Zachary

People rarely can be summarised in just a few words. Still, it would be accurate to say that Zack was a complete and polar opposite of Seth. 

Due to his huge frame, he always stood out in any crowd, and he hated every second of it. He liked to be left alone, or approached by one person at a time.

Despite his intimidating appearance, he was a harmless ball of fluff. He could never hurt anybody - the only positive consequence of his body was that he could scare away others who wanted to try his patience.

He learnt how to adjust to the prejudice he faced. Zack hung out with the bad crowd in the role of a scarecrow. He went along with violence as a bystander to avoid being an active part of it. 

This strategy shaped his role within Alex's pack too. He took Seth's side to not become a target of his aggression. It's not like he didn't feel sorry for the victims - his survival instincts were simply stronger than his empathy.

Zack felt guilty from time to time due to his passive, enabling behaviour. Alex guided him to a profession that required minimal chatting, yet helped people. As a sports masseur and physiotherapist, he was able to cope with most of his troubles connected to Seth's violence.

At the same time, his ties with the alpha inevitably became stronger when Seth started to send his students to him. He wanted to refuse treatment for these people, but it would mean getting on Seth's bad side. 

Larry's arrival brought instability, which affected Zachary immensely. He wanted to avoid trouble at all costs. Things got even messier when a certain afternoon Seth showed up at the clinic.

Zack rented a relatively small office at a health center, and didn't have any assistants either. He handled all necessary documentation and booking. Seth's unexpected visit meant that he either talked his way in, or downright threatened the next patient. 

Fortunately, the last client had already left when Seth barged in. At first, Zack didn't even turn toward the door, just politely asked the intruder to wait until he called in the next in line.

" I don't like to wait." Said Seth, and casually sat down on the massage bed. 

Zack recognised his voice, and knew he didn't have an appointment. There wasn't any booking for his students either for that day. To diffuse eventual complaints, Zack promptly went to the waiting room. 

It seemed Seth chose less nice means to bulldoze his way in. The room was empty, with a scrunched up magazine on the floor. Zack wasn't happy, to say the least. 

"What was so urgent you had to come here personally?" He asked Seth as soon as he returned to the office. He left the door open as a precaution. Seth was totally capable of tearing it off the hinges, and he didn't want to lose more money on him.

Zack simply hoped Seth would leave before the next appointment starts.

"Alex is training Larry as a dom." Seth cut the small talk and jumped to the thick of it.

"Who?" Zack met Lawrence only once, and he had trouble remembering things he wasn't interested in. 

"That asshole from the marines." Explained Seth, but Zack remained clueless. Seeing his dumb expression, Seth gave an extra clue. "He watched the fire play and the kid shaved his chest."

< Oh, the one who put you in your place at last.> Thought Zack, and tried really hard not to smile.

"So? What about him?" Zack played the idiot. He knew exactly what irked Seth, but refused to assume anything more. Angry Seth was dangerous, and Zack was relatively safe as long as he looked down on him.

"He's not a submissive or a switch. Master is mentoring him. He's apparently above all of us, but we don't know anything about him. Our contract binds us to Master. Why would we have to obey him too?" The alpha asked.

Gaining time by acting like a fool helped Seth to cool his temper. He at least remembered that calling Alex by her name is not approved behaviour. 

"You don't have to, if you don't want to. Master never punishes us for using the safeword, you know." Said Zack. 

Zack hoped he could deflate Seth's tantrum by pointing out that his reaction is disproportionate. Boy, how wrong he was.

"Are you actually an idiot, Zack?! I'm talking about putting a green bastard above us in the hierarchy! We all worked hard to earn our place beside Master. He doesn't know jack shit!" Bellowed Seth. 

He got up from the massage bed, and started pacing in the office. He also kicked the door shut, cutting away Zack's last hope to escape. The latter had to be really careful not to anger him any further.

"I understand your point, but what can we do? It's Master's decision to mentor him. I didn't know anything about it before you told me." Zack wanted to convey his non-existent role in the situation.

