Ariadne: Almost an Alpha | ✓

Chapter 18 - Check

Chapter 18 - Check 

"Something else is bothering you," Mateus notes.

"Why psychology, Mr. Stanford?" I ask, avoiding the topic, moving a piece.

"In high school I was very interested in human behavior patterns, and I figured studying it could turn out to be very useful. It was; I feel like it's given me an upperhand in some pack situations, training especially."

I put this information, along with the fact that he is likely highly intelligent, away into my secret Things About Mateus brain file. "Like when you pretended to be a misogynist during my training session the other day?" I clarify.

"Exactly." He smiles, showing his teeth for a small second, but the sparkle in his blue eyes doesn't fade. "What's bothering you?"

"It's your turn."

"Ariadne."

My breath hitches in my throat. I hate it when he says my name like that or ever, really. My body automatically responds to him, and it's not fair. "Mateus."

"What is it?"

"It's your turn."

Mateus finally looks away from me, making a quick pointless move on the board. "I'm not going to force you to tell me. If you need anything, you know where to find me. Good night." He pushes the small chair back and turns towards the closed door.

I try to stop him. "Wait, Mateus, can we finish?"

He slightly twists around, giving me a glance before muttering under his breath, "I shouldn't have come in here anyway." "Night, Ariadne," he says, louder this time, dismissively.

Wait, what? I watch him get farther away until his hands touch the knob. My gaze keeps switching between the board and his back, triggering a suppressed memory. I can't leave a game unfinished.

I can't.

The glass board fades into an old, wooden one. "Night, Ariadne." My father lightly kisses my head, and I get a whiff of his Versace cologne.

"Please," I beg, barely a whisper, my hands shaking in my lap.

Mateus turns, hand still on the knob. Blue eyes connect with my brown ones.

Without responding, he carefully steps back to the table, pulls out his chair, and sits down.

With trembling hands, I push a rook forward. He watches my move; I know he can see the shakiness, the uneasiness, but he doesn't comment on it.

He moves his bishop forward.

I capture it with a knight.

Slowly, quietly, pieces disappear from the board, and I eventually stop shaking.

Grateful he stayed, I answer his earlier question, breaking the silence. "It bothers me that my pack doesn't feel safe here. It's my fault."

Those blue eyes stare into my soul, and I elaborate, all my thoughts drifting out into my words. "I promised them they would be safe and cared for here, and now, I find out that they were scared. Those attacks scared them. But then, what about the other incidents before now? Have they always been scared, and I just haven't noticed? I should've better protected them, put more thought into patrolling schedules, reached out to the board sooner, found a better, older, more experienced leader."

"You're a great leader," he states, firmly, looking straight into my eyes.

I look down and analyze the pieces left on the board, noticing a way to get to his king. I make the first move of my strategy. "No I'm not. I can't protect my pack members; your men are. You are."

"You oversee the adults' training. You train the children. You give them a home and a pack. You talk to them; you ask them about their days and their families. You know all their names, all their likes and dislikes."

"Anyone can do that."

"You take them in. You fill them with hope instead of helplessness. You give them a sense of belonging"

"It's your turn."

He moves, capturing my rook, an unimportant piece not included in my strategy, before continuing. "Someone else couldn't do that, Ariadne. Instead of the everyday horror they faced before they came here, you show them compassion and love."

I scoff while moving my queen away from my king.

"I'm serious. Earlier, I went to see the injured girl, and Dr. Maria told me her story. She told me about her past pack, about how she failed the operation, about how they banished her, about how you rescued her from some rogues in Oregon. You brought her here, encouraged her, and she's very grateful for that. And it's not just her either. You've saved all of them in some way or another, just like you saved the girl today. Most people wouldn't have done that. I've heard some of them talking, and they all seem to respect you. That's uncommon in most packs; there's always people who hate the alpha, who think they're better than the alpha."

He doesn't understand. "But," I tell him, "the main purpose of this pack is to be a safe haven for the people. I didn't ensure they felt protected. I didn't fulfill the purpose."

He sighs while taking his turn. "You did the best you could with the resources you had."

I move a bishop forward, lining it up with his king, baiting his queen, luring it away from the king. "Other packs don't rely on others to protect them."

He takes the bait, capturing the bishop with the queen. "But they do. They send their best fighters to me, I train them, and I send them back as posts. I meet with them about pack security, and when there's a problem, I send more men in."

I don't respond, instead mulling his words over as I move my own queen a few spots away from the king, keeping it in my line of sight but not getting close enough for it to capture my queen. In order for his queen to protect the king, he would need two turns. "Check," I call.

Mateus looks at the board, noticing the location of his queen and his other pieces. "Very sneaky." He moves his queen anyways.

"Mate," I announce, sliding my queen into the king's square. When I look up, smiling at my win, he's already staring at me. Blue orbs focus on my eyes, and I suck in a breath at their intensity, realizing my mistake.

Mateus reaches over the table, lightly touching my chin with his forefinger and thumb. When his eyes focus on my mouth, my stomach clenches in anticipation, and my own gaze drops to his full lips. They're slightly chapped and a light coral, contrasting nicely with his tanned olive skin.

Thankfully, the sound of the front door slamming shut snaps my gaze away as we're both leaning in. I hear Sterling's laugh as heavy feet make their way towards the living room. One pair of footsteps stops outside the office door. Mateus drops his hand.

"Hey, Ari." The door opens, revealing a smiling Dylan. "We're going to watch a movie. Come join us." He greet Mateus, "Alpha Mateus, you are welcome to join also."

"Thank you for the offer," Mateus replies, getting up, "but I need to check in with my beta." He glances back at me before passing by Dylan.

I get up also, clearing my throat, before making my way to the door. "Thank you for playing with me," I tell his back. 

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