Because it's Christmas, I wanted to do a little something special for you all. So I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter as a present from me!
But damn! That last chapter though. What did you guys think??
Anywhore. Let's get with the new chapter!
(Janus ( Pronounced: Jay-nus) up top)
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Ares
We have finally arrived at the North Forest Pack which took us a day to get here.
My wolf growled lowly as we looked around.
'What's wrong?' I asked Zeus.
'I don't know. I just get a bad feeling about this place.' He replied.
I turned to look at Apollo and Janus. "Do you guys get a bad vibe?"
Apollo nodded and he stiffly looked around the buildings. "Kind of. My wolf is a little uneasy."
"Mine is too." Janus chimed in.
I heard footsteps and turned to see a younger man walking towards us. I could tell he is the alpha, which means that must be Alpha Rick. But he has this cocky aurora coming off of him in waves.
'I haven't even met him yet and I already don't like him.' Apollo stated as the young alpha walked closer.
'I agree.' Zeus muttered.
"Alpha King Ares." He bowed. "It's an honor to have you here."
"It's nice to be here Alpha Rick." I lied smoothly. I'd actually rather not be here.
He stood up straight and looked at me with confusion written all over his face. "Y-you know me?"
I gave him a stiff nod as I held my head up high. "It's my job to know."
He coughed nervously. "Right."
"What happened to your face?" Apollo asked as he stepped closer.
"Apollo." I groaned.
He only gave me a shrug and turned back to Alpha Rick.
"My apologies royal beta Apollo, some of my pack members and I got into it with a rogue this morning." Alpha Rick explained.
"We know how that can be." Janus chuckled.
I looked to my right and saw a short brunette haired girl make her way over to us.
"Hi there. It's an honor to meet all of you." She smiled.
Why is everyone so tense?
"This is my Luna, Megan." He smiled as he wrapped his arm around the girl.
I nodded in acknowledgment. "Nice to meet you, Luna. I'm glad that you found your mate."
Alpha Rick tensed for a moment before calming down. "Me too."
Weird.
"I would love to show you guys around." Megan smiled.
Alpha Rick was quick to speak up. "I'm sure they don't want to be bothered."
"It's no bother at all." I replied as I stared at him.
He gulped and looked away from me.
'What is his deal?' I asked myself.
'I don't know but this little pup is pissing me off.' Zeus growled.
'That makes two of us.'
The tour was very boring and was pretty short. He showed us all the buildings including the pack hall and all of the houses that the members live in. It seemed like he wanted us out of there. So right now we have already arrived back at his pack house.
"And this is the last part of the tour. The pack house." Alpha Rick said as he opened the door.
As I looked around, I noticed it doesn't feel too homey. There are a couple of pictures on the wall and some furniture, but the furniture is pretty bland. Doesn't feel very welcoming in here.
'This is their pack house?' Apollo asked through the link.
I turned to look at him and shrugged.
But one door did stand out.
It faced the kitchen and it was a plain dark brown door with a padlock above the doorknob. I wonder if it leads to the upstairs.
"What's that room?" I asked speaking my thoughts out loud.
Alpha Rick looked nervous and he seemed to be trying to come up with an answer.
"That leads upstairs." Megan spoke up quickly. "It's a supply closet."
There is no way that is a supply closet. I'm getting no smell of dirt or dust or anything really. The smell coming from that room is kind of nice. It has a very warm and soothing smell to it. I can't quite explain it, but there's something special about that room. It almost smelled like lavender.
"Why does it have a padlock?"
"We store cleaning supplies in there."
"Then why not just use the lock on the doorknob?" I asked suspiciously. "Why go the extra step and get a padlock bolted onto the door? Seems a little excessive, doesn't it?"
"Because with all the little children running around, some of the moms and I agreed that we couldn't be too careful. So we chose to go with a padlock for the extra protection. We don't want any kids getting poisoned." She smiled.
