The Alpha’s Hunter

Chapter Four

"You again?"

Rohan’s surprised voice rang in Lyra's ears. The light from the torch he held danced across his face, casting soft shadows that made it harder to read his expression fully.

Lyra tightened her hold on the steering wheel. What had she gotten herself into?

For a second, she didn’t respond. Her mind was still trying to process everything that had just happened. One moment, the clearing had been filled with wolves and the next, it was empty. Now, out of all the people she could have run into, it was him again.

Her chest rose slightly as she forced herself to stay calm.

She couldn’t afford to look confused right now. She could not afford to look suspicious at all.

So instead, she narrowed her eyes and leaned back just enough to appear defensive.

"You again?" She repeated in a sharper tone. "Are you following me?"

Rohan blinked once, then let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

"Following you?" he said incredulously. "Why would I do that? Do I even know you?"

Lyra frowned. Well, to be fair, she knew he was right.

"If anything," he continued, taking a small step closer to the car, "I think you’re the one following me."

Lyra’s eyes narrowed further. "What do you mean by that?"

Rohan paused then. He realized after saying that, that his words could give him away. He should not have said that. Lyra noticed his fleeting hesitation.

But just as quickly, Rohan's face returned to normal. He straightened out slightly and gave off a quiet breath.

"You shouldn’t be here," he said. He decided to change the discussion before things escalated. "This part of the city isn’t safe at night."

Lyra stared at him. The sudden change in topic did not go unnoticed by her.

"Really?" She said, "Then what are you doing here?"

Rohan didn’t answer immediately. He simply looked at her as though he was deciding what to say, and how much to say.

Then he shrugged lightly. "I could ask you the same thing."

Lyra didn’t respond. What was her reason for being out here? She would tell him that she was just driving around and getting familiar with the environment, but the words refused to come out of her mouth.

There was a short silence between them. Rohan stepped even closer to the car and put off this torch.

"You should head back," he said. "It’s not a good place to be alone."

Lyra scoffed. Of course, a man would tell her how to be safe. After all, she was the one who brought attention to herself.

"I can handle myself," she rolled her eyes.

"I’m sure you can," he said calmly. "But that doesn’t mean you should stay."

Lyra sighed. She did not like to be in situations like this one. It was enough that she had drawn attention to herself, but now, having to be advised by someone she did not know was even worse than anything else.

"I’m fine," she said again, in a firmer tone.

Rohan watched her for a moment, then, without warning, he went round, reached for the car door and opened it.

Lyra’s eyes widened in surprise. Before she could react, he stepped in and sat down beside her, closing the door behind him.

"Wait, what are you doing?" she asked quickly.

"Making sure you leave," he said simply.

Lyra stared at him in disbelief. "Do you even know me? I could be dangerous!"

"That'd be much better than having to be in danger around here."

"Thank you, but I didn’t ask for your concern," she said. "Please get down."

Rohan glanced at her. "No." He replied. "Drive."

Lyra opened her mouth to protest again, but he shushed her up with a demonstration.

"I live down Wembley Avenue and you will drop me off tonight, so drive."

Lyra could not believe the man's audacity. She felt like ripping him apart for being so weird, but against her own feelings, she turned on the ignition.

"Not so hard now, was it?" Rohan asked. Lyra did not utter a word in response to him.

The drive back into the city was quiet as neither of them spoke to each other. The sound of the engine filled the space between them. In a matter of minutes, the streetlights began to appear again. They were closer to the city. Lyra could not wait until this guy beside her was out of her car.

And although they were both silent, they still could feel the pull they felt the previous day. For Rohan, the pull was stronger now that he sat close to her in an enclosed space. He could not really understand it because his wolf was not stirring. A pull as strong as this without hearing his wolf was strange.

"Stop here," he said after a while.

Lyra slowed the car and pulled over in front of a large gate. The place behind it looked expensive, well-kept, and quiet.

Rohan reached for the door, then paused for a second.

"Don’t go back there at night," he said.

Lyra looked at him. "Why?" She asked.

Rohan held her gaze for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

"Just don’t. It's not safe for a lady to be there," he said.

And with that, he stepped out of the car and closed the door.

Lyra watched him walk toward the gate which opened without him needing to say anything. He stepped inside, and the gate closed behind him.

Lyra stayed there for a moment before driving off. As she moved through the city streets again, her mind replayed everything that had happened that night.

The clearing, the wolves, the sudden disappearance, and his sudden appearance. There were too many things that did not make sense.

Rohan stepped into the mansion and closed the door behind him. The moment he was inside, he let out a quiet breath of relief.

"Wow, that was so close," he said out loud. He fell tiredly onto a couch and closed his eyes. He had not expected things to go that way tonight. He sighed again before calling for a staff member to go fetch his car where he had left it.

He stood up to go up to his bedroom. When he had freshened up, Rohan reached for his phone and quickly set up a conference call. One by one, the enforcers joined the call.

"We will not be using the clearing anymore," Rohan said without wasting time.

There was a pause, and then one of the enforcers spoke up.

"I don't think that will be necessary," he said. "It was one incident."

Rohan’s face hardened slightly. "I don't believe you understand what's going on here, Atlas." Rohan said to him. "That area is compromised now." He said.

Now, Atlas was known for his unreasonable stubbornness by everyone. He said the wrong things at the wrong times. The only reason he was an enforcer was because of his hierarchy in the pack.

"It has never happened before," Atlas replied. "We can’t change our system over one mistake."

"It has never happened before because we made sure to have our meetings away from humans. Getting found by a human would put us in jeopardy," Rohan said again, maintaining a calm demeanor.

"So where do you suggest we take our meetings now, Alpha?" Atlas asked sarcastically. "Since a mistake can make us run into hiding."

"It could be a mistake," Rohan said," but someone found us."

"And they left," the enforcer argued. "No harm done."

"Atlas!" Kane roared. "You would not talk to the Alpha in that manner!"

The enforcer remained adamant. "We’ve been using that location for years and can't just abandon it because of one person who might not even understand what they saw."

"Atlas? Back down," Elara ordered.

"But where would we go? We've used that location for almost a decade, and now we have to give it up for a human? We own this land, not humans! Where did we lose the plot?" Atlas cried on.

Rohan had had enough of the man's tantrums.

"Atlas?" he called. "You are now stripped of your position as an enforcer," he said calmly.

Atlas looked on in confusion. Everyone kept silent as Rohan continued.

"In this pack, we have learned to adapt or fall. If you can’t understand that, you don’t belong in this position."

There was no argument after that.

"The next meeting will be held here in my home," Rohan added. "Tomorrow. Same time. And you are exempt from the meeting, Atlas."

There were quiet responses of agreement to Rohan's decision, except for Atlas, who angrily left the call.

After a moment, Elara spoke.

"Could you see who it was?" she asked.

Rohan paused. "Yes," he said.

"Could you get an identity? Maybe a name?" She asked again.

Rohan hesitated slightly.

"I’ve seen her before," he admitted. "But I don’t have a name."

Elara’s expression grew thoughtful.

"Then we need to find out," she said. "An investigation should be underway already. If someone is moving that close to us, we shouldn't ignore it."

Rohan nodded in agreement with Elara. He knew she was right. They had to be careful. And although he almost did not believe that the lady could be that much of a threat, he knew better than to underestimate how dangerous humans could be.

"You’re right," he said. "You may order an investigation from the intelligence unit immediately."