Silent Noise Read online

  We are hoping to be destined mates, although we would not be able to know for sure until both of us have turned eighteen. Only two more years to go, as I am sixteen and he is seventeen.

  I have confided in my mother about him in the very beginning, but she just advised me to keep things casual, just in case he is not my destined mate. Although hearing it was very painful, I understand why she said it. A relationship with someone who is not your destined mate almost always ends in heartbreak. One of the pair will eventually meet his/her true mate, leaving the other like a sack of potatoes. No matter how much you love someone, the mate bond is extraordinarily strong and always wins.

  Despite my mother’s warnings, I could not get myself to stay away from him, and it seemed like the feeling was mutual. No matter what we did, we were drawn to one another, addicted to each other’s presence.

  Today I cannot imagine my life without him. When I dream about my future, his face is the one I picture in it. I can see him waking up next to me in the morning, running around with our pups in the front yard and laughing happily at family gatherings.

  “Lily, are you respectably dressed for tonight’s dinner?” I hear my mother’s voice through the mind-link.

  I look down at my off-shoulder black attire for a second before responding. “Depends on what you would classify as respectable, Mom.”

  It is quiet for a while before my mother talks again. “Stay there, I am heading your way.”

  Even through the mind-link, I can sense her irritation. Groaning I plop down onto my bed and wait for my mom to come and inspect me.

  After a while, I reach for my high heels and slip them on just as the door swings open, and my mother gracefully walks in. She stands there eyeing me from head to toe, before walking closer and pulling me up into a tight hug.

  “You look beautiful, my darling daughter,” I hear her saying before she pulls back and studies me once more.

  My long blond hair hangs naturally down my shoulders and back.

  “You have grown up so quickly. Sometimes it scares me to think that we might only have two more years left with you here before you leave us to be with your mate,” she says softly, still looking at me.

  “Oh, Mom, don’t worry,” I stroke her shoulder lovingly. “We aren’t even sure if the Moon Goddess has found someone who will be able to tolerate me,” I tease her slightly, breaking the tension a little. She smiles at me lovingly before shaking her head and walking out.

  I give myself one last glance in the mirror before straightening up and prancing out of my room with my head held high.

  In the hallway, I immediately spot Axel coming out of his room, looking sharp.

  “Wow, you clean up good little bro,” I tease before falling into step with him. He looks at me and chuckles before fixing the collar of his shirt.

  “You got to look it, to hook it,” he says, giving me a wink. I just roll my eyes and carry on walking.

  Axel is known for his antics with the ladies. They seem to fall at his feet and kiss the ground he walks on, only adding to his cocky attitude and arrogance. Although he is known as a heart breaker, Axel has a heart of gold when it comes to his family and friends.

  Since he is not the first-born son of the Alpha, he will not be first in line for the Alpha title, although he also has Alpha blood in his veins and should be equally strong as any other Alpha. Because of this, Alex is under much less pressure than Cassius and seems to get away with a lot more ‘frowned upon’ things, earning him a bad-boy reputation amongst most pack members.

  Just before stepping into the grand hall, I feel two strong hands grabbing me around my waist from behind and swinging me through the air. I yelp in surprise.

  As soon as my feet touch the ground, I am met with a familiar pair of light grey eyes staring into my blues. His smile instantly reaches his eyes. Snapping out of my stunned state, I grab him fiercely around his neck and pull him into me, burying my face in the crook of his neck and inhaling his scent.

  “You are here,” I breathe into his neck, loving the feeling of his body pressed against mine.

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he answers confidently, pulling me back to look me over. “You look amazing, my Lily-flower,” he says while slowly twirling me around like a ballerina.

  “I missed you,” I say, stepping closer to him again, his arms falling casually around my waist.

  We stare into each other’s eyes for a second before a loud, unnatural coughing sound comes from behind us.

  We turned in unison to the origin of the sound, only to find Axel leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face. Has he been standing there the entire time? I had forgotten all about him; the second my eyes landed on Raiden’s.

  A rosy blush creeps over my cheeks.

  “It hasn’t even been five minutes,” he says, tapping his watch, smirking at us.

  Raiden looks at me swiftly with a small smile before stepping towards Axel with his outstretched hand.

  “Axe.”

  “Ray.”

  They both smile and shake hands.

  “Nice to see you again,” Raiden says while the three of us step into the grand hall.

  “You too, Man. I’m so happy that you are here, now I don’t have to babysit my sister for the rest of the night,” Axel jokes, throwing me a sly smile.

  “Happy to take her off your hands. You can send me the check in the morning,” Raiden teases back.

  I pout and swat him on the chest playfully.

  The sound of my father’s voice suddenly booms across the room. “Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats.”

  All chatter dies down, and everybody moves to their tables. Raiden leads me to my seat at our family’s table in front. He squeezes my hand gently and smiles down at me.

  “I’ll see you in a bit,” he says softly before heading to his own seat.

  I swiftly sit down and gaze at his back with a goofy grin on my face as he walks away. Luckily, he doesn’t go very far, as Hollow Stone and Shadow Creek share a long rectangular table. We can still smile at each other from the different ends of the table.

