The Elemental Huntress

Chapter 12 - Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Zeta

ELIRA POV

I spent an hour more with Elaine, enjoying the way she made me feel so calm and relaxed. It was strange to be feeling comfort in someone I never thought I would. A werewolf, one who was gentle and didn’t feel any different to who I was, which was so intriguing to me because I currently had no idea who I truly was. I knew that I was Killian’s mate, and I knew that it was custom to be only with the one you were destined to. According to the laws of the Werewolf world and their beliefs, but I didn’t know if I belonged to this world or to Killian. I had no idea what my place was here, all I knew was that there were so many questions I needed answers for. My life was going to happen on my terms, that was about the only thing I knew.

I had noticed a glow around Elaine, I could see her energy expressed as colour, her aura. Something about it felt familiar and comfortable, I wanted to understand it more. Elaine and I shared stories about our lives, mine about the life I’d known. I tried to be mindful of what I shared, given the fact that I was a Werewolf Hunter and she, a Werewolf. I had learned from Elaine that she was an orphan; both her parents had died during the war that happened 18 years ago, between the Spirit Moon Pack and the Red River Pack. Killian’s father Lorcan, had taken in, not only Elaine, but all the others that had survived. Elaine then went on to explain the history between the packs, something that us hunters weren’t completely privy to wholeheartedly.

There had been a unity between Blue Midnight and Spirit Moon for generations, they were both two of the original packs, born of the Moon Goddesses’ children who first walked the earth. The Lycan King, Lycaon, thought to have been cursed by the ancient gods, and Narah, the first she-wolf, direct descendant of the Moon Goddess Selene.

Lycaon and Narah were both leaders of their own packs, Lycaon the King of the Lycans and Narah the Queen of Wolves. Narah was made in the Moon Goddesses image, she lived among the humans of the earth often feeling quite alone without a pack of her own. She prayed for seven days and seven nights that the goddess would stop the loneliness she often felt. She prayed by howling at the moon, the goddess answered her prayers with sending her three men, werewolves that she could find comfort in and create a pack of her own. Narah came to love these wolf men, but none were her true mate.

Lycaon was thought to have been a General for the Moon Goddess, leader of the Alpha Centauri (protectors of the goddess for a millennium) sent down to earth by the Moon Goddess to further protect the other children of the moon. Lycaon decided he wanted to rule a kingdom of his own and felt the Werewolves were beneath him and the rest of the Alpha Centauri, so the ancient gods punished him for breaking the sacred law of his own Queen, Selene. His punishment being a curse that meant he could never produce his own true heir.

Lycaon and Narah, found each other in the middle of a long-drawn-out war between their kind. The werewolves and Lycans, meant to live harmoniously together, had been at war now for five years. Lycaon and Narah discovered they were true mates, and after spending countless nights together they decided they wanted to end the war and bring their people together. Lycaon’s beta, Conway, took this opportunity to kill his King before a truce could be made, cementing the end of Lycaon’s reign and the beginning of his own. The Lycans having no idea that their former King was murdered by his own right hand.

The downfall of King Conway brought the truth forward, Narah worked hard with the Lycans to form a truce between their kingdom and her pack. Agreeing that from now on they both would refer to themselves as packs. The result being the birth of the Blue Midnight pack. Both were now allies and battled side by side over the years against, rogues, newly formed packs, other super naturals and lastly, Moonlight Tech, the corporation of Werewolf Hunters.

Now there was no more Spirit Moon pack, the last direct descendants of Narah were gone, the remnants of her legacy living out their days peacefully at Blue Midnight. It was a sad story that left me with a yearning feeling I couldn’t understand. I was bewildered by the history lesson Elaine had given me, along with her own story. I felt a strong need to be alone, I said my goodbyes and walked off into the forest, seeking some kind of comfort from something I wasn’t quite sure of. I paced slowly through the thick trees, admiring the dancing shadows caused by the glow of the sun through the treetops. I found a spring of water off to the side and decided to sit by it, a giant rock leant up against a tree was the perfect place for me to rest.

I sat with my back against it and closed my eyes, listening closely to the sound of the water, moving along gently to my right. Moments later I hear rustling leaves to my left and catch the smell of deer. I open my eyes to a doe grazing on the grass around me, a small fawn by her side. I could feel Artemis stir inside me, wanting to come out and hunt down this beautiful creature. I wasn’t willing to let her, I sat still with my eyes closed for what felt like an eternity, breathing slow, trying to give my body and mind a rest.

