The Alpha and The Huntswoman (ON HOLD)

Chapter 1 - The Meeting

This was it. I shuffled in my seat and awaited my future. I was about to attend my last briefing to what could change my life...yet again.

Our facility and unit Forest Black does a lot of things. We protected the human race, destroyed any evidence of supernatural beings, and took in orphans who had witnessed supernatural beings, to protect them or, if they chose, train to fight them and kill supernaturals. But our main specialty is hunting and tracking werewolves. This never became a thing before my brother – Felix – and I were taken in by Forest Black. They didn't know we were werewolves until Felix's first shift at fourteen. Now he's twenty two.

At first the unit was hesitant in keeping us or killing us, but I made a bargain – bear in mind I was ten and really didn't want to die – with the Chief of Operations, Axel Graves. If they kept us, my brother and I would train alongside the other orphans to become a Huntsman and fend off other werewolves. He took our deal and we have been at the unit ever since, fought battle after battle, tracked werewolf after werewolf and then slayed them.

I had no problem with doing so as I had practically grown up around violence. Since the day I saw my parents murdered in front of my eyes by my own kind, I couldn't help but feel disgusted and ashamed. My parents taught me that werewolves were meant to be loyal, protective, and proud. But all I ever saw in that particular werewolf's eye was the pleasure of innocent murder.

Axel opened his office door and stood there gazing down at me on the seat. "Ariana, come in." He spoke in his usual military tone. I supposed it was meant to intimidate me, but as I basically grew up with him as a 'father figure,' I got used to it.

I gave him a slight nod and walked into his office with my hands behind my back. Though to some extent I was prepared for this moment, but what I didn't prepare for was how uneasy I felt. The sea of anxiety swirls in my stomach, which caused my pulse to quicken.

"Sit down," he commanded with a straight face. His features never seemed to show any other expression than...nonchalant, and I could never tell if he was happy or not. The same with his voice. Flat as a surface.

He was the leader of our unit and in charge of me and our group of Huntsman. We were lucky to have him as our instructor as he was experienced in the field. Other than that he was knowledgeable enough about each person in our group to teach us separately, and differently with specific techniques that helped us progress to become the best we could be.

Sir Axel's room was dull and grey. An office can really tell a person's personality and all I could gather from this room about Axel was that it was drab and was in serious need of redecorating. He had a large wooden, possibly mahogany, desk in front of a large three paned window with two grey simplistic lamps on the corner of the desk. He had a three drawer file cabinets in the corner with a plastic see through case that contained a plant called Aconitum, also known as Wolf's bane. The plant was deadly to Werewolves. I remembered that he lined his windows and doors with the plant to prevent any wolves from infiltrating his office, but then I wondered what could be worth infiltrating it for.

I tried really hard not to cringe at the possibility that I might die, but I had been in his office for a mere five minutes and the Aconitum would have knocked me out in two minutes and possibly killed me at seven.

Watching him sort out my papers in front of me, I couldn't help but be curious as to why I wasn't affected by the Wolf's bane. I coughed to get his attention. "Excuse me sir, but I know that you line your windows and door with Aconitum and have a plant in the corner that basically should have knocked me out just by smelling the air--" I stopped as he looked at me with boredom.

"Just spit it out, child."

I really didn't know how to word it so I said, "Why aren't I being lifted to the infirmary?"