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“Niall.”
I nearly jumped out of my seat as the Alpha entered the tiny room that was my office.
“Yes, sir.”
“I just got out of a meeting with Nancy, and she told me how well you're doing. I wanted to come and thank you myself. The updated census you got us is remarkable. We're already making changes and updates based on the information you provided.”
I nodded, not sure what to say. All I’d done was my job. I didn't need to commendations for it.
“She said you're quite the worker. Because of your help, she's worked through her backlog of to-do’s, things that had been deprioritized for quite some time. I know that's a weight off her shoulders and will help with the rest of the office.”
“Yes, sir.” I repeated because it felt like the only thing to say.
“Oh, you don't need to call me sir. You may call me Alpha.”
But you're not my Alpha, I thought, without saying it out loud.
“What are you working on now?”
I hesitated, wanting to shut off the screen, but knowing that would just raise questions. Even though I was getting more than my share of work done, I didn't want anyone to think that I was sitting around wasting time.
“I'm . . . reviewing . . . some . . . of . . . the . . .” I drew out each word, trying to figure out the right thing to say before giving up and turning the screen to point out the oddities. “There have been some strange messages going back and forth for the past two weeks. There's a pattern, maybe even a code, but I'm not sure what it means yet. I've been trying to create cypher to break it, but so far, I haven't been successful.”
He stared at the screen for a few moments. “This has been going on for the past two weeks?”
“Yes, sir. Alpha,” I corrected.
“I'm impressed you caught on. They seem regular enough that most people might not have noticed.”
I nodded. “It's only because I've been reviewing the comments every day that I noticed a pattern.”
My phone buzzed on the desk, and Sai’s name appeared on the screen. I silenced it, but the Alpha took a step back.
“Go ahead and take that. I don't want to keep you here longer than needed.”
“I can keep working,” I offered.
He waved me off. “Go home. We can worry about this in the morning.”
I hated leaving a task like this unfinished. The mystery demanded a solution, but my bond needed me. I wouldn’t make the same mistake of prioritizing my projects over them.
“Good night, Alpha.” I waved as he left my office before calling Sai back.
“Hey, man, are you on your way?”
“Yeah. Where are we meeting? Emily's?”
“There's a field about half a mile behind their house.”
“Okay, I'll head over there now.”
We were making great progress as a bond, working together and sharing our power was almost instantaneous. It felt as natural as using magic myself, and I knew this was just the tip of the iceberg. From what I’d read, bonded groups could do incredible things if they pushed themselves, considering the possibilities rather than limiting them to what they’d known or seen.
“All right.” Joey clapped his hands as we all gathered around in a circle. “I think we're to the point where we need to ask you what you want to learn. What is your goal?”
“We don't really know,” Sai offered, looking around at each of us. “I know the possibilities are endless, but we don't know what we don't know. You know?”
I shook my head, and he chuckled.
