Chapter 11

James pulled the Gamma from his family time. Pulling him behind one of the trees, he growled, "Steve, who the hell is that?"

"Who are you talking about Alpha?"

"That punk, standing there, smiling with Trishanna?" Steve turned around to see the two of them walk off in the direction of the pack house.

"Oh, that's Sammy, Samuel Parker. He's the omega I took a few years ago to train in the business. Good worker. The last time he came back was two years ago."

"Isn't he an orphan as well?" James frowned. He still didn't like the way they were so chummy with each other, but if he was orphaned, it would explain why he and Trishanna were so close. Rosie did have a habit of taking care of them. "Alright, Steve. Thanks for the info. Sorry for pulling you from your family."

Even though the Gamma vouched for Sammy, it was still hard for James to see another male around Trishanna. He spent the first hour chatting with his pack members, listening to the pups' excited chatter, and shooting daggers from his eyes at the way too friendly Sammy. Does he have to smile at Trishanna so? Yet when he noticed how Trishanna seemed to be relaxed around him, James' anger began to subside.

How could he stay mad when she smiled so sweetly? Soon his eyes were stuck on her. Every twitch of her lips or lift of her brow fascinated James. He'd never seen her so animated. Many of the she-wolves sent suggestive glances his way, but they all went unnoticed by the Alpha. In fact, he was so busy taking in everything about Trishanna that he had no idea what was placed in front of him to consume. Richard saw this and frowned. If someone wanted to poison his Alpha, now would have been a good time. Leaning towards James he waved his hands in front of his face to get his attention.

"Alpha James. Earth to Alpha James."

"What?" James huffed. What could Richard want with him now? Couldn't he see that he was busy stalking his beautiful prey?"

"It's just that you haven't told me how the fish tasted?"

"Oh... it was delicious. Well-seasoned. It was obviously well cleaned as I didn't find any bones."

Richard smiled. "Yes, it went well with the rice dish, wouldn't you agree Alpha?"

"Yes. It was a good choice." At this point, Richard couldn't take it anymore and began laughing his head off. "Is what your Alpha said so hilarious?"

Richard tried to curb his laugh. "No... it's not that what you said is funny. It's the fact that you didn't even know what you ate. Who the hell would have fish at my birthday bash? I ordered chicken and steak for the meal, with vegetables. There were no rice dishes." James blushed. Did he really not know what he ate?

Richard took in his big, bad Alpha blushing like a teen with a crush, and sighed. "Alpha, this is bad. If someone wanted to harm you, tonight would have been a perfect opportunity for them to strike. What were you thinking?"

Groaning, James rubbed his hand over his face. Turning to his friend, he sighed, "That's the thing, I wasn't thinking. All I can see; all I can think about is her. It's driving me insane." James frowned and looked at Richard. "Didn't you say that you had a plan?"

Richard smiled. "Oh, yes my impatient Alpha. I have a plan and as soon as the pups go to bed, it's game on for Ms. Trishanna."

Across at the Goldmoon Pack, the Alpha came to see how the final preparations were coming along. The Elders visited two days ago and gave some recommendations that would allow his pack to be quickly approved. Although he left the work in the hands of his people, since he had a meeting nearby, the Alpha just thought he'd get the updates in person instead of opening up his email.

Stepping out of his car, he walked up to the Omega's quarters. The heating system had to be adjusted. It was a slight oversight as their previous location was usually warm throughout the year, so because of that, they didn't realize that his Omegas, since they don't have a wolf to help them stay warm, will require further heating in their quarters. He wondered if it would snow this year. It would be something the pups would love to experience since many of them had never seen it before. The Alpha was already making plans in his mind to do something fun with them if it did.

He met his top builders, and they gave an update. So far, things were on schedule with only the plumbing left. Taking a quick walk, the Alpha observed that the moving trucks were there, and the bulky equipment was being installed. This pleased him, as the Elders had already given their permission for this to be done. In a few weeks, this will be their new home. He knew his father would be so proud and he silently gave thanks that the pack made it to this day.

It was now after nine, and he was going over the living arrangements with the Beta's mate. This is something the Luna is supposed to do, but the Alpha hadn't found his mate yet, so the Beta's mate helps out in times like this. They were discussing the idea to increase the medical wing since there is a higher probability of mates being found, which means more pups being born when a loud cheer rang out over the trees. It was so sudden that even his warriors who had moved in earlier to do patrol and enforce their scent markers linked him.

Everyone looked around before they noticed what seemed to be beams of colored lights moving around over the treetops. "Warriors, report." the Alpha ordered over the mind link. A few responded with indications that they have no information. The Alpha was just about to shift when the last warrior reported.

"Alpha, Warrior Jackson reporting. It appears that our neighboring pack, Bloodmoon, is having a birthday party. From the information gathered, the Alpha gave permission for his friend who is known to love partying, to have an event that started at six this evening. Apparently, it was to be like a family gathering for the first two hours, then the pups will be dismissed and those willing to stay will be allowed to 'let loose'. It seems as though it is that time."

"Okay, thank you Jackson for your report. It saved me from having to run over there and maybe make enemies before we even moved in."

"You're welcome, Alpha. I'm heading back to patrol."

"Yes. you do that." He opened the link to all his warriors reminding them to be vigilant. Who knows just what kind of behaviors this Bloodmoon will have? Sighing, he returned to Sarah, his Beta's mate, and resumed their discussion. After another hour, he was pleased with the progress and decided to head back home. Slipping into the back seat, he took out his phone and opened his email. He looked for the file his Gamma had sent about the neighboring packs.

He was always pleased with the efficiency his pack members had towards their duties. Each pack info was sent in a different attachment for easy reference. Scrolling, he found the one about Bloodmoon and opened it up. "Alpha James Black. Guess we'll be meeting soon anyway," he murmured to himself.