Alpha’s Virgin Stripper

LAKE:

I stood up and he- Xavier Monterrey, stood up too, we shook hands and he bowed slightly, in courtesy. We had just closed a business deal worth millions. Xavier had once again, proved himself to be one of the best persons to work with.

“Thank you, Alpha. I look forward to working on more projects with you.” He spoke with a bold smile on his face.

“Likewise.” That was all I replied. I watched him leave in silence.

I found my enthusiasm dwindling this time. I was not as excited as I used to be while signing deals with him. Perhaps, my perspective of him had changed from the night he asked to have Red.

A visible frown formed on my face. I squinted my brows and adjusted the tie on my neck. Why did I seem to care too much about this girl?

She was not my first mate. There had been two women before her, yet, I was never stuck on anyone as much as I was on her. I had almost killed a man for her, I went ahead and made him an outcast. When had I begun to care about people’s troubles? When did I begin to familiarize myself with empathy?

The lack of control I now had was infuriating. I despised not being in charge, especially of my thoughts.

My doorbell chimed twice before my door creaked open. I turned my head slightly to find Kenji bowed in front of me.

“Alpha Lake.”

I nodded, in silence.

I noticed his eyes narrow on me as he took a seat opposite me.

“You look troubled.” He stated. I could hear the underlying question, but I ignored it.

“I’m fine. What’s been going on?” To divert his attention from me, I needed to give him something to be busy with.

“There has been a lot of improvement in training the warriors, I would say we are ninety percent ready for battle.” His response was eager and confident.

“Good enough. But, we’re not just training to be good enough, we’re training to win.”

“Of course, Alpha. We’ll do better.” His enthusiasm had dwindled, but the sparkle of a warrior remained in his eyes.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

I still had more things to say.

“We should not focus on training, too. We need to know who our enemies are. I’m sure they know every one of us by name but we do not even have a clear picture of one of our threats.” I sighed. Talking about the war exhausted me.

“How has the search been going?”

I noticed his shoulders fall before he adjusted himself in his seat.

“The spies never return with tangible information. The rogues are good at hiding.” He complained.

“Then we get better at finding them.” My tone was calm, but I knew Kenji knew the wrath that lay underneath.

“I understand, Alpha” He looked down at his wristwatch, before shifting in his seat.

“Would have to get going now. My mother has been sick.”

Kenji’s last statement struck me like lightning.

“What?”

He turned his face away from me.

“When? Why haven’t you mentioned it to me?” I gnarled. He took three terrified steps away from me.

Mrs. Lockwood was another exception from my dislike for women. She had taken up my mother’s role from the moment she disappeared up until now. Even with a health condition that caused her to lose some of her memory, she did not forget to check up on me. I could not believe Kenji had hidden something of this sort from me.

His eyes softened as he looked up at me.

“I’m sorry. I just, I didn’t want to bother you.”

I can’t say I understood his reason, but I was willing to try.

“I’ll come with you.”

Without a second thought, I closed my Mac book and rose.

He nodded. “Alright.”

We left my office together, taking Kenji’s newly acquired Corolla for the short trip. After a one-hour drive, we stopped in front of the familiar two-storied building, an extravagant house for a family of four. I had not seen his family in almost five years and I did not know how to feel.

We alighted the car and made our way to the house. I decided not to think much of it while hoping that Jade would not show up here. I was far from ready for drama.

He stopped at the door and rang the doorbell. Once, twice, thrice until we had stood there for more than five minutes. It was one thing I remembered about the Lockwoods. They never answered the door in time, but I was used to it.

Mrs. Lockwood’s head popped through the small space she opened. Her well-rounded face lit up as soon as she set her eyes on me.

“Lake!” She yelled in excitement and pulled me into her arms. Kenji frowned beside me, seemingly embarrassed by his mother’s actions. However, it caused a small smile to appear on my face. Before I could wrap my arms around her, she pulled away, her evergreen smug smile plastered on her face.

“It’s been so long Maa. I apologize for not…”

“Oh goodness, you still call me that!” She waved her right hand and threw her head back in laughter.

“Goddess, I missed you so much, my boy!” She dramatically wiped the imaginary tears her under eyes and squeezed my hands in hers. Of course, I did call her Maa, she was the mother I never had.

“Can we go inside, mom?”

We had both forgotten Kenji stood there. Mrs. Lockwood flashed her son a grin as she turned her back toward us.

“Of course! Come in.”

She ushered us into the house.

She dragged us into the kitchen. I had not realized how hungry I was until the scent of spicy chicken and cinnamon rolls wafted through my nostrils. The kitchen had been one of my favorite places in the house, Mrs. Lockwood made a huge fraction of the best meals I had tasted in my life.

She picked up a cinnamon roll and passed it to me. I took the roll between my fingers, the oily feel and aroma causing me to salivate, I could feel my stomach bubble with joy.

“I’m sure you have neither had good rest nor good food in a while. Look at you, so thin!”

By then, she meant my muscles were thick. She liked to think my biceps were made of bones.

“And your granny is too old to look after you. I would make you something to…”

“You should rest, maa. You’re sick.” I cut in, pulling her away from the gas cooker gently. She cast Kenji a swift glance before she managed a sad smile at me.

“I know, but seeing you here gives me strength so make yourself comfortable and allow me to make my magic.”

How could I resist those warm brown eyes? It was pointless to do so, so I didn’t try.

As we turned to leave the kitchen, Mr. Lockwood walked down the stairs at the same time. He was a short man, I liked to think he had narrowly escaped dwarfism.

Just like his wife, his eyes lit up as soon as he saw me. The old man burst into laughter. I shook my head in amusement.

“Lake, man!” He pulled my hand into his and engulfed my right shoulder in a side hug. There was a smile on my face when he tapped my back gently.

Mr. Lockwood soon left me to walk over to his wife, who stood behind the kitchen counter, chopping some leaves.

Mrs. Lockwood smiled when he stood by her.

“You can’t believe he’s here too, right?”

“I think I might have just seen a ghost but I’m too happy to get scared.”

“Making lunch? How long until it’s served?” He asked, reaching her and pecking her cheek. Her smile reached the back of her ears this time. Something sparkled in her eyes.

I felt my stomach knot, and not the good kind. This was something I’ll never have.

“Twenty. It’s something simple.”

“Can’t wait.” He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulder as we made our way to the living room.

“So, how have you been, son?”

My heart warmed up whenever I was in this place because here, I was just Lake. Not Alpha Lake, but the child who had been nurtured in the walls of this house all his childhood and treated with as much affection as everyone else.

Here, I did not have to be perfect and controlling.

I did not have to be an Alpha.