The Weaker Wolves

3.

The next few days fly by quickly. I thought it was going to drag because of the excitement but luckily work kept me occupied. When I left school at 16 I had 9 GCSEs in my pocket and already knew what I wanted to do. My family are all foodies, myself included. The only problem was that I can’t stand cooking, so I thought that getting into the supply of meat would be a good idea. Personally for me there is nothing better than an incredible steak served rare. I quickly got a job in a butchers. A lot of people think it’s weird to have such a young girl wanting to work with dead animals, but I feel like if you can’t handle dealing with the gross side of eating animals then you shouldn’t be eating them at all.

I received a call from Ray on the Wednesday asking if I could get some meats in for the lunch on Friday. Even with my discount, this would cost a pretty penny. I think that’s the reason why I can get away with so much at work, what with my occasional large order.

“Hey sammy, can I put in an order for collection early Friday?” I shout through to my boss.

“Sure thing sweetheart, what are you guys after now?”

“We’re gonna need 40 good steaks, 30 packs of bacon, enough ham to feed around 80 people and 40 chickens for roasting.”

“Jesus, are you feeding an army?!”

*oh you have no idea*

“Nah, my uncle is having a business lunch on Friday, he wants to impress.”

“No dramas love, I’ll get it sorted for ya.”

“Thanks sammy!”

***

Friday comes and I can feel the flat buzzing. Mum and dad are just chatting but I can here the excitement in their voices. Henry had been told about what was going on and even he was excited about having some new kids around to play with.

“Will they be like me?” He asks.

“No bud, no one is like you I’m afraid” i say as I poke my tongue at him.

“But will they like me?”

“Of course they will! Everyone loves you after meeting you! “

“Will they be bigger than me…?”

“Well they’re gonna be all different sizes and …”

My dad interrupts us, trying to explain that the kids wouldn’t even be arriving today, just the men.

“If it’s just the men, do I really need to be there?” I ask.

“Come on Hannah, I’d rather have you there then here. We’ve already sorted out a baby sitter for the afternoon, let’s just enjoy it, okay?”

I nod as I start biting my nails. I’m excited by the idea of new people but anxious at the thought of having to interact with them.

“There’s not long left love, go and get ready. We have about half hour til we leave.”

***

I feel sick as we pull up to the pub. For some reason, my head is feeling dizzy. I feel as if I’m in a dream but with full control.

*get it together Hannah, you’re fine.*

My anxiety is peaking as I hear the laughter coming out of the main pub doors. My mum gives me a gentle smile as she wraps her arms around my shoulders to guide me in.

“It’s fine love, just stick with us. After the main meeting is finished we can leave if you want?” She’s asks me.

“Stop babying her Emily! She’s a big girl, she’ll be fine!” My dad interjects. He throws a wink my way as he opens the doors for us.

The bar is much more packed today. I look around at all the new faces and try to keep my breathing steady. I see Ray racing to us.

“Mornin guys. You lot are early!”

“We wanted to make a good impression!” My dad replies. My dad always says “if you’re not early then you’re late!” Which has never made much sense to me. Ray smiles broadly and whisks us away for introductions. I feel my stomach flip as he brings us towards a group of unknown men. They’re all large, bigger than Ray even. Easily over 6’5” each, with powerful looking arms and shoulders. 2 of the men had blonde hair tied up into top knots, which made me instantly groan. I can’t stand that hair style.

“Jay, Dylan, Bobby, this is Emily and Simon, and their eldest child Hannah.”

There was a flurry of hand shakes and welcomes, with my hand being swallowed by the giant hand of Bobby. He looks me in the eyes and keeps my hand in his. “Its an honour to meet such a gorgeous girl!” He says as he brings my hand to his lips to kiss.

I was shocked, not just because of the blatant flirting, but because I’d forgotten they’d have an American accent. The second I realised he aimed to kiss my hand I felt my stomach flip again as if I was going to throw up. As his lips brushed the back of my hand an almighty roar ripped through the pub. I grabbed my ears quickly whilst looking around the room for the source.

