The Huntress and her Alpha

Chapter Two

The one thing i remember the most about my mom was no matter how old i was she would lay beside me and run her fingers lightly over my back. Sometimes i can still feel her tickling my skin. Even if the memory of her voice and her scent starts to fade, i hold onto that feeling.

The sun was high in the sky by the time I woke up the next morning. Thankfully downing two bottles of water and some aspirin saved me from a massive hangover when i woke up.

Last night after i bolted from the bar Travis and Luca found me in the parking lot. Luca held a cupcake in her hand, yellow with chocolate frosting, my absolute favorite. It had a single candle lit and they started singing to me.

I couldn’t help but laugh and feel like crying at the same time. Sometimes I forget what it’s like to have people care about you. My dad never outwardly showed that he cared. Sometimes he’d remember to leave me dinner or he’d turn off my bedroom light if i fell asleep reading.

But he wasn’t big on affection. That had been my mom’s department. Maybe that’s why i was so scared of letting anyone close. Because i didn’t know how to be that kind of person. Once i lost my mom i had lost that part of myself too.

I ate my cupcake on the way back to the society. It was a less lively ride home, I was quiet in the back while Travis and Luca held hands in the front. It felt like a totally different night from the way it started.

No matter how hard i tried I couldn’t stop thinking about Philip, those eyes. He felt familiar, like i had met him before, in another life. He felt real, like someone i wanted to get to know in this lifetime. Which was rare, I wasn’t an overly social person.

A knock sounded on my door, forcing me to open my eyes and expel all the thoughts of the stranger from last night. Hopefully I’d never see him again and maybe i could forget everything that had happened. But even that thought made my heart fall. My chest tightened, wondering if i could find him again, only knowing his first name.

I sat up as my dad pushed the door open and offered me one of his very rare and very small smiles. “Happy birthday kid. You’re officially an adult.”

He walked into my room and pulled a small box out from behind his back. My eyes must haven given my thoughts away because he laughed as he watched me slowly take the present from him.

“I know I’m hard on you, Max. But i only push you because I know you can do so much better. But this is something I’ve been saving for you for your twenty first birthday and i can’t believe it’s already here.”

I smiled at my father, who sat on the edge of my bed waiting for me to open my present. I tore the paper quickly, a black velvet box greeted me. It wasn’t big enough for anything other than jewelry which seemed weird coming from my father. Still i pushed the lid back and my eyes went wide.

There was a gold band inside, black stars were engraved around the ring. I pulled it out slowly, the ring seemed delicate. “Dad. It’s gorgeous.”

“But wait.”

He kept smiling at me as he took the ring and pressed hard against the shape. At first i thought he was going to bend it and ruin the beauty of the vintage piece. But as he slipped the ring on the end of his finger i realized this was much more than a normal ring.

The top of the ring sprang open and a single nail came to a point on the top. If it was pushed back onto my finger it would’ve looked like a claw.

“I know you hate jewelry but when i found this among your mom’s things i just thought maybe… you’d like to have something she used to wear. But it’s also practical because if you lose your dagger or something while fighting, you’ve always got a backup.”

The smile that spread across my face hurt. Because my dad had never been sentimental. I was pretty sure he cleaned out my mom’s things the day after we buried her and i was at school so i couldn’t hoard anything. So having this given to me, on such a special birthday. It brought tears to my eyes.

“I love it.” I whispered as he pushed the top back down and then slipped it onto my pointer finger. It fit perfectly and the little compartment was hidden very well. Whoever designed this had done a good job.

“Thank you.” I looked at him and felt connected to him if only for a moment.

He cleared his throat and stood up. His smile fell and he was back to being the leader i had always known him as. “So i think since it’s your birthday you should lead training this morning.”

I nodded, actually looking forward to leading instead of just partaking. “Sure. Let me get dressed and we can get breakfast?”

He gave me a single nod. “Ten minutes.”

He walked to my door and i pushed my blanket back. “Hey dad.” I stopped him before he left. I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist, my face barely reaching his shoulders. We weren’t a family big on affection, but something about today made me feel like he needed me.

