Against the Odds

We've got a problem

"Come on Diana! Push!"

The young she-wolf used the encouraging words from the head warrior to motivate herself. Diana swiftly swung her fist towards her opponent and expertly dodged his defenses. Her opponent remained steady, so Diana decided to end this scrimmage once and for all. The she-wolf jumped and wrapped her legs around the man, forcing him down to the ground. Diana, on the other hand, landed on her feet. With one final blow to the stomach, the match was done. Diana was victorious. Although, that wasn't much of a surprise.

"That was excellent. Have you been practicing without me?"

"You're a great warrior and trainer Dmitri, but you know I like to put in extra work." She smiled, very proud of herself. She indeed worked hard. Early mornings to late nights she was dedicated to becoming the strongest Beta she could be. To gain respect of her male counterparts she had to work twice as hard.

"Jake are you alright?" Dmitri asked the young male. Jake was laid out on the fighting mat while groaning in pain. The man clutched his stomach and attempted to sit up.

"If by alright you mean totally ass-kicked then yes I'm alright." He winced. Talking proved to be too painful.

"You probably broke some ribs and by the looks of it, your nose too." Diana stated. It was hard to ignore the visible damage that she had caused while training. Maybe I went too far this time?  she thought. She quickly pushed the doubt away because her motto was 'give it your all or nothing at all'.

"I'll heal in a few minutes. Don't you worry." Jake gave a weak smile to the two warriors standing above him.

"Anderson, Clarkson get over here." The she-wolf ordered.

"Yes Beta Ravenwood." the young warriors said in unison.

"Take Jake inside the pack house before Alpha Ronan gets there."

"Yes Beta." They said once again.

"Thank you gentlemen, you may go now." The two scurried off with one of Jake's arms wrapped around each of their shoulders. It was important to get him inside before the Alpha because if Xavier found out one of his top warriors was defeated that badly, Jake would be in deep trouble.

"How many times do I have to tell you to take it easy, Diana?" Dmitri asked. Even though it was a stupid question, Diana was never going to take it easy.

"It doesn't matter how many times you say it I'll still never do it." She smirked. She knew her stubbornness annoyed people but she didn't care. "I'm doing what's best-"

"-For the pack. I know. You say that every time." Dmitri rolled his eyes. He'd never met anyone so concerned about the pack, besides the Alpha.

"As one of two female Beta's in the world, I have to take my job seriously." Diana began walking towards the pack house. She mustn't be late for the leader's meeting taking place.

"You have nothing to prove Diana. We all respect and fear you." Diana turned to the ignorant male. She raised a brow as if to say 'Are you stupid?'

"Are you stupid?" Whoops, I wasn't supposed to say that out loud. Sorry not sorry. "I have to work twice as hard as any other male Beta just to get phony respect! You'll never understand what it's like to be interrupted, disrespected, and dismissed simply because of your gender." She turned to walk away but turned right back around to continue her rant. Diana pressed her index finger into Dmitri's chest, "I'd rather be feared than disrespected. You understand?" Dmitri nodded. He didn't want to anger the temperamental she-wolf anymore than he already had.

"Yes Beta Ravenwood." Dmitri bowed his head to show his submission.

Although Dmitri was leader of the warriors, Diana still out-ranked him. She's second in command, meaning there's only one person she submits to: Alpha Xavier Ronan. If the Alpha had a mate, Diana would submit to her as well. An Alpha's mate is a Luna, she is considered equal to the Alpha in every way.

"Let's get going to the meeting." Dmitri nodded in agreement.

"Diana, I'm running late. There was a rouge on our northern border and I had to take care of it. Go ahead and start the meeting" Xavier gave the Beta orders via the pack mind-link.

"No problem Xavier." Diana and her Alpha were very close. They're on a first name basis, which is to be expected. Alphas and Betas must work together to ensure a successful pack. There was no doubt that Xavier was her best friend. Diana didn't socialize much due to her hyper-focus on pack duties. She wasn't good at making friends so she just didn't bother.

The two wolves arrived at the conference room where the morning meeting took place, promptly at 8:00am. Most of the leaders had already arrived. There's Delta Issac, Gamma Andrew, Lead Scout Leo, and of course Lead Warrior Dmitri.

The beta took her seat at the head of the table. When Alpha Ronan arrives he'll take his rightful seat at the other head of the table.

"Alright, let's begin. Alpha Ronan will be arriving shortly but he asked me to begin the meeting. Issac how are the borders?"

"Well, we did have a rouge on the north border today, as you may know. Alpha Ronan is still in the process of questioning him. But other then that, they are secure and patrolled."

"Andrew, any news on the elder's demands?"

"They still want their own house. I tried to tell them we would be willing to expand their living quarters but they refused."

"You are the lead elder, this is your job as our Gamma. The living quarters are not up for negotiation. They can take the expanded space or not. If you don't have this taken care of by tomorrow morning I'm sure I can find someone else to take your place. Understand?"

"Yes Beta Ravenwood." The Gamma bowed his head.

"Good," was Diana's response. "Leo, any new developments?"

"No Beta Ravenwood." Leo exclaimed.

"Dmitri?"

"Some of the warriors have been skipping out on training but I took care of it. They'll be running laps until they puke their guts out." Dmitri smiled proudly. He does not tolerate absence during training sessions. Being a warrior is a great responsibility and if the warriors think they can just skip out on training, they've got another thing coming.

"Alright sounds good. My only order of business is the orphanage. I want each of you and your mates putting in volunteer hours there. Got it?"

"Yes Beta Ravenwood." They all said in unison.

"Okay then. That-" Suddenly the door swung open so quickly it created a whole where the knob touched the wall. Alpha Ronan rushed through. He was sweating and breathing heavily.

"We've got a problem." Xavier announced. Everyone sat on the edge of their seat, patiently waiting for him to continue. "I spotted witches."

The Alpha's eyes began glowing. He was fighting his wolf's instinct to come out and fight. The leaders collectively gasped at their Alpha's news. Fear and disgust filled everyone in the room.

The most dangerous and hated species of them all...witches.