Will was glad to get out when the final bell rang. He politely but firmly declined all his friends’ efforts to hang out after school and made his way to his locker without hesitation. The image of Charlisa smiling was frozen in his brain, and he knew he’d remember that for a good while, maybe even forever. He moved so quickly through the halls that the teachers he passed were of half a mind to tell him not to run, at least until they saw he wasn’t running. He was even one of the first out of the school.

Things started to go wrong the instant he left the front doors. First, he noticed how warm the air was outside. Very warm, he thought. Almost hot. That made him stop, the memory of the previous day’s encounter coming to mind once more. But no, it was worse. Much, much worse. Standing there, at the gates of the high school, leaning casually against the wall and staring off into space, was Edward Ambrose, Alpha of the Fire Nexus.

Now, the thing about an Alpha that they never tell you is the sense of power that they give off. Edward wasn’t particularly physically strong. Hell, he was practically skinny by some comparisons. But once you were within ten yards of the man, you were rooted to the spot just by his presence alone. His very body emitted a wave of heat so strong that you could see it, like the ripples in the air above a road in the summer. The snow around his feet was melted for nearly ten feet, and the grass was dry. Even twenty feet away, the air felt like summer.

Get a hold of yourself, Will told himself angrily, forcing himself to look down. He’s just here to pick up his daughter like he does every day. You’re just paranoid. Pulling out his phone and scrolling the screen at random, he started walking forward. Just pass him, and don’t draw attention to yourself. That was what he’d done countless times before, and that’s what he’d do now. The air was getting even warmer as he drew closer to the Alpha, and he began to sweat, not just from his nerves. He was level with the man now and glanced over with his eyes only. He couldn’t resist, just as you couldn’t resist looking at the sun.

“William Andrews.”

The voice, smoother than he’d expected, stopped him in his tracks. He could run. No, that was stupid. If Ambrose knew his name, there was no point in running. Ambrose would catch him, and then he’d be fucked. He thought of all manner of formal greetings, like ‘yes sir’, ‘yes my lord’, and ‘good afternoon Alpha, how can I help you. But, because he was stupid, the words that came out of his mouth were none of those.

“I prefer Will,” he said, then mentally kicked himself before adding, “Sorry, sir.”

Once again, he was compelled to turn and look at the man. His features were nearly pure Athabaskan, the tribe that was most dominant in the area before Alaska started being developed. A blend of Inupiaq and Russian blood, he had high cheekbones and a deep brow. His eyes were brown, not red like the legends, and his hair, jet black like his daughter’s, was tied back from his head in a simple ponytail. His furs were silver, not black, and he wasn’t wearing a cloak. Will imagined that it was too constricting if he needed to fight. Or he couldn’t stand hot fur, Will thought wildly.

To his surprise, Edward smiled at his comment. He was a very handsome man, and the expression softened his face somewhat, breaking the image of stern danger. But only for a second. “Will, then. Can we speak for a moment?”

Will blinked in surprise. That had been a question. Not an order. But he didn’t dare refuse. “Of course, sir. How can I help you?”

“You can start by not calling me sir,” he said firmly. “My name is Edward. Or Mr. Ambrose, if you prefer that. I am getting old.”

“Not that old, sir,” Will replied, chuckling nervously. Edward frowned, and he stuttered “Sorry s-s-, I mean, Sorry, Mr. Ambrose. What did you want to speak to me about?”

The pause before Edward Ambrose spoke could have lasted a year, for how slow time felt just then. “One of my family tells me that you insulted him yesterday, and struck him. I don’t think you need me to tell you that this is a grave offense.”

Will gulped, the feeling of impending death returning with the speed of a supersonic jet. His throat clamped up, making the simple act of swallowing almost painful. He was too scared to speak, but he had to say something, and Edward looked more impatient with every passing second. He was spared for a moment when Charlisa appeared out of nowhere, pausing as she saw Will standing before her father. Then she walked past Will as if he wasn’t there, and stood on tiptoes to kiss her father on his cheek. He took his eyes off of Will to hug her.

“I didn’t do it, Mr. Ambrose,” Will spluttered. “That wasn’t what happened at all.”

Edward, one arm still around his daughter’s shoulders, looked back at Will. His face was expressionless. “Are you calling my family member a liar, Will?”

“No!” Will exclaimed, a bit louder than he’d intended to. Great, he said, kicking himself again, just what he needed. Shouting at an Alpha. “I mean, I did hit him, but he was trying to burn me. I only came over because he was harassing someone else!”

“Do you have any witnesses to confirm this?” Edward asked. He sounded less annoyed, but his face still gave nothing away. “Or do you have any evidence?”

Will didn’t say anything at first, biting his lip as he racked his brain. The person who the Nexian had been harassing was gone in the wind, and Will had no idea who the man had been. He could track down the cab driver, but he was even less likely to back Will up. No, he needed hard evidence. No sane person would support his word against that of a super-powered individual. Then, suddenly, the answer occurred to him.

“The cameras!” He said, heaving a sigh of relief as the idea struck him. “We can check the cameras!”

“Cameras?” Edward hummed thoughtfully. “Very well. I’ll take us there now, and we can see who is telling the truth about all this.”

Will blinked, not sure he’d heard Ambrose right. “Uhh, now?”

