The Alpha’s Hunter

Chapter Five

Lyra got home not long after she dropped the man off at the gate. The moment she stepped into her apartment, she shut the door behind her and leaned against it for a brief second, as though she was trying to shut out everything that had followed her back from that night. But it did not work. Her mind was far too restless for silence to calm it.

She pushed herself off the door and began to pace around the modest living room. Her steps were slow at first, but as her thoughts grew louder, they became faster and more restless. She could not stop thinking about what had just happened. It kept replaying in her head, over and over again, like a scene from a horror movie.

She had found them. She found them!

After only a day of getting here, she had actually found the Ashenwood wolves. Not just one, not just a pair, but a whole group gathered in one place. That alone should have been a breakthrough. But she had lost them just as quickly as she found them.

Lyra stopped pacing and ran a hand through her hair, as she let out a quiet breath. She did not like mistakes, and she did not like losing control of a situation. Yet tonight, that was exactly what had happened.

"I should have handled that better," she muttered to herself.

Her mind went back to the clearing again. The moment her headlights had shone on them, the way they had all been there, standing together, strong and unmoving. It all came back to her.

They were larger than any wolves she had dealt with before, except for that one she had hunted in the forest before this mission.

That memory alone made her realize that what her master had told her had not been an exaggeration. Of course, she knew that her master, Draven, would not joke about something like this, but what she saw that night made her confirm that the Ashenwood wolves were not ordinary.

She could tell that they were stronger, more coordinated, and clearly more disciplined, if they were that huge. The way they had disappeared without leaving a trace proved that much.

Lyra exhaled slowly and resumed pacing, though this time her steps were slower and more thoughtful. She tried to reason with herself and make sense of her reaction back there. She had not been careless. She had simply been caught off guard. Anyone would have been, seeing that many wolves gathered in one place without warning.

Still, it did not sit right with her. She prided herself on being prepared for anything, and tonight, she had not been.

"It won’t happen again," she said quietly, more to convince herself than anything else.

Her pacing slowed until she came to a stop near the window. She stared out into the night for a moment as her thoughts began to settle into something more organized.

There was something else she realized she had not thought about.

Her brows furrowed slightly as her mind returned to the stranger she had bumped into the day before, who had somehow appeared again at the exact place she had just seen the pack.

That could not be a coincidence at all. No, Lyra did not believe in coincidences.

Lyra turned away from the window and folded her arms as she thought it through more carefully. She replayed the sequence of events in her head, making sure she paid attention to every detail this time. The wolves had been there. She had seen them clearly. Then, in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

And immediately after that, he appeared. He walked out of the woods as though he had already been there.

But she was certain she hadn't seen him in the midst of those wolves.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as another thought dawned on her.

"He is one of them," she said under her breath.

It was the only explanation that made sense. He had come from the same direction the wolves had been. His timing was too perfect to be random. And there was something about him that she could not quite explain, something that felt… different.

Lyra wondered if she could try to track the pack again, but after what had happened tonight, she knew it would not be easy. They would be more careful now. She needed direction and her master would know what to do next. The thought settled her almost immediately.

"Yes," she said quietly. "He needs to know."

With that, she walked over to the table and pulled her laptop closer. She opened the laptop and waited as it powered on. When it was ready, she quickly initiated the call. It rang for a few seconds before connecting.

Draven’s face appeared on the screen with his usual calm expression.

"Hello, Lyra. Any report?" he said.

Lyra straightened immediately as if Draven was there with her.

"I found them," she said. "Some of them."

There was a brief pause before Draven spoke again.

"Explain," he ordered.

Lyra immediately told him everything, starting from the moment she decided to drive through the outskirts of the city. She described the clearing, the number of wolves she had seen, and the way they carried themselves. She made sure to mention their size, their presence, and how different they felt compared to the ones she had encountered before.

Then she told him how they had disappeared.

When she finished, there was a silence between them. Draven sighed and shook his head in disappointment.

"You lost them," he said.

Lyra held his gaze. "Yes."

Draven studied her for a moment before speaking again. "That was not part of your assignment."

Lyra did not respond. She knew better than saying anything right now.

"I instructed you to observe and report," he continued. "Not to alert them of your presence."

"They were more than I've ever seen," Lyra said carefully. "I lost my composure."

Draven exhaled lightly.

"They will not return to that location," he said.

Lyra nodded. "I thought so too."

"Their meeting point has been compromised," he added. "They will adapt, and when they do, they will become harder to track."

Before Lyra could speak again, Draven continued.

"You mentioned there was someone else."

Lyra nodded. "Yes."

She then told him about the man. She explained how she had first encountered him the day before, and how he had appeared again at the clearing just after the wolves disappeared. She described his actions, his behavior, and the way he spoke to her. She did not leave out the strange feeling she had experienced, even though she could not fully explain it.

When she finished, Draven was quiet for a moment.

Then he spoke.

"The likelihood of him being a wolf is high," he said.

Lyra nodded slowly. "I believe so too."

Draven leaned forward. "That should make him your new focus."

Lyra’s brows drew together. "What do you mean, sir?"

"You will get close to him," Draven said. "Learn who he is, if he is indeed part of the pack, what his role is within the pack, and how he connects to the others."

Lyra hesitated for a brief moment.

"And how exactly do I do that, sir?" She asked. "Will I get help from the facility?"

Draven scoffed lightly at Lyra's question.

"No, you will not be getting any help from the facility on this one. You will have to use your strength here," he said.

"I don't exactly understand how fighting can make me monitor the guy well. I don't even know his name," Lyra protested.

"Oh, Lyra, I didn't know you could be so clueless." Draven snapped. "You are a young woman,” he said. "You are attractive, intelligent, and more than capable of making any man you want fall at your feet."

Lyra did not like the direction this was taking, but she remained silent.

"You will make him trust you," Draven continued. "You make him fall in love with you."

Lyra opened her mouth to protest again, but Draven shut her up.

"Use your brain. I will be expecting updates from you by next week. Make sure you must have gotten him to loosen up around you."

"But sir..." Lyra began.

"That will be all, Lyra. Get to work."