  Finally turning my face away from him, I look up and lock eyes with my mother. Realizing that she caught our special moment, I stare at her like a deer caught in headlights. A look of sadness flashed in her eyes just as she averts her gaze to my father. He is still standing in front of his seat, waiting for everyone to settle down.

  Chapter 4

  Lily

  Dinner drags by ever so slowly. It consists of the adults talking about pack business and the youngsters talking in hushed voices, trying to act polite and respectful in front of guests. Occasionally, I would glance over at Raiden, and we would lock eyes and smile for a moment. All I want is for dinner to end so that the youngsters can be excused to join the party outside and mingle informally.

  “Alpha Anderson, I hear you have been having trouble with rogue attacks near your borders?” My father’s deep voice sounds across the table, drawing my attention away from the elderly lady to my left, trying to teach me about proper gardening attire.

  “Indeed, Leonidas,” Raiden’s father looks at my dad intently before continuing. “The attacks are very unusual. I do not know what to make of it,” he says, almost in thought.

  “What do you mean?” My father has stopped chewing and places his hands together on the table, giving the Alpha his full attention.

  “Well, my warriors and border patrol cannot seem to pick up any rogue scents near the killings, even though the damage inflicted is clearly from a wolf.”

  Everyone around the table has gone quiet and is now staring at Alpha Anderson.

  “That is very strange, indeed. How many killings?” my father asks, still staring at Raiden’s dad.

  “There has been three in the last month,” he replies in a grave tone. “I have instructed
all my pack members to stay within our borders for the time being until I can solve this matter,” he continues while looking at the shocked faces around him.

  There is a sudden eerie atmosphere looming over us as we wait for him to continue.

  “Well, now,” my mother suddenly breaks the silence with a forced, but professional, smile on her face. “Let’s leave the blood talk till after dinner, shall we?” she asks, acting like a proper Luna.

  “Of course, Luna,” Alpha Anderson replies with a nod. “Leonidas and I shall speak on this matter in private after dinner. We will also be addressing this matter with the other Alpha’s at next week’s provincial gathering,” he says while getting back to his dinner.

  My mother nods in understanding. “I do hope it can be resolved as painless and unintrusive as possible. I wish you all the best.” She is smiling warmly at Alpha Anderson, ending the conversation.

  We all carry on eating in silence until my mother speaks again. “Raiden dear, your mother tells me you will begin your Alpha training by the end of the year?”

  I look up and flick my eyes from my mother to Raiden. I wonder what her intentions are by starting this conversation.

  “Yes, Luna,” Raiden answers respectfully, quickly wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I am to start training under my father’s guidance within two months,” he says with a smile.

  “So soon?” my mother eyes him with a cocked brow. “You have not even turned eighteen yet, you are barely a teen,” she says with a hint of distaste in her tone.

  Raiden looks a bit taken aback by my mother’s reply. I can see he is trying to read her expression, while the whole table is staring at him now, waiting for his reply. Even though my mother did not directly call him a pup, she definitely implied it.

  “Well, I am sure that the Moon Goddess will one day bless me with an exceptionally beautiful mate, and I might have to fight off quite a few wolves in the process,” he finally replies with a cheeky smile. “Better be prepared,” he teases, breaking the uncomfortable tension.

  I can hear light chuckling around the table. Axel, never passing up on an opportunity to mess with Raiden, also adds to the conversation. “Yeah, or she might bless you with a very big, very mean lady, for which you might also need some special skills.” He highlighted the words ‘special skills’ by dragging it out a little longer than necessary.

  Everybody laughs and Alpha Anderson ruffles Raiden’s hair roughly. Raiden lets out a loud groan but keeps a smile on his face as he flicks his eyes in my direction.

  I give him a small smile and a slight nod, indicating that he did well in handling my mother’s almost offensive comment.

  • • •

  By the time we finally make our way out of the castle, the party outside is already in full swing. Axel had disappeared from our table somewhere between dinner and dessert. By the looks of it, he already had his dessert.

  He is striding towards us with what looks like lipstick smudges all over his face. He gives me a knowing look, before plopping down on the ground amongst the rest of us, leaning casually against a tree stump.

  Raiden just shakes his head and smirks, giving me a sideways glance. There is no way I am going to inform Axel about the lipstick on his face just yet. It might be very interesting to hold on to that little piece of information for a bit longer.

  I am sitting in between Raiden’s legs, leaning peacefully against his chest. We are all scattered around a bonfire, laughing, and chatting without a care in the world.

  “I heard all the Alpha’s will be out of town the whole of next week,” Carter, one of Shadow Creek’s warriors, says.

  “Oh, goodie! A forest get-together!” Sala almost yells out excitedly, clapping her hands together and rubbing her palms.

  She wiggles her brows as she eyes the group. We only laugh at her, knowing that she had looked a little too deep into the bottle tonight. Carter slumps over her from behind, reaching for the bottle sitting on the ground in front of her, slightly crushing her below him.

