Ryan
The trip to the pack was a silent one. Chloe was looking out of the window, enjoying the view passing by. The actress, Hayden, was asleep.
"Where should we place her?" James linked me.
"The prison," Chole cut in through the mind link.
"Don't you think it is a little bit too harsh? She did nothing wrong," James protested.
"Stop being so dramatic, James," Chloe rolled her eyes. "I didn't say kill her although it might be the best solution. She has become a risk we must get rid of the minute she sees Ryan."
"I seriously doubt she knew who we were. She still thinks our alpha is…uh…a dog." James said, but quickly added "sorry, Maddox" after I let out a low menacing growl,
Maddox snarled, loathing the idea of being called a dog. "You didn't seem to hate the degradation when the woman called you so," I pointed it out.
"I find her calling me a dog adorable. She can call me whatever she likes," Maddox plastered on a silly wolfy grin. I rolled my eyes. God, he was really like a love-sick puppy right now.
"So, what do you say, Alpha?" James asked through the link.
I hesitated. Bringing her to the pack was an impulse that would only make the whole thing trickier and more troublesome. We could just leave her in the cabin. I didn't know what possessed me to make such a decision. Maybe it was the call she received? Due to my werewolf hearing, I heard the threat from the male. I also noticed how tense she became after the call. I didn't know what trouble she got herself into, but I was sure her life was in danger.
Should I put her in prison as Chloe suggested? Or should I simply let her go? It wasn't too late right now. We could just find a safe place, wake her up, and tell her she was free to go.
Somehow, the second option didn't sound appealing to me. It was as if a part of me was afraid of never seeing her again. No, it was not like that. I shook my head. I was worried that she would piece the puzzles together later and figure out our identity. That was a risk I didn't want to take to endanger our pack and the whole werewolf community.
And the prison? I wasn't sure how I felt about the idea. The prison was for rogues and pack criminals. She was too dainty for that. And she kind of helped me.
"Don't you dare to throw her in prison," Maddox chimed in, interrupting my train of thoughts. "Don't you forget she saved us."
"We don't need her to save us. We can heal by ourselves," I said in frustration. Maddox and I seldom disagreed with each other. But it seemed that we were divided most of the time when it concerned the woman.
"Still. She could leave us to die. Our enemy could find us and shred us in pieces. You know we couldn't fight with wolfsbane poisoning us." Maddox said. I sighed. He had a point.
"She will stay in my house until I figure out what to do with her," I announced.
James nodded happily in agreement, while Chloe seemed rather doubtful about the idea. "Why your house? Why not the packhouse?"
"I don't want the pack to know that we have a human in our territory. The fewer people know about her existence, the better," I stated.
"And let me guess, you will move back to the house?" Chloe asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Yes, but not like what your crazy little head thought about. This rogue attack wasn't like a random one to me. I suspect it was planned. I wanted whoever planned this to think I was badly injured to let their guard down. Meanwhile, reinforce border patrol and ask everyone to be on alert. We might have more unexpected visits." Chloe nodded at my words.
"Do you think we have moles inside our pack?" Chloe asked with worry written over her face. It was only natural for her to worry for the pack's safety since she was born an alpha's daughter.
"It is possible. Someone might have alerted the rogues when we headed toward the southern border that day," James gritted his teeth.
"Let's lure them out," I concluded.
The car fell into silence after the talk through the mind link. James and Chloe were exhausted and dozed off. They spent a long night searching for me.
Hayden moved her petite body in her sleep, trying to find a comfortable position. She stopped moving until she leaned into me and rested her small head on my shoulder.
This time, instead of freezing like last night, my human body welcomed her like she was born for me.
And it took me by surprise, considering I hadn't been so close to a woman physically after Melanie passed away.
Lots of she-wolves threw themselves at me for whatever they wanted from me, be my body, my looks, or the position of Luna. As a man who had physical needs, I tried to blow some steam off with some she-wolves. But it never worked out because I was repulsed by their touches. It was as if my body would reject any woman that was not Melanie. Whenever they tried to be intimate, my body flinched away like they were snakes. Therefore, I never went further than talking to them, feeling repulsed, and going home alone.
I had lived like a monk for the past three years. I thought I would continue to live in celibacy for the rest of my life. I even made plans to train James's or Chloe's kids as an alpha when the right time came since I wouldn't have any pups.
But this woman Hayden was doing things to me that I couldn't fathom. I felt the tingles and tiny sparkles whenever her body was in contact with me. It felt…good.
I looked down at her peaceful face, containing my urge to kiss her sensual lips. My gaze went down to her body covered by my jacket, her toned legs…
My thoughts returned to our fight in the cabin. How sexy she looked in that tank top that outlined her round breasts and exposed her flat belly and the shorts that showcased her firm ass and bare legs.
