The Hunter's Pack

The Development

There was a knock on my office's door, and with a quiet "come in" it swung open, revealing my beta Elliot. 

"Miss, the royal servant has come to help find the bones of the elders. Should I let him in the pack house?" 

"Ah. No, I would rather not show them the layout of the house. I'll just meet them outside." I answered, piling my papers in a neat stack and standing up. 

"Careful, as always. We are so lucky to have you as our alpha." Elliot said, following me outside the door with a small smirk. What a cheeky kid.

"Yes, yes, I know. And when the leadership position goes to you when I die, I'm sure you'll make the right decisions as well." We made our way down the stairs, and I heard El make a displeased noise at my comment. 

"That won't happen anytime soon. We are here to protect our alpha, and if the cost is your death, I would rather stay beta forever. Alex, you always ruin jokes with your grim humor." 

We were approaching the door, a smirk apparent on my face. I didn't even have to look at him to know my beta was scowling deeply. 

"That's alright, my dear beta. Alphas like me are destined to die." 

He didn't have time to reply as I swung the door open, revealing Anastasia standing with her arms crossed in front of a very tall man. He was around 6'5, towering over my delta's small figure. I narrowed my eyes at the blonde man; the aura he was giving off was definitely one of an alpha. How did Anastasia, not to mention Elliot, not notice this detail? The man lazily turned his head towards us, about to say something, but froze once he saw me. Something flashed in his gaze before he continued, taking a hand out of his pocket and offering it to me. 

"Alpha Cross, I presume?" 

"Yes." I nodded, firmly grasping his hand and giving it a quick shake before letting go. "And you are?" 

"A servant sent by the King. Your beta did not inform you?" He quickly glanced at the black-haired boy behind me, and I sensed Elliot tense at the unpleasant assumption. 

"He did. I simply wanted to give you another chance to correct your answer, Alpha." 

Annie and Elliot immediately froze before letting out growls and elongating their fangs in a threatening manner. I raised my hand, quickly quieting them. The blonde man simply chuckled, taking out a familiar potion out of his pocket. 

"Ah, I guess this potion didn't really work. A witch gave it to me at a discount. I thought it was suspicious, but now I know why. It didn't completely mask my presence as an Alpha."

"No, it did not. Do not lie to me or any of my pack members again while you are on this territory, please. We will not hesitate to kill you." I answered bluntly. 

This time the alpha gave me a broad smile, a glimmer of mischievousness sparkling in his dark blue eyes. "But my darling Alpha, I did not lie. In the end, are we not all servants of the King?"

"I suppose you are right. But there is a major difference between an omega and an alpha, and I like to be informed on which is coming onto my territory." I pointed out, my eyebrows slightly moving up in surprise at his audaciousness. 

He simply stuck his both his hands back in his pockets, giving me a shrug in response. "Well, I was actually sent by the King. Rather, someone from my pack had to come help since we're your neighbors, apparently. I decided to visit, and how rewarding that has been. I don't think I have met another werewolf that could see through this potion - well, except for the royal family, of course. You're quite interesting, Alpha Cross." 

"Thank you. One last question before we start our little treasure hunt: Why did you yourself decide to come?" I watched him carefully, trying to find a sign that he was lying. 

"To meet the neighbors. Get the lay of the land, if you will. It's a shame that I didn't get to see the inside of your pack house, however." He smiled innocently, as if he wasn't just implying that there may be a possibility that his pack would attack ours. 

"Well, thank you for your honesty. Let's begin then, shall we, Alpha...?" I trailed off, not knowing his name. 

"Alpha Grayson Porter." He slowly started towards the forest, leaving Elliot, Annie and I standing and watching him. What a strange man.

"Right. Annie, go with him. Take 3 more people with you as well. Anyone is fine." She nodded in reply, her stare turning blank as she began mindlinking people. "Elliot, please watch them from afar." 

"Yes, Miss." He fixed his glasses, looking to irk me with the nickname. I simply waved my hand and turned around, heading back into the pack house. Just as I was about to open the door, a bewildered voice stopped me. 

"Wait! You're not going to search with us?" 

I turned to look at Alpha Porter, a confused expression on his face. 

"Of course not. I have already informed the King of this, but perhaps you did not hear during the meeting." 

"Well, I actually didn't attend the meeting. Slept through it. But can we please talk for a second?" His tone immediately turned serious. "I'm sure you would like to talk as well. In private." He said the last part, glancing at my beta and delta apprehensively. 

I was a bit confused. First, at the fact that he didn't attend the meeting and was not punished. Second, he was so insistent on talking with me privately, and spoke as if almost expecting that I, too, shared these same feelings. I quickly weighed the pros and cons of speaking to this suspicious alpha in private. I eventually nodded, nodding my head at the side of the pack house. If he decided to attack me, I always had my silver knife with me and could easily defend myself.

"So, what did you want?" I observed the man, noting any expressions on his face that would give away his motive. All I got was awkward posture and a hint of anger. And silence. Lots of silence. I waited patiently until he finally gestured around us, still not making eye contact with me. 

"'So'? Are we not going to address the large, hot-pink elephant in the room?" 

"Alpha Porter, we are outside. And I do not see any elephants." I discreetly looked around, making sure there were no actual elephants around. I had heard this idiom once before, in my childhood. But that was years ago, and I just wanted to make sure nothing has changed in the decade since then. I looked back at him, mildly surprised from the amount of rage smoldering in his blue eyes.