Page 76 of The Alpha and His Childhood Sweetheart

She pushed me, “No, you dork. There was a present for him too.” I laughed, “Of course there was.” We found him in our shared office, just sitting there. We walked in and he looked up. My dad was sitting in the corner with whiskey.

Elise walked up to him explaining, “This was in with my present. It’s for you.” Alexander took it from her and opened it. My dad dropped his whiskey and my jaw dropped when we say his present. Brutus said, “Well, today is just full of twists.”

His gift was a platinum black ring. It looked a HELL of a lot like a wedding band. Alexander slipped it on his right hand and read the note. He dropped it and I could feel his shock. He yelled, “Holy shit!” My dad asked, “Did you just get proposed to via a note, son?” I asked, “And did you say yes? Because you put it on.” Elise shot me a look and rolled her eyes.

Alexander shook his head. He looked at my ring then asked, “Elise, did Melanie have EJ’s ring?” Elise looked over then nodded. “Yeah, she hid it for me for a week. Why?” Alexander handed me the note.

Xander,

This was the gift I’ve been working on for your Alpha Ceremony. I didn’t get to come… so it’s late…not too late but still late….but it’s with you now. I’ve been working on this a lot. It will turn silver if there’s iron near you.

So, if it turns silver and you’re near someone, they have iron on them. I’m working on silver and wolfsbane… but I haven’t perfected that yet. If the ring turns brown though… get the hell out of dodge. EJ’s ring does it too. I did that for Elise… and you… but mostly… well… I love her and… ok bye…

Yours

Melanie

P.S. I was supposed to give this to you in person but now I can’t. You promised we’d meet one day… and that’s what I hold onto. You can’t break a promise since…you know the whole you're a partial Fairy….which you obviously know…why am I like this? Anyway, be safe. Your safety means more to me than you could imagine.

There were tearstains on the note. I gaped, “Holy shit! Elise, how goddamn smart is she?!” Elise answered, “Really smart. Off the charts smart. I mean I’m not joking when I say she’s a genius. Why?” I conjured an iron mallet on the table. My dad growled not liking it near us.

Both mine and Alexander’s rings turned silver. Alexander sat down managing to say, “Oh my god.” My dad quickly asked, “Why did your rings turn silver? I would guess it was a mood ring, but I’m guessing it’s more complicated.” Elise gasped, “Oh my god did Melanie do that?” I nodded.

I conjured a silver chain. Now the ring was mostly silver, but a brown color that was barely there. My dad sounded impressed, “Melanie did this?” I nodded and handed him the note. He ordered, “Conjure an iron dart into my pocket.”

Elise stopped me, “Wait, conjure everything out of the room first and let them go to a normal color.” I nodded and did as she suggested. The second the iron and silver were gone the rings went back to their normal color.

I conjured the iron dart to my dad's pocket. Our rings turned silver again. My dad snorted, “Son of a bitch! How did she do that?! We all need those.” Elise told us, “Her brothers have them. It must be the multiple components for you guys that she struggled with. I have one too.”

She held up her bracelet, “My bracelet reacted to the silver. She gave my parents, her parents, brothers and even Ray jewelryas presents. I bet theirs do the same thing. She left a message on my voicemail that didn’t make sense, but she said she’s worked so hard on what was left and it was all under her bed. She’s got more of these.” She gripped my hand and urgently said, “EJ, pop us to my parents’ house.”

I grabbed her hand and popped to the Kyle’s house. They were in a meeting with the McAlister’s. Dalton stood sensing the urgency. “Elise?” He asked. Elise nodded to me, “Conjure something silver.” I conjured a silver mallet on the table. Everyone in the room had jewelry that changed color.

Tristan glanced at his bracelet Melanie had given him. He stood yelling, “What the fuck?!” I explained, “Your sister has given you all jewelry to warn you when silver is near. If you see brown trying to become a factor, it’s wolfsbane. She hasn’t perfected the pieces that have both elements yet. I don’t think you’ve quite told me how damn smart your sister is, T. The strongest reaction mine has is to iron.”

Drake sputtered, “She what?” Peter was stunned. Elise ran out of the house and over to the McAlister’s. I felt her confusion for a minute. She came back over with a bag and a hoodie. I had no idea why she needed one of Mel’s hoodies but didn’t question it.

Elise opened the bag. There were baggies labeled with the names of my family members, Red Run’s Gamma family, and their Warriors. We tested them. My family’s reacted strongest to iron. The reactions were there to silver and iron though.

Tristan sat down, “I’ll be damned.” Drake smiled, “She’s just so damn smart. This….” I finished, “Is amazing. It even worked when my dad had an iron dart in his pocket.” Jason whistled, “I had no idea she was working on this.”

Sam proudly surmised, “She has that notebook she’s always doodling ideas in.” I asked them, “Can I take these back to my family?” Drake nodded, “She intended for you guys to havethem.'' I snorted, “When we talk to her, we should ask about this. I want to know what other projects she’s got. I’ve got more than enough money to let her test out any ideas she has.”

Drake laughed, “She does this type of stuff for fun. She just wants to dance.” I nodded. She clearly had free time though. Which was fascinating since she always busy. Did she sleep? Regardless, I was more than willing to give her money for a lab of some kind. Brutus told me, “Or let her be popped to our pack where she could meet our brother.” That would certainly sweeten the pot for me.

Elise and I said our goodbyes before I popped us back home. I held her as we fell asleep. I woke up to a link from Toby, “Our very own Captain America Alpha Enforcer, whose problem I now know and agree I should’ve known already, is back in the gym destroying things.” I sighed and popped to my brother.

I called, “Alexander?” He turned, “Oh, hey EJ. I didn’t expect to see you today.” I counted the equipment on the ground before asking, “What did the fifteen heavy bags do to you?” Alexander shrugged, “I’m just training harder.” Toby linked me groaning. I nodded, “Ok.”

My brother added, “I’m upping our trainings too.” Toby linked, “GOODIE! I blame the McAlister’s. This is their fault and I’ll find a way to make them suffer! I’ll bring in Fairy or five, but Fairy hijinks is coming for them.” Why did everyone want me to laugh at inappropriate times lately? Brutus snickered in my head.

Out loud I said, “That’s your prerogative, brother.” He nodded. I urged, “Why don’t we take a break for now?” He shrugged and we walked outside side by side. Genevive linked, “I think we are in for a time of it. Which sucks because we did nothing. At least we will improve our skills.” She always looked at the bright side of life.

The tension in our house rose as the evening progressed. My mom was gone for a bad ass girl gang day. Elise was supposed to go but she said she was too down. My mom eventually agreed to go without her, but she gave it her best shot at convincing her that it would cheer her up. This stupid dance competition had our entire pack on edge. They just didn’t know that was why.

Elise got a text and started to cry. I held her, “It’s ok.” Elise whispered, “She won. She’s staying in New York for High School.” Alexander closed his eyes and a few tears slipped out before he took off. I linked him, “Brother, I know this sucks. It’s impressive that she won though.” He replied, “I’m so proud of her, but I miss her.” That was fair.

Maverick and Max walked into the room. Micah was behind them, clearly concerned. I told them, “He’ll be ok.” Max snorted, “Will he? Will one of you tell us what the hell is going on?” I told them, “He will tell you when he’s ready. I had to give him space for five years guys. He’ll be ok.” Max frowned, “Fine. I think Wes had the right idea though.” He grabbed Micah and left.

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