Christopher Lawson –
“Are you all deaf?” I snapped, groaning loudly in defeat. “You are going to be attacked, do you hear me!” I yelled loudly, my volume rising with every word.
I knew the house wasn’t abandoned. I couldn’t sense Harper anymore, but I could hear soft murmurs of people and a shifter would pass me every once in a while. They all kept their eyes straight and pretended I wasn’t even there. I spent the last four hours screaming for someone to hear; for someone to care.
In the last twenty-four hours I had been lost to the chaos of seeing Harper, Shane, and being chained up like some rogue. The moment I saw Harper’s bright hazel eyes from the second-story window I felt my longing hit me all over again. It lit the flame of my purpose to be here all over again. I was here to warn them, to save Harper, to get some kind of happiness back. But I couldn’t do that if this stubborn pack kept ignoring my efforts.
“They’re coming,” I whispered, losing my strength and passion to keep shouting at the empty courtyard. I dropped to my knees and lay back against the ground. My head hitting the ground with a soft thump as I closed my eyes, exhausted from my pointless attempts to help them.
A sudden jerk on my chains nearly tore my arm from its socket. My head shot up from resting on the soft grass.
“Get the hell up.” A tall man barked, while his face remained detached and emotionless. He reminded me of a lumberjack, in his red plaid and steel-toed boots.
I met his gaze with mild interest. I had never seen a shifter that tall before, how the hell he managed to sneak up on me without noticing is beyond me. He looked intimidating, but I would be damned if I let him know that. “Why? I’m pretty comfortable right here.” For good measure I patted the dirt-covered ground beside me.
He narrowed his eyes in a challenge, but the rest of his face was kept blank. “Gamma Quinn requested your presence.”
I raised an eyebrow, “How nice of him.” I stood up slowly, hiding the wince from my face as my raw wrists scraped along the silver chains. “But I hardly think my attire is proper for a meeting with an Alpha’s third in command.” I brushed the dirt from my cargo shorts and gestured down to my body. I glanced at his shirt and gave him a confident smirk, “Care to lend a helping hand?”
The tall brute stripped the plaid shirt from his shoulders and threw it at me without a second thought. I kept the shock off my face and grabbed the shirt. He stalked towards me, his feet barely making any noise. He reached down, unlocking the chains around my feet and then around my wrists.
“Thanks, man.” I murmured, but he only nodded his head. “Not much of a talker are you?”
He shook his head. “Come,” He spoke as his chest rumbled in a silent show of dominance. He turned away and walked towards the large white house I had been staring at all day.
I hesitated before following the giant shifter. My stomach was in knots as my anxiety started to take over, the only thing keeping me walking was the fact I was getting what I wanted. I would get their stupid Gamma listen, and he could get their Alpha to actually speak with me. I would save this pack – save Harper, if they could just get their heads out of their asses and listen.
My father’s Gamma, Rory, had been an idiot. He was the son of our a Beta and frankly a kiss ass. His role was pointless. I highly doubted this pack’s Gamma would prove to be any better.
“This is hardly the matter for some Gamma,” I let the sarcasm roll of my tongue as I used the meaningless title. “Just take me to the Alpha.”
“The Alpha is not here, you will see the Gamma.” The larger shifter, whose name I still hadn’t learned, paused in front of a cherry wood door at the end of the windowless hallway. It felt all a little too ominous for my taste. He knocked with a off-putting strength against the wood door.
“Come in, Ghost,” I soft voice rang from the other side of the door.
I gave a tentative glance at my guard. It seemed ridiculous but the name suited him perfectly. For the size of the man he barely made a sound. Ghost opened the door and left it open for me to walk in. He bowed his head in respect and closed the door putting him on the other side of the door.
“Christopher, is it?”
I pivoted in surprise at the sound of the voice. There stood a small woman, she couldn’t have been more than five feet, her black hair cut into a short pixie cut. She looked like a twelve-year-old boy at first glance, but it was definitely a woman.
She raised an eyebrow at me, obviously waiting for my reply as she watched me size her up. “Yeah,” I breathed, a tad flustered. “You’re the Gamma.”
The woman nodded, pursing her lips as her gazed hardened. “Yes, I’m Gamma Quinn.”
I had never seen a woman in any sort of dominant position in a pack except for being the mate of the three-command trio; Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Yet, here she was. Quinn narrowed her eyes as she saw mine widen. The shocked probably painted across my features. She held a look of judgment and raised herself from her office chair.
“Is that a problem?” She growled lowly, her body language screaming offended.
I shook my head, not trusting my words. I never thought of myself as sexist but I just couldn’t rap my head around the idea of a female shifter holding a high rank, never mind being the Gamma. It just didn’t happen. The rigorous training, brutal challenge matches and constant physical strain required with being a dominant force in a pack tended to wean out the woman.
