Hybrids

Chapter 5

Luke's POV

First day out with Theo, nothing. Second day, nothing. Third day, nothing. At this point, Theo is annoyed and I'm wondering if there was anything at all. After all, people do pass by this town. We just don't see many that do, unless they're merchants or some nomads from time to time. It's been a week, I barely check anymore. I decide to offer Theo a drink, but first, I wanted to stop by the library.

-Bingo, I thought to myself as I saw her on the corner of the aisle. She is sitting at a small desk with her headphones on and a small pile of books. I guess she really likes to read. I tell Theo and point her out to him.

-We don't want to scare her or for her to think we are stalkers, so let's just keep an eye at a distance.

Suddenly, she rose up in a hurry. Something alerted her. She looks at the wall, and picks up her things fast. Was she looking at the time? She didn't notice us, we were in the aisle behind where she sat. Honestly, we do look a bit weird doing this. But, we need to ensure she's not a potential problem waiting to happen. She starts walking out and turns right. She stops by the grocery store. We go around the area in our car, trying to keep a low profile. She walks out of the store with someone else. A young woman. She is a bit taller than the girl. I guess they're together. Maybe they recently moved here? But we haven't seen anything on record, and anyone that moves in is reported to us. This young woman is wearing baggy clothes, her hair is curly and partially covering her face. Their body language is quite closed off, slightly hunched over, trying to look inconspicuous. They continue on foot and we slowly follow from a distance. Then, I noticed that they drifted away from the town. They moved towards the forest. I knew it!

-No one would go to the forest just cause. Perhaps you were right Luke.

We leave the car and wait for the sun to finish going down. We started making our way through the forest. As we walked, nothing popped up, nothing called our attention. Did they leave? We made it to the edge of our territory, I kept walking with Theo around the area. We followed the trail of the river. It wasn't until a few moments later that we heard a crack. Theo stopped in his tracks and his eyes changed color, from olive green, to black. He sniffs the air and notices that there's a scent of herbs. Moving slowly, we see a cottage. I thought this thing was totaled. It's at the edge of our territory so we don't do anything with it. It's been somewhat fixed up. Windows are closed, there's a light on, herbs are hanging outside and a rabbit is caught in a trap. That was the sound we heard a moment ago. The door unlocks. The hinges are fixed, it's not falling anymore. It's then when I see her, the young woman with curly hair. She goes outside and looks at the rabbit. She ties her hair on a low pony. It looks uneven. She opens the handmade trap and catches the rabbit. It seems it's going to be their meal tonight. She gets up and looks at her surroundings. I see her eyes, they almost glow and are quite unusual. My wolf, Oberon is stirring. Bring the alpha. He repeats this in my head over and over. It feels like they need help.

-I think we've seen enough. We need to inform Caedmon of this.

Back in the pack, we inform Caedmon of what we saw and how the cottage is being used by this teen and the young woman. It is up to him now what he wants to do.

-How do you want us to handle this Caedmon. Zach and I can go, or we can send a patrol to remove them.

-No. I stop Theo mid-sentence. Caedmon, something is up with these two. My wolf has been stirring. I think they need our help. I strongly believe you need to go down there. I'll go with you if needed be. All four of us can go if you feel the need in the case of battle.

-Okay. All four of us will go tomorrow. You saw them there at night, right?

-Yes

-Then we will be there before sundown to measure them out. If battle ensues, we can take them. Zach, set up a strategy in the case of more people showing up. We need to be ready for anything.

It's 5 p.m. and we are already set in place. Theo and Zach are on one end. Bags for bodies and spare clothing are in place for us. Caedmon is waiting, patiently hiding around the trees. And I am further back monitoring their arrival. Frankly, I don't think a battle will happen. I do think something will though.

I saw the young girl making her way indoors. She's alone. Caedmon mind-links us to wait until the other woman arrives. Over an hour passes and I see her coming south from us instead of the previous direction. Was she by the outskirts of the town? As she gets closer, I can hear Caedmon's heart starting to speed up. I hope he doesn't decide to just jump and kill them! No... it isn't anger.

-MATE! She's MINE says Caedmon through his link. His wolf, Fenrir, is howling like crazy in his head. It makes sense now. This is why I've been feeling this draw to them. My instinct as the gamma is to immediately protect her. That's why I've felt this way.

-Are you serious? Says Theo as he looks at Caedmon trying to keep a hold over himself. Zach mind-links Caedmon and tries to calm him down:

-Slow down you big bad wolf, she doesn't know you and from the looks of it, she's not responding. Maybe she's human and they're just struggling. It would make sense then that they're living here. You can either go full caveman and rip that door down. Or, you can observe, be patient, and then make a move. We can gather info on them first.

-Fine! I don't want to scare her. Get me any information you can on them. You have two days.