[GABE]
"Are you stupid or what? Why the hell would you cut his hair?" Alpha Ashton boomed at the three boys once they reached the alpha's office in the Grealor pack house.
It was a beautiful mansion that hosted rotten people and it wasn't surprising that Gabe had turned out the way he had.
"I don't understand what the fuss about the outcast is anyway. Besides, his hair will still grow, won't it? You're angry like we chopped his ears off or something," Gabe casually said to his father who was staring at his son like the little bastard was a new species for him.
His son truly was something.
"You little—" Alpha Ashton began before sighing defeatedly.
"I don't care what you do to him, but never cut a man's hair, it is considered bad luck, you idiot," Alpha Ashton said, even though his tone wasn't as convincing.
The Grealor children always had their hair cut off occasionally, but there had never been any bad luck associated with that.
However, the longer Gabe stared at his father's eyes, the more he realized that there was a whole different reason for that. So he didn't push further, lest his father tell them what he wasn't ready to divulge.
Gabe had learned over the years as he trained to be the next alpha, that some questions were better left unanswered and the question of the outcast's hair was one of them and he understood that so well.
If his father ever wanted to share what the secret was, then Gabe would always be ready to listen, but until then, he would not do anything to the contrary.
"We're sorry, Father. It won't happen again," Gabe said and his father stared at him, wondering if his son was messing with him or being serious right now.
Gabe was quite the paradox, even for his father, and right now, Alpha Ashton could only hope that his son would keep his word.
After all, some secrets were meant to remain secret.
"Go. Prepare for the mating ceremony tonight. And don't be late, or too drunk, you get that?" Alpha Ashton said to his son and his friends who nodded carefully. They were aware that tonight was very important, for the pack and for Gabe too.
He was turning twenty-five tonight and would be getting his mate.
The only thing that the alpha wanted was for his son to get a mate that would help him run the pack. If anything, alpha Ashton didn't care if his son's mate was male or female, as long as they did their job well and didn't interfere with the pack itself.
Gabe himself had always thought of his mate, and imagined all the exciting things he and his mate would always do. He had sworn to love his mate, to protect the partner the goddess gave him, no matter what happened.
He had sworn to be the best mate ever to his partner and tonight after waiting for so many years, he would get to experience the love and give the love he was always overflowing with. Oh, but it sure would be an exciting night for him.
"Okay, Father, excuse us," Gabe said while Judd and Zakhar bowed to the alpha, before following after their incoming alpha.
"Man that was intense… Let's find that outcast and teach him a lesson before tonight, don't you think?" Judd said angrily as they walked back to the community area.
"We got a scolding in front of everyone because of him, it's only fair we return the favor and this time, maybe deal with him so we don't get to see him tomorrow, what do you say, Gabe?" Zakhar added as he fisted and unfisted his hands.
"Sounds good to me. Let's go to the woods and find him, yeah?" Gabe said, and together, the chaotic trio rushed into the woods, to find the outcast orphan.
They were not sure what they would do to him yet, but one thing was certain, they would make today too much of a living hell that Tamiko would have no other choice but to leave on his own.
It was an exciting mission for them, as they constantly worked together to ruin the life of the boy who had done nothing to them.
Tamiko's only fault was being without any known parents. No one knew who his father was or even his mother, let alone his family.
It was almost like Tamiko had come from somewhere else, and the fact that his features were a little different from most of the people in the pack; was obvious that he didn't belong with them.
He was painfully aware of it too, from the way they had treated him, but where would he go, when Grealor was the only place he had known to be home for so many years? It wasn't like the world would open up to him and allow him in such conditions anyway.
***
"Tamiko… Did you comb your hair nicely? Father has a gift for you…" Gabe said in a sing-song voice as they walked towards his shelter. It was the only shelter in the woods and it stood out like a sore thumb.
"Do you think he's hiding above, in the trees?" Judd asked excitedly as he preyed around he was determined to make Tamiko's life a living hell and with the alpha's permission, they would do everything save for his goddamn hair.
At least the rules were clear this time, they didn't have to pretend like they 'liked' Tamiko or even that they would go easy on him.
"Let's check the shelter, shall we?" Gabe said, when they didn't get any response from Tamiko.
Tamiko's shelter was an old tiny cabin, one that had been roughly set up for the sake of the young Tamiko. Now that Tamiko was slowly growing into a man, the shelter would be inconvenient for him, but he didn't have that many choices.
He had known that he would have to work on building another cabin, but then with all the responsibilities he had as the pack's slave, he wasn't sure if there would ever come a day, not to mention the fact that his nights were always filled with pain and agony.
It was a horrifying reality for him and it kept him awake more times than he could think of.
"This place is too tiny, how are we going to fit in there? You go in, Judd, you're the one with a tinier body," Gabe suggested and Judd easily agreed, given he was more than determined to ruin Tamiko's life. It was almost like he would be paid for it, but would he?
"Tamiko…" Judd called out, but the dark cabin had nothing, not even a heartbeat, though there was the stench of blood all over. For a moment Judd thought that Tamiko had died, but then the longer he sniffed, the more he was sure that Tamiko wasn't in there.
"Let's go back to the pack, he's not here. He's probably slaving away again," Judd said to his friends who had thick tree branches on their hands. It was almost like they were going on a whipping mission, but wasn't that it for them?
"Oh, this is perfect. We'll teach him the best lesson so far and then see if he retaliates. Who knows, maybe he might get his mate, and we can thrash both him and his mate, right?" Zakhar said and for a moment, Gabe went silent.
He wasn't sure what it was, but the idea of thrashing the outcast and his mate, just didn't sit right with him. It was almost like he was feeling protective of Tamiko suddenly, which wasn't what he would usually do.
However, he just nodded at his friends, who helped him disband Tamiko's shelter, before they went to look for him in the pack.
It wasn't hard to know where he was, because he was always at the square, waiting to receive orders from anyone and everyone who wanted to use him.
"If it isn't Tamiko the freak. How long are you going to stand there?"