"Do you have everything?" Alpha John asked my Father.
"Yes Alpha, we are ready."
"Good, I'll see you in a few weeks. Make sure the SilverClaw pack doesn't mess around. I've heard rumours."
"We won't Alpha, if they do, we'll make them regret it," I joked whilst striking a strong pose.
My best friend, Seth, laughed at me. I was a little reluctant to go as I knew he was going through some shit right now, thanks to the Alpha's nephew, but he insisted he was ok. Besides, my leaving meant he could stay in my room.
"Come on, we need to hit the road," my Father called out.
I waved goodbye to Seth and nodded towards the Alpha before following him. The drive to this pack would take a few hours, so I planned to sleep the whole way. There were eight of us going in total, so we were in two cars.
The SilverClaw pack had been attacked by rogues recently, more often than they had anticipated and their warriors weren't as skillfully trained. According to my research, it was because their Alpha was more focused on his mate and kids than on protecting the pack.
He had asked us for help through his Beta after the last attack almost cost him one of his kids. My guess is, he was fine losing one of his pack members but the minute it was his blood, he called for help.
The instant we pulled up to the main house I already knew it was going to be difficult. The Alpha stood on the steps glaring down at us, whilst an extravagant-looking woman, who I presumed was his Luna, stood next to him.
Two small kids were next to her, looking equally as done up. Two other men stood behind everyone else, the younger was trying to look equally as imposing and failing miserably.
"Hello Alpha Nicholas, it's good to finally meet you. I'm Louis Shepherd, Beta to Alpha John of the NightWind pack. This is my son Max, future beta, and several of our warriors."
I nodded when he introduced me. The Alpha just grunted and nodded at us, it was like he wasn't happy with having us there. A blonde woman suddenly appeared next to the two men at the back. She wasn't as done up as the Luna, but it was clear she was trying too hard like the Luna.
Neither of them looked natural, both had thick red lipstick and dark-coloured eyeshadow. I assume the effect was to highlight their eyes but to me it made them look too aggressive and fake.
"I expected you yesterday," the Alpha grunted. "I guess at the NightWind pack punctuality is a thing of the past. Well not here it isn't, I expect you to show up when you say."
The nerve of this guy trying to make out that we were in the wrong. My father, as cool as could be, took out his phone, pulled up his emails and found the one confirming the date. He held it out in front of the Alpha's eyes so he could see.
"The last email does state the date we would be arriving. We confirmed the twentieth, and that's today. Punctuality is very important to our Alpha as well, Alpha Nicholas."
I had to hide my smirk as the Alpha gritted his teeth and glared. He then turned and headed inside, followed by his mate and kids. The other two men and the younger woman stayed where they were.
"I'm Jesse Billings, the Beta to Alpha Nicholas, his mate is called Megan. This is my son Trip and his future mate Julie," the taller of the two greeted.
We nodded and I scoffed when Julie flirtily smiled at me. She gave me a little wave and I rolled my eyes, she was pulled back by her fella and I smirked. Beta Jesse motioned for us to head inside.
"I'll show them to their rooms if you like," Julie offered a little too eagerly for me.
"No, you won't!" Trip growled and pulled her to him.
"Willow!" Jesse shouted.
We turned to see a young woman stop and walk quickly towards us. She had her head down and her hands clasped in front of her body. Her clothes looked like they'd seen better days and she looked like she needed both a good meal and a good night's sleep.
For some reason she made me think of when Seth first came to the pack. He'd looked like this too, but he'd been abandoned. Surely, that wasn't the reason here.
"This is Willow, she will show you to your rooms," Beta Jesse introduced.
Julie smirked evilly at Willow. She stepped towards Trip and wrapped her arm around him whilst giving him a peck on the cheek. What was with this woman? One minute she was flirting with other men and then she remembered she was with someone.
I noticed Willow flinched a little but other than that she showed no other emotion. This seemed to piss Julie and Trip off, suddenly they turned and started to make out passionately. Right in front of all of us.
"Enough!" Beta Jesse growled.
Julie and Trip broke apart and bowed their heads at his father.
"I know you will be mates soon but that doesn't mean you can act like horny teenagers in front of guests," he turned to us. "Forgive them, they've only recently decided to mate. Willow will show you to your rooms."
Willow nodded and quickly started to walk away. I could see her fists clenched and I swear I could smell tears. She took us up two flights of stairs before stopping. I heard her take a deep breath before she turned around to face us.
"These four rooms have been set up for you. You will have to share rooms," she explained.
"Thank you … Willow, right?" Father asked.
She nodded but still didn't lift her head.
"I'm Louis Shepherd and this is my son Max. It's nice to meet you, do you live in the main house too?"
"Yes Mr Shepherd, I work here," she sighed quietly.
For some reason, at least to me, she sounded like she had given up on life. It reminded me of how I felt when I lost my mate too soon. If it hadn't been for Bonnie and Seth, I might never have come around.
"Just Louis please, calling me Mr makes me feel old."
We all laughed but she shook her head.
"I apologise, Mr Shephard, but I must call you by your title. My fath… the Alpha said you were the beta of your pack. If you like I will call you Beta Shepherd but I mustn't call you by your first name. Anyway, I will leave you to get settled in."
She left just as quickly as she spoke, leaving us all staring after her. I followed my Father into what would be our room for a few weeks or what we hope will be a few weeks.
"She's not allowed to speak informally to people, do you think that's the Alpha's doing or the Luna's?" I asked.
"It doesn't matter either way," he grunted. "They must have strict rules on how the staff can interact with guests. Best not to make things difficult for her."
As I sorted my clothes into the drawers provided I started to wonder about Willow. I felt drawn to her, not like I had when I had first seen my mate, but enough to want to get close.
I was sure it had something to do with the Beta's son and that flirt he was with. One minute she was openly flirting with us then the minute Willow came over she was all over her mate.
"Willow reminds me of when Seth first arrived," Father sighed, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I turned and nodded, "I thought that too but it can't be the same, can it? I mean she lives here so she wasn't abandoned, right?"
"There are different ways to abandon someone," he mused.
"True."
"Either way, I feel something is off about this pack. When we train the warriors I'm going to investigate. You should do the same," he suggested and I nodded.
"I was just thinking of doing that," I told him.