“We’re going to have to come clean, sooner rather than later, Alpha.” I said. “From what I know of the young Alpha Tristan, he’s going to want to push her emancipation instead of wait for her birthday.”
“Barb, you worry too much.” Alpha Bruce chided. “She turns eighteen in a month, and with you covering at the orphanage, he has no reason to push for it.”
Shouldn’t the Luna be involved in this conversation? Hannah is her niece after all.” I demanded, breaking protocol by challenging my alpha.
“We agreed to do whatever it takes to protect her already. Judencia would agree with me on this. Leave it alone, Barb.” He growled.
I sighed. There was no arguing when he used his Alpha tone. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t broach the topic with my Luna. I bowed my head and made my way out of the packhouse. Whoever had murdered Craig and Jordan was still out there, and it infuriated me that Alpha Bruce couldn’t see that keeping Hannah in the dark about her claim to the throne was putting her in danger.
I had come to love her as my own pup in the time I had cared for her at the orphanage. If I had had my way, she would have been under the protection of the Silver Moon pack from the start. The only thing that had stopped me from pushing the issue was knowing that her parents had been surrounded by warriors and still died. Silver Moon was a strong pack but couldn’t hold a candle to the wolves Hannah’s parents had commanded. They had all died when the compound had been attacked.
Nobody outside of myself, Alpha Bruce, and Luna Judencia knew Hannah was the last blood line heir to the throne. We had managed to use what influence the pack had to keep her true parentage out of court documents when we had her placed in my orphanage. Hannah herself was completely unaware that she was a royal. The girl deserved a chance at a normal pack life, without the danger and intrigue that came with being royalty.
I sighed and turned down the road towards the compound. Nobody from Silver Moon pack had visited since the police had closed it down for evidence processing. I still didn’t know how they had beat us to the scene, but once they were involved our hands were tied. I wasn’t sure what made me want to come to the place now, but I had learned long ago to trust my instincts.
When the iron gates came into view of my headlights, I slowed to a stop. The crime scene tap was still up, though beaten by years of weather, and the gate had long rusted shut. I made quick work of scaling over it into the compound, before stripping down and shifting. I had suspicions when the attack first occurred that the police would miss something vital though I could never bring myself to enter the compound before. Most of the evidence would be long gone by now, but something urged me forward.
There were no scents to follow, even the humans had avoided the place for the last ten years. The authorities had passed it off as a wild pack of wolves, thanks in part to the few who had died in their wolf form. Those who didn’t believe the official story were convinced it was some religious murder cult, either way they avoided the area. I forced back the images of the murdered wolves from my mind and made my way to Hannah’s childhood home.
The house hadn’t held up well without maintenance, the door was warped and barely set on the hinges. I carefully made my way inside, not sure what I was looking for. Aside from the damage of unchecked time, the place looked as it had when Craig and Jordan moved in. The family photos were still along the walls, dinner plates were left on the coffee table where their meal was interrupted by the attack. If nothing else, I could gather some photos to give to Hannah, she would appreciate them.
If I were a clue, where would I be? I thought to myself before making my way to the master bedroom. I shifted back to human form the moment I saw the room. Unlike the others, it was trashed. Someone had torn through it as if they were looking for something. I could tell by the lack of scent that it hadn’t been ransacked recently, I only hoped it had been curious kids looking for something to steal and not whoever had killed them.
Footsteps caught my attention, and I lifted my nose in the air to catch the scent. I’m imagining things. I scolded myself. There wasn’t any detectible scent which meant that I was alone. I gingerly made my way deeper into the room, scanning for anything that stood out in the mess. My eyes landed on a torn piece of cloth; it was caught on the edge of an open drawer. It looked remarkably similar to the material the royal guard’s uniforms were made from. It was the same type and color. Something was definitely off about it being in this room.
The sound of footsteps reached my ears again and I crouched down. I still couldn’t smell anything, but every sense in my body was screaming that I was not alone. I shifted quickly into my wolf form and hid myself beside the bed as best I could. I had barely concealed myself when a man dressed like the royal guard entered the room. I froze, praying to the goddess he wouldn’t see me.
“Owen.” Called a woman’s voice. “We’ve already checked that room. There was nothing that would lead us to the girl.”