No, these were dangerous thoughts. I slammed the brakes to my wandering thoughts. Her reputation was bad. What she did to the woman called Patricia was horrible. I wouldn't let myself fall for a woman like her. If I was going to look for a woman to spend the rest of my life with, she would be as impeccable as Melanie, kind, pure, gentle. And this woman was nothing like Melanie.
"Here we are, Alpha. The pack doctor is waiting for you," Trevor stopped the car in front of my house.
I thanked Trevor and woke the others up.
"Where are we?" Hayden rubbed her eyes and looked at the three-story house in confusion.
"My house," I said deadpan.
Realization seemed to dawn upon her. "No, I cannot stay at a pervert's house," she said, turning her body to dart away.
But I grabbed her wrists just in time to stop her from running. "My name is Ryan, not a pervert!" I yelled.
"You are a pervert and a killer to me!" she countered back, flailing and squirming. James and Chloe did nothing to help but watched us in amusement.
Therefore, I had no other choice but to toss her over my shoulder once again, ignoring her fists and colorful curses all the way to the second floor.
I kicked the door of the guestroom open and tossed her on the bed. "Be quiet, cursing is not going to help you," I warned.
"Or what? Are you going to kill me as a sacrifice for your cult worship?" she retorted.
"What?" Did she think we were a cult?
"Did you kill other innocent women like me? Appearing on their beds first then killing their dog first and them later?" she questioned with eyes that spilled anger and disgust.
Her words were not going to help her if we were a cult. God, she had a wild imagination, a bold nerve, and a temper like a firecracker.
"Stop imagining things. I…I will explain things to you later. Don't even try to run away. There are guards everywhere," I warned her and locked the door.
Her curses and shouts echoed in the hallway. I shook my head. Guess I wouldn't have my peace while she was here and I had to figure out an excuse to fool her, too. I groaned inwardly while Maddox perked up at her staying in our house.
"Alpha, Rex is waiting for you for the checkup," James said, standing on the flight of stairs.
"Tough to handle?" he asked, cracking a smile.
"As tough as nails," I sighed.
"Do you think I can visit and talk to her?" James asked with hopeful eyes.
"Talk what?" I asked, disliking the idea of her being approached by another male, especially my playboy Beta.
"About the movies. I also want to get her autograph," James said. Gosh, what a Beta I'd got myself into?
I rubbed my face and gave him a slight nod. He beamed and squirmed like a little girl.
I greeted our pack doctor Rex when he bowed in submission.
"Olivia has caught the flu and is staying at home," Rex said.
I nodded my head. Olivia was our chief doctor. She was in her fifties, a close friend of my mom. She had served our pack for over 30 years, well-respected by pack members.
Rex was a handsome guy in his mid-30s who just transferred to our pack two years ago. He graduated from a top medical school and had practiced medicine for over ten years. I trusted him equally as Olivia.
I lay on my bed, letting him examine me with the apparatus just brought here.
"Everything looked fine. You heal very nicely," Rex said with confusion written all over his face.
"Why the confusion in your eyes? Shouldn't it be a good thing?" James pointed out.
"It was odd given the dose of wolfsbane found on the knife you brought back. We checked the knife carefully. The dose was enough to kill two alphas. It is a miracle you survived unharmed," Rex explained.
I was taken aback by Rex's words. Whoever planned the attack spared no efforts to make sure I would be dead.
"Maybe the alpha blood was strong enough to survive the wolfsbane?" James asked.
"No, it is not possible. No one can survive that dosage of wolfsbane, not even the alphas," Rex said firmly.
"Is it possible a surgery by a human doctor could help remove the poisoning?" I asked, slipping off the bed and standing up.
"Did a human doctor help you?" Rex asked.
"Yeah, I was taken to a ve..a hospital by a woman," I said, revising the part that I was taken into a veterinary clinic. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of my pack members. Call me vain but I wanted to uphold my authority.
"The dosage was enough to kill you within 30 minutes. Did the surgery happen within that time frame after you were stabbed?" Rex asked.
I remembered the drive to the clinic was long, far more than thirty minutes. "No," I shook my head.
"That is very odd. I never heard anyone, including the alphas, could survive half the dosage of wolfsbane that was applied on the knife," Rex said with deep thoughts.
"Well, that is a good thing, right? Maybe our alpha is specially blessed by the Moon Goddess," James grinned, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
"Yeah, it sure certainly is," Rex said.
"There is one thing you have to do for me," I said to Rex. "If anyone asks about my injury, say that I was severely injured and bedridden."
Rex nodded his head in understanding. "I would do as you told, Alpha."
He then set daily checkup arrangements and left the house. I stepped into the study with James following inside. We had an urgent call to make.
When the other three alphas from the East Alphas Federation appeared on the laptop screen, I cut the pleasantries and went straight to the point.
"Be careful. Someone is out there killing alphas. I think they are targeting our federation." I said, watching the faces on the screen gasp.