“Good,” Quinn released the tight grip from her desk, I hadn’t even noticed she was holding, and sat back into her chair. “I’m told you’ve been keeping the wolves who took the night patrol shift from sleeping with all your yelling.”
I took a step further into the room, straightening out my back, gaining some confidence back. “I suppose I have.”
“And why is that?” The Gamma looked bored, shuffling through papers lying across her desk. She didn’t even look up to meet my gaze.
My chest rumbled from the disrespect she was showing me. Nikan was trying to claw his way out of my skin, ready to snap her neck. Gamma or not, I was the son of an Alpha and I was trying to help these fucking people. “Because none of you idiots will listen. You are going to be attacked by the Autumn Lakota Clan.” I growled, “So unless you want to fucking die, I suggest you start listening to me!”
Gamma Quinn looked up from her desk, her face full of doubt. “The Autumn Lakota Clan is days from here, and a Southern-nested pack.” She tapped her fingernails along her wooden desk, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand. “Thus, not a threat to us.”
I let out a mocking laugh, soon turning into a hysterical laugh. “Is everyone mentally slow in this town?” I asked, meaning for it to be rhetorical. “Every pack is a threat. That’s why we have territories and treaties, if we didn’t it would be anarchy.” I sighed, letting my frustration leave my body, “I get it. You haven’t had to deal with this for years but you can’t just pretend everything is sunshine and rainbows, especially when I’m telling you it’s not.”
The she-wolf rubbed her temples, pushing back a lock of black hair that had fallen out of place. “Fine.” She snapped, meeting my gaze with the same bored expression from before. “Say I believe you, how long do we have before they attack?”
I pausing, trying to remember what my father had said. The memories were hazy and scrambled. “I can remember Alpha Jason boasting all the packs he would conquer night after night. But one night stood out in particular. I was sitting in his desk chair, while he paced the dimly lit room. It must have been late since he was dressed in a dress shirt and jeans, instead of his usual suit and tie. I remember he was distraught, but I can’t remember why.” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to focus my thoughts on that one night. “He kept muttering something about how your pack wasn’t meant to form again and how she had promised it wouldn’t.”
“Who?” Gamma Quinn’s voice echoed throughout the small space.
I shook my head, “I don’t know, he never said. But he was so upset so it must have been someone he trusted.” I opened my eyes, my thoughts linking together. Trust; the word piecing together the rest of the puzzle in my mind’s eyes. “He said he couldn’t trust her judgment anymore, he was going to act on his own. He’s going to attack on the full moon on the winter solstice.”
She leaned forward, her bored expression cracking to let fear leak through her eyes. “That’s…” she trailed off, ripping the small flip calendar off her desk and running her finger along the page without blinking. “N-No. That’s in thirteen days. We can’t- no won’t be ready.” She stuttered, her now wild eyes snapping up to my face. “How do you know this?” Gamma Quinn demanded, her pupils swallowing her eyes up into a sea of black. “Why should the Alpha trust you?”
I gritted my teeth at her stubborn nature. I figured when you told someone their pack was about to become dog-food they would be a little more cooperative. “Because Alpha Jason of the Autumn Lakota Clan is my father.” I growled, knowing my eyes would flash colour as my voice boomed against the four walls.
Gamma Quinn had the intelligence to look scared. The fear in her eyes soon disappearing to turn into a look of anger, as her features twisted into a blank mask. “Son of an enemy pack.” She whispered, her words sounding robotic.
“What?” I snapped, “Are you kidding me?”
“Ghost!” She yelled, she bolted from her chair, her eyes never once leaving mine.
The large wooden door swung open, nearly knocking me sideways as the airwave it caused brushed past my arm. It slammed against the back wall with a resounding crack. The shifter, Ghost, stood over me and snarled, his height seemed to double now. His whole body language screamed defensive and that I was the target. He reached forward and grabbed my arms, before twisting them behind my back.
I tore my gaze away from Ghost to Gamma Quinn, “I just helped you!” My own anger leaking into my tone, as I tried to rip out of Ghost’s grasp, “Why the fuck would I have told you all that if I was a spy?”
The black haired she-wolf ignored me completely and only looked at Ghost. “Take him to the holding cell until the Alpha returns, then he can deal with this.” Her voice was stern and her gaze was as cold as ice.
Ghost tightened his hold on me and bowed his head. He left the Gamma’s office with me in tow. My mouth was agape with what was happening. I try to help them and they treat me was a traitor. I was being dragged to the dungeons like some criminal, to be shoved away into a cage like an animal. A growl rumbled in the back of my throat as we continued down the hallway.
“This is the last fucking time I try to be a good person.”
- - - -
Unedited & A Short Chapter:
While Harper and Dakota are off dealing with their own family drama, Chris isn't doing much better, eh? I'm a bit of a mean author, I'll admit it ;) But that makes this fun! Anyways, I will edit this when I get home from work tonight, hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!!
Also do you like the new cover, or should I go back to my old one?
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