Hunger

Chapter 8 - Hunger

As I walked into the dining room, two plates sat on the table, one at the head of the table and the second next to it.  I was pleased to see I was the first to arrive. It gave me time to calm the knot in my stomach and reel in Phoenix's over baring thoughts.

"You be careful tonight. We don't need to find out what Alpha Erik meant when he said we would have consequences," Phoenix smirked.

"You are so unbelievable." I scoffed

"I just say what we're both thinking." Phoenix huffed. "Just imagine what it would feel like to have him." She said dreamily, sending flashes of what she thought through my head. My fingers entangled in his hair. His warm lips pressed against my neck as his hands wandered my body, making their way down.

I was snapped out of my trance by someone clearing their throat. My eyes flew open, meeting alpha Erik's gaze, my face growing red. I gripped my thighs tighter as I tried to keep any scent of arousal from the air. Werewolves had a keen sense of smell, and a female's arousal drove all the unmated males crazy.

"Alpha Erik, you finally made it." The words left my mouth before I could stop it. My eyes widened as I examined his expression. A small smirk spread across his face as he looked at me.

"I see you waited for me to eat." He said as he approached his seat. I stood up to bow, only sitting back down once he had been seated. "Such an obedient pup when you want to be." He said, his voice sending out a mocking tone.

"What's that suppose to mean," I said sharply. Again my mouth opened before I could catch myself.

"Thought you didn't want to find out

the consequences ." Phoenix laughed. I rolled my eyes at her.

I heard a laugh from the corner of the room. I didn't even notice Beta Drake standing at the entrance of the dining room.

"She's definitely a feisty one," he laughed.

"Careful, Athena, you might get yourself into some trouble. Alpha likes them spicy." I heard a low growl erupt from Alpha Erik's chest. Causing me to turn to him, my eyes met his. They were dark with emerald swirls. His wolf was present again.

"Okay, I get it, touchy subject." Beta Drake said, raising his hands as if to surrender. "Sorry to bother you, Alpha, but I just needed to remind you we need to head out soon to hunt for tomorrow's ceremony."

"Ceremony," I questioned, not remembering any mention of it.

"I'm assuming Drake didn't tell you." Alpha Erik said, giving Drake a pointed look.

"We will be holding our pack ceremony tomorrow. You along with your pack will be welcomed into ours, sealing our bond officially becoming a part of the Bloodstone pack." I smiled in response, nodding as my stomach twisted. Soon Alpha Erik could get into my thoughts and be in my head.

"It's quite an experience; we need the deer's blood to complete the ceremony. Sharing the blood of the kill unites the pack." Alpha Erik spoke, his voice sounding soft. He looked up at Beta Drake again.

"We will head out after dinner. Is there anything else?" He asked.

"No, sir, I'll leave you two alone." Beta Drake shot me a wink as he turned and left the room. A blush ran across my cheeks. I looked down at my plate and started eating to distract myself.

"Tell me more about yourself." Alpha Erik asked, his voice breaking the silence. I looked up at him. His gaze set on me.

I cleared my throat before speaking. Trying to steady my heart rate before speaking. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, all I know about you is you have poor impulse control and tried to run when I claimed your pack. So really anything would be great." His face was emotionless, and I couldn't tell what he thought. His Emerald eyes stared into my soul as I looked at him. I couldn't think when I looked at him. Something always seemed to be pulling me closer to him and causing me to lose all sense of control. I cleared my throat, returning my focus to my meal.

"I am an only child. I never knew my mom. She was killed while out on patrol when I was young. My father raised me with the help of Beta Paul and a few other pack members. My father he.." I paused for a minute, trying to fight back the tears; anger washed over me. I could see Alpha Erik's face change as he watched me.

"He died three months ago fighting against your pack." I spit out. I could feel Phoenix's sadness stir inside me too. I suddenly felt a warm tingle run up my arm. Its waves of electricity calmed me down. I looked down to see Alpha Erik's hand on mine. He had taken the fork from my hand and placed it on the table. His eyes were full of compassion as he stared at me. Full of understanding. I pulled my hand away, placing it on my lap.

"I'm sorry that your father died in our battle. It was never my intention to start a war with your pack. There are a lot of things you don't know. Before the war, we had been working on joining our packs peacefully. Unfortunately, something happened with Alpha Hues. He decided to back out and instead sent his men to send a message. As a result, a few of my pack members were attacked and killed. Before we knew it, Alpha Hues had declared war on us. Claiming he never agreed to any of our terms and that we were trying to steal his pack." Erik said his voice was soft as he explained the story to me. He rubbed his hand through his chocolate brown hair.

"We found out after it ended that Alpha Hues was very sick. He had been attacked a few weeks back after we had started our agreement. The rogue who attacked him was diseased. It drove him mad, causing his wolf to turn feral. It took over and only wanted blood. If we had known sooner, we could have avoided the war and all of the losses we endured on both ends." He stopped talking to look at me. Knowing what happened to Alpha Hues made my stomach turn. Rogues were horrendous creatures. They took my mother's life and then indirectly took my father's. I didn't realize I had started crying until I felt a tear fall from my eye and roll down my cheek. I looked away from Alpha Eriks and wiped my face.

"I'm sorry for your loss Athena. It was never my intention to hurt you and your pack." His voice was genuine.

"I'm no longer hungry." I stood up from my tables and ran out of the dining room. I knew I would get in trouble for not properly excusing myself from alpha, but I didn't care. My father died for no reason, and it made me feel even more broken than before. I knew it wasn't Alpha Erik's fault, but he was the only one I could be angry at, the only one still alive to feel my pain.

***

Erik's POV

"Nice one, make our mate cry and hate us," Creed growled.

