Chapter five

Zack’s POV

I looked at the man before me, suddenly forgetting why I had appeared here. What did he want here?

“Alpha Stone,” he smiled in my direction just as I slowed my walk towards him.

I wagged my fingers around. “What are you doing here?”

He smiled. “I came to say hi.”

“In prison?”

“Oh no, I heard someone crying out for help and…”

“As usual you had a kind soft heart to jump in and save the day. You should know that I rescued you from being a rogue and I don’t want you being Robin hood.”

“I know, but the screams…”

“Are none of your concern,” I sighed. “Care for a drink?”

He couldn’t refuse and to be honest I could use the extra aid in forgetting anything about my anger. I wanted to forget about the pressure being put on me as an alpha. I wanted to be free for a while.

“Sure,” he smiled. “Why not?”

I nodded as we left the prison and started for the bar down the street. 

Mateo was a minor friend in my book. He wasn’t a major character who changed my history. 

When his parents had died it had made him a rogue in his former pack. Due to this, he ran for my pack to survive, stealing in and around the pack to make ends meet for himself.

My pack was loose with its security as my father was the ruler at the time and I was an alpha in training.

However, when he had been caught during one of his robberies where he would steal from the rich and try to aid the poor, I found it fascinating. He told me his history of how he had lost his parents and I knew this man had done everything he could to survive and he was willing to help those around him even when he wasn’t with the resources to do it.

This had given me the heart to choose him to work with me as one of my spies and advisers, but as a distant one. 

There were subordinate packs I had outside the main pack. I needed eyes on how the leaders I had chosen to rule over the packs were doing.

When we entered the bar and took up seats, we caught up on what’s been going on in our lives.

“So… are you mated yet?” he asked, noticing my frown as he nodded. “I see you’re still single. And the elders don’t see anything wrong with it?”

I scoffed. “They want my head for it. But I don’t care. I’m tired of trying to get someone to be with me. The only one I can think of isn’t really who I’m meant to be with. Especially when she notices what I did to her.”

I stared into space while talking before shaking my head, coming back to the present.

“How about we talk about me?” he smiled. “You’re an alpha now. You probably have a ton of things to do and I admire that, however, let’s get away from your own personal thoughts and get into mine.”

That was a better way to escape my reality and I was ready to do that. 

He spoke of his relationship life with a lovely pack maiden and talked about his new world as a scientist. There were so many things he brought up which had me believing he was not that troubled by his new life.

If I was being honest, he had more going for himself than I did and I was supposed to be the leader of the pack.

When he was done, I leaned back in my seat sipping on my drink. 

I had to be by Kayla’s side as she was up. I had to talk to her about the pressing matters in my mind.

Shoot! I remembered it again.

“You seem distracted,” the man before me said, sipping his drink.

“I’m sorry,” I sighed.

“Care to share?”

But I didn’t want to do that. We weren’t close enough for this secret to be revealed. He was a friend but not a friend like Lucas my beta. 

“I’ll sit you out of this one,” I said to my feet. “I have something to handle.”

I smiled at him, walking out of the bar while he followed me out.

“Alpha stone,” he called after me while running to meet me as I walked towards the palace. “I can handle whatever it is you want me to handle. I have changed. I’m not that weak child I used to be before. I am more than that now.”

I refused to believe that. A few moments ago he had been in the prison thinking of releasing one of the prisoners I was about to torture to get my mind back in the game.

“What do you know I want to do?” I asked him. 

“I…”

Someone zipped from the distance to join me as I halted in my steps with Lucas joining us.

Boy, was I glad to see him. 

“Alpha,” he bowed to me before looking at the man beside me. 

“Any new info?” I asked.

“You might want to see this.”

I nodded, excusing myself from Mateo as I walked with my beta.

We didn’t say anything to each other but walked silently until I entered the palace, heading for my room.

When I entered, I plopped to the bed, waiting for him to say what he had found.

“I did further research,” he said. “The woman from the pack who is supposed to be her mother is not.”

I rolled my eyes. “I think that has been established, Lucas. You really should stop smoking that stuff you’re on. I thought you were all about healthy living?”

He shrugged, walking to the window.

Three months without a mate before my title as the alpha is stripped. I didn’t want that to happen. The council made things difficult for me. Fuck them. I needed someone as soon as possible.