Introspect [The Mating Games #3]

ORION KALLIS

“I don’t understand how you do this every night,” Konstantin groaned from beside him, rubbing his eyes as if he was trying to rub the sleep from them.

In response, Orion simply shrugged and continued walking; leading the way back to the pack.

“Your sleep schedule must be fucked,” he swore, exhaling deeply.

Again, Orion simply shrugged. It wasn’t like he had anything meaningful to say so what was the point? People often said that if you didn’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all, but Orion took it one step further. However, it helped that he wasn’t much of a talker in the first place.

This wolf is really annoying, his wolf grumbled. His beady eyes remained closed as he rested his head on top of his paws. Why does he speak so much? Does his jaw not hurt with all the moving that it does?

I think the issue is that we don’t speak enough, Orion murmured back; his wolf being the only being that he remotely spoke to. Everyone else, he kept the interaction as minimal as possible, always having enjoyed his own company over the company of anyone else.

Why can’t he be like Elias?

You only like Elias because he doesn’t speak to us. Orion chuckled in response, seeing right through his wolf.

Yes, that’s exactly why I like him,his wolf hummed in response. I don’t understand why there’s such a need for small talk. It’s such a waste of energy.

Neither do I but I think that’s an us problem, Orion sighed. When he heard Konstantin say something further to him, he forced himself to pay attention.

“Do you suffer from insomnia?”

“Insomnia?” Orion grunted in question, raising a questioning eyebrow in his direction.

“It’s when someone has trouble sleeping at night,” Konstantin went on to explain, as if he believed Orion to be more confused with the definition than the sudden question. Perhaps he was better at pretending that he was listening than he believed himself to be.

“I know what insomnia is,” he grunted in reply, forcing each word out of his mouth. Already he knew that this would be the most that he would talk to anyone today.

“Is that why you patrol the borders every night?” Konstantin continued to ask, not picking up on the fact that this conversation was the last thing that Orion wanted to be a part of right now. “Because you have trouble sleeping at night?”

“No,” he denied, turning his head to continue looking forward. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t need to explain himself or the lifestyle that he chose for himself to anyone. Especially not this teenager who didn’t know anything about him other than the few rumours that floated around the pack.

With the packhouse now in sight, he picked up the pace in hopes that he would be able to shake off the talkative wolf sooner rather than later.

When Konstantin next opened his mouth to say something, Orion shook his head and grunted in goodbye before he changed direction, heading around the side of the packhouse. At the grand age of forty-two, privacy and his own space were two things that Orion craved the most.

He craved something a little more but alas, at his age and after so much time, he knew it wasn’t possible right now.

The house was small; a little cottage behind the packhouse and away from the rest of the pack. It was far from grand and definitely not large enough for a family. But since that wasn’t in the cards for him, this small cottage was absolutely perfect for him. More than perfect, even.

It’s definitely not big enough for a family, his wolf murmured in a small voice. We would need to look for something bigger or expand when the time comes, the beast added, far too much hope in his tone.

You’re right, but I don’t think we have to worry about that. Orion replied in a small voice, able to sense the low melancholy, self-pitiful mood that his wolf was in right now.

To most, the cottage was lacking in so many departments but to him, it was home.

As he spent every night patrolling the borders and keeping their pack safe at night – not that they had a rogue problem in several years and even then, they had been able to deal with it very quickly – Orion only went to bed in the early hours of the morning. As he worked as one of the chefs in the pack kitchen, it was imperative of him to wake up before the lunchtime rush. Other than patrolling the borders and cooking for the pack, Orion didn’t do much else.

He lived a simple life; one which probably didn’t appeal to most wolves but to him, it was all he knew. It was all he could want given the circumstances.

Closing the door behind him, Orion yawned and headed up the stairs to his bedroom. Shedding his clothes and dropping them on the floor for him to pick up once he woke up hours later, he pulled back the sheets, more than ready to get into bed and allow sleep to take him.

The only solace true solace that he could turn to but alas, he was never able to sleep more than five or six hours at a time.