"What do you mean? Didn't you stay after I was kicked out?" Seth stopped in his tracks and stared at Zack.

"I left soon after you. The guest was afraid I would attack him next so Master sent me away." Zack lied through his teeth. 

It was a small miracle that Seth didn't know about his timid side. Everyone else was aware of it, and they all played along to help Zack. In return, when the situation allowed, Zack stepped in before Seth could terrorise the others, saying it's beneath the alpha to deal with small things. Sometimes it worked.

"See?! Doesn't it anger you how easily she pushes us to the side for him?" Asked Seth, feeling justified.

"Give it some time, Seth. He won't be able to keep up. Master can be whimsical, she'll get bored of her new toy before he makes it to The Crib." Said Zack, not commenting on his feelings.

"He's already living at The Crib! He moved in while I was in time-out." Seth resumed pacing.

"It's great that your time-out is over, Seth! Welcome back to the pack!" Said Zack, trying to emphasise the positive side.

"You really are slow, Zack. Maybe a smack or two will help your brain to work faster. It works for my students." Threatened Seth as he approached Zack.

"Chill out man! Fighting between us doesn't help with whatever you want to do, right?" Asked Zack, hoping he didn't show up just to vent his anger. Knowing Seth, it was a plausible scenario, so he braced himself for impact.

"I want you to back me against that fucker, but you don't seem to get my point, Zack. In my experience, a broken bone or two helps to give a reasonable answer." Said Seth, reaching for Zachary's shoulder.

Years and years of pretension helped Zack to keep his poker face. He let Seth place a hand on him in a seemingly calm manner, and looked him in the eye with a shrug on the other shoulder.

"I ain't stupid, man, I get you. Just tell me what to do, because I don't want to upset Master too much. I don't think she means no harm, Seth." Zack kept his voice amicable, as if he wasn't just threatened.

"Your humongous dick will be the bait for Mikey. Now that Robert and Richard are an item, he won't get his ass railed unless it's you or me." Seth explained his rather simple plan.

"He will be loyal to Alex first, but come a week without cock in him, he'll beg you to be best pals again." He continued. "Even though you can't give him what he wants, he is too much of a pussy to approach me directly. He will use you as a mediator." 

Zack didn't have any doubt that the depicted scenario will become reality exactly as Seth imagined. His intellect and social skills were terrific. The only thing that could throw a wrench in his plans is Seth's arrogance.

It didn't occur to Seth that Zack might go against his instructions. Not for a second. 

When Zachary joined the pack, he naturally shared his survival strategies with Alex. She then offered him a similar role as beta under Seth, and promised the others' cooperation. Alex liked to challenge Seth with these little mind games. Zack's true nature was one of those games he failed to notice. 

Seth knew that Alex wasn't always straight with him, and acknowledged Richard's wit enough to handle him with distrust. However, he never considered Zack anything other than a dumb musclehead who was under him in every sense. 

"What about Rick and Rob?" Zack asked, nodding along with the explanation.

"That's my job. Navigating the lovebirds is too difficult for you. The only thing you need to do is keep your pants on in front of Mikey. I'll handle the rest." Seth finally let go of him and stepped back.

"If Master orders me to play with Mikey, then what?" Zack didn't leave his position.

"Then you use your safeword and your brain a little, and tell a good lie when she asks why you chicken out. Should I write it down so you can memorise it?" Seth asked in a condescending tone.

"But what if the lie don't match the situation? Isn't it better if I improvise a little?" Zachary doubled down on Seth's delusions about his intellect.

"You know what, Zack?! That's your first great idea in a long while." Replied Seth, completely satisfied with how his visit progressed. "I'm going to the gym to let out some steam. You break the news to Mikey tomorrow. Make sure he remembers the thing with the snitches and stitches." 

"Will do, Seth, no problem. I know how to do that all right." Zack puffed up his chest, proud of himself and his important role.

With that, Seth concluded his business and left without as much as looking back. Once Zachary confirmed he left the building for good, he immediately contacted Alex.

Zachary had his own plans, and wanted to make sure Seth won't be around when he sets them in motion.