2162

~Aria

Without moving a single inch, I watch as Malik pulls a chair out from under the reading table, before he slumps down on it, although, he manages to make it look graceful, regardless. With closer observation, I can see the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes.

He's tired? Maybe it's from all the traversing after me in the depths of night he enjoys.

"Punishment," I echo his last statement, trying to make the word sound a little more real in my ears. I should have suspected a repercussion for all this sneaking around; especially after Brynn's incident with him earlier today. She got away with a strict warning, while I managed to obtain a new nickname and the title - still unknown to everyone-of the first competitor to meet the Alpha.

The soft curves of Malik's mouth tilts up. "This could entail whatever you would like it to."

We stare at each other, blue on a slightly less impressive blue, before I catch a grasp on what he truly meant. Our expressions morphed into complete contrast, as a frown etched into my features, and he laughed animatedly. I hated to admit the sound of rapture and warmth in that sound was congenial.

"Those are words for private," I snap, dismissing his unconventional thoughts.

The gleam of his expression didn't falter for a single second, as he continued to milk the situation, and the colour of my cheeks.

"What's more private than a library?" he asks, motioning with his hands to insinuate the extent of this room. With the high ceilings, shadowed by darkness, this baronial room would echo our voices if we were to speak any louder. I'm envious just looking at it, and a part of me wishes I could simply build something like this in my own home.

Problem is, I'm not obscenely rich, or an Alpha of any kind.

"I don't know," I say flatly, giving him a look to match. "Solitary confinement, maybe?"

"Giving me ideas on what to do with you, when you keep breaking the rules?" Malik asks, still looking untroubled by this entire situation.

His threat is clearly empty, and probably said to rile me up, however, I couldn't help but see some kind of truthful undertone there. Either I'm like a jester giving the Alpha's entertainment, before he cuts off my head, or he's letting this slide, because for whatever reason, he likes me. Well, likes me more than he liked Brynn.

"Brynn," I cut in suddenly, veering the conversation back to something I can handle. "She broke the rules, and you got mad at her."

Malik paused, and I could see the conflict in the way his jaw ticked. Not once does his eyes stray from mine, while he considers how to answer. For a moment I think he won't admit me to me how he is feeling, because maybe he isn't allowed to just yet. Are the rules still applying during our conversation.

"You and her are very different," he says carefully.

I peer had him between my lashes, trying to figure out what the means are behind his cryptic words.

"How so?" I question, my eyebrows naturally furrowing. I suppose that's a stupid question, considering we are stark different. She is bold, confident and extremely charismatic to the point where she doesn't mind that she embarresses herself. I can be sure of myself most times, and I know what I want, but I would never taunt a girl to the extent she did today.

Yet her and I get along.

"Honestly?"

I give him a flat look.

"She didn't grab my attention. She didn't steal it from me. Brynn didn't ramble on about how what she did was justified; she just accepted her wrong. You tried to show me the logic of the situation, and how what is just, in our eyes, isn't in yours. Brynn didn't make me want to understand, but you however, did."

I stare him blankly for a few moments, letting the information sink into my mind.

"As strange as it may sound, I saw a little spark in your eyes, that I thought didn't exist. Our simple meeting weighed on me hours after you walked out of that door, leaving me to think about why I was so interested in you," he admitted further.

This was a surprise. A detailed extract of his own emotion was not something I suspected to hear from him.

"Is that a good enough explanation?" he asks, eyes blazing, despite his expression of indifference. What would Brynn do if she heard that? What would the rest of the girls do? After they were jealous by the fact that Brynn had a little bit of extra time with them, they would probably attack me over the fact that Malik admitted that he was interested in me.

Honestly, I don't even know how to react. This isn't something I am about to get caught up in, since this is mission after all.

"Isn't that a little unfair on the rest of the girls?" I question, trying to make myself feel better about something I can't really control. Malik however, didn't agree with me in the slightest; I could that much, by just his expression.

"This is a competition, is it not?" he says, getting to his feet swiftly. "And you want to win, do you not?"

This is a competition I was ready answer. "Guess we will have to wait and see how this whole thing turns out, won't we?"

Malik looked impressed, as he raised a curious eyebrow. This conversation is beginning to dip deeper into the night, and I feel myself start to worry a little more about who might find us down here. What if a girl wanders in, and then the news spreads throughout the entire house. If that was to happen, I would probably raise a white flag and woefully back out.

