True Alpha Book I: Hunted

In the woods

Victor and the others made their way towards the cabin, leaving their car far behind so as not to attract any attention or annouced their arrival. Victor held up his rifle, aiming wide. Drake wrapped his fingers around his machete tight and held his dagger with his left hand. Behind them was Crystal, holding her crossbow with both hands, following her dad and brother's footstep as they continued down the path through the dark and silent woods.

“There it is!" Victor alerted, pointing at the cabin not too far from them.

“Where are the others? I thought they are supposed to meet us here?" Crystal asked

“Yeah they..." Victor paused when a flashlight began blinking from afar. “That's them" He pointed out and began waving his hands, signalling them to go through the back.

They progressed further toward the quiet cabin. Few steps from it, Drake turned swiftly, facing his right hand side. He stared at a particular spot Intently. “What is it?" Crystal asked

“I thought I heard something or someone”' he replied

“It's probably just an animal. Let's move" Victor instructed and they proceeded to the front door. Victor and Drake positioned at both sides of the door and then nodded at Crystal. She got close to the door and with all the strength she could muster, gave the door a strong kick, breaking it open.

Immediately, Victor and Drake rushed inside with their weapons aimed high. They heard the back door forcefully opened too and realized it was their guys. They turned on the flashlight and scanned the room but no one was present. They began searching from door to door, room to room and still no one was at home. “It seems they disappeared before we came" Victor said, joining the others in the living room.

“Not too long ago though. The fireplace is still warm" Elena, a 45 year old hunter said, standing up from the fire place. Her short dark hair catching a little ash from the fireplace.

“Should we go out and search for them?" Andrew, a huge, bald hair looking guy, not up to 40 yet chipped in. His full beards looking unkempt.

“No. They would be long gone by now. Let's just regroup back at the storehouse and plan how to get rid of the issue we came to town for. Few rogues aren't our main concern” He Instructed, glancing at the others who nodded in agreement.

***

“Do we believe what he said?" Craig asked, sitting down on the couch facing the Alpha's.

“Of course not. Edward is just a silly boy too anxious for power. He would do anything to feel respected and big. Plus we never told anyone that one of our pack members was murdered. So it's either we have a spy in our midst which is highly impossible or they did it” Alpha Carter explained

“So what are we going to do about it? Surely we can't let it slide. Are we starting a war with them?"

“That would be our answer if Edward didn't help us with a better one” He smiled

“What do you mean?" Craig questioned, confused.

“He laid the blame on Alpha Michael, hoping we would go to war with him and then all they had to do was to swoop in and clear off what little remains of the survivors. But what he didn't account for was that we could figure it out and use his plan against him”

“Right...." Craig dragged, still not getting where his father was heading to.

“All I have to do is confront Michael with what Edward told me, about him killing a member of my pack, and knowing he didn't do it, Michael would be furious about such allegations. Knowing Michael, he wouldn't let it slide, not at the slightest. He is ruthless and quick to action. So we can count on him to do what is necessary” Alpha Carter explained

“Of course. That is indeed a better plan. All we have to do is set things in motion and wait for it to unfold” Craig stated, smiling.

“Yes...” He said before looking around. “Where is Cara? Haven't seen her around”

“I don't know. She left a while ago with Laura. I don't think she has returned”

“Get a hold of her. This isn't the time for careless strolls. We need to stick together to avoid what happened last time from ever happening again" He instructed.

***

“Shouldn't we go help them or someone? They are gonna s*******r them like animals if we do nothing" Laura urge, still hiding behind Cara as they continued to peep from behind the tree.

“Shhh!! Listen” Said Cara, turning her ear to the direction of the cabin to get a clearer sound. “There are no screams or sounds of fighting. I don't think they found them" She stated

“Or they might have just killed them in their sleep" Laura pointed out, just as the hunters began coming out from the cabin and heading toward the direction they came from. “They are leaving"

“Yeah...let's go check" Cara darted toward the cabin before Laura could say anything.

They got to the cabin, turned back to look at the hunters. They seemed to be far away already. Cara pushed the cracked front door open and entered into the cabin with Laura closely behind her. They put on the flashlights on their phones and began searching the house. “Do you think other packs or hunters got to them?" Laura asked

“No...no I don't. I think they got away. I can feel it" She replied

“Alright then. We have established they are not here. I think it's time to go back now. We'll get your answers somewhere else" Laura stated

“Alright” Cara sighed in disappointed.

