The Cursed Alpha

Parties

FREY POV

I had told Zane that he didn't need to write the thank you cards with me, but he had insisted. I tried not to feel too happy about that, but emotions were still new to me, and I couldn't control them too well. I had asked Yaps to keep it at bay for me, but she had just smirked and swished her tail before telling me that I was stuck being happy for a while. Even though she seemed carefree, I knew that her time with the kids hadn't been enough time out for her. Me and her would have to go on a run soon. It would be difficult to stay with Zane while in wolf form, but I would see what I could do.

"You're sending thank you notes to Herring?" Zane's incredulous tone of voice brought me back to the present. I blink, and pick up another blank card.

"He's a very good ally to have," I explain.

"So? He's afraid of you, I'm sure he wouldn't do anything to you or your pack if you didn't invite him over,"

There's so many things to say, I'm not sure where to start.

"Well... it's more about me introducing you to his pack than trying to be polite at this point," I start, "But still, it would be suspicious if I didn't invite him. And anyway, it's not on our pack lands. There's a neutral zone a few miles away, and we'll be hosting the party there,"

"Why?"

I blink. What sort of pack was Zane from? He didn't even know the most basic werewolf tradition or etiquette. I was beginning to think that he was raised by humans. It would explain his odd scent. I would have to ask him later, though.

"Well, it's insurance that we're not just leading them into a trap." Zane still looked a little confused, so I went back into werewolf history. "A long time ago, Alphas were very power hungry—more so than they are now. They used these types of gatherings as a way to take over another Alpha's land. After a few Alphas realized it was ruining trust in alliances, and scaring their packs, they put up a treaty, I guess, which every Alpha since has signed. Basically, it had a bunch of rules saying that Alphas making alliances couldn't do it with harmful intentions to the other pack, and any party/festival had to take place at a neutral third party location, to avoid any nerves."

I got back to work, and soon, Alpha Herring's pack's thank you cards were finished. I took a five minute break. One minute of pushups, one minute of crunches, one minute of tricep dips, one minute of pull-ups, and the last minute of just rest. Zane stared at me like I was crazy, then quickly looked away.

You should do that more often, Yaps smirked.

Why? I asked. She knew I did it as often as I remembered to. It wouldn't do if the pack's Alpha was the weakest in the pack.

I think *Bark with a hint of a growl* likes it.

I rolled my eyes. Whatever, you know we have to go train soon.

When should I tell *low pitched grumble* that we'll be joining?

Just tell him sometime within the next few days.

You know how much he hates unspecific times, You know how much he hates unspecific times, Yaps growled in amusement.

And you can tell him how unpredictable my schedule is.

Yaps quieted down and I got back to work. I started sending Informings out to my pack. I told Zane how the day was supposed to go as I worked. I got him to start going through the sheriff's reports, and gave him a stack of files of all of my pack's wolves for him to cross check the reports against. The wolves which were clearly a part of my pack were in one pile, and he left another pile with wolves he wasn't sure about.