The Foxx Among Wolves

Chapter 2

*Beatrice's POV*

My flight landed in Tennessee just before 5pm. My jetlag was minimal but my anxiety was slowly rising. I had met a lot of Stevenson's friends and partners, but never another Alpha.

Before I had left, Stevenson gave me a little background info on Alpha Haight. He was unmated, or well had been mated before but she had died in a rogue attack. I had experienced those at Redwood and they weren't pleasant. But he was definitely a business first, professional person with a soft side for sap stories. I was hoping mine would hit that dead spouse nerve and he would be more than willing to help.

As I walked out of the airport, a black sedan with a tall gorgeous man awaited me; he held a sign that said "FOXX" in big black letters. He was easily 6' and 200 pounds of muscle. I never got over how gorgeous were-people are.

"Ms. Foxx I presume?" He asked as I walked over to him.

"You would presume right." He forced a smile. I could feel his tension towards me, some werewolves didnt take to humans too kindly. I'd learned to just ignore it.

He opened the door for me and I climbed in. As we drove in silence I watched the rolling hillside. Utah had mountains, but these were older more mature mountain ranges. Ones that had been here before life on earth started to form. I loved the geography of this area but had never had a chance to visit. Flinn always wanted to take a hiking trip through the Appalachian mountains, but that was just a distant memory now.

After about 2 and a half hours of driving we came to a dirt road. 2 miles in and we had arrived at a large, black, iron gate with two uniformed guards on either side. The driver put his window down as the one guard approached the vehicle.

"I have the guest for Alpha." he said simply and the guard waved his arm. The gates creaked open slowly and we drove through.

There were little cottages scattered about and the closer we got to their pack house, the larger and more decorated the cottages were. We pulled up in front of a large white building. It looked like it came off the cover of one of those fancy house magazines. I felt my jaw drop. Redwood's packhouse was WAY smaller than this one.

I stepped out of the vehicle as the driver grabbed my bags from the trunk. As I took in the scene I saw two large men walking out of the front of the pack house. One was easily 6'6" and they were both extremely muscular. The taller one had red hair and green eyes; the shorter one had brown hair and chocolate eyes. The shorter one had a permanent frown on his face.

"Ms. Foxx, welcome to River Gorge Pack." the redhead smiled and reached out to shake my hand.

"Thank you, it's so kind of you all to agree to meet with me. I know its unsettling, my human-ness and all." I joked as we shook hands. His expression registered shock at first. Then he started howling, doubling over laughing.

"Oh I like this one, she's funny." He laughed to his partner who just glared at him.

"I'm Patrick, I'm the Gamma here. And this is Felix, hes our Beta. Come on and we'll show you to your cottage." Patrick grinned and grabbed my bags. Felix huffed and gestured for me to follow.

They led me to a small cottage not too far from the packhouse. I knew they wouldnt let me sleep in the guestrooms but this was nice. I had my own little kitchen with an island and small living area. It had a simple bedroom with a full sized bed and attached bathroom with a shower. Just enough for me and my short stay.

"I've had some of the omegas stock your fridge for you. The Alpha is still wary about you coming to the packhouse for meals and such. But I'm sure he'll warm up to you." Patrick beamed, so sure of his prediction.

"Alpha says we will retrieve you tomorrow at 9AM sharp for the meeting, and we will go from there. Have a pleasant evening, Ms. Foxx." Felix said as he ushered Patrick out the door. Then I was alone.

The clock read 8:56pm and I was starving. I rummaged in the fridge for a small snack of cheese and grapes, and crawled into bed. My files tucked in my clothes for tomorrow for safe keeping.

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*Seth's POV*

Patrick mindlinked me to announce the arrival of the human. Stevenson had sent me a short email synopsis of Ms. Foxx and her story. They met in basic training for the army before he was turned and were close ever since. Apparently she knew about our kind before he ever turned, so she helped him through his transition. After she met her mate, who was a werewolf and Gamma of his pack, they got married and he was murdered not even 6 months later. He wanted to leave the case details for her but he wanted to give me a heads up.

I knew the pain of losing a mate far too well. My first mate was killed in a random rogue attack. She was unknowingly pregnant with our child and shifted to help fight and was killed by one of the rogues. I left the pack and roamed for 3 months after that, unsure of where to go or what to do. But the Moon Goddess spoke to me and told me to help others and to be patient; that my pain would end someday and I would love again.

But this was different. Her mate was murdered in cold blood, premeditatedly. This was a whole new level of pain.

After Patrick and Felix got her settled in her cottage, I met them in the hall for a beer and some pool. I needed to clear my head. Gage had been pacing and pouting all day, especially after Patrick told us the human was here.

"Hey man, I'm kicking Felix' ass right now," Patrick laughed at Felix' sour expression. "Wanna play winner?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna grab a beer." I grinned, these guys had been my best friends since we were pups.

As I came back from the kitchen, I stopped. Something smelled sweet, like cinnamon and vanilla but it was faint. I walked over to Patrick and sniffed him.

"Uh, Alpha, you okay?" Patrick froze.

"You have a different smell. A faint sweet smell."

"Well, I carried Ms. Foxx' things to her cabin for her." he explained.

"Hmm.. Well, who am I playing?" I quickly changed the subject. They started laughing and we got back to the game. I couldn't shake it, though. I should have only been able to smell the human stench, they usually smell pungent. Instead I smelled cinnamon and vanilla.

I pushed the thought from my mind and enjoyed my beer with the guys before handing it to Patrick in pool and heading to bed. I needed a clear head to meet this human tomorrow.