I couldn’t control the growl that escaped me, the drive for self-preservation was overruled by the need to protect my pup. I lunged at the man, knocking him over, and raced out of the house. A quick glance over my shoulder as I pushed myself towards the gate revealed a tall, blond woman, watching me. Whoever she was knew about Hannah and she was looking for her. I needed to get back to the pack house and warn Alpha Bruce.
The Iron Hide pack house was much larger than the rustic pack house of Silver Moon pack. It was obvious from the size of the place that the pack was both extremely large and extremely wealthy. I felt ridiculously out of place as Tristan led me inside. He led me by the hand to his office, not bothering to stop for introductions to any of the wolves we met as we passed by. Their stares made me more nervous than I had been since the night I met him in the woods. I didn’t know anything about pack life, but it seemed odd that an Alpha wouldn’t stop to introduce his mate to the pack.
I had managed to unpack all my belongings and change before Jaxon and his mate arrived. I opened the door to my room to find a small brunette grinning at me as she stood beside an oversized blonde male. I knew it was the beta and his mate, but his size was terrifying. “Hannah! I’m so excited that you’re finally here! I can’t tell you how happy I am that Tristan has found our luna!” The woman squealed, pulling me into a hug. “Cam, let her go bef
My hands shook violently as I pulled on my clothes in the pack changing room. I wanted to run back to the safety of my room in the orphanage, but I knew that wasn’t possible. Cam watched me, the concern on her face plain to see. I felt guilty for screaming my fear into the minds of the entire pack, though Cam assured me that they understood. I was new to the area and had been threatened by a wolf I didn’t know. More than that, I was hurt that my mate had not come when my fear had been broadcast to the entire pack. I understood logically that he was keeping his distance until I was of age, but even I knew that a mate’s primary drive was to protect their other half. I didn’t need extensive knowledge of my species or experience as a pack member to know that.&nbs
“Hannah!” Cam called to me across the dining room. I waved her over and she sat down beside me. “So, Alpha Tristan’s birthday is tomorrow. I know you haven’t spent much time with him, but I thought you would like to go shopping for his party with me.” “Oh, um, I don’t really have any money Cam. I don’t have a job yet. Barb offered me a position at the orphanage once I turn eighteen, but I’m not really sure if that’s still on the table since I’ve found a mate.”&nb
Court was boring. Tristan had said I wasn’t required to be there, but the pack lawyers had recommended it. Appearing in person, rather than just sending lawyers would make me look like I had my shit together for the judge. We spent most of the day waiting outside of the courtroom for our docket number to be called. Once it was our turn, things moved rather quickly. The judge swore me in, I attested that I had a place to stay and was able to support myself. It helped that they didn’t question where I got my money. I didn’t think it would look to good to tell them it all belonged to my mate. The judge looked over a few documents the pack lawyers had submitted, and my emanci
I found myself in Tristan’s office for the second time in as many days. This time the Luna of the Silver Moon pack was there as well. She had called Tristan and requested an urgent meeting after I had left his office the night before. She made it clear that I needed to be present the moment she arrived. Now I sat quietly with Cam, Jaxon, and Tristan, waiting for her to speak. “Alpha Tristan.” She started. “There are some things that you need to know about Hannah.” “Like how your mate lied about your pack trying for her emancipated minor status?” Tristan interjected.
Tristan, much to my surprise, had agreed to let me keep my plans with Toby, on the condition that one of the pack warriors escorted me. Judencia, for her part, had enough forethought to bring multiple vials of the nasty liquid meant to mask our scents. Taylor, the pack warrior Tristan assigned to escort me, and I had quickly downed them and pocketed the extras in case we needed them. We weren’t clear on how long they would last, but since both of us were wolves, we would be able to scent the moment we needed to take another round. I couldn’t contain my excitement as Taylor pulled into the parking lot of Toby’s apartment complex. I had decided to pass Taylor off as my long-lost cousin. I knew Toby had been curious ever since I had used family as the reason I wasn
Taylor had made excuses and whisked me back to the pack house as soon as I had stepped out of the bathroom. He had been silent for the duration of the drive, but I could tell whoever had been at Toby’s door had unnerved him. It took all of my self-control to keep from badgering him into giving me answers. When we finally pulled up to the pack house an hour later, I was surprised to see Tristan pacing out front anxiously. I had barely closed to car door before he had me in his arms, his nose pressed into my shoulder. I could tell he was trying to breath in my scent, most likely in the hopes of calming himself, but my scent was still hidden by the liquid I had drank earlier