Unfortunately, getting into bed right now just wasn’t meant to be.

Orion, a voice that did not belong to his own wolf sounded aloud in his head. Are you still awake?

Yes, Alpha? he answered immediately, already perking up despite having been in the middle of getting into bed.

I hope I’m not disturbing you. I know you must just be getting back from border patrol.

Of course, not, Alpha, Orion denied, only lying a little bit. However, it was more out of respect for his Alpha, the Alpha of the Amarok pack than anything else. Is there something that you wanted to talk to me about?

Yes, there is, Alpha Demetri told him. Would you be able to come down to my office now? I would ask for you to drop by at a more appropriate time of day but I’m afraid that this just can’t wait.

Yes, I’ll just be a minute, Orion said, already smoothing down his sheets before reaching for his clothes; pulling them back on.

It wasn’t often that Orion spoke with the Alpha, simply because he didn’t hold much significance in the pack. When he had been younger, he also played the role of a warrior but didn’t train as often now. Or rather, he chose to train by himself than with the rest of the pack, simply because he was no longer a warrior.

Hence, he found it rather strange – and somewhat worrying – that the Alpha wanted to speak to him right now. Especially since it was at such a strange hour of the day.

It was almost as if the Alpha knew that this would be a good time to talk to him. As if he was waiting for this moment to talk to him. That thought just made him worry all that much more.

The most interactions that he had with the Alpha was around this time every five years. When it was time for the Mating Games but it wasn’t for reasons that he spoke to most other people. Instead of discussing being invited to the games, the Alpha would discuss with him and some of the other pack chefs the arrangements and plans for the send-off party that they threw every time.

Other than that, Orion couldn’t think of any other reason as to why the Alpha would want to speak to him. However, the timing and urgency in his tone was still very strange and didn’t quite add up.

Just as he had promised, Orion was standing outside of the Alpha’s office not even a minute later.

Raising his fist, he knocked on the door and waited for the Alpha to beckon him inside.

“It’s good to see you, Alpha Demetri,” Orion greeted the Alpha politely as he let himself into the office, closing the door gently behind him.

“It’s really good to see you, too, Orion,” the Alpha wolf grinned at him from where he was sat behind the desk. “Please take a seat.”

“Thank you,” he replied politely, following instructions.

“I’d like to start off by apologising for calling you here this early in the morning. I know that you’ve just finished border patrol so I’ll make this quick.”

“No, it’s completely fine,” Orion was quick to deny, even going as far as to attempt a small smile.

While he didn’t know Alpha Demetri on a personal basis, not only did he have a lot of respect for the Alpha, but he held him in quite high regards.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise to many that there were a lot of rumours flying around the pack surrounding Orion due to the simply fact that at the humble age of forty-two, he was still mateless; having never received an invitation to the Mating Games before.

Orion knew that if it wasn’t for the Alpha, the rumour mill would have far more fuel to keep it going. And for that, he was very grateful.

“I mean this in the nicest way possible,” Alpha Demetri began as he reached down to pull open one of the desk drawers next to him. “When I saw this earlier last night, it came as quite a surprise to me. I’m sure it’ll be a surprise for you, too, but a very good surprise, I’m sure.”

Orion didn’t say anything. Instead, his eyebrows furrowed together in the middle; confused by his Alpha’s cryptic words. However, it appeared that he didn’t need to say anything as Alpha Demetri placed his hand on the table and slid something toward him.

Staring down at the envelope in front of him – or rather the black and gold wolf logo in the corner which he had heard other wolves talk so much about but having never seen it for himself – his mind went blank.

He had been skipped by four Mating Games over the span of twenty years so what was he supposed to think? He had become so numb to not receiving an invitations to the Mating Games, and the notion that he would spend the remainder of his life mateless, that the hopeful thought hadn’t even crossed his mind this year as it had the past four time.

Surely, this couldn’t be real. Except, it was.

Perhaps, five was his lucky number.

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Layla Knight

23.05.2021