Now I can smell the Deer has come closer, curious to see where she was, I opened my eyes, looking straight into hers, not a sense of panic in sight for myself or the deer. I stare into her beautiful eyes like I’m in a trance. Both of us communicating with one another somehow. I could feel that she felt safe, alert, and aware of her surroundings and her baby, but she felt safe and had a sense of gratitude as well. I have surely lost my mind; how could I be communicating with an animal? I get up from my spot under the tree and decide to continue walking through the forest, hoping it would swallow me whole so I could forget the nightmare I was currently living.

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I spent my morning familiarising myself with the pack lands, enjoying nature in the woods and checking out all of the different facilities. I understood why there was so much choice here, this place was a town of its own, many different survivors of other packs lived here, had sworn allegiance to Blue Midnight. The grounds were quite stunning and made me feel comfortable, like I belonged here. Strange the way a place could affect me in such a way, I had never felt like I belonged to a place before.

The nature of this place was drawing me in, and I was excited to experience more of it. There were rock pools and hot springs, an outdoor bar inside of a swimming pool, multiple lounge areas, outdoor cinema, a greenhouse, sprawling gardens all around the main house, a barbeque area, the outdoor eating area, fire pit areas by the pools, multiple training grounds for different fighting skills and styles, archery, the Night Wolf Café, a bar, a hospital, the high school was also technically part of the pack lands, and then something that completely shocked me and excited me at the same time, stables! This pack used horses, which isn’t something wolves generally do, but I loved horses. I decided to find the open paddocks were they would have been turned out in the morning, hoping I could catch a glimpse of them. It didn’t take me long to find the horses, what I wasn’t expecting was who I would find with them.

Killian!

He was exercising a stunning white stallion in the turn out ring, I stayed back and stood behind a tree. Admiring his way with the animal, gentle, yet firm, I was surprised by his gentle ways, but I was also trying hard not to be distracted by the fact he was shirtless! I could feel the effect he was already having on me even from a distance. I felt more confused by the second, I had just been making out with the stunning Elaine this morning and yet right now, all I wanted was for Killian to bend me over that paddock fence and f**k me until I could no longer walk.

“You can come out now Elira, your scent gives you away.” Killian had caught me out, oops. I stepped out from behind the tree, smirking at myself. Killian grinned at me and shook his head, clearly not impressed with me going incognito for a moment. “I couldn’t help but admire your horse’s physique, he’s in excellent condition. I have to say the horses were a surprise.” I stepped up onto the fence paling as I spoke. “What’s the reason for the horses? Werewolves don’t usually need another fast animal since they’re fast enough on their own.” Killian raised an eyebrow at me before throwing his head back in a chuckle. “The horse’s physique you say?” Killian walked his horse over to where I stood up on the fence. “There are many things about our pack for you to learn huntress, the horses are just one of them.” He gave me a stern look as he hopped down off his horse, his muscles flexing with each movement. I climb over the fence and jump down so that I am face to face with him, breathing in his scent. It is heavenly and gives me the urge to kiss him. I hesitate, but a spark in Killian’s eye grabs my attention. “Always the mystery I see, if you won’t be straight forward with me then I guess I’ll find out another way.” I folded my arms as I spoke to him, feeling annoyed that he wasn’t giving me a straight answer. “Your eyes are glowing, it’s your body’s reaction to me, my scent, my ‘physique’, the sound of my voice, the heat from my body, you are drawn to me and you don’t even notice.” Killian’s words caught me off guard, I refused to fall into his trap, the next thing I knew, I was blurting out something I wasn’t sure I should have. “I made out with Elaine, and I plan on doing it again!” Killian’s entire body tensed, he snarled as his eyes flashed red and his teeth bared. I couldn’t help it, he was drawing me to him, seducing me and it was fucken sexy but I wasn’t willing to follow the rules just yet. I was going to do things on my terms, I knew he wouldn’t like the fact I had made out with someone else, I also didn’t really care.

“I may not know you at all, but I get the feeling you prefer to do what ever you want and on your own terms, your destined mate is not something you can control or hide from Elira. You are testing my patience and I will not promise you an easy pass. I like my women strong, but I don’t tolerate intended defiance, especially by my own pack members on my own land!” He was angry but calm all at once. It was both f*****g terrifying and arousing. “What ever you say Killian, I don’t know about you but I am starving and could really get some food, are you going to join me or not?” I wasn’t interested in having this argument with him since I had no idea what I was doing. I hoped a change of subject would lighten his mood. He blinked at me in confusion before he answered. “You continue to both infuriate, surprise and impress me huntress. We can head to the pack kitchen for a meal, follow me!” One of the nearby werewolves came and took the reins of the white stallion, guiding him back to his stall at Killian’s request.

