The Alpha and The Fool novel Chapter 6

After the last meet and greet thing or whatever they’re calling it, Father decided Wesley would be my ‘chaperone’ whatever that was to keep the incident with Dean from happening again. It was probably a good idea considering what happened last time. I did not like how close Dean had gotten to me without me realizing it. Worse yet, I think he might have been right. If Brook hadn’t saved me, I wasn’t sure what would’ve happened.

“I don’t see how your plan can work now,” I said as I watched Wesley line up his shot on the pool table.

“Nothing has changed,” Jon said. He was leaning on his cue, his dark eyes twinkling with mischief.

“How hasn’t it? Wesley’s job now is to follow me around to make sure Dean stays away.”

“Now why would he do that? I’m awesome company,” Dean said as he walked in the room. He wasn’t alone, his brother, Brook and a couple others were with him.

“He’s not short of confidence is he?” Sade whispered in my ear.

“You have no idea,” I whispered back. Jon and Dean greeted each other like old friends. “Traitor.”

“Not at all,” Jon replied.

Brook took a seat next to me. “This is Andy and his mate Kara.” Andy, pale and blonde, looked like some Viking out of history. Kara was a good two feet, at least, smaller than him, and blonde too, but her hair was shaved on one side and the tips dyed pink.

“Love the hair,” Kara said to me as she sat next to Brook. She seemed like she meant it.

“Thanks,” I said and looked Wesley. “You are done here?”

“You can’t leave yet, we just got here,” Dean said flashing a smile at me.

My stomach fluttered at the sight and I quickly looked away. “Wes?”

“I can’t leave the game unfinished, Nic. Jon won’t let me hear the end of it since he’s in the lead.”

“Fine,” I said and laughed dryly when not a minute passed they started a new game to include Ryder and Andy with Dean watching. I glanced at the doorway. My stomach churn with nerves. Wesley was like an uncle to me, and Jon was my best friend. If Father found out they were going against his orders, it wouldn’t go well for them at all.

“Why does your dad have such a hard on for Dean?” Kara asked as the boys started to play. “I mean I get he’s a bit of an idiot, but he’s a good guy.”

“Aww, I knew you loved me, Kay-kay,” Dean said then yelped as Andy hit him in the back of the leg with his pool cue.

A surge of anger rushed through me, my muscles tensed, and I had the urge to growl at the blonde Viking. What was wrong with me?

“So you’re one of your dad’s enforcers?” Kara asked, and when I nodded she asked again, “What do you do?”

“Frontline.”

Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”

I couldn’t help but grin. Frontline was the first to deal with any threat, and only the best of the best got to be part of the team. It had taken a lot of work, but I earned it. “Yep. Jon is one too. Wesley used to work for them as well.”

“Sweet, I’m one of this pack’s trackers. Saw quite a bit of action with our fight against Black Mountain,” Kara said.

“Yeah, I remember their alpha spoke with Dad a bit for our support, but it was over before he gave his answer.”

“Really? What would’ve been his answer?” Brook asked

That was a loaded question, considering what Black Mountain did to her. “He didn’t tell me,” I told her. It was the truth, but I knew he was strongly considering sending us to help the previous alpha of Black Mountain.

She gave me a weak smile. “Right.”

I blew out a breath. Awkward. This whole situation was awkward in all honesty. I couldn’t relax here, especially knowing Father would be furious. I waited long enough for everyone to be pulled in the game and I slipped out of the room. As the distance between the others and me grew, my nerves went away. I rubbed the back of my neck to ease some of the remaining tension when someone grabbed my other hand.

“I thought you’d never leave. Come on, let’s go,” Dean said, grinning as always and jogged down the hall, pulling me with him.

“Wait, what?”

He glanced back at me, winked and kept going. To my surprise, he had a firm grip on my hand, and I couldn’t free myself. Dean pulled us into a dark room with a large pool in the center. “No one ever comes in here this late so we should be good.” He sat at the edge, taking off his shoes and rolling up his pants. “Come on, dip your feet in. The water is great. I promise I won’t bite unless you ask.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes as I sat next to him, but I had no idea why. This was a bad idea. Being alone with him was a very bad idea. “Why are we here?”

“Why not?”

“My father-”

“You worry too much, Beautiful. Look, you’ve been here a few days now, and I’ve hardly got to say three words to you before someone takes you away. It can’t be too much to ask to want to have one uninterrupted conversation.”

“It might.”

Dean reached for my hand, but I moved it to my lap. He frowned and shook his head. “Okay, so what do you like to do?”

I bit my lip, debating on what I should do. For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to leave like I should. “I work out, train.”

“And when you’re not doing that?”

I shrugged. “Not much really. Between training and my enforcer duties, I don’t have free time.”

“So no hobbies or anything?”

“Working out is a hobby,” I told him.

“How many hours do you work out?”

“About eight or so. It depends on what I’m doing.”

“Eight? Geez, no wonder you hit to so hard. Why so long?”