There, to the back of the pub, stood a clearly very angry man. His crystal blue eyes were pinned on me, making me uncomfortable. He had jet black hair which had been pushed to one side. Short around the sides but long on top, luckily without a top knot. Travelling down his face, he had a rather long beard. I’ve always been into facial hair, but it has to be maintained well, which he clearly has been doing. He was tall, over 6’6”, taller than anyone else in the room. Broad shoulders housed the strongest looking arms I’ve ever seen, and although I couldn’t see it, I was sure he would have the body of a god. My mouth started salivating at the idea of him shirtless, licking from his navel up his chest.

*jesus Hannah, what’s wrong with you?!*

I looked away as quickly as I could when I noticed him walking to us all. Everybody was staring, wondering what was going on.

“That’s the Alpha Leonards son, he’s going to be our new alpha…” Ray whispered towards my parents and I.

“Ok, but why does he look so pissed?” I ask back.

“f****d if I know!”

“MATE!” He bellows.

We all spin around and look to who he’s talking about. With no one behind us, and him fast approaching we all look around at each other confused. When he’s standing in front of me, he puts his hand on my cheek with his arm around my waist.

“MATE.” He says again.

This time I realise that this gorgeously stunning man is actually talking about me. I open my mouth to say something when he pulls me in tight and sniffs my hair. I put my hands on his chest and push back softly.

“I-I can’t be your mate…” I stutter. He pulls me closer and whispers in my ear.

“You definitely are…” sending tingles down my spine.

“Can we g-go somewhere a bit more private please? To talk?” I ask. He smiles widely, staring into my eyes.

“Sure. To talk.”

*why did he say it like that?*

I pull myself out of his grip. Ray is staring at us wide eyes as he leads us to the back office. I hear whoops and cheers from the pub as the door closes. A blush creeps up my cheeks as I realise what they’re all thinking. He takes a step towards me with a cheeky smile on his face and I put my hand out on his chest to stop him. He looks a bit hurt but looks to me for an answer.

“Um, hi… I’m Hannah?” I squeak out, horrified at how meak I sound. He laughs.

“Sorry, Hannah. Im Zach!”

He puts his hand out to shake mine. His hand is huge, and I know it will swallow my own, but I place my hand in his to shake. His fingers close around my hand as he simultaneously pulls me into his chest. It feels like a brick wall knocking the air out of my lungs. Before I can say anything his mouth is on mine and his hands are on my arse, squeezing. I push him off and wipe my mouth.

“What the f**k are you doing?!” I cry.

“What gave you the impression that’s what was going on here?!” He looked confused with his arms still open waiting for me.

“You’re my mate? I thought that’s what you’d want?”

“What?! No?! I’m not even sure if I am your mate and…”

“You are…”

“…even if that is the case, I’m not just going to jump into bed with you!”

He looks around the room confused.

“So why did you want to be alone?” He asks.

“Maybe so we can talk about this?!” I say pointing between the two of us.

I see a blush creep up on his face. His eyes look to the floor as he can’t seem to create eye contact with me.

“Sorry…” he whispers.

I’m still angry but I melt a little at how desperate he looks.

“Look it’s fine, but can we please get to know each other a bit better first? I’m not even old enough to know whether I have a wolf..”

“Why wouldn’t you have a wolf?” He asks slowly looking up to my face.

“My mums human and …”

before I can speak another word a loud racket is heard from the bar area. I hear a bellowing voice and glasses smashing. We both rush out there in time to see a brawl between a group of men. Rushing forward, we see his men kicking a smaller man. I realise that I know the man.

"WHAT THE f**k ARE YOU DOING?"

I yell as I get between the men. I try to pick Mike up off the floor, noticing the amount of blood pooling by his feet. As I lift him I feel a kick to the back of my legs and fall down to my knees. A loud growl leaves Zachs chest as he grabs me and Mike and lifts us both off the floor. I see the men that had attacked Mike back off as Zach stares at them.

"Sorry Alpha, but she interfered, I didn't have a chance to stop..." zach growled again in response.

"SHE is your Luna!" he stated.

It then all hit me. if he truly is my mate, I'm going to be Luna. I'd essentially be mother to the pack. How could I do that if I was human? I would have to give up all my dreams, and just become everyone's servant essentially, because that's what a Luna is, isn't it? I felt myself become dizzy as a hand wrapped around my waist.

"Hannah, its ok, calm..."

I passed out as I heard more arguing erupting.