Mt.Petra

The rustling of the leaves, the scent of dirt and flowing water. How could anything ever replace the beauty of nature, that I am lucky to be a part of every day?

"Leader," My faithful partner, Tex had come up behind me and taken me out of my train of thought. "Bad news,"

I spun on my heel to face him, knowing he would not use the term 'bad news' lightly with me.

"What is it?"

"Alpha King Kane is approaching our mountain. It seems his intention is to request an audience with you,"

"This has been confirmed?"

"Yes, my lady."

I clenched my jaw, trying not to make too much of a face. This was not the first time an Alpha has requested to speak with me in an attempt to colonize my pack. It seems the surrounding packs just couldn't stand to see a woman leading a successful pack that was growing in numbers every day.

"Shall we execute them on sight, as they enjoy doing with our kind?" Venom dripped from my words as I remembered the fate of my own mother and father, who had died trying to gather food for me as a child. Unfortunately, they had gotten too close to the border where Crimson Moon Pack began. They didn't stand a chance, ripped apart by foot soldiers that had spotted them.

"My lady! This is the Alpha King we are talking about!" I laughed at the panic that immediately washed over my subordinates face, patting his shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

"It was only a joke, however I feel you're placing him on a pedestal he doesn't quite deserve. He was born with claim to the Alpha King title, yes. But that is only because his father paved the way for him." I was sure the semantics would bore Tex, so I decided to cut my little speech short. "Long story short, I'm not that impressed by him. Just tell whoever's at the base of the mountain to let him through. I'm sure I know what this is all about, but I'll let him explain himself before I tell him to be on his way."

It wasn't every day a bunch of rogues banded together to make an unofficial pack, take over a mountain, and continually protect themselves against raids. I made it happen, and we took over Mt.Petra. Now, every Alpha within a 50 mile radius was seeking an audience with me, in hopes of convincing me to become a sector of their pack. An off base offensive team, if you will.

The catch was that we would have to answer to the Alpha, all of us would. It wouldn't be just us here anymore, our little family would be broken up and supervised by pack-born wolves. It felt like being a prisoner, or a slave. We would just be used for our strength, and I was sure the elderly and sick would be disposed of. This would never happen under my watch.

I sat on the ground, my back against the jagged rocks that had become my home. I wasn't going to let an outsider ruin what this place meant to me, and everyone under my wing. I had heard every offer under the sun, and not one had interested me in the slightest. Did they think because I was born a rogue, without the education that a pack-born wolf would have, that I would be stupid, and naive enough to believe that what they wanted was actually in the interest of me and my people?

"My lady," My eyes shot open. Had I really just shut my eyes while a potential enemy was afoot? Sure, I was overworked, but that was no excuse for being unsafe. "Your guest has arrived,"

I stood up and dusted off my legs, before looking up at my guest, the Alpha King. I swallowed the knot that had instantly built up in my throat at the sight of him, and realized I was in a world of trouble. This was something I had foreseen, and do not know how to work around.

As soon as I had locked eyes with the Alpha King, I felt an indescribable amount of.. pleasure? Was that what I was feeling? The aching fire that was building up in my body, that would almost certainly make a weaker wolf feverish.

"Lady Adelaide, is it?" He asked, his intense grey eyes boring holes into mine. I could tell he felt the same way too.

"Yes. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Alpha King Kane," I didn't offer him my hand to shake, and he didn't extend his either. It seemed in the split second we had met, we had already come to an agreement.

It would be a very big problem for the both of us, if word got out that we were mates.