Big Red and the Little Wolf

Chapter 7

Echo pov

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked Derek. If anyone other than me had questioned his orders, they would've been tried for treason. Instead, Derek had brought me to his office for me to be honest with him as his closest friend.

"What choice do I have? It was because of our border patrol's negligence that you were injured." Derek sat across from me, behind his desk with his face in his palms.

"For the millionth time, I'm okay."

He lifted his head from his hands to meet my stare. "I don't think you understand me, Echo. Both you and Violet were out in the woods unaware of the potential threat. I could've lost two of the most important people in my life."

"You're right. I don't have a desire to go out there again any time soon if I'm being honest."

"Exactly. I have to set stricter rules in place, at least until the threat of the hunters is gone, to keep all of my pack members and their loved ones safe. No one is allowed to go into the woods unless they are the guards on duty."

I nodded. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I've already sent for some men to go around and make the announcement. From there on, the guards will be able to enforce the new rules and keep pack members out of the woods. I don't even want anyone shifting unless it's life or death."

"Do you think people will accept that? Some might go stir crazy if they aren't able to get physically in touch with their wolves for a long period of time."

Derek shrugged but began tapping his fingers on the desk. The presence of hunters unnerved him with the history of his father. He was extremely protective of his pack, but I could tell he would prefer if he didn't have to make these hard decisions. "If they have a problem abiding by the rules, they can happily shift in the safety of a cell."

"Fair enough," I said in a quiet voice. It was times like these I wondered how we made our friendship work despite being so different from each other. I couldn't be further from a position in power, whereas he was entrusted to make all the decisions. At times, he had no choice but to be harsh with others.

"I know it seems like I'm being extreme, but I don't want those hunters catching a whiff of us. There's no telling what kind of damage they could do. So until it's clear, we need to try and wait them out."

A knock at the door caused Derek to groan. It was rare that he was able to focus on one thing at a time as an alpha. The person at the door didn't wait for a response before entering.

It was the pack's beta, Josh.

"We're in the middle of a conversation," Derek tried to tell him.

This did not deter Josh from continuing to move closer towards the desk. His breathing was shallow as though he had rushed over here.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Josh spared me a quick glance. Though Josh had never been outright mean to me like some of the other pack members, I could always tell that he wasn't my biggest fan. I had a feeling that he cared less about my canine abilities and more about the fact that I was closer to the alpha than him.

"One of the guards on the southern border was just found dead."

Derek shot up from his seat. "Are the hunters responsible?"

Josh nodded. "We found a silver bullet embedded in his pelt."

"If the guards haven't started taking the body to the morgue already, give them the all clear to do so." Derek turned his attention back to me. "I'm sorry, but I have to go investigate, Echo."