lenora
The wind whips through my fur as I lope back to the pack house. I shift and grab my phone off the tree where I'd left it. As I walked toward the pack house, I checked over the messages I'd received from pack members while I was out.
As I shrug a fresh pair of clothes, the back door reels open.
"Alpha," Denver calls out to me. "There's someone on the phone for you."
I nod and slip on the shorts and tee I'd left on the porch before I left. "Who is it?"
"Alpha Shores," he replied. "He says there's a development scheme threatening their borderlands."
Sighing, I pad into the house behind him. My cell phone is on the counter, blinking in wait. I place it against my ear and go to the sink to wash my hands.
"Shores, what a pleasure," I say dryly.
"Good morning, Alpha Dunn. I apologize for bothering you, but I'm afraid there's an urgent pack matter at hand."
"I understand humans are trying to build on your pack lands?" Wiping my clean hands on a towel, I move to the fridge and pull out the carton of eggs.
"Yes. Eminent domain will be in effect and there's nothing we can do to stop that. Not legally, at least."
"What are you suggesting?"
He grunts in displeasure. "You know what I am suggesting. One of your members is the City Planner. Have them step in and interfere."
"You could just as easily contaminate soil samples or something."
"Lenora, please—"
"Alpha Dunn to you," I hiss. The egg in my hand cracks and its yolk pools down my arm. I shake it off in the sink. "And anyway, it seems to me that your pack has been calling in quite a number of favors lately. First, it was that rogue bull incident that nearly killed one of my wolves. Then it was that damned search for your missing nephew. We wasted manpower for a child that wasn't even missing—if I must remind you. And now, you want one of my wolves to meddle with human business?"
"It is pack business, Alpha," he says gruffly. "You know as well as I do that if they get away with this on my land, they'll soon come after yours too."
Of course, I know this. Unlike him, I have the authority to prevent such a thing from taking place.
"I will speak to Candace about it," I tell him. "Only for the sake of pack alliance. If your pack is chased out, we are all the weaker for it."
"I'm glad we agree. Please let me know when you have a solution."
Grinding my teeth, I hang up and mutter, "Annoying prick."
Denver steps into the kitchen again, his familiar scent a comfort. "What'd he want?"
"A favor. As usual. Can you call Candace in?"
"Sure thing." He lingers for a moment with an uncertain breath. "Alpha?"
Smiling at his formality, I crack two eggs into the pan. "Beta?"
"I think there might be a rogue in our territory. I've been smelling him here and there. Always by roadways and closer to town. I wasn't sure, so I was waiting to tell you until I was certain."
I turn away from the skillet to look at him. "A rogue? Are you sure?"
When I took over this pack a few years ago, I made sure all rogues within the immediate vicinity were gone. The previous Alpha lost his position to me for many reasons, but his cowardice in handling rogues that violated pack boundaries was certainly one.
Many rogues have just given up the pack community while others stop shifting altogether. Regardless of which path they choose, they are almost always are meddlesome.
We are not meant to live fully as one form or another. Isolation drives us insane. It's only a matter of time before rogues hurt themselves or other people.
That's why I don't fuck around with rogues. Nothing is more important than my pack's safety.
"The scent was faint but undeniable," he says. "I have my doubts that a pack wolf would just be roaming around."
"Perhaps Alpha Shores was snooping," I retort with a smile.
Denver's solemn silence makes me sigh.
"Okay. I'll scout it out in a little bit. After I speak with Candace and take the pups hunting."
He nods and leaves the room.
As I wash the raw egg grime from my hands, I feel an old heaviness settle over my chest. It has been a year since my last encounter with a rogue.
Arabella's face pops into my mind. Her wild eyes and hourglass figure. Shaking my head, I roll my eyes.
The last thing I want to do is relive my experience with her. She taught me better than anything that a wolf who won't commit to a pack is to never be trusted.
Another familiar scent assails my nostrils. I turn and smile at Candace. She's an older wolf in the pack who was close to the former Alpha. Like the others, she came to terms with the change in leadership and she now helps me when we have any humans threatening to encroach on pack territory.
Even though 500 acres of our territory are deeded in my name, we still have some 200 or so that belong to the city and county as raw land. We undermine developments every year to keep the land natural and accessible for us.
"Did Denver give you any context?" I ask her.
"Nope." She chuckles. "Should I sit?"
"Let's," I say.
We sit across from each other at the long dining table and I start to cut up the eggs to eat.
