Chapter three

[Avira]

"If the Alpha calls for a meeting, then it is important." Beta Maverick said, eyeing me as though I have said or done something offensive.

"Now go get prepared, and stop asking silly questions." He added, and I immediately understood what had happened. I had stupidly asked my question out loud intead of in my head, and now Beta Maverick thought I was referring to him.

"I want to clean up my room first." I said in a low voice but he said nothing which was usually a sign of approval.

I left for my room to clean it up, since there was still time before the assembly plus my room only needed a little tidying. I only needed to dust out the only piece of furniture in the room, and then sweep the room out.

"I'm off. Don't be late." Beta Maverick called a little while later. As the second to command, it was only proper that he arrived early at every assembly, earlier than usual the others which was perfect for me since I would rather arrive at the assembly, a few seconds before the said time.

It took me longer than I expected to clean out my room, all thanks to my stomach which had begun to hurt, making me to stop and rest at intervals. By the time I was done, it was some minutes before noon. It had taken me more than forty five minutes to dust my bed and sweep my room out!

Still in pains, I dragged myself to the bathroom, and took a really quick bath. One of the quickest I've had, and rushed through getting dressed. I looked at the clock on the wall to see that I had less than five minutes left. It was in times like this that I was grateful that my guardian was the pack's Beta which meant our quarter was the closest to the Alpha's, with less than a minute on human foot.

I waited till it was a minute before noon before I stepped out of my room, and headed for the Alpha's quarters where I was sure to meet every member of our pack.

"Hey," I heard from beside me. It was a male and unfamiliar voice. My wolf whimpered lowly inside me, and I couldn't tell if it was because of the unfamiliar voice or the pain in my stomach that had persisted. I tilted my head alittle for a quick look at the person who had called, and continued my walk.

I was right, this male right there does not look any familiar, and he is sure not a member of the pack. But why is he heading for the Alpha's quarters?

"You should have your stomach checked. That's a lot of pain right there." He added after a few seconds, and I shot him a look, this time it was direct. It couldn't have been the way I walked that gave my stomach ache away as I was walking perfectly normal.

Although I have heard rumours of werewolves feeling the pains of she-wolves and other werewolves but I didn't think that was the case right now, this asshole is obviously taking a wide guess, and sadly, he was right.

"There is nothing wrong with my stomach." I lied. We were close to the Alpha's quarters now, and I wished he would leave me alone.

"Ouch!" He suddenly whispered in pain just as I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. It could be a coincidence or maybe he was simply guessing right. Or maybe, just maybe he was actually feeling my pain.

"We can't be seen together," I said instead, and walked away from him. Beta Maverick would not take it any lightly on me if he sees me with a male, and worse, a stranger to the pack.

**********

I stepped into the open shed which served as the pack's hall to see that every member of the pack was inalready present. It was a few seconds before the noon bell would begin to ring, and I was just in time, like always.

I located any spot in the area reserved for the non-members of the pack, to which I was a proud member. This section consisted of members who were either adopted, abducted or rescued by the pack, and were yet to become full members. They were handed to notable families to serve as slaves until their initiation to become full members.

"Attention everyone!" It was unmistakably the voice of the Delta, the third in command aided with the pack's address system which was a conch shell. I Iooked at him on the podium only for a brief moment, before I let my gaze travel round the crowd.

From the Alpha's sitting place where only the Luna and their two sons were seated, to the Beta's where Beta Maverick sat alone, and I wondered for the umpteenth time since I was handed to him what happened to his family. It was the only thing I could do at this point, to wonder. I have never dared to ask him any question about them, and I wasn't planning to ask him now or anytime soon. Someday, I will learn all that there was to learn about the Beta. Or not.

My gaze left the Beta, and rested on the sitting place of the Delta, where his wife and two daughters sat with heir eyes fixed on him on the podium. Moving on, I settled my gaze on the pack's warriors, each of them had the same well-built feature, and like the others, their eyes were fixed on the podium where the Delta stood, about to give a speech.

From the warriors, I stared at the Omegas, poorly dressed, and with how slender and sickly they all looked, I could tell that they were poorly fed. Beside the Omega, and closest to where I sat were werewolves who did not fall under any of the aforementioned categories. They were either from a different pack, or for a visit. They were neither initiated nor awaiting initiation. All they had was swear an oath of allegiance to Alpha Demian and to the laws of moonfire pack.

I was still staring when I caught sight of him, the strange male who had walked beside me on my way to this place, and my wolf whimpered again. This time, I knew for sure why my wolf whimpered the first time.

He was staring right at me, no, he had been staring right at me while I stared at the crowd. I looked away from him quickly, noting the uneasiness I suddenly felt, and focused on the others who shared this spot with me. We were seven in all, and ranged between the ages of eleven to nineteen years with me being the oldest.

I could still feel the heat of the male's gaze on me even though I had turned towards the opposite direction.

I stood up just then when I saw that the others had stood up. From my past experience, I could tell that the Alpha had arrived, and I was right.

"We have a rogue Wolf amongst us." Alpha Demian declared once he motioned for us to sit, and there was a sudden murmuring from among the crowd.

My heart skipped a beat immediately he made his declaration.

A rogue wolf! That's the Beta right there.