Chasing October

Four

We all stood outside the gates of the Kingdom, everyone giggling or whispering among themselves as they took in the large castle before us. Sam chuckled to himself lowly as the gates swung open for us, allowing us all to enter. He waved at the man behind the gates before walking on once more, silent as we followed him.

Liam and Garrett stood to my sides, the three of us watching for any danger as the pack continued on their light, playful tones. Halting us to a stop, Sam turned around and gave everyone a warm smile.

"Welcome to my castle, everyone. I want to thank you for coming here and being a part of this, and I ask that you all enjoy yourselves while you're here. If you will all come inside, there will be people to show you to your rooms. The vehicles will be taken care off, so feel free to come in, settle, and then explore the castle and town if you wish."

Sam nodded his head in the direction of us, and the three of us followed almost obediently, Garrett taking the lead to stand next to Sam. Being led into a room, I took the opportunity to look around, taking in the large, cream walls that were lined with different portraits of Alpha Kings. I smiled to myself at the one of Sam, his intense gaze halting in my spot.

"He had that done when he was only seventeen."

I whirled around at the sound of someone speaking, frowning at the man who was looking at me with a frown on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare," I replied, walking to follow next to everyone else.

"Wait, I don't mean to seem rude. My name is James. I am a friend of Samuel's."

With a nod, I quickly excused myself, slipping into the room hurriedly before the door was shut. Liam and Garrett looked at me with confusion splattered on their faces, Garrett tilting his head to the right.

"You okay, Star?" Liam asked, playfully smirking in my direction.

"Just a creepy man was all," I muttered, taking the chair that Sam handed me. As Garrett raised his eyebrow, wanting me to continue, I faced Sam and cleared my throat. "He said his name was James, and that he's a friend of yours."

Sam nodded, rubbing his face. "Excuse him, Star. He can be a bit..."

"Creepy?" Garrett finished for him, a dark look casted over his face.

"Yes, creepy. He's harmless, however. He's never harmed a fly for the last few years I've known him."

When none of us spoke, I looked around the room, taking in everything. His office was normal – at least, that's what I thought. Staring at one of the photos, I imagined myself getting lost in the forest, my paws hitting the ground and disrupting the even placement of the pine needles.

Garrett cleared his throat, and I looked up at him, blushing. "Sorry," I muttered, looking away from the photos to Sam.

"I can take you there one day, Star," Sam told me with a smile, organizing the papers on his desk. Perking up, he laughed a bit before handing us each a stack of papers. "There is someone working in my pack that is sending information to a neighboring rival. I believe they're targeting me, and then your pack next, as you are the third largest pack."

Garrett nodded, taking his stack of papers, and flipped through them. "So you want us to look out for him, and then take him out?"

Sam shook his head. "Not exactly, Garrett. I need the information that he holds."

"What's so important?"

Liam looked over at Garrett, a frown on his face, but didn't say much. Instead, he turned towards Sam and nodded. "It should be easy to know who it is. All that I ask is that you give us a few days."