“Yes, now,” Edward said. Will could have sworn the man almost smiled. “Until I’m certain you’re telling the truth, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“But my father is expecting me at home,” Will protested. It wasn’t strictly true, but it was his Dad’s day off, so he knew that he would be home, and would back him up. “Can we do it another day? Please?”

Edward didn’t answer but simply walked around the gate to where a sleek black car was parked and idling. He opened the rear door and looked meaningfully at Will, who swallowed nervously and moved forward. The inside of the car was warm, but not overwhelmingly so. Edward shut the door once he got in, sealing him off completely. Charlisa walked around to enter the rear seat from the other side, and Edward got into the front. Curiously, he drove himself, instead of having someone do it for him like Will would have expected.

“It’s the Fred Meyer on Airport and University,” Will offered in a small voice.

“I know,” was the Alpha’s only response before he put the car into gear and drove off.

Perhaps it was good that there was no traffic, and the distance from Lathrop High School to Fred Meyer was so short because the silence in the car could have killed Will faster than fire. Edward kept his eyes facing the road at all times, only glancing up to check his rear mirror or to reply to something his daughter said. Charlisa mainly occupied her time with a book. Without anything else to do, Will tried to get a glance at the cover. Charlisa noticed his action and tilted it, revealing some romance book. Will nodded his silent thanks and resorted to staring out the window in silence.

Finally, Edward’s car pulled into the smooth parking lot of Fred Meyer. They were on the opposite side of the building this time, but Will still felt an ice-cold hand grip his heart as he remembered the altercation. What if they refused to show Ambrose the cameras? That was impossible, he thought. Alphas got what they want. What if the cameras didn’t cover the spot where Will and the Nexian had been arguing? Or, worse still, what if the footage had been deleted?

“Alright,” Ambrose said. He turned to view the backseat. “Want anything while I’m inside, love?”

Charlisa looked up from her book, twisting her face in thought. “Can you grab me some more tea?”

“You got it.” Edward climbed out of the car, walked around, and met Will face to face as he got out himself. The man moved very close, though not enough to necessarily be rude. “Let’s hope for your sake that the cameras work.”

“Will you kill me if they don’t?” Will asked. Edward said nothing to that, walking away and beckoning him to follow. He let out a quiet sigh. “Figured as much.”

As it was about four in the afternoon, Fred Meyer was very busy. People were everywhere, taking care of shopping either for the day or week. But every single one of them jumped out of the way as Edward approached, creating a wide gap for the Alpha and the boy following him. Will tried to swallow again. This attempt was no more successful than the last. They made their way straight to the customer service desk, wasting no time. The store manager was already there, waiting for them. Will wondered how the man could have known so quickly that Edward was here.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Ambrose,” the manager said, almost literally bowing. “How can we help you today?”

“Hello again Albert,” Edward said. So he knew the man, then, Will thought. He didn’t like that it was now three allies against him. “I’d like to see your security camera footage, please.”

Will took half a step back in shock. Had the Alpha just said please? To a normal person? He’d never expected such a powerful and important man to be so courteous. But he pushed the thought aside as the store manager Albert nodded vigorously, gesturing to the backrooms behind the customer service desk. Will was ushered along, and he took just one last look out at the store as if he didn’t expect to make it out of the back office alive.

As far as offices went, the room was pretty simple. Edward moved as if he’d been there plenty of times before, moving right to the computer. Two rows of triple monitors were mounted to the wall, and the manager pointed the middle out to Edward, then muttered something. It must have been the password since Edward typed it in and pulled up the controls for the camera footage.

“When did this take place?” Edward asked. Will opened his mouth to reply, but then realized he didn’t know the exact time. He was about to give his closest guess when the manager beat him to it.

“Three-twenty-seven,” the man said crisply, turning to smile slightly at Will. That expression was comforting at least.

Edward scrolled, and scrolled. The video displayed on the middle top monitor flashed back across a twenty-four-hour period, an indecipherable jumble of pictures flashing on the screen until finally, it came to rest on a frozen image of Will running into the parking lot. Edward clicked his tongue slightly and rewound the video for a few more seconds. Now it showed Will backing away from the Nexian, hands raised. A little further back and Edward hit play, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Will breathed a sigh of relief as the footage played out. It matched his defense and showed everything. It even got a perfect angle of when Will had slapped the man’s hand away, to save himself from being burned. Edward stood up, lips pursed, as the camera followed Will’s flight through the parking lot. Will almost thought he saw Edward give an approving nod at his movement in dodging the fireballs.

“Well,” he said. “I had a feeling that might be the case.”

He turned to face Will and held his hand out. Will, more than a little startled, looked down at it. “You believe me?”

“Yes,” Ambros replied, a hint of a smile in his voice. “I apologize for scaring you, and taking you here when you might have had other plans. I’m also very sorry about how my family member treated you. Rest assured that he will be punished, and I will ensure that he apologizes to you as well.”

Not sure what else to say on the matter, Will hesitantly gripped Edward’s hand and shook it. “It’s no trouble, sir- I mean, Mr. Ambrose. No trouble at all.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Edward said shortly, though he did laugh. “Alright. To make it up to you, let’s get some food.”

“I beg your pardon?” Will asked, still on polite Japanese grammar mode.

“I said, let’s get some food,” Ambrose repeated. “Charlisa wanted some pizza, and you can get food for the week, for you and your father. I’ll pay for all of it.”