't you going to try to keep him?" That's not what he wanted to say at all, he wanted to ask, what about him, if she doesn't want to see him anymore. Ather cries and he feels his wolf's pain. How is it that Ather and he feel so rejected?

She shook her head quickly, too quickly, and said: "No, it's just going to bring up too many old memories." Stella cannot look him in the eye because she is afraid that he will find out that she is not telling the whole truth.

"That would be a shame," he replied softly. "Irish Wind is a special horse and I think a great future awaits him." He feels guilty because he knows he's not talking about the stallion. "Irish Wind has rested for two months now and I was going to persuade you to enter him in the Newmarket race."

Stella suddenly felt a vain throb against her left temple. Is everything just about the stallion? Then why doesn't he buy it himself? She takes a step forward as if she wants to sit down, but then just clasps her hands together: her fingers feel cold and stiff.

He gets up. He looks despondent and defeated. "It's almost ten o'clock, I'll have to go."

When he took her hand, holding it a moment longer than necessary, Ather cried. Shut up buddy I know how you feel, I just don't understand why we feel that way, Paul talks to his wolf.

She is my mate, replied Ather.

Can't be and he pushed Ather to the back of his mind.

"Once you've made up your mind about Irish Wind, feel free to let me know, because I'd love to help you keep him."

"Thank you"

"Goodbye then, see you later."

"Goodbye Alpha."

As he walks away from her and out the door, Stella can barely hide her sense of disappointment. Their conversation was just beginning to flow nicely when he decided to go. She wonders if she will see him every two weeks like in the past or if he won't visit her at all anymore.

She felt abandoned and lonely as she turned to go to her room.

It was the first time since they had known each other that she had spent an evening alone in his company. Before she met Ivan, she thought that Alpha Paul was a handsome and charming man and was madly in love with him. But because he apparently only came here to talk about horses with her father, she never tried to force herself onto him.

That's why he remained somewhat of a stranger to her, but after tonight's conversation she must admit that he surprised her to some extent. He talked in a certain way about things that she would never associate with him, and he can also talk about other things than just horses and his pack.

He is so completely different from the clean-cut and light-hearted Ivan who took her by surprise from the start with his bubbly personality. She loved him even before they knew each other properly and she knows that her feelings towards him have not changed. But where she was in love with Paul, she cannot understand the physical attraction between them. She tries to figure things out while sleep eludes her.