We headed back to the pack house and grabbed ourselves some lunch. Killian had told werewolf Chef Joffrey that he could finish up early and we would take care of lunch ourselves. “You’re not all just rage, and fury are you Killian? I see a kindness in you that’s rare for most Alphas. It’s hidden deep, but it’s there.” My voice was soft as I spoke, I was no longer playing games. Killian was silent, listening to my voice. “I want you to know that I’m sorry, as your mate I can imagine that I wasn’t what you were expecting, this isn’t just hard for me, I can see that its difficult for you as well. We are supposed to be enemies, not lovers, but you believe whole heartedly in your goddess, that if she picked me, its for a reason, your faith is unwavering, and I admire it greatly. I’m not like you Killian, my entire life has been a lie and I am more confused than ever before, so, I ask that you please be patient with me. I don’t know how long it will take for me to be ready to accept you as my mate, or if I ever will, but forcing me will ruin any chance we might have, that I know to be true. I have this strong sense that there is more change to come and if I’m being honest with you, I’m not sure how much more I can take. I’m scared, scared that if there are any more surprises, I might just lose myself entirely.” I didn’t know what came over me, maybe it was the mate bond working some magic, maybe it was the headstrong Alpha next to me, I felt so vulnerable for the first time in a long time, and I was sick of hiding what I was feeling. My friends weren’t back from investigating yet and I felt so alone. Killian made me feel less alone, that feeling of familiarity between us gave me some comfort.

“What I know is this; you are the strongest female that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, you can handle anything that gets thrown your way, and if you’ll let me, I’ll be right here to help you through it. You ask me for patience so I shall give it to you. I believe that you are the other half to my soul, I know it to be true because even now, in this very moment, here with you, I feel more alive than I have ever felt before!” Killian meant every word he said. I looked up into his eyes, barely able to breath, the overwhelming feeling of he and I being vulnerable together was something id never experienced before. He embraced me in his arms, where I stayed.

After our conversation at lunch, Killian decided to give me the grand tour of the pack house, explaining to me the ranks and dynamics within the pack. It was all very fascinating to me, especially since most packs only had a few ranks with the rest being omegas. The dynamics here were inclusive and I loved it!

“As you already know, the highest-ranking positions are that of the Alpha and Luna. Their responsibilities are a wide range which is something you can learn about later. The second position is that of the Beta’s, they are trained to be ready to take over Alpha and Luna position if ever necessary, also being strong warriors as well. Third position goes to the Gamma’s. They are basically like a second beta team, ready to take over beta position. Next are my Warriors, the Zeta’s, they train all warriors and are my first point of contact in battle, they also stand guard at all official entrances, and keep guard of the hospital and high school etc. Then we have the Delta’s, they are the scouts that patrol the boundary of the pack lands. Theta’s are those who do all of the hunting and food sourcing, providing us with all food you see here at Blue Midnight, the Elite are those who are either retired ranking officials, ranked and blood relatives of ranked officials or the other important positioned members such as; our lawyers and doctors, the oracle, the Elders who are our connection to the moon goddess, the True Healer that can heal beyond the abilities of western medicine, and our Emissary who aids in our peace treaty and communicates on our behalf beyond the boundary when needed.

We also have Omega’s that provide us with service such as our chef, artists, musicians, business owners etc and lastly everyday werewolves that carry no rank or position are called subordinates.” My jaw had dropped, never could I have imagined that so much went into running a pack. “Wow, I had no idea that there were so many ranks and positions. You are their leader, but you have also given them purpose and responsibility, something to aspire to and achieve.” I gawked at him. “For the safety and benefit of our kind but also this pack, it is crucial that we are a big family, that we all have our place so that we can keep order within our walls. Chaos would surely entail eventually if this many werewolves didn’t feel that they mattered or that they had a purpose, I’ve seen it tear apart more packs than you could imagine.” Killian explained as we walked through the pack house.

Not long after I decided that I was interested in watching a training session, it was mid-afternoon when Killian took me there. I was excited to see these warriors sparring, wondering if I might learn something.