chapter six

Lily paced back and forth under the large oak tree at the entrance of the forest.

She had been planning this picnic for days and sent an invitation to Alexander indicating a time and place to meet her, but she did not know if he would show up as he had not given any feedback.

She continued pacing, thinking about the time she had spent with the alpha these past weeks.

He always made time for her, even though he had a lot of responsibilities but she always met him in his chambers. The idea of the picnic was to spend some time with him somewhere else and in daylight too.

She planned this picnic meticulously, as she knew that the alpha could not be seen casually having a picnic with a member of the pack so she chose a secluded spot-an abandoned cottage close to a creek—that she was sure no one visited.

She found the hide-out when she was younger and needed time away from her foster family.

She checked the contents of the picnic cooler bag she had sneaked out of the house- she had gotten fresh fruit, sandwiches, and Alexander's favorite wine. 

She waited for two more hours and was about to head back home when she heard a rustle behind a bush close to her. She turned to see Alexander and she smiled with relief. "You came!"

Alexander saw the look on Lily's face and was glad that he canceled his last meeting just so he could meet her there.

He got her message and hadn't been able to reply because there had been a serious territorial dispute between the packs located at the north and south of his pack and any scuffle between the two packs would affect his, and he wouldn't have that.

"I had pack business to attend to Lily; that was why I couldn't reply to your message. I've had to leave one meeting for the next in the past few days," he explained, staring at the items she brought.

"It's fine. I am glad you're here now." Lily's eyes glistened as she said that and Alexander's wolf purred in contentment. 

He shook his head and thought to himself, "This little girl has no idea what she's doing to us."

"You look beautiful," he said with strong emotions reflecting from his eyes as he stared at her slowly from her fiery red curls,  which she let down, and her short green floral gown. He loved the way the sun caught her hair and he couldn't help himself. He reached out and touched her hair.

Lily smiled shyly and said, "We have to go to the picnic spot. You'll love it. I promise," she said, her shyness quickly turned to excitement as she led him to the cottage near the creek.

The place was so beautiful, it was almost ethereal.

Alexander smiled to himself because he knew where she was taking him. He built it himself, as it was his way to escape the burdens that came with being an alpha but he hadn't gone back there in a while.

He picked up the picnic cooler bag and followed her as she led him down the path he already knew while listening to her excitedly tell him how she discovered the spot.

"One day, my foster got so mad at me, that she was ready to rain hell on me. I was so scared so I ran away from the house. I kept walking and didn't even know that I had entered the forest and was plying this route until I heard the trickling sound of water." She smiled and looked back at Alexander.

"Gosh! She's beautiful!" Alexander thought, staring at the beautiful woman walking and talking excitedly in front of him.

"I moved further and I saw this gorgeous wooden cottage. I was curious as to why a house would be in the middle of a forest now, crazy thing to do- so I checked it out and saw from all indications that it was abandoned, and since then I have been visiting alone."

"Here we are! Beautiful, isn't it?" she gestured to the beautiful wooden cabin that was nestled comfortably in the creek with pine trees scattered around and a crystal blue lake with flowers planted around. It was simply breathtaking and she was glad she brought Alexander here.

When she looked at Alexander's face, she did not see any form of surprise or admiration. She barely saw him stare at the cabin with a forlorn look on his face and became curious.

"Do you know this place already, Alexander? I mean, you're the alpha of this pack. It would make sense if you knew the place already." she asked carefully, then proceeded to explain when she saw the look on his face.

He smiled sadly and said, "This is my cabin, Lily. I own this creek. I built the cabin myself."

"Oh! Wha..? How?" Lily tried to form comprehensible words but they would not form. She kept pointing at the cabin and pointing at him while trying to express herself with words. She shook her head and he laughed at her expressions.

She looked like an adorable child at that moment and Alexander couldn't help it, He ruffled her head and laughed at her expression again "You're such a drama queen, Lily. Come on in. Let me show you the good stuff and tell you about this place."

Lily hurried after him and he arranged their picnic, set up under a large oak tree at the back of the cabin, a little distance away from the beautiful lake.

He threw pillow cushions from the cabin on the picnic blanket and they sat down and brought out the items in the picnic cooler bag.

"Well, I wanted to surprise you by showing you this beautiful place but I got surprised instead," Lily said, laughing at herself.

"I still love your surprise and I am surprised at the fact that you discovered this place. No one comes here, just me. I built this place years ago to escape from the weight that comes with being the alpha of a pack. I did the building, gardening, and sculpting all by myself. I would call this place my haven." He explained to a very eager listening buddy- Lily was drinking in every word he said.

They spent some time at the picnic spot by the creek, and it was already evening. 

They packed up, walked back to the entrance, and planned to part ways there.

"You discovered my haven, Lily," Alexander said, referring to the Cabin in the creek. "So you and I will always escape there when we need to get away from the palace. Thank you for taking me back there. Thank you for today; it was a day, I didn't even know I needed, I feel so relaxed."

"You are very welcome, Alexander," Lily replied, smiling happily like she had accomplished a mission.

"See you at the Moon Festival this weekend. Who knows, if it's boring, we can come have our own festival here at the haven." Lily waved goodbye and Alexander watched her with longing till she was out of sight.