CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3 DHIREN

      We drove to the alpha house in silence. It was only a few minutes run from the hospital and about 10 minutes in a car. The alpha house is surrounded by other high ranking pack houses and surrounding those are the pack houses for the rest of the members of the pack. It was its own town. Pack members took turns guarding the perimeter and the beginnings of a silver fence were being put in place on the outskirts. It wasn't hard to guess why.

      We eventually pulled up to the cabin like alpha house. It was two stories tall and seemed to be a weak defense point to anyone looking from the outside, but the inside was much more than that. The shutters were bulletproof and under the yard were automatic weapons equipped with silver ammunition. Inside, their are four stories, a safe room, a bunker, and a weaponry. Only two of the stories are visible because the other two are underground. Should an attack of any kind occur, each pack house has a tunnel to a safe room that is fully stocked with weapons and food to last for around two weeks. Each bunker is outfitting for the specifics of each member that resides within it.

      Walking in the doors, the sent of pine and cedar rolls across us, reminding me of the woods from a home I no longer had. I swallow hard and push away the happy memories that I will never get back, time stolen from me. I hear my inner wolf growl in anger at the thought of what they did to us and how we are going to make them suffer for it. It is then that I realize Conner is talking to me.

      "I'm sorry, what were you saying," I ask.

      "I was asking if you wanted anything from the kitchen," he says.

      "No, thank you, I'm not hungry." Conner frowns at the obvious lie, but lets it slide. He has been kept aware of the prisoner he had in his dungeons refusal to consume so much as a drip or crumb of anything.

      "Okay, if you need anything, feel free to ask. This is your home now to and are our personal guest as long as you are here."

      "Thank you, Conner," I say as I stifle a yawn.

      "It's the least we could do all things considering. Come on, I'll show you to your room," he says as he starts up to the top story of the alpha house. We walk in silence all the way to the room at the end of the hall and on the left except for Conner to point out the other rooms on the hall of importance. I am the only one on this wing and in a guest suite that has a bathroom connected to it. I thank him again before he leaves me to get settled.

      I decide to take in my surroundings and get acquainted with my room. The bedroom is large enough for two or three people, the bed, a queen, is set against the back of the north wall. The west wall houses an inset closet dresser combo that connects to what I assume is the bathroom door. The east wall leads out onto a veranda that overlooks the surrounding forest. The south wall holds an entertainment center complete with games and movies and inlaid bookshelves covering the wall on either side.

      Seeing the room before me, I decide to check out the bathroom. I open the door and am surprised at the expanse of the bathroom. On my left is a vanity the extends from one wall to the other and holds a multitude of drawers and cabinets complete with two sinks equal distance from the walls and the center. On the right is an inlayed jaccusi tub with a shower beside it. Just passed the shower are two doors. Inside the door on the right is the toilet and in the one on the left is a closet just as big as the bathroom. Opening the closet door, I was surprised to find it full of clothes and equipped with a variety of weapons on one wall. At the very back of the closet is a secret door that leads down to the safe room.

      The last area of my room to explore is the veranda. I slide open the glass door and step out onto the terrace. It is large enough to use as a morning dining area and is high enough that I can see several miles over the forest surrounding us. With the placing of this terrace, I can see a perfect sunset, so as I wait for the alpha to summon me for dinner, I watch the sun start to disappear from view just as my loved ones disappeared from my life. 

      All too soon, a knock sounds at my door. I halfheartedly call for the visitor to come in. Conner enters announcing it is time for dinner. I answer as the last rays of light drop below the tree line and allow darkness to cover the forest. "I'm coming."