  “Think someone needs to take this little guy off your hands,” he says in a joking tone, grabbing the bottle and getting off her.

  Chase lets out a low growl from beside us at the notion of Carter leaning over Sala. I only roll my eyes at him and chuckle, while Raiden gives him a little slap on the chest, also chuckling.

  “We’re not allowed to leave pack grounds,” Gunner snorts out. He is Raiden’s best friend and future Beta of Shadow Creek. “Alpha’s orders,” he says, rolling his eyes.

  “Oh, come on, you’re not sc…scared, are you?” Sala blurts out, letting out a small hiccup at the end of her sentence.

  “Gunner’s right, we should not be sneaking out until this rogue issue has been resolved,” Cassius joins in. “It could be dangerous.”

  “What if we all just travel together from the border? If someone dares to attack us, that person must damn well be mental,” Raiden cuts in.

  “Yeah, you Shadow Creek folk are beastly,” Axel chimed in, earning a snort and a high five out of Sala.

  “No, he has a point,” I agree. “We are a pretty tough bunch, not to mention our extensive combat training experience.”

  “Fighting someone in the ring, versus fighting a feral rogue, are two very different things,” Cassius replies sternly.

  “Yes, sir, Alpha!” Axel answers jokingly, giving him a salute gesture with his hand.

  “So, who’s in?” Sala yells out once again, completely ignoring Cassius’s warning.

  Gradually we all answer “Aye”, except for Cassius.

  “Oh, come on Man, this is your last chance to live a little,” Axel tries to convince him. “Once you are Alpha, you will never be able to do any of this stuff again.”

  “Besides, someone has to be the big, bad wolf protecting us in the middle of the deep dark forest,” Sala says, giving him a funny pout.

  We all stare at him in silence as we wait for his final verdict. I can see the gears in his head-turning.

  “Fine!” he finally says, throwing his hands up into the air. “But everyone stays together,” he says sternly.

  “Aye!” we all yell in unison.

  “And we leave whenever I say so!” he adds.

  “Aye!” we yell again, laughing and shining with excitement.

  “And you owe me for this Axe!” Cassius states jokingly, pointing a finger at Axel.

  “Aye!” we all yell again, in a rowdy manner.

  Axel rolls his eyes and bumps Cassius on the shoulder with his fist.

  I stare at my two brothers lovingly as they exchange warm smiles and clink their glasses together.

  At this very moment, I cannot ask for anything more in the world. I am completely content and filled with happiness, resting in the arms of my beloved, surrounded by loving friends.

  Chapter 5

  Lily

  It is well past midnight, and the forest is dark and eerie as we creep quietly through the undergrowth to our usual meeting point.

  Cassius is naturally taking the lead, with the rest of us trailing silently behind him. We have to be very careful in sneaking out since everybody is on high alert with the recent killings that have taken place.

  We move together in a synchronized manner, keeping our senses focused on our surroundings.

  Nothing seems out of place.

  The usual night sounds of crickets, owls, and other nighttime critters float all around us. There are no foreign scents hanging in the air, and everybody seems to be at ease.

  Our friends from Shadow Creek are already waiting for us in the clearing by the time we arrive at our usual meeting point.

  Raiden immediately pulls me to his chest the second I step into the clearing, nuzzling his nose in my hair and inhaling my scent deeply. I close my eyes and melt into his warmth, enjoying his touch as he slides his hand gently up and down my bac
k in a loving, almost intimate gesture.

  “Glad to see everybody made it,” Gunner says mockingly as everyone starts to plop down around a tiny fire Shadow Creek has made in the middle of the clearing.

  Although it is quite a distance from the pack grounds, we prefer to travel in our human forms for social gatherings such as these. Nothing makes a get-together awkward faster than a bunch of naked youth sitting around for a casual chat, after changing forms. Besides, we are quite used to running fair distances because of our weekly training schedules.

  Because of this, I have never seen Raiden in his wolf-form before, or any other member from Shadow Creek for that matter. I do know however that he is a very large, light-brown wolf with a slightly darker brown/greyish face and back, from what I have heard.

  I cannot wait for us to come of age so that our wolves can finally meet and so that we could be bounded together for all eternity. That is IF he is my fated mate.

  Raiden plops down onto a nearby fallen tree stump and pulls me down with him, hugging his arm around me tightly in a protective manner. I instantly snuggle into his side, enjoying the comfort his mere touch brings to my soul.

  I know it might sound cheesy, but Raiden is the only boy I have ever loved and probably the only boy I will ever love. It is almost like his soul calls out to mine in an unexplainable, intoxicating kind of way, making me addicted to his very presence and the fulfillment it brings in being near him.

  Being so close to him that I can literally take him in with all my senses, turns me into putty and makes me purr in pure bliss like a little kitten.

  Almost as though sensing my thoughts, Raiden bends down and places a lingering kiss on top of my head as we listen to the ongoing chatter and laughter of our friends all around us.

  Lord Hale

  Loud excited voices and the sound of laughter draws my attention as I am making my way through the forest.