Wolves of Blood and Fire

Hell's Alpha (Chapter 8)

Dargan’s POV

“This is…,” Ashton mumbled looking around with a look of disgust on his face. “Depressing.”

Well, seeing as he came from a pack that had enough money to wipe their asses with it, I understood that he found the “cabin in the woods”-look sort of depressing. The packhouse was barely a one-and-a-half-story building, with some desks scattered across the main floor and a closed-off office in the back. The bathroom was cramped next to what looked like some kind of enforced holding cells and to top it all off:

No AC!

Already it was better than most dumps I’d been living at. Because seriously, have you heard the noise a broken AC makes? Let me tell you, it’s enough to make people consider murdering someone.

Or suicide!

Whichever gets you out of there the fastest…

“What? You expected hell to be an amusement park, Ashton?” I smirked as I stood beside him and for now, just threw my bags on the ground.

“My name is---” he grumbled but cut himself off mid-sentence and hopelessly shook his head. “You know what? Never mind.”

I didn’t say anything, but…

I think he’d grown on me while driving up here.

“Gather the wolves,” I informed him, and he went outside, calling out all the Tartarus wolves old-school style. By shifting into his huge black wolf and howled.

The true call of nature…

The pack wasn’t big, roughly around 50 wolves. Back in the day, it wouldn’t even be considered a pack, but those days were long gone now. Some of the biggest packs in the US today were only around 3- or 400 wolves and the number of packs was below the hundreds.

It didn’t look good for the werewolf population…

So yeah, I understood why the elders had devised a “breeding program”. For Alpha’s to have an heir on stand-by in case he couldn’t produce an heir with his mate. Or any other wolf who wanted a baby but was failing to conceive one. They just wanted our race to survive…

Still didn’t make it right though!

Slowly the wolves came out of their cottages. There couldn’t have been more than half a dozen cottages altogether, which meant that there lived almost 10 people in what essentially were wooden sheds. And all while the packhouse and the homes looked to be ready to be blown away by the next breeze, it didn’t escape my notice that the alpha’s home looked to be one hell of a luxury log cabin. Bricks, glass, and loads of woods, it looked to have taken half the forest to build it. There was a 4-wheel SUV parked next to it as well as a yellow Ferrari sportscar that---

Well, what the hell was that even doing out in the woods?

And how did it get here in one piece?!

“If I cared more, I’d probably give you a speech, but I don’t so listen up, because I’m only saying this once,” I said, as I stepped up next to Ashton, making a mental note to sell that piece of crap the second I got my hands on the papers for it. “I’m Alpha Dargan Hellson and I’m your new alpha. The man you see with me is my Beta, Ashton. You can call him Beta Ashton.”

People looked at me nervously and at the wolf by my side. They probably didn’t know that it was the previous Blackwood Beta standing next to me. They only knew MY name and they fear that and were probably thinking that Ashton was a friend of mine.

Exactly what I wanted them to think…

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have given him a new name.

For now, I didn’t want my pack to think I had any ties to the Blackwood Pack or the Elders, except that they were the ones who arranged this…

“Do what I tell you and we’ll get along just fine. Don’t, then please excuse yourself and piss off,” I continued, my smile never faltering. “Training starts at 6 AM. Those on patrol for the night will start at 2 PM. Anyone who just turned 14 or will turn 14 this year will be on the training ground along with everybody else, if not---” I let out a light chuckle that – when it came from a guy who looked half crazed and half sleep deprived – sounded more ominous than I intended. “Well, let’s just say that you don’t want me to come and get you.”

I gave the pack one last look, noticing some nervous nods and flickering eyes as they all wondered about their future now.

Well, this was hell…

What were they expecting?

“Class dismissed!” I said humorlessly and turned to go back for my back.

“I’m guessing we’re staying at the alpha’s mansion?” Ashton asked, gesturing at the huge log building.

“Nope,” I replied, and threw my duffle over my shoulder before handing him the keys to the upstairs mini-apartment over the packhouse. “I’m staying at the alpha’s mansion. This is yours now. Good luck!”

“What?” he snapped, glancing at the key, my retreating back and back at the house that looked ready to fall apart.

“Dargan!”

“I’ve heard that one has a view,” I called back to him, and lightly jogged up the steps to get to the house.

“I. HATE. YOU!!!”

I was laughing my ass off when I reached the door. The cabin was sitting on a small foothill, just a little bit over everybody else in the valley. The second I opened the door the most amazing scent I’d ever smelled wafted towards me, making my wolf stand to attention.

What the hell?

Like a slave, I followed it – ignoring most of the decor as I hunted down whatever had that scent. I ended up in a common room with an amazing view over the lake just beneath it. And in one of the loveseats sat the most beautiful, stunning young woman I’d ever seen.

Jailbait!

Was my first thought, since she looked so young. She couldn’t be more than 20. Her hair was cut short and dyed black with blue stripes. There was more than just one earring hanging from her ears and she even had a nose piercing.

Which I by the way was loving!

Her piercing blue eyes met mine and--- And she let out a grunt of displeasure, before pushing up from the seat and coming towards me.

“Let me guess,” she said, looking me up and down, not impressed with what she was seeing. And strangely my wolf was loving it. “You’re the new alpha?”

He loved that she wasn’t cowering before us or dipping her head in submission. Hell, I loved the way she was practically daring me to come at her, to force my alpha aura over her and---

And that’s when it finally clicked!

“Hmm,” I mused, impressed by my findings. “You don’t have a wolf!”

She was a latent!

They were considered useless in most packs and were sometimes even given to other desperate couples, who just wanted a pup to love. Considering that this one was living in the Alpha’s house – and bold enough not to move out before I came here---

Meant that she was used to s**t – and didn’t take any!

Fucking. Hot!

“How perceptive of you, Alpha,” she said, almost as if it might be poisonous on her tongue, and rolled her eyes. She was deliberately provoking me, but strangely, my wolf loved the sass. He couldn’t boss her around or dominate her in any shape, way, or form.

But I could make her surrender to us…

Which was now my mission in life!

Next after my plans…