The Alpha's Redemption: Between Vengeance, Bond and Power

Tyra regarded it highly. When it came to getting people enthused, she was a natural born leader. When a little girl came running up to her with a violet flower in her hand, she bent down and smiled at the woman.

The kid had a round, plump face that was framed by black pigtails that swayed and spun on her little shoulders. "Tyra! A flower for you!" she chuckled to herself.

“Oh my goodness, Madi! It's such a wonderful gift! This is pretty! Thank you so much, sweetie."

Tyra gave the little girl a bear hug and smelled the flower before accepting it in her own hand. The little child glowed and clung to Alora's leg with all her might.

Alora furrowed her brow and bit on the bottom part of her lip. It wasn't that she was a mean Alpha; she simply didn't have the same amount of time to spend with the kids as some of the other pack members did.

In all candor, she was not a fan of floral arrangements. She wondered with a distressed expression on her face that maybe it wasn't the core issue of her predicament.

"Alpha, it's time. We can now start,” A guy went up and offered a rock to her, telling her that she has the honors to start lighting the fire.

Flint and rock would be used to start the fire, as had been customary in the past.

Alora smiled and thanked the man for the fire starters before moving on to lighting the wood.

When she knelt down by the fire, she could feel Howland standing close behind her, observing. She took a deep breath, hit the flint, and then hoped that it would light on the first try.

She had spent many years to be perfect with her technique, and now she was certain that she understood how to start a fire in this manner.

Lighting a fire in this manner was an art form. The spark first fell on the pieces of waste paper, then it moved on to the smaller twigs and kindling, and finally the audience shouted as the larger logs and sticks began to roar to life as they caught fire.

“Yay!”

Her pack. Her existence. This was the point that needed to be considered.

Soon after, people began passing around food as music rang out throughout the countryside. Sparks lit up the night sky as they danced their way skyward.

Alora dragged her plate of food over to one of the several log benches and wedged herself in between Tyra and Axel.

"Would it be okay if I join you guys?"

"Of course! We can't say no to our Alpha," Tyra exclaimed and she gave her a little push. Axel moaned, stood up, and moved to the other side of Tyra, where she greeted him with a peck on the cheek as a token of her appreciation.

"Do you have sufficient salad there?" Tyra questioned with an eyebrow lifted as she looked at Alora's plate, which was completely full.

"Well, I'd still like to give this food a shot," Alora explained.

"Girl, I'm kidding," Tyra said with a raised eyebrow before bursting into laughter. It was well knowledge that Alora enjoyed salads.

"Wow! I must say that this steak is so good," When Alora heard the familiar deep voice say, she jumped just a little bit. "And the roast pork was cooked to perfection!"

‘Him, again? Who the hell invited him to come over here? Oh, no, they didn't do that!’

Howland sat himself down next to Alora, and Alora, in turn, squirmed her way even closer to Tyra.

"I don't know how they do it," he said as he pointed to the guys who were roasting a giant piece of beef on a spit over the fire.

"But, it’s so good! It's great. You really need to try some of it," he abruptly turned to Alora and scrutinized the food on her plate. She came dangerously close to stuffing it in his face out of frustration.

She responded quickly by saying, "No, I'm fine. Thanks, but I don't eat meat."

"For real? What was it called then?" Howland turned to face her as he reached out to touch her with his arm.

"Well, our Alpha, she’s vegetarian," Tyra bent over and spoke slowly like she would to a five-year child.

"But I doubt you know what that big, intelligent-sounding word means, you dumb idiot," and she pulled Alora over, causing her to brush into him.

Alora was aware that Tyra was just defending her or making the tension bit at ease, yet she still rolled her eyes at the situation.

She didn't want to specifically explore this topic with Howland since there weren't that many wolves who didn't consume meat. On top of everything else, he would consider her to be strange in his mind.

"Ah, I do. I know about that thing. My mother was a vegetarian all her life."

"Really?" Alora just stood there and gazed at him, completely dumbfounded by what he had just said.

"Uhm, yeah. I believe that she would have really liked you, especially with the whole tough Alpha thing," Howland said.

His dark brown eyes gazed into hers, and the firelight caught the depths of his eyes and made them glitter.

They seemed to entice her in such a way that it was as if a mystery narrative had been created only for her.

"Really?" She was so stupid that she kept repeating herself, and she wanted to give herself a smack on her forehead.

Then, despite her confused state, a logical relationship presented itself to her. "You indicated that she would have, and were. Where is your mother, exactly?”

"My mother… she passed away while I was only a little child. However, based on what I recall of her, she was a fierce competitor.”

Alora's pulse pounded harder and faster as she realized that she shared yet another thing in common with the guy who she did not want as her mate.

Howland's warm gaze held hers, and the rest of the pack seemed to drift out of consciousness. But this time, she understood, and she even desired, to experience this relationship that was so painful.

“It's been five years since my parents passed away, too.” She said to herself in a low voice, "I know what it's like to miss them and wish that they were still here."

His fingertips lightly touched the top of her knee, and that one gesture conveyed more meaning than anybody else could have ever understood or dared to imagine of expressing.

It was as if a bit of his damaged heart stretched out to hers, and hers to his, helping to partially complete each other's hearts in a manner that was both perplexing and entirely natural at the same time.

"Alright, it's time for a story telling!" Alora was jolted out of her trance by Tyra's sudden movement, and the interruption made her desire that she could either hit or smack her.

Because when she turned around to look at Howland, his typical arrogant and smug expression was on his lovely face, and Alora had no clue why she could ever sense a connection between the two of them.

‘This is getting too complicated!’