I shrugged. “I have to if I’m going to be as strong as the guys on the team.”

“Why do you have to be as strong as them. I mean as long as you can hold your own.”

“Because I have to be. If I’m not as strong as them, then I’m the weak link.”

“So what the other women on the team do?”

“There is no other women. None can reach the strength requirement, and most don’t even want to try.” I told him, proud I’d become the exception.

Dean started to laugh. “That’s bullshit. Dad’s enforcers have a lot of women. They may not be as physically strong as some of the guys, but that doesn’t mean anything. There is this one woman, Renee. She’s barely five foot and doesn’t lift as much as anyone else on the team, but I’ve seen her kick all their asses.”

Irritation flared in me. What was Dean’s point? “Great. Good for her, but it’s not how my pack works and I like being strong. I told you, I’m not like the other women and I’m fine with it.”

“What? I didn’t mean-wait,” he said when I started to stand. Dean grabbed my hand, pulling me to sit back down. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Nic. It’s only that doesn’t seem too healthy to push yourself so hard.”

“I’m perfectly healthy and fine. Look, Dean. We’re too different. This won’t work. It’s best if I leave now.”

Dean frowned and wouldn’t let go of my hand when I tried to pull away from him. “No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is,” I said, frustrated. “I am one of the guys, and I like it that way. I don’t like to gossip or shop, or flirt, or whatever it is other girls do.”

“Good, because I don’t like gossip or shopping either.” He flashed me another grin. “If it’s what makes you happy then it’s fine by me.”

I let out a breath and shook my head. “I don’t think you’re listening to me.”

He laughed. “No, actually the one who isn’t listening here is you. Nic, it doesn’t matter to me how different you are from other women or me. I don’t care how you dress or what you look like. None of that is important.”

“Really? You don’t care?” Dean shook his head side to side. “You don’t care I’m not soft or sweet, or I’m stronger than you?”

“Nope. Not even a little bit.” He laughed, even more, when I didn’t bother to hide my skepticism. “Seriously, it means nothing to me. Who you are is much more important.”

“You realize how cheesy you sound,” I said and tried to free my hand once more.

“Cheese is awesome,” he replied, still not letting go.

“Why do you keep holding my hand?” I asked, again a little irritated.

“I like the way it feels in mine, and you haven’t asked me to let you go.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re crazy. So Cheesy, what do you do with your time?”

“Well, I have to admit I don’t always have a lot of free time usually either. My shifts at the hospital usually keep me busy.”

“You’re a doctor?” I said with surprise.

He snorted. “Hell no. I’m a nurse.”

“A nurse,” I repeated.

“Is that judgment I hear?”

“No, of course not” I don’t think I convinced him. “Why not a doctor?”

“I’ll have you know there is a lot of guy nurses,” he said, with a nod. “And I wanted to help people. Doctors pop in and out, without a lot of interaction with their patients. Nurses are the ones who get someone a drink when they’re thirsty, help regulate medication to make sure they’re comfortable. It’s the nurses that make the biggest impact, despite all the hype docs get.”

“I see,” I replied, not sure what to say.

He laughed and gave my hand a squeeze. “The worst part is my mom still gets to boss me around since she’s my actual boss.” He scrunched his face in disgust, and again I found myself laughing. “When I’m not there, I usually hang out with my brother and everyone.”

My thoughts jumped to my own brother. I hated that after all these years I still missed him sometimes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I was thinking of my brother.”

“You have a brother?”

“I’m not so sure he deserves to be called that anymore. When I was little, and Mom died, he and Father got in a fight. Brandon left and never looked back.”

“Just like that? No goodbyes or anything.”

“Not even a note,” I said, the bitterness slipping into my voice.

“He’s a dick.”

“Yeah, so it’s been Father and me since then. It’s why I need to be as strong as the others. I have to be the alpha. I have to be the son he lost,” I said, watching Dean frown more as I spoke. He didn’t understand. Dean was free to be who he wanted. His brother was the one who had to take on the responsibilities of alpha. I didn’t want to argue the point with him anymore. “I should be getting back. Father might check in, and if I’m not there or with Wesley, it’ll be bad.”

Dean shook his head as if he knew exactly what was on my mind. “Alright, let me walk you back.” He put on his shoes again and walked me back to my room.

We walked back in silence and when we stopped at the door his smile was back full force. I wondered if his face hurt from so much smiling. “I liked this,” he said. “I hope we can sneak away again, soon.”

I laughed quietly. “Yeah, it wasn’t bad.”

Dean grabbed my hand as I turned to go inside. “Sleep well, Nic.” He brought my hand to his lips. I gasped as my heart leaped to my throat as he kissed my palm. I felt the kiss like an electric jolt, all the way from my hand to my toes. “And don’t forget to dream of me.” He winked, and I rolled my eyes, fighting a smile.

“You are so certifiable, Dean. Good night,” I said, going inside and once the door was closed I let the smile emerge. God help me, Dean was an idiot, but I was starting to like him. What is wrong with me?