Under the Skin

Chapter 2

His gaze was still locked upon the wolf who cowered in front of them. He heard a low growl beside him, and Alec turned to see one of the warriors of the pack looking at him. 'What are you waiting for? Just kill him!' His packmate spoke through the mind link. 

The beta turned back to the unmoving wolf. He knew his duty as the beta of the pack was to protect his packmates, which meant he had to kill any threat that could harm them. But the connection he felt with the wolf went against his instinct to protect, urging him to take care of his other half. 

He felt the confusion and restlessness of his pack members behind him. They were waiting for him to finish the intruder, and he knew that if he didn't make a decision soon, one of them would do it for him, the instinct to protect the pack stronger than their respect for his position. 

He could smell the fear in the rogue's scent, giving a rotten tint to it when he approached closer.  

The wolf switched his tactic and began growling, his teeth bared in a threatening manner. He wasn't going to let himself be killed without fighting for his life. 

Alec stopped when he saw the wolf get into a fighting stance. He turned to his packmates to address them. 'We will bring him back to the pack.' As soon as he said that, multiple voices talked over each other to express their confusion and frustration.

'He's my mate!" The group became quiet again as they registered what he had said. 

'But he attacked one of our pack members! Mate or not, he should be put to death!" One of the older warriors exclaimed. 

Alec felt his wolf growl and snarl in anger at the comment, but the beta closed his eyes briefly to reel his anger in. He knew that the warrior statement was justified.

'We will let the alpha decide what to do with him.' The wolf who had complained seemed temporarily satisfied with this answer. 

The group circled the rogue, who was still growling like he was waiting for them to attack. They escorted the wolf to the house where the pack alpha resided. On their way there, several other members watch them pass. They whispered among each other, probably wondering who was the unknown wolf. 

When they arrived, Alec asked three of the warriors among the party to guard the rogue and dismissed the rest of them. He shifted back and entered the house to look for his alpha. He hastily grabbed a shirt and a pair of joggers from the clothes they kept in the entrance for obvious reasons. 

He didn't even bother to knock and pushed the door open. As he predicted, the head alpha, Thomas, was looking and scribbling on different papers. The man's head had shot up as soon as he heard the sound of the door. He wore an annoyed look.

"I thought I told you to knock last time." In another occasion, Alec would have thrown a smart reply to annoy him even more, but he had more urgent matters to address.   

"We found a rogue attacking Lisa close to the border." The alpha frowned. 

"Well, what's the problem? You got rid of it right?" The beta's hesitance to reply told the man all he needed to know. 

"Since when do you spare the life of a rogue? You know the rules Alec." His tone was still levelled, but it was obvious he was furious over the beta's actions. 

"I know! I know! But... He's my mate." The silence stretched between them. Thomas dragged a palm down his face and leaned over his desk. 

Meeting one's mate was a very serious matter indeed. It was believed every wolf had been assigned a mate since the moment they were born by the Moon Goddess, to balance them and tame their feral side. Killing one's mate or hurting them in any way was deeply frowned upon.