Howlers #8

The snow was falling heavily and the cold made the dark forest feel frozen. For who knows how long the hunters watched the dimly lit hut in silence and shivered, the tired and desperate faces behind the rifles demanding to be moved from their positions.

"You must be mistaken, no one is coming out of there!" one of them shouted.

"Damn it! I'm almost dead and buried under the snow, we'd better end this silliness!" the other hunters agreed.

The five hunters of six started heading towards the place where their horses were tied and prepared to ride. Only one remained and confident that someone would come out of there, no matter how cold his fingers were, the hunter remained alert with his rifle and binoculars.

"Never mind Rein, there's no point in us staying here! We'll probably freeze to death without catching anything!"

Rein, the most determined hunter stayed where he was, ignoring his comrades' pleas.

"My hunches are never wrong and I'm sure there's something there. Go if you want!" replied Rein without turning to his comrades.

The whinnying of a fast-paced horse rang out loudly amidst the silence of the cold and dark forest. Increasingly, the whinny of the horse disappeared into the darkness and Rein remained where he was. Time passed and now his heart was racing as he saw someone stepping out of the hut.

The silver bullet went off seconds after Rein made sure his aim was correct. The echo of the shot brought Alaric to his senses and ended his heated game with Lizzy. The alpha quickly got up from the bed and found Connor was no longer in his hut.

Connor never expected to feel the hot lead that left one leg with a gaping wound. The young man didn't heed Alaric's warning about hunters surrounding the hut, jealousy driving him blind.

In the pain of his heart and body, Connor roared loudly and unexpectedly someone dragged his body across the cold snow. The young man couldn't fight back, he didn't care where or by whom he was taken.

Blood flowed and created contrasting colors on the white snow. Creating a trail to where Connor had been taken, giving clues to anyone who might one day realize that Connor was missing.

Alaric sharpens his sense of smell and he realizes that the shot was a misfired shot that left Connor a victim. The smell of fresh blood tells him that Connor was taken eastward, where the headquarters of the hunters' association is located.

Wasting no time, Alaric quickly took Lizzy away from the cottage. The girl was fast asleep without realizing the precarious situation. The extreme, bone-chilling cold was of no concern to Alaric, who had now transformed into his human form so he could take Lizzy to the pack. The alpha ran through the snow at a speed better than any racehorse. There were a lot of people watching him while he was on the run.

The hungry stares of rogues from behind the bushes and the terror of hunters made Alaric angry and humiliated. He shouldn't have to be in this situation, he was determined that the troublemakers should be brought down by his power. There was a pack to protect and an immortal mate he loved dearly.

"Sir, what's going on?" asked Alaric's personal servant, surprised by Alaric's arrival with a woman. The servant had been cleaning the Alpha's bedroom and was surprised by the sudden arrival.

"Care for and serve this woman as you would me. She is my eternal mate." Alaric laid Lizzy down on the warm bed and wrapped his arms around her before exiting the room.

The servant nodded reverently with dozens of questions in his head. His master suddenly had an immortal partner and her scent was like that of a human. The girl's scent was so tantalizing and the servant chose to get out of there to suppress his animal desire.

***

Lizzy woke up to the sound of bustling sounds coming from outside. It took her some time to realize that she woke up naked and lying on a bed in a different, unfamiliar room. The girl remembered exactly what her room looked like in the old cottage in the forest, and this room was definitely different from what she remembered.

She wrapped a blanket around her to cover her naked body and with slow steps she began to peer through the window, trying to figure out what was going on outside. Lizzy gasped as she realized that she was in the midst of werewolves. Instantly her mind went straight to Alaric who she hadn't seen at all. Lizzy vaguely remembered about her romance last night with Alaric and her cheeks flushed red because of it.

Her body jumped in surprise when the door suddenly opened from outside and a waiter entered with a friendly smile.

"Madam, you're awake," the maid said as she placed a dress on Lizzy's bed.

"Don't call me that, I'm too young to be called ma'am." Lizzy felt inappropriate with what the maid said.

"No matter how old you are, you are Mr. Alaric's spouse and we should be able to call you that." The servant said politely and meekly.

The woman explained that she was Alaric's personal maid and the alpha wanted her to serve Lizzy as well. Lizzy felt uncomfortable with the treatment but she could not refuse.

After getting dressed, Lizzy asked to go out and take a tour of the pack accompanied by her maid, just to see how life in the pack went. Many wolves looked at her astonished, some even clearly looked at her savage and scary which made Lizzy uncomfortable.

"Lord Alaric hasn't officially announced that you are his eternal mate yet, that's probably why they don't recognize you, ma'am." Veronica observed how the wolves stared at Lizzy and gave the understanding that everything would be fine.

"I feel uncomfortable being stared at like that. Can you take me to see Alaric?" asked Lizzy.

Veronica took Lizzy to the medical room where Alaric was to monitor the progress of Beta Tala's condition. As soon as the door opened, Lizzy regretted her desire to see Alaric if what she saw turned out to make her uncomfortable more than the stares of the wolves in this pack. Tala and Alaric were kissing passionately and Alaric didn't realize that Lizzy was watching. Lizzy's heartbreak was just beginning.