"Look, I want to show you something," he says suddenly, a quirk of a smile coming back.

A little worried, although equally curious, I follow Malik out of the library. We kept to the shadows, walking with the softest of steps, as we strained to hear if anyone was coming. Apparently the fact that Malik owns this place doesn't make him any less worried about being caught with me, and when he turned to look at explain it to me, I found out it was because of his parents.

"Despite their belief in the Moon Goddess being next to nothing, they like to make people think they believe in her. That means being an outstanding citizen."

Our journey-which remains under a veil of uncertain Malik sewed himself-lead upstairs, and into a restricted zone for the competitors. The moment my feet touched the top landing, I felt a thrill of exhilaration strike through me. Now my nickname Trouble Maker is beginning to have a lot more material behind it to back it up.

"This is-"

My words of complaint were cut off by Malik holding his hand up.

We are crouched behind a pillar close to the roof. What I had seen on this expedition has been limited to what the few cones of light we dodged showed. If this was a pool, I would have dove down to the deepest depths, where I would be scraping the paint off the bottom. Or if this was a grave dug for me, I'd be lying at bedrock.

That's how bad this is. But for some sick reason, I don't mind in the slightest. Only my heart does, as it beats to the point Malik might be able to hear it.

My gaze follows where Malik points. I can hardly see it, but it's a door that will most likely be the outside balcony of this place. I don't know what to expect, but honestly, I'm a little reluctant to step into the snow, considering it's the dead of night, and I wear only a thin, inside coat. What is out there, that Malik is so interested in, I don't know.

Yet, I still follow him, when he slowly stalks toward it.

If anyone even uses this part of his house, I have no idea. Everything we wandered past seems so polished and well furnished. Perhaps with more light, I would be able to see myself in the glossy tiles. I can't imagine anyone in their right mind who would want to climb the amount of stairs we just did.

Slowly, Malik opens the door, and through the crack, a billow of brittle cold wind hits me square in the face-almost like a slap.

Without a moment's hesitation, Malik opens it the rest of the way, and steps outside.

I was right about the fact that it was a balcony. The flooring spread wider than I imagined, with a capped roof over it, to hold most of the burden of the snow, however, the front has a compacted layer of the white stuff. Despite it being a very cool night, it had stopped snowing, and there was no snow touching the three benches built into the wall.

That wasn't what I was worried about though.

"Come, sit," Malik said gently, knowing I was enraptured by the sight beyond the balcony. He tugged on the back of my coat, and I stumbled back a few steps, before I sat on the bench beside him.

The balcony couldn't have been positioned in any better of a pace. Posed, so the lights of the East side of the Love Pack were right in front of us to admire. Why aren't these people asleep? Light twinkle and gleam, lighting up the sky, giving me a feeling that this place isn't real, but just a figure of my imagination.

"This is too pretty," I express my thoughts, not being able to take my eyes off the sight.

Malik didn't say a word. Instead, he let me just drink in the intoxicating sight of the place. Never have I been granted the pleasure of seeing the extent of this pack. And this isn't even half of it...

"You know," Malik whispers, after some time. The soft sound of his melodic voice melts perfectly between the lyrics of nature. "I have a hard time keeping a conversation with women."

Tearing my gaze away from what I had taken numerous mental pictures, I met his gaze. For the first time ever, in the short time I have known this Alpha, he looks vulnerable. Him opening up to me is not something I would expect, this early into the competition. Perhaps he is easily assuming we are meant to get along so well, before he has even talked fully to the other girls. Yet even I have to admit that from how little we talk, I've felt more and more comfortable around him, and less worried about this punishment he mentioned earlier.

"Why?" I ask him, keeping my voice as low as him.

He sighs, and I watch the small amount of frosty air that forms around his breath. "I'm supposed to be the Alpha of Love, but I feel less and less like I understand it by the day-"

He could say no more, when all of a sudden, the door we had come through earlier had someone on the other side. And they were knocking.

Perhaps it was Fate playing mind games. I could imagine him, sitting on his throne of control and manipulation, as he watches us with a cruel smile, deciding what he wants next. Most probably, the man was doing Malik a favour; stopping him from expressing his thoughts to me, while I wonder when I'm going to get that necklace from him.

But now, he has put us in the position, where we might get caught together.

💙••💙

🕸🕸

midikacrane

Midika

~Midika 💜🐼