Born Wild

A snake in wolf's clothing

After they returned, Astrid showed up at their house. Koda let her inside and she came to sit down next to Tala on the couch. Koda did some stuff in the kitchen while remaining in the conversation."I need to figure out what my pack leader is turning people for. I need any help I can get." Astrid said. Koda raised his eyebrow and looked at Tala as he wiped the counter. Tala looked at him and then back at Astrid. "I met your jerk of a leader today. It wasn't a pleasant conversation...." She sipped on her mug of tea. 

"So..." she continued. "You need to figure out information. Do you have any ideas so far on how to go about it?"

"I've tried to think of things. The main problem is that he isn't very open or talkative about himself. So I can't just ask him why he turns people. He doesn't really trust me at the moment because I didn't attack Cambria or your pack."

"I don't know if you know this but," Tala sipped more tea and smiled with closed lips. "Your leader seems to have a weak spot when it comes to female beauty and attention."

"No way." Astrid said.

 "Just an idea." Tala replied.

 Astrid shook her head and pondered for a moment. "What all would that entail?" Astrid sighed.

"Make yourself look really good, play with your hair, touch his arm, tell him he's such a great leader, stand close to him, show confidence...." Koda suggested from the kitchen.

 "Is that the way to your heart?" Tala joked.

"You should know, you already won my heart." He smiled. "It's how to get a guy's attention. If a guy is shallow and mostly into looks then maybe it will be enough to get the information you need."

 "If you want maximum vulnerability you could always get him drunk." Tala chipped in.Koda raised his eyebrows and looked at Tala in surprise.

She drove home to get ready. Her long blonde hair had finally lost the purple ends and was flat. She usually didn't wear makeup and wore band t-shirts with ripped jeans. Astrid curled her blonde hair. She put on foundation, winged eyeliner, and lipstick. She put on dark skinny jeans, short boots, a low cut v neck shirt, and leather jacket from the back of her closet. 

This was not her at all, but she needed to fit the part tonight. She bit her bottom lip in the mirror and flicked her hair back. He was doomed. 

She drove across town to Heath's house. There were two males talking already inside, one was Heath. He glanced for a moment to savor Astrid's new look. 

"Hey Astrid," Heath said with a charming voice. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" 

Astrid felt her heartbeat through her chest. She agreed and tried her best to remain confident as her nerves overwhelmed her. 

He was in his mid-twenties. He had short dark hair, facial hair, large muscles, and was moderately tall. His eyes were blue and oh so bright. His smile was charming. He had a tribal tattoo that stuck out on his right bicep under his shirt. His jaw was sharp and square and he had a dark long scar across his left forearm.

"I feel like we could have used more of your help getting that girl in the forest." he said seriously. "If you're afraid to change people don't worry they'll thank you later."

How dare he make that assumption. No one should be forced into this life, especially the way that he does it. She wanted to argue with him so much but she was on a mission. 

"Yeah." she ran her hand through her hair. "I just... I'm sorry I got a little nervous I wouldn't want to upset you. You are such a great-." she didn't want to say it she hated the word. "Alpha." she said and kicked her foot back a little. 

"It's okay. Maybe you can make up for it somehow." He hinted with a smile.

"Really?" she said, trying her best not to choke.

"Yeah. By trying to find the girl we transformed. She's out in town somewhere and we need to bring her into our pack." He continued.

"Gotcha." She nervously smiled in relief. 

"Look." he said glancing from her feet to her eyes. "I think you have great potential in this pack." 

She fake smiled and acted pleased. He suddenly gave her more attention tonight than ever.

 "We should all have a few drinks sometime once I bring in the new wolf." Astrid said. 

That might be a perfect time to win him over. She wondered how she was going to redirect flirting to information. Drunk people don't lie, so she hoped his mouth did more talking than his eyes and hands. They went into the kitchen to talk to Chase.

 He stood with his thin body back against the counter. He had some muscles, he was a werewolf after all. He brushed his pale thin hand through his light brown hair. It was slightly wavy and voluminous with a deep side part. It fell above his shoulders. He had on a white band t-shirt, jean jacket with sherpa on the collar, and high top sneakers. He was 21 years old and slightly taller than Astrid. 

 Chase was the person in the group Astrid got along with the best. He was confident, somewhat rebellious, and fun. Chase played the guitar and wrote music. She had talked to Chase about Heath and how they both disliked turning people. It annoyed her how he still listened to Heath. She wasn't going to tell Chase about her plan because she didn't want him to stop her. Chase was usually independent, but he didn't want to lose the pack. He needed protection and knowledge. Astrid sat on a bar stool near Chase leaned on the counter across from them.

 Chase looked up with his large light eyes at Astrid. He smirked, his plump lips stretching wide on his scruffy face. 

"Astrid why the new look?" Chase asked with curiosity and confidence.

 "It was in my closet I thought I might try it." She shrugged her shoulders. 

"I don't hate it." he stated charmingly. "It just doesn't seem like you." 

"Chase let the girl wear what she wants." Heath remarked in a rude tone.

Chase flattened his lips and stopped leaning over the counter.

 "Alright enough of the chatting, we came here to have a meeting. The plan is for Astrid to find the girl and bring her in. If someone else does it, great, but Astrid will be the main person looking." Heath didn't know her name or that they were even friends. 

"After we bring her in we can look for the next person to bless with the bite." Astrid needed to act quickly to get information. She wanted to prove herself to Heath by bringing Cambria in, maybe she would go with Astrid to help with the plan. She at least wanted to talk to Cambria because she hadn't heard from her in a while.

 Astrid went home after the meeting to take off her makeup and change before heading to Cambria's house.