For The Love of An Alpha

Elder Impairment

"No one's been there for a while." A female voice spoke out from the evergreen trees that surrounded them. Eli growled in response and Morgan dropped to a crouch, prepared to shift. "Simmer down, boys." Her voice patronizing as she dropped from the overhead branches with grace that could only be described as cat like. Her black hair was pulled from her face with a tie at the crown of her head. Her blue eyes surveyed her environment and the three men before her. She looked young, younger then she was. Her lean frame appeared smaller as she rolled her shoulders and stood tall. She wasn't very tall, in fact many would have called her short while she preferred to be called vertically challenged or height impaired. Finding comfort in creating jokes from the comments meant to sting her.

"You must be the one Jaroth sent." Eli watched her move gracefully across the clearing and approach the fire.

"Beta Jaroth did send me." She eyed the two men before her.

"You can't be more the fourteen!" Morgan stood to his full height, dwarfing the woman before him.

"Twenty, but thank you I like being underestimated, gives me the edge." She winked to Morgan and started to move toward the house.

"Where are you going?" Eli moved to stop her, but she was faster and keenly dodged his grasp with a spin.

"Inside. No one has come or gone for days." She turned back toward the house, "You took longer to arrive then I expected." She climbed the stairs to the front porch to the sound of groaning and sighs behind her. Turning the brass doorknob and listening as the door clicked open. It wasn't uncommon to find pack homes unlocked, usually welcoming presences came from the homes. Pushing the door open and looking inside, the warm welcome ended with the thought. The home was cold and unwelcoming. The woman gave a shutter as she looked inside, not crossing the threshold.

"What's wrong?" Morgan stood at the base of the stairs leading up the porch.

"Something bad happened here." She turned to look to Eli, "I can feel it. Something unnatural."

"Ya, I feel it too." Eli's brow furrowed as he examined the room from his place. "Let's close up and examine it in the morning."

The woman moved aside and allowed Eli space to close the door. With the door shut she felt her skin settle and the hair on her neck relax. She'd not encounter a feeling like that before, but her instincts ignited and she knew to leave it alone.

"Come on," Eli turned from the front door, "we can camp out tonight." He motioned back to the campfire that still burned brightly.

With caution and unease, the trio set up to sit about the fire. Morgan relaxing onto the felled log and Eli taking up a seat on a nearby rock. He watched as the woman moved about the clearing, looking to the trees and then to the white floor.

"Looking for something?" Eli inquired as he watched her stance shift and her fingers twitch."I'm calculating." She looked about again and then turned to the two men. "There should be at least two types of animals moving about the area right now, and they aren't." She moved to sit cross legged on the damp floor before the fire.

"Are you sure?" Morgan questioned.

"Of course I am. I was raised in these woods." Her response was curt and short.

"Sorry, our manners are out of place. I'm,"

"Beta Eli, of Azure Rise." The woman finished for him, "And you are Beta Morgan of Lunar Blood." Her eyes never left the space beyond the fire, deep within the forest, as if she expected something to move.

"And you are?" Morgan's voice was annoyed with the woman.

"Ashleigh of Winter's Cross." Her eyes glanced to Morgan, watching his brow furrow at her answer. "No title, just a warrior." Her eyes went back to the forest.