Chapter 15

I recognized the voice. It was Lucas.

As the Alpha's voice resonated through the clearing, commanding submission from the pack, everyone around me froze, bowing their heads in deference.

A few individuals, including James, remained unaffected by the commanding tone. It appeared that since they were all Alphas, they possessed an immunity to the influence of other Alpha voices.

What caught my attention, though, were the younger children, not yet shifted into werewolves, who also showed their necks to Lucas.

It dawned on me that those kids, like me, were wolfless. It puzzled me why I remained immune to the Alpha's voice.

Could I have been born without certain wolf genes?

The revelation of this peculiarity caught me off guard. Until now, I had never encountered an Alpha voice being used in public. It was considered impolite for Alphas to exercise their vocal influence on Betas, Omegas, and the younger individuals.

Yet, Lucas had defied this unwritten rule twice now, using his Alpha voice for my sake.

Shana, you were there for me when I needed you. Now, it's my turn to be there for you.

For a split second, I heard what he said when he saved me from Jessica.

I guess he was holding his promise.

Lucas rushed over and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me close to him. I was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered by throwing my arms over his neck.

He smelled like sweat, adrenaline, and victory.

“Congratulations,” I said into his ear.

I felt his fingers tighten their hold around me. “Thanks to you, my little lucky charm.”

“I can’t take all the credit,” I chuckled into him.

From the corner of my eye, I saw how everyone around us was whispering about our embrace. A few students from Shadow High were around us, and I even noticed that some of them were taking out their phones to capture the scene Lucas and I were creating.

James, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, smacked their phones to the ground with an evil glare in his eyes.

Lucas pulled away from my hug and I missed his warmth immediately.

“I’d like to present the Shadow High Dragons with a trophy in celebration of their victory!” the announcer cheered over the speaker.

Lucas gestured something to James with a nod of his head. James claimed the trophy while Lucas threaded his fingers in mine and dragged me outside with him.

“Where are we going?” I asked. “You didn’t get any pictures with the trophy!”

“This isn’t my first trophy,” Lucas said, looking back at me over his shoulder as he continued to drag me. “And it won’t be my last.”

“But—”

“But this was the first time you’ve ever come to one of my games. It’s the first time you’ve ever seen me win.” His fingers squeezed my palm. “I just want to celebrate with you.”

I thought my heart would melt at his words. “Really?”

“Yes,” Lucas said. “Now, what should we do to celebrate?”

In that moment, my stomach growled loudly, capturing Lucas’s attention.

His laugh was low and deep. “Hungry?”

“Starving,” I said with a hint of nervousness.

“Let’s go grab something to eat.”

Lucas made a quick stop at his dressing room to change out of his uniform and grab his personal belongings. Then the two of us made our way to the parking lot where his motorcycle was parked.

“Where should we go?” I asked Lucas once I was sat behind him. I let my arms wrap comfortably around his waist.

Lucas kicked the stand of his motorcycle, releasing it from its hold. “I’m thinking… we should treat ourselves.”

“Treat ourselves to what?”

Lucas revved the motorcycle and took off down the road, refusing to answer my question.

“Lucas!” I shouted behind him. “Where are you taking me?”

“There’s this restaurant I know of,” Lucas smiled at me over his shoulder. “You’ll love it.”

“What is it?” I asked. “Is it expensive?”

“Maybe, does that matter?” Lucas asked.

It didn’t matter to me, but it made me feel a little nervous. I wasn’t used to going out too much, especially since I usually always ran into someone from school that knew I was wolfless.

It was too embarrassing for me to be seen anywhere.

“We don’t have to. We can just go pick up fast food or—”

“Shana, I want to celebrate somewhere nice. Let me take you, please?”

How could I argue him when he was pleading me?

We got to the restaurant, and from just looking at the outside decor, I could tell it was high-end.

Lucas walked behind me protectively, his hand staying at the small of my back as we made our way inside the restaurant.

The inside was even more impressive than the outside. The tables were decorated with fresh flowers and lit candles. There were also a good amount of people here waiting to be dined.

A server took Lucas and I to a table near the back of the restaurant. Lucas pushed me into my seat then took the seat opposite me.

When I observed the table next to me, I noticed the woman there was already watching me. Her face was twisted in disgust.

“Excuse me,” the woman said to the server who just led us to our seats. “I’d like to sit somewhere else.”

A flush crept on my cheeks as the women looked at me as if I was a curse. It’s because she knows I’m wolfless.

“Hey.” Lucas grabbed my hand from across the table. His blue eyes were stern as he said, “Ignore her. She’s just trying to get a rise out of you.”

I tried to follow Lucas’s advice, but as I looked through the menu, I wondered why he brought me here. Everything was extremely expensive, and I almost felt guilty for being here.

But then, my eyes skimmed over a particular menu item: beef stew.

“They have beef stew?” I asked, looking over at Lucas.

He nodded. “It’s amazing. You have to try it.”

We both decided to order it, and when it finally arrived at our table, the first bite I took made me groan with delight.

The texture of the beef was extremely delicate, but the taste reminded me a lot of my mother’s own beef stew. As a child, she would make it for me all the time.

It was one of Lucas’s favorite meals as well, and she would make it for him whenever he would sleep over.

“It reminds me so much of my mom’s stew,” I said, blowing on the hot spoon with my mouth to cool it down.

“That’s why I come here,” Lucas said. “Nobody makes it as good as your mom did, but this place comes pretty close to it.”

I suddenly felt touched that Lucas offered to take me here to let me have some kind of reminder of my mother.

“Is that why you brought me here?” I asked. “So that I could taste something close to her cooking again?”

“Sure.” Lucas smiled. “But I also just love beef stew. So selfishly, I wanted it for myself.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Of course, it’s not all about me, is it?”

“Do you want every thought of mine to revolve around you?”

“I mean, if you’re offering—”

Suddenly, someone came to stand beside our table. I began to panic, thinking it was the woman from earlier until my eyes caught on an older looking man.

He was huge, and by huge, I mean that he was built like a boulder. His arms were massive and powerful. He looked as if he could lift the entire weight of a car with a single finger.

He wasn’t paying any attention to me, though. His gaze was fully trained on Lucas.

“Lucas. I thought you were supposed to be having one of your silly little figure-skating games today.” The way the man said “figure-skating” made my blood boil.

Was he making fun of Lucas?

Lucas’s expression soured immediately. There was a tension present in his jaw that wasn’t there seconds ago.

Who was this random man, and why was he talking to Lucas like this?