Hunter

“Alice took her to eat but apparently she looked like a wolf being led to the slaughter and insisted on going to her room.” Connor steps closer to me as he speaks quickly in his defence. “I already have the cooks making up a plate of food and Alice will take it to her.” Connor mutters as he side-eyes Starling; he’s never been a fan of how the white witch can see people without ever leaving the room she’s in. They tease each other all the time and once Starling threatened to watch Connor in the shower; that ended with my Beta shifting and the white witch putting him flat on his back, howling in pain. They don’t dislike eachother, they’re more like reluctant siblings that are constantly bickering. 

“Tell Alice to make sure Faythe takes the food into her room. I should have anticipated this would happen; Jacob was always a dick about food even when we were pups.” I groan as I pour myself and Connor a glass of whiskey, he accepts the glass without hesitation and clicks it against my own before knocking back the amber liquid. “There was an Omega in the Pack when we were young; Jacob would make her wait to eat until the rest of us had finished; she got whatever was left.” It still makes my skin crawl at how I let that Omega be abused. I was young and unable to defend her so when I came of age I left and swore to protect any Omega who came to me for help. I was too late to protect the Omega from my youth but I won’t fail Faythe or any other Omega. 

“Goddess. I know he was a shitty Alpha but I didn’t realise he was a shitty person as well.” Connor groans as he walks over to Starling and shoves her legs aside so he can drop onto the sofa beside her. They start pushing eachother as if fighting for space on the small two-seater; one cough from me and they both stop and start acting like the grown shifters they really are. 

“Was the house as bad as I expected?” I ask slowly. I down my glass of whisky and refill it while I wait for an answer; the fact that Connor isn’t answering me right away tells me everything I need to know. 

“She’s still drinking and the house is bad, with mould on the walls, empty gin bottles and ashtrays everywhere. I think Faythe must have tried to clean the place up because it's not dirty per se, just a mess.” Connor scrunches up his nose as I walk over to my desk and drop myself back into my chair. “Fiona was all over me and I heard her tell Faythe to watch you closely; it seems her mother thinks she’s your mate.” I almost choke on my drink and Starling lets out a loud musical laugh. I wipe at my mouth as I continue to cough and splutter; the idea that I’m fated to Fiona is outright laughable. I’ve never met a worse female in my life. I almost sent her away when she first came to the Pack but then I caught Faythe’s scent, because my mate is under twenty-one, I had to accept her mother because she needs a guardian. I wanted to snap up my mate and run off with her but Connor stopped me, he reminded me that the last thing I needed was Jacob’s Pack attacking me because I stole an underage Omega.

‘Use that; let Faythe think she’s getting close to you to do her mother's bidding; it will allow you to spend time with her without having to lie about the mate bond.’ Asher whispers in my ear, ‘get to know her, help her wolf come out and then you can claim her.’ I sit up in my chair; it creaks, making Connor and Starling stop laughing and look my way once more. 

“Let Faythe think she’s getting close to me because of her mother's order; being around a strong Alpha might make her wolf stop hiding.” Connor looks at me sceptically, and Starling starts to shake her head. I hold up my hand and point towards the door; I’m finished speaking to them. I’ve given my order and I expect it to be followed. 

“Alpha.” Connor bows his head respectfully as he gets up from the sofa, he places his empty glass on the bar and quickly leaves the room but Starling makes no attempt to leave. I sigh and lean back in my chair while sloshing the whisky around the glass. 

“Speak up, Starling.” I growl after several minutes of silence. I can feel her filling the office with her warm magic but I have no idea what she’s doing, when I glance towards her, I see her head is bowed and she’s moving her hands in a way I’ve seen her do many times before. It's kind of like sign language but it's also not; she’s casting some kind fo spell and it's not one I’ve seen before. She doesn’t say anything for a few more minutes; she just keeps gesturing with her head bowed and a look of concentration on her face. 

“A small gift for my friend and Alpha.” She whispers before looking up; she lifts her left hand and blows across the palm towards me, it's sort of like she’s blowing me a kiss but when her warm breath hits me, I feel something click into place at the back of my mind. 

“What did you do?” I ask her as the office starts to spin like I’ve downed several bottles of whisky in rapid succession. 

“You need to be close to your mate without being close to your mate; it's not fair to your wolf or you, now you can be close to her without anyone ever knowing.” Starling gives me a small smile as she wipes her hands down her dress and pushes off the sofa. “One touch and the spell will take effect; sleep well.” She waves her fingers at me in a flirtatious wave while walking from the office. I wish I could say that cryptic words are new for Starling but she’s always been like this; she has a way of knowing what I need before even I do. I don’t know what spell she’s cast or why but I do know that once it reveals itself, I will be thanking Starling for her gift. Once alone in the office, I close my eyes and lean back in my chair once more. I allow Asher to come forward just enough that I can see him in my mind; I picture his jet-black fur and his wide yellow eyes. I feel his excitement at being allowed off his leash but also his tinge of annoyance at not being allowed to come forward fully. 

‘Let me out.’ Asher growls, his bushy tail swishing low as he threatens me with a loud growl, if he wanted, he could attack me but he knows that would just mean being put back into his little cage. I’ve never locked my wolf down like this before so I do understand his anger but I just can’t risk letting him out with my mate so close. Starling’s wards will hold but that won’t stop Asher from trying to get to his mate. I can only imagine the chaos and death he would leave in his wake and as much as I want Faythe, I refuse to hurt my Pack to do it.

‘I can’t and you know it.’ I growl back at him. I get lost in the vision of my wolf. I can barely feel the warmth of my office anymore. ‘She needs time to grow and for her wolf to come forward. Once she has a wolf, I can claim her as my own and make her Luna of the Pack.’ I keep my voice calm as I try to soothe my wolf. I know there isn’t much I can do to hold him back; I just have to hope that I can reason with him to cool it long enough for Faythe to find her wolf. 

‘And if she never gets a wolf?’ Asher snaps at me; I picture him showing me his large teeth as he snarls at me. ‘It's rare but it happens. If she doesn’t get a wolf, then she will never be ours, and we will forever be alone.’ A shiver rolls down my spine at the idea of being alone forever but I refuse to even consider that being a possibility. 

‘I swear to you, I will find a way to keep her as close as possible, wolf or no wolf.’ I feel the glass in my hand shatter just as Asher lets out a loud howl; it causes my head to spin and my vision to blur as I force my eyes open, it takes everything I have not to slide off the chair and curl into a ball on the floor. Asher has punished me before but never to this extreme; he’s causing me physical pain in an attempt to force me to shift but I won’t give in. I need to keep Faythe safe and the Pack; Asher can’t come out no matter how much he hurts me.