“Thank you for my ring. I love it. I love you.” I whispered against his shirt. I felt him relax under my arms and then he sighed, tapping my hand lightly.

“Right. Well happy birthday.” He opened the door as i let him go and i knew that was as close to an i love you too as i would ever get from him.

Maybe one day he’d soften. Maybe when he handed over the reigns and didn’t have to be in control all the time he’d finally look at me with a smile on his face and tell me he was proud and he loved me.

Then again maybe one day hell would freeze over too.

——

After two grueling hours of training my father didn’t even let me grab a shower before telling me to follow him to his office. When we got there Travis was waiting, with his own father. As well as a few other council members that aided my father on important business.

I all but fell into the chair opposite his desk and glanced at Travis. “Why are we here?”

“Something about a new pack moving in close to us. They think it’s a threat. I don’t know my dad just said it was urgent and there was no time for a shower.”

I scrunched my nose up. “Mine too. And I’m covered in sweat because i was leading today.”

Travis smiled. “I know. I saw you, you did a great job. More hands on than your father.”

He whispered the last part and I felt flattered. Maybe Travis wasn’t such a bad right hand man. Maybe i did need someone other than my best friend to tell me their opinion, to call me out if i was making a stupid choice.

Maybe working with Travis wouldn’t be as horrible as i imagined.

“So.” My fathers voice broke through our moment. “We’ve asked you both to join us today to decide on some pressing matters. Seeing as soon this will be your job instead of ours we think this is a good place t start.”

I sat up straight in my chair. “Okay. So what’s the problem?”

My dad glanced at Greg, Travis’s dad. He sighed. “A new pack has moved in to the north of us. They’ve chosen to locate themselves right against our borders. We think it’s a deliberate attempt at pushing the terms of the peace treaty.”

“If they’re still on their side of the border it doesn’t seem like they’re breaking the treaty.” I raised my eyebrows confused as to why this, of all stupid matters, would call for any sort of attention or decision making.

My father looked at me. He seemed disappointed. “As a leader you must always anticipate an attack. This might be nothing, it could mean war. What should we do about it?”

I glanced at Travis. I had clearly already screwed up. Now it was his turn to try.

He scratched his head. “Let’s send a patrol team, myself and Max included, to scope it out. If it’s a threat then we’ll reconvene and decide what to do. If it’s just a new pack that isn’t aware of boundaries, then we’ll show them the treaty and let them know the rules.”

I smiled. “That’s a good idea. What’s this pack’s name?”

My dad sighed, also not impressed with Travis it seemed. Maybe he was the one looking for a reason to start a fight with a wolf pack. Maybe he wanted them to be a threat instead of just oblivious to the treaty that was drawn up decades ago.

“Black forest. They just appeared, they’re a pretty decent size too. Unsure of where they came from, but they’ve taken quiet a chunk of the land between us and the human territory.”

I nodded. “Alright so we go patrol tonight and see what their deal is. Then we can decide what needs to be done.”

The council members started talking and i felt even more sweaty as we listened to them discuss the plan. They were sending some pretty good warriors in case trouble would find us.

“Okay so is this settled? Can i go get a shower now?”

My father sighed loudly. “Yes you may go. Be ready to lead the patrol unit tonight, Max. You’re in charge of this one.”

“No pressure.” I muttered as i stood up and left as quickly as I could before my father changed his mind. I had no idea why a new pack would move in, so close to us, but i had a feeling if they weren’t from around here then they didn’t know about the treaty.

So all we had to do was show them the terms and be done with this stupid little feud my father wanted to start. Sure i was all for hunting rogue wolves and those who went seeking entertainment in hurting humans. But there was enough evil in this world that i didn’t see it necessary to kill wolves who were just trying to live their own life.

My father on the other hand. He thought all of them should be wiped out. He never did tell me why he hated wolves so much, but it was clear that he wasn’t willing to spare any of their lives if they so much as looked at us wrong.

Before i jumped into the warm water waiting for me i sent Luca a text.

Wanna have some fun and Patrol with me tonight?