An Unfamiliar Face

I felt two small hands shaking me. When I opened my eyes, Anna was standing over me. I looked to the other side of the bed and it was empty. The Alpha was gone. "Where did the Alpha go?" I asked her while yawning.

"The Alpha?" She questioned. "He is downstairs getting ready for his meeting." She scrunched her eyes in confusion. "How did you know he was here already?"

I closed my eyes again, trying to capture the scent of him but it was gone. Maybe I had been dreaming. Why else would Godric lay in the same bed as me? Back at home, he wouldn't even come into my room. I ignored her question and changed the subject. "How long have you been up?" Remembering her body sprawled out over the couch.

"Long enough. I made the Alpha and guards some lunch and cleaned up the mess we made here in the room. Now it's time for us to get back home." She helped me up.

"Lunch!" I jumped out the bed. When I woke up before, it was still early morning. I thought maybe I dozed off for an hour or two. I had no idea it was afternoon. "I'm so sorry. I thought it was still morning. Why didn't you wake me?" I asked as I pulled my shoes on and ran to the bathroom to wash my face.

"I was going to, but Alpha Godric told me to let you sleep a little longer."

I peeked my head out of the bathroom to see if she was joking. When I saw that she was serious, I said, "Oh. That was nice of him." I placed the warm towel on my face trying to hide my blushing cheeks.

"I know right. Everything about the last twenty-four hours has been nice. The Alpha and Beta allowed us to enjoy a girls’ night in this nice cabin. To be honest, I didn't expect Godric to be a nice Alpha."

"How do you mean? He always seems nice to me."

"Don't get me wrong. Godric has always been a nice guy. But he is normally strict and his demeanor sometimes very cold. That can be a good and bad thing. Great because we all know how seriously he takes his role. We all know he has been training to be Alpha since he was young, and he knows how important it is that he stays strong. But I worry that his cold strict ways will stop him from enjoying life and finding a mate to love him."

"I'm sure Godric will never have a problem finding someone to be with. I mean have you seen some of the girls in the pack throw themselves at him." We both laughed. "Even if he never finds his mate, I'm sure Sophie will be auditioning for that spot forever."

"You sound a little jealous Zaya. Maybe you are one of those girls who like the Alpha?" She teased.

"Noooo. I am not one of those girls. Besides, I have a boyfri…"

She interrupted my objection. "Correction. You had a boyfriend."

"Oh yeah. I guess being single is something I need to become familiar with."

We finished cleaning Godric’s room and walked downstairs. Anna said Alpha Godric brought more than a few guards with him. She even said she saw one elder walking around. I was expecting to see a few people walking around the kitchen or maybe the living room, but the cabin was empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Last time I checked they were getting ready to gather outside. They have set up a meeting point between the two cabins. This means we need to get clear of this area. I don't want to be around when the rogues get here."

The front door to the cabin was wide open and I could see two guys standing guard on the porch. When we finally cleared the doorway, I could see the group that arrived with Godric earlier that day. They were gathered in a grassy opening to the side of the cabin. Godric and Alex were standing in the middle of the group with their backs to one another. Each was talking to separate people. Two rectangle tables were set up and the Blood Moon pack was all standing near the table closest to Godric’s cabin. I assumed the vacant table was for the rogue wolves.

As soon as Anna and I stepped off the cabin porch, a brush of wind blew past us, making me wish I had brought a light jacket.

Both Godric and Alex turned their heads towards us. It was as if our scents in the air caught their attention. They were both now staring our way. I was so busy watching the two of them watching us, that I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. My foot hit a rock and I stumbled to the ground. Just before my face hit another rock, two hands gracefully blocked the fall. One hand grabbed my shoulder and the other my head.

I heard a few growls from afar. And then I heard Anna say, "Thank you for catching my clumsy friend. Are you okay Zaya?" She directed her attention to me.

I laughed at Anna's comment. She was right, I could be a little clumsy when I wasn't paying attention. I stood up and brushed off my pants. My head never hit the ground, but my body did. My pants were covered in leaves and dirt. "Thank you so much for catching me." I looked at the rock on the ground, thinking about the damage it could have caused.

A husky voice said, "You should watch where you are going. You could have broken your pretty neck." That statement caught me off guard. I looked up at him. The guy before me was tall and stocky. He had reddish-brown like mine. I didn't recognize him, and he knew it. I looked past him and saw a few other people I did not know. The man before me offered his hand and I took it. "I'm Evander. And you are?" He asked never breaking eye contact.

In the near distance, we could hear a small growl. I looked to where our pack members were standing. Godric, along with everyone else was staring at us. But unlike everyone else, his eyes were almost near black. Striking fear in me. I have never seen his wolf surface before. And yet seeing me and Anna near this man is drawing him near. I snatched my hands away from Evander. "Who are you?" I shook my head not wanting to admit what I already knew.

He looked down at his now empty hand and closed it. "I just told you. I am Evander. Leader of the rogue pack."

I stepped away and took a good look at the men and women standing behind him. Their clothes were a little more rugged than ours. And there seemed to be nothing uniform about their hierarchy. Evander stood front and center, like an Alpha. A few other men stood near, not behind him Then there were two other guys, who stood near two women. Who seemed to be attached to their mates by the hips. And no one with them was above the age of thirty. Everyone seemed to be mid-twenties. I looked around and could not identify any army or guards with them.

It was entirely opposite of how the Blood Moon pack presented themselves. The Alpha and Beta always stood front and center. And the guards were dressed in all black to be easily identified. Alex made sure we had plenty of guards here and at home. In case of any surprise attacks. Since this situation was a sensitive one, an Elder was present to make ensure certain bylaws were upheld.

"You? You are the leader of the rogues who attacked the Silver Mountain pack?" I asked as my anger grew. This was the guy responsible for my parent’s capture. This was the guy who led the attack that got Alpha Ken killed. How could this charming person be responsible for so much pain?

"I hope you won't hold that against me. I mean, all is fair in love in war." He flashed a seeming sly grin towards me.