But it wasn't just a regular smile that was a proud smile. Like she was proud of herself for coming up with that stupid story.
If I didn't know any better, I would have believed her. But being the Alpha King, you tend to run into a lot of liars. You get pretty good at reading people. So with how easily she lied and how she stayed so composed, my guess is that she has lied a lot throughout her life and she is pretty good at it.
I decided to shrug it off at the moment.
After taking one more look around, I decided it was time to go.
"It was really nice of you to show us around." I spoke as we exited the pack house.
"Thank you for taking your time to come visit my pack. You are welcome to come back whenever you like."
"Thank you Alpha Rick."
Ha! Like that's going to happen. No way in hell am I coming back here.
"I agree." Megan said as she looked me up and down. "You can come back whenever you like."
'I'm going to throw up.' Zeus gagged.
'Let's go before I barf.' Apollo said through the link.
'Don't have to tell me twice.' I said in disgust as Megan and I made eye contact.
"Thanks." I replied shortly.
Alpha Rick waved bye to us before he turned around and walked into the pack house with Megan.
"What do you say, should we come back tomorrow and hang out with our new friends?" Janus laughed as we walked to the car.
I glared at him but sadly cracked a smile. "I hate you. I really do."
"I think we should. They seem nice." Apollo said with a straight face.
Janus and I both stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you joking?" Janus asked confused. "Because I honestly can't tell. Your poker face is too good."
"Did you really think I was being serious?" Apollo laughed. "No. Let's get the hell out of here. I don't want to be here any longer."
I was about to get in the car, but I felt a sudden force hit my leg.
I turned around and looked down to see a little boy holding onto my calf.
"A-alpha King! I-I am so sorry." A worried looking lady apologized as she ran up to me.
I smiled as I looked down at the big blue eyes staring back at me.
I picked up the little boy and held him in my arms. "Oh don't worry. It's okay."
"A-are you sure?" She asked. I felt bad for her, she looked mortified.
"Hi!" He smiled.
"Oh, I'm sure." I laughed before looking back at the boy. "Hi there."
Kids bring out my soft side. Aside from that I usually don't show thath to anyone.
"I'm Mason." He said as he gave me a toothy grin.
"I'm Ares." I responded. "It's very nice to meet you, Mason."
'Oh my gosh look at him!' Zeus laughed. 'He's so adorable.'
"You're really big." He mumbled lifting his tiny hand and poking me in the chest.
"Mason!" He mom yelled.
I let out a loud laugh and nodded. "I am, aren't I?"
"Will I get as big as you are one day?"
I nodded. "I'm sure you could. If you train every day and eat correctly."
Mason's eyes grew wide as he broke out in a huge grin. "You think?"
"Yes, I do."
Mason practically jumped out of my arms and ran back to his mother. "Mommy! Did you hear that?"
She laughed as she picked him up. "I did sweetie!"
"I'm going to be as big as Ares when I grow up!" He yelled as she flexed his arms.
She giggled and turned to me. "Thank you, Alpha King."
I nodded my head at her. "You are very welcome."
I smiled as I watched her walk off with Mason.
"And there's that smile." Apollo laughed as he got into the car.
"What smile?" I asked as I closed the door and buckled my seat belt.
"The kid smile."
"Kid smile?"
Janus nodded. "You have this distinct smile every time you cross paths with a child."
"So I like kids. Sue me." I rolled my eyes. "Let's just get back home. This place gives me the creep."
My guard put the car in drive and drove off.
On the way home, I couldn't stop thinking about that locked door. I'm sure it wasn't just a supply closet.
'Did you see how he reacted when you brought it up?' Zeus asked.
'I did. He looked like a wreck when he was put on the spot.' I remembered. 'We need to keep an eye on him.'
'I couldn't agree more.' Zeus replied.
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Well, that was interesting!
Kind of wish I could lie that smoothly lol.
Love you Faithful Shifters!
-Austin