Chapter 11

The alpha of the Hawthorne pack watched his son enter the room with a frown that his young face shouldn't have. It was like the weight of the world was placed on him and he just silently sat in front of his father with his hands clasped.

Luna Anna, his wife, quickly noticed the tension in her son's demeanor and was immediately by his side with a worried look on her face. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Where do I start?" He sighed rubbing his face tiredly.

"Preferably with what's making you so tense." His father said bracing himself for the worst. Not many things worried his son, but seeing him in that state told him something was very wrong.

"I found my mate, and it is Eli."

The news certainly stunned them both and Anna gasped looking absolutely delighted that she forgot all about her son's tense mood. "He's such a lovely boy. You two would be great together." Alec gave her a weak smile not saying anything to ruin his mother's excitement, but his father didn't show the same concern.

"These are good news, so why do you not look happy?"

Alec looked up at him feeling a bit irritated at how he had already told his father about the lunatic who is after Eli a few days ago, and he still had to ask. Clearly he wasn't taking the matter as seriously as Alec had hoped, and in his opinion, that was a huge mistake to make.

"Do I need to remind you that someone killed five of our men?" Alec tried not to show the irritation in his voice, but he wasn't doing a very good job judging by his father's stony expression. "That someone is after my mate."

"Yes, you told me about that."

"So then why aren't you doing anything about it?"

"Watch your tone, boy." His father warned not appreciating the way Alec was talking to him, but his anger softened in understanding. "I know you're worried with your mate being involved in this, but nobody is going to get him as long as he's under out protection."

"You just don't get it." Alec sounded agitated and he felt like he was back to his teen years when he used to say things like that all the time, but his father really didn't understand.

After all, Alec was there when they told him they discovered the five bodies. It was not a pretty scene. Not by any means. Their pack didn't consist of weak people, they were strong, but they were not killers. They never were. The only time they killed was out of necessity, and it looked like the men had fought for their lives.

Lives that they lost.

It wasn't unheard of for a werewolf to be powerful enough to take on and win against three men, some alphas were known to have done that, but to kill five…

Alec wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't personally met him. They were all werewolves, they all possessed strength, speed, and senses normal humans don't have, but Alec was still unable to believe how fast that guy moved or how easily he kept him pinned to that tree. That guy could have easily taken five, especially when some of the men were betas.

Something in him was afraid that if he did come back for Eli, then Alec would be powerless to stop him. He was desperate for a way to keep that guy away or get rid of him entirely, but his father did not seem like he was convinced that he posed that big of a threat.

Still, there was hope that something would be done when his father nodded his head.

"I'll speak to the Dietrich pack tomorrow. They might know something about the rogues who killed our men." Alec didn't comment on his father insisting on thinking that it was a group of rogues and not one person, he was just grateful that something was being done. "For now, just keep an eye on your mate."

"He'll be safe here; you don't need to worry." His mother said rubbing circles on his shoulders as he nodded his head.

"I'll try not to worry about it too much." He told them standing up while his mother watched him with a concerned face. Smiling at her gratefully, he walked out of the door and wondered what he should be doing now.

It was a serious matter to be thinking of, and he felt a little bit guilty that he is now more concerned about it because Eli turned out to be his mate, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't going to let go of him so easily nor was he planning on making it easy for anyone to take him away.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't realize that he passed by Ari until he was grabbed by the arm. Alec turned around and saw the worried look on Ari's face.

"Did something happen?" Ari asked worriedly, and Alec almost shook his head before he sighed heavily.

"More like something is happening."

"Everything okay? You've been kind of scaring people with that look on your face."

Kicking the ground under him, Alec tried to relax but he couldn't. There was an instance where he wanted to tell Ari to not worry about it, that it was nothing, but he decided against it.

"You're a bit close to Eli." He said it more like a statement to himself not thinking too much about how it could be taken. Ari, of course, made his own conclusion and held up his hands defensively.

"We're just friends."

"No, I don't mind it." He lied, but tried to be rational about the whole situation. Alec wasn't fully okay with a mateless beta being so close to his mate. As much as he thought of Ari as a dear and close friend, even betas can be easily tempted by omegas. It wasn't unheard of. Anything could go wrong at any moment.

Still, he couldn't exactly tell Ari to stay away. He was Eli's friend, and he was sure it would upset Eli if he did do that.

"Can I trust you?"

Ari was taken aback by the question. "When did I give you a reason not to?"

"There's something going on." He finally admitted deciding that there was no harm in an extra watchful eye. If Ari was spending time with Eli, he should know about everything. "I would appreciate if you don't tell Eli anything. I don't want him to worry."

There was genuine concern on Ari's face. "What is it? What's going on?"

"I trust that you've heard about the news of five of our men killed by a group of rogues."

"Yeah, I was at the funeral. Why?"

Alec lowered his voice. "It wasn't a group of rogues. I know who did it, I met him." Just the thought of that lunatic made him grit his teeth in anger and frustration. "It was one guy, and he's extremely dangerous. He said he wanted an omega. He's after Eli."

Ari looked up at him looking alert all of the sudden. "What?"

"I know, it sounds bizarre. Eli joins us and it takes one day for some crazy asshole to get a whiff of an omega joining the pack." Alec huffed in clear frustration clenching his fists beside him. He was so angry about it. "Just how fast does news travel to those crazies out there?"

"You said you met him? What does he look like?" Ari asked in a terrified bewilderment.

"Ugh, I don't know." Alec lifted his hand above his head. "About this tall, dark hair, and spoke like everything was just some game to him."

It fit.

Memories of dead bodies emerged in Ari's head. Broken necks and missing limbs. Bleeding stab wounds and claws that dripped with blood. A sadistic smile and a playful tone. It fit. All of it. There was little doubt about it.

Ari knew who it was, and his face paled. He felt like he could barely stand as he realized the gravity of the situation. There was no way he was going to tell Alec about the recent encounter he had in the woods. Instead, he just swallowed the bile rising in his throat feeling like he was getting sick and looked at Alec pretending like he was okay.

"I will try my best to keep Eli safe from him now that I know."

Alec gave him an appreciative smile, a forced smile, but a smile nonetheless. Betas weren't known for their strength, so Alec probably didn't think that he'd help much. In all honesty, he was right. Ari would be useless in a fight, especially when an alpha could easily overpower a beta, Ari would be no match for a regular alpha. The one concerned killed five werewolves alone.

It was scary to think about. Alec didn't care much for his pointless promises of keeping Eli safe, it just eased his tension a little. To Alec, he was just another watchful eye.

But Ari meant his words even if they offered so little.