CHAPTER 4

TRISTEN

It’s been four days since I shared a moment in the woods with Jaela. I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t consumed my dreams since that night. It’s impossible to escape her even if I tried and Skylar doesn’t make it any easier. Every time I see him, he smiles at me or gives subtle hints with his eyes reminding me that he knows what happened between us.

I’m honestly considering banning him from this floor. I don’t care that’s his chambers is on the same level. Anyway, I have no time to keep thinking about either of them, the alpha meeting is tomorrow and I’m not looking forward to it. Honestly, I hate every second of those meetings, all the alphas in the northwest and western states have to attend them every six months to discuss rogue attacks, pack event calendars and any other concerns we may have.

This will be my fifth meeting since taking over the pack and it hasn’t been easy seeing Alpha Terrance from Mystic Moon. Even before Jaela and I found out we were mates he’s been a living hell, a palpable hatred marred his face anytime his eyes wander my way. I knew he hated my father, but I didn’t do anything to the man besides love his daughter.

Is that my crime against him? You’d think I had stolen her and run off into the hills with her. He goes out his way to make sure I know how much he despises me, and truthfully, I can’t stand him either; my wolf nodded in agreement.

‘He’s such a prick, his wolf is no better. To be honest he and dad are from the same coin, he may not be as cruel as Alpha Terrance, but he’s definitely to blame for us not being with our mate’ Adriel says and he’s not wrong.

 Both of them had the love of their true mates but deny me and Jaela to have the same.

Hypocrites.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts, as Skylar poked his head through.

“If I’d known it was sleep in day, I would have not gotten up myself” Skylar said pushing the curtains in my room wide open.

“I was just getting up, just had a lot on my mind this morning” I told him.

“About what the meeting tomorrow?” he grimaced.

 “By the way are Xavier and I both joining you?”

Shaking my head

“Xavier can look after the pack while we are gone, after what happened the last time, one of you need to be here. Seems rogues get overconfident when we all leave together” I reminded him.

Xavier, my first warrior can handle the pack while we are gone, he is the next strongest after Skylar. I Trust him to watch over everything.

“I’ll pass the message along, but you need to get up so we can train.”

“Could have sworn I was the Alpha here” I said jokingly.

Laughing, Skylar reached for the first thing he could find and launched it my way. Luckily for me I’m way faster, catapulting from the bed I caught the remote midair landing securely in front of him.

“Yep, definitely the Alpha” I motioned to myself.

Skylar chuckled as he walked towards the door, before exiting he gave me the finger smiling and took off after I taunted him with the remote. Mind linking Skylar to have the junior warriors ready to train in twenty minutes I headed for the shower.

˜

I didn’t waste any time slamming Skylar into the dirt, as I reached down to grab him by the throat, he positioned his legs under my arms to stop my attempt. With no time to break free, he wrapped his hands around my wrist then thrusted his foot under my chest lifting me into the air and rolling my body over his head. I landed on the ground with a grunt, flipping his body onto mine. He threw multiple punches into my chest and face, each punch connecting precisely.

A loud growl came from my throat, I punched him hard into his side knocking the air from his lungs and launching him a few feet from me. Back on my feet I watched as he slowly rose clutching his side.

“You can always just give up, if your baby ribs are hurt” I said pointing to him smirking.

knowing he won’t wait until we shift, he runs towards me. elongating my nails, I waited for the right moment to sidestep him, Swiping my claws up his chest. I could feel my claws tearing through the flesh and muscle. Losing momentum, his body hits the ground. Blood painted on my hand I walked away from him to address the junior pups.

“Now, where did the Beta go wrong?” I asked them.

“Fighting the Alpha apparently” one of them said, they all laughed.

“Yes, and no” I replied.

“His mistake was not finishing me when he had the advantage. Although I am strong, fast, and clearly handsome when dealing with an enemy or a rogue of the same caliber you incapacitate them immediately.” I explain.

“Kill them?” Sophia shouted, her eyes wide.

Softening to her small voice.

“Not every person you come into contact with will need to die. There are always ways to take them down without killing them, hence what I did to the beta. If you hit them precisely and do enough damage, you can capture them. But yes, sometimes more than not you will have to kill some along the way.”

The information quieted all of them, with that I dismissed them early. When I was younger, I had the same reaction to killing another until I had no choice but to take a life myself. It’s never easy, but at the end of the day its either them, you, or someone you love.

Meeting Skylar back at the training field, I glanced at his chest to see the faded lines where my claws ripped through his skin. Luckily for us we heal extremely fast.

“I have to admit, that shit freaking hurt. Did you have to go that deep?” Skylar asked with a grimace.

“Not really, but you did get the drop on me. It wasn’t me though that was all Adriel” I tell him.

‘Blame the wolf, your unbelievable, you know that?’ Adriel says with a growl.

“Okay fine, it was me. you almost had me, I was scared for my life” I tell him smirking.

Skylar looks at me with disbelief in his eyes, then we both burst into laughter.

“Yea ok, I will act like I believe you this time, next time just knock my ass out. This took almost an hour to heal. Damn Alpha wounds suck” he said touching the fading lines on his chest.

Exchanging playful banter with Skylar we headed towards the pack-house. Xavier met us halfway when a filthy smell stopped us in our tracks. Turning to the source was a small dirty grey wolf along the tree line of the woods. The wolf was no bigger than average, way smaller than a beta and warrior wolf.

 Snarling the rabid wolf stepped forward in our direction, Skylar placed a protective stance in front of me as the rogue ran towards us, its paws pounding the dirt forcefully each time they landed.

The wolfs paws left the ground as it leaped, mouth open ready to sink its teeth into us. Skylar caught the wolf around its neck holding it suspended in the air as it struggled to free itself.

“Nasty little thing isn’t it” said Skylar, scrunching his nose.

“It is” I agreed.

The dark black eyes of the rogue met with mine as it growled loudly, circling its head snapping its canines. Tightening his grip on the wolfs neck it whimpered, panting for air.

Panic settled into him; his wolf slowly shifted back to human. His body landed roughly onto the grass giving Xavier time to grab the boy by the arms. holding them firmly behind his back, he lifted the rogue pushing him to his knees in front of me.

The boy had to be no older than seventeen. My eyes settled on his frail frame, he looked starved. his face slightly tan, his eyes dark and cloudy. Meeting his gaze, he smoldered at me, defiance in his eyes.

I laughed, amused.

“You wish to challenge me boy?” I asked “Starring into the eyes of an Alpha means you want the role of Alpha. You couldn’t even escape the clutches of my Beta, what makes you think you can challenge me” I growl.

‘Let me show this pup who he’s messing with’ Adriel chimes in.

His eyes pans to the beta then to me as a bit of fear clouds his features.

“Why are you in Shadow moon territory?” I ask him, he doesn’t look up or even acknowledge that I’ve asked him a question. Asking him again, this time in my alpha voice he squirms and turns his neck to me in submission, but he still doesn’t answer me.

Normally a rogue is exactly what they are wolves that are either banned from their pack, thrown out or left of their own free will with no attachments to anything or anyone. Meaning my Alpha aura shouldn’t work on the boy, but it somewhat did.

“That is not normal” Xavier said confused.

“I know, lock the boy in the dungeon until I can question him more. Meet me in my office afterwards” I told them both.

Xavier pulled him to his feet, dragging him to the packed house entering the doors to the basement. As they disappeared from sight, I made my way to the kitchen.