"At least now she knows it wasn't our fault," I muttered.

"Alpha, we are outside ready when you are," Drake said through the mind link.

"I'll be right there," I said as I left the dining room, ending our link. I definitely needed to hunt after this. Creed was pissed at me for being so truthful, and I hated myself for making her cry. You're supposed to protect your mate. It killed me not being able to hold her and make her feel safe. I knew it would be too soon to share our bond, but it was getting harder not to touch her.

"Earth to Alpha, dinner go that bad," Drake asked through the mind link. I hadn't even noticed he was talking to me while we were hunting. We caught three deer and needed one more.

"What makes you say it that," I muttered back.

"You haven't said anything to me, Dylan, Gabriel, or Lucas since we started hunting. You love the chase, and you're kind of being a drag." Drake laughed. "whatever happened, I'm sure she'll come around. She just doesn't know yet." He said, his voice switched to a more serious tone. Drake was always good at reading people, especially when it came to mating bonds. He could predict a soon-to-be-mated couple from a mile away.

"Never asked for your advice Drake, keep it up, and ill have to downgrade you to our psychology wing." I laughed. I could feel his mood shift as I said that.

"Somethings here," Dylan shouted through the link.

"Smells like a rogue." We all stopped running and sniffed the air.

"It's a rogue, alright, careful. He smells more pungent than usual," I ordered.

Just as we looked up, a wolf came charging at us. His fur was all matted and coated in mud and dried blood. He had been in his wolf form for a while. His eyes were grey, and his mouth was foaming. He snarled at us, snapping his teeth.

"He's sick, don't get bit!" I shouted as I charged forward,  taking out the rogue's back legs. It didn't even notice it, turning and snapping at me. Drake came up behind and stomped on its head. Dylan ran forward; the rogue's front paw swung up, clipping him before he ripped its neck open. The rogue stopped moving instantly. Its blood pooled on the ground beneath him. We all went behind trees and turned into our human forms, slipping on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt we had placed around the forest.

"Burn his body. We don't need any other animals getting sick," I ordered. I bent down and lifted the rogue's paw. There was a large bite mark on his arm. It was filled with puss and smelt like rotting flesh.

"This is the first one in months. Where are they coming from, and how are they getting so sick." Drake asked.

"I'm not sure, but we will need to double up on patrols and increase training. We can't have any of our pack members getting bit or sick." I said I stood back up and looked at Dylan, one of the warriors that came with us

"Dylan, I need you to go back to the packhouse. Go see Doctor Turner get him to give you some shots, and have you monitored for a few days." I said, making sure to contain my anger

"Yes, Alpha." He said, nodding and then running in the direction of the town.

"Gabriel, Lucas, I need you two to bring the deer to the shop to be drained of their blood for the ceremony. Unfortunately, we will have to make do with the amount we have. It's too dangerous to be out here right now." They both nodded at me and turned back into their wolves to collect the deer and head back to town.

"Drake, we will have to have a meeting with the other warriors. I will get them to come to the hall so we can discuss our plans." I said the feeling of being watched washed over me. My hair standing up on end as I felt a powerful presence.

"Do you feel that?" Drake asked me. I nodded before stepping back.

"I know you're there. Step forward before I drag you out." I Snapped my voice cold and demanding. We heard a woman laugh as she stepped forward.

"I've made the big bad wolf angry." She pouted, her voice sounding as if she was talking to a child.

"I would watch your mouth. You are speaking to an Alpha." Drake snapped.

"You mutts and your hierarchy. You're all just a waste of space and time." She spit as she stepped forward into view.

She was tall and thin, her eyes blue as the sea and her hair scarlet red. Her skin was porcelain and almost glowed. Her ears were pointed. She smelt of citrus and lavender, and her body sent off waves of power.  She had a beauty you couldn't ignore. It was magical.

"She can't be," Drake whispered. His eyes were wide as he watched her stand there.

"Oh, but I am, one of the very last purebloods in existence." She said, her face held a sinister smile.

"Why are you here Fae," I asked, my voice sharp.

"I'm here to make you a deal." She said, "I need something that you have in your possession."

"What would that possession be?" I asked, feeling the annoyance and anger rush through me. The instinct to protect my pack overruled my curiosity with most enemies, but she had me wonder what she could want.

"You will know soon enough. But when I come for it, you will give it to me. If not, you will find your entire pack infected. That wolf wasn't sick from anything of your world. Neither was that Mutt that ran the other pack."

"What did you do to Alpha Hues," Drake growled.

"I made him sick, of course. He refused to corporate with me. He believed he could hide things from me." She laughed.

"This item I seek isn't ready yet. I will be back in a month. Remember, if you refuse to give it to me, your pack will suffer. Until next time Erik." She said before fading before our eyes.

"What the fuck was that.." Drake asked frantically.

"I don't know, but she isn't getting what she wants without a fight. Alpha Hues protected it with his life, and we need to talk to Beta Paul to see what he knows." I growled. Creed was seeping through. Drake nodded in agreement. We shifted into our wolves and returned to the pack.

I met with my warriors and gave them their instructions. First, they were to increase their patrol teams and have them posted all along the forest. Second, they would increase training and were to report anything different, smells or even sounds they were hearing. Fae are powerful creatures and not to be tested. Though they never aged, they could be killed. After we finished up our meeting, I headed to my office, Drake and Paul following me. We sat in my office, the air heavy as I began questioning the newest member of my pack.

"Paul, did Hues ever mention anything to you about a Fae visiting him. Did he ever say anything weird?" I asked. My eyes were hard as I stared at him, gauging his reaction. Paul stared at me, his eyes falling before he spoke.

"Yes, sir." He said, his voice full of remorse.

***