***

Hitting his glass with Taylor's, Edward raised his beer glass in merriment to everyone in the wolf bar, underground of a butcher shop. The others cheered him on, downing their beers at one go. The music was loud that you had to almost shout for you to keep a conversation going on. “Well done. You did a good job!" Taylor smiled, patting his face.

“My father doesn't understand things are no longer the same. We have to go after what we want. Survival of the fittest. If we aren't strong enough, we won't have a pack if a war was to take place" He explained and began chugging down his beer.

“Thank God we have you" Taylor smiled.

The door banged open with Alpha Walker angrily heading toward Edward. “Dad!" Edward called in surprise on seeing his father there and before he could say anything else, Alpha Walker grabbed him by his neck, picked him up and smashed him against the counter, pinning him down by his neck. He faced the other wolves and growled at them loudly, his eyes all red.

The music died down instantly and on hearing the growl of their Alpha, the others retreated back into the corners in fear. Alpha Walker brought his gaze back to Edward. “You FOOL! do you know what you have done? I had everything planned out and under control and still, you had to go ruin it like you always do. Now we do not only have one pack coming after us because of your stupidity but two. TWO PACKS!!!” He barked at him and then turned toward the others “And you lot cheering him on. I hope you are ready to fight when they come knocking” He concluded and walked away as angrily as he came.

The whole bar was silent. Everyone trying to make sense of what just happened. Edward climbed down the counter, cleaning himself up and straightening his clothes. His face was swelled with anger and embarrassment. He picked up the last of his beer and downed it. “Hey don't let what he said get to you” Taylor said, helping him straighten his collar. Edward dropped his glass, unable to look at the others out of embarrassment, he picked up his phone and walked away.

***

Cara got into the house to find Alpha Carter and Craig standing by the bar, looking worried. “Hey!" She called, walking up to where they were. Laura kept her distance, knowing if she spoke, they might put the blame on her.

“Where the hell have you been?" Alpha Carter questioned with a slightly angry tone.

“Out with Laura”

“And where exactly is out?" The Alpha asked

She glanced at Craig who had been silent since she came in and then shifted her gaze back to the Alpha. She hadn't had a reason to lie to him, to any of them, until recently and now here she was, about to lie again. She decided to make the lie one that would help her in the future. “We went back to the woods to look for the rogues" She blurted out.

Surprise overtook every one present in the room. Laura's eyes widened at Cara's revelation. She didn't understand why she said what she just said but she didn't see it ending well. “You allowed her to go back there?" Craig spoke up for the first time, staring at Laura with devouring eyes.

“It wasn't her fault. I forced her to go with me" She defended.

“You told us you didn't know the location. You said you were blindfolded. So you lied to us, to me?" Alpha Carter said, feeling more betrayed than angry.

“I didn't lie. I was blindfolded. I just thought I could retrace our steps and figure out where it was they took me" She explained, hoping she wouldn't be caught lying.

“And did you?" Craig asked, staring at her in disbelief

“Yes. We did. We found the cabin"

“Good. Gather some of our best fighters Craig, we are going after them. So we'll put that threat behind us” Alpha Carter Instructed, now pumping with anger.

“There's no need. They are dead” Cara blurted out

”What do you mean?" He asked

“When we got there, we heard footsteps, so we hid behind a tree and that's when we saw them. Hunters, coming out from the cabin and dragging the bodies, throwing them into their van. When they left, we went in to check and they were bloodstains everywhere. The hunters took care of them for us, so we don't have to worry about them anymore. All we should be worried about right now is how to take care of the hunters before they come for us” She explained, shifting her gaze from one to another, gauging the reaction to know if they believed her. She saw the disbelief in Craig's eyes but the Alpha didn't seem to be having a hard time believing her. Maybe all those years of not lying to him was finally paying off.

“Alright then...but from now henceforth, no one disappears without informing another about their whereabouts. We need to be cautious and we need to stick together till we are rid of these threats hanging above our heads" The Alpha concluded.

“Of course." Cara smiled and looked back at Laura who was just staring at her in disbelief. Wondering when her friend became such a good liar and thinking about the reasons why she lied to them. What possible reason could she have or what her plan was.