"So," I begin, "did you hear about the development near the border? Alpha Shores called about it. He's concerned. Should I be?" I stuff a bite into my mouth and study Candace's face.
"I heard something was in the works, but I don't have any details," she says.
"Could you pry? As much as Shores gets on my nerves, I would like to keep our friendly alliance."
"Of course. I'll see what's going on tomorrow when I go in. I'm assuming I need to see if soil samples have been taken yet?"
"I'm so glad you didn't make me ask." I wink.
She chuckles. "I've been doing this long enough now to know."
"That's very true. Well, thank you, Candace. You're free to go."
"No problem. Do you need a proper meal, Alpha? A couple of eggs are hardly going to fill you up."
"I'm okay, but thanks. I have too many things to do today for a proper meal."
Candace stands up and smoothes out her sleeved dress. "Don't forget to take care of yourself, Alpha. You'll have a mate soon to do it but until then . . ." She squeezes my shoulder before walking out.
I inhale the rest of the eggs and try unsuccessfully to not think about her words. Most wolves find their mates as adolescents or young adults.
I'll be thirty in a few years and I can't imagine anything changing. My iron heart pangs at the thought of being alone. Forever.
Then again, I've accomplished a lot on my own. Maybe a mate would just slow me down.
Fuck, here I am, thinking about all the things I shouldn't. I need to focus on investigating the rogue situation Denver mentioned.
Rising from the table, I wash my plate and place it on the drying rack. I head towards the staircase but stop when I hear a child's voice coming from the library. My feet carry me over to the room dedicated to learning and educating our young wolves.
Three pups sit in a circle with Desiree, one of the teens in the pack. She helps our pack teacher with the kids sometimes. They all look up when I lean into the door threshold.
"Hi, Alpha," Desiree says with a timid smile.
"Hello." I smile at them and cross my arms over my chest. "What are we learning about today?"
"Rocks!" yells Daisy.
"Rocks?" I raise a brow. "What about rocks?"
They're all quiet, suddenly shy. Desiree clears her throat. "Tate, why don't you tell Alpha what we were just talking about?"
Tate gulps and looks up at me. "Um, well, we are learning how rocks are made and how we can use them while hunting and tracking as landmarks."
My lips curl up. "That's very important. Is Desiree a good teacher? She seems like it to me."
The kids all nod vigorously and the teen chuckles, embarrassed.
"Alright. I'll let you get back to learning now," I say and turn away.
I go to my bedroom on the top floor and hop in the shower. After a quick scrub, I towel off my body and comb out my hair.
I throw on a plain white t-shirt and black jeans, and grab my black leather jacket from its hook by the bedroom door. Shrugging it on, I take one last glance at my reflection in the mirror.
My face is stoic with a stern edge to it. I've had to learn how to assert myself and present myself in a way that commands respect.
That can be challenging hard for any young Alpha, but especially a female. We're taken less seriously as males are usually physically bigger, faster, and stronger than we are. I've worked my ass off to be not just as good as the male Alphas, but better.
The need to control my environment has always dominated me, ever since my parents abandoned me at a young age. I've always believed I needed to prove that I was alright, that I could do life on my own, that I didn't need anybody.
After hitting some very low lows, I realized that I did need a pack—I just needed to be in control to enjoy pack life. I could never tolerate second best.
As I step out of my bedroom, Denver emerges from his room further down the hallway.
"Alpha," he greets with a respectful nod. "Landon called and said he smelled the rogue in town and tracked him from a diner to a house on the outskirts. He's in the company of humans."
"Sounds like fun." I start down the stairs and he follows.
"Would you like assistance?" he says.
"I think I'll manage," I tell him. "I want you to go do some yoga and relax for a bit. I can practically smell how tense you are."
We reach ground level and I turn to face him. His face is drawn together pensively.
"Take a deep breath," I told him. "I won't gobble up the little humans. Besides, I haven't been to town in a few weeks. I have to remind them of my disdain for their kind."
Chuckling, he shakes his head. "Well, call if something comes up."
I salute him teasingly and turn to the front door. Once I've laced up my leather boots, I walk outside to where my Wrangler waits for me in its spot under the carport.
I hop up into the front seat and crank the ignition, reveling in the way she roars to life. Once I've turned the FM to the local rock station, I pull out of the carport and head down the gravel driveway.
We wolves like our privacy, particularly from other packs and humans, so the driveway to the pack house is almost two miles long. It does a pretty good job of keeping curious wanderers away.
My hair is wind-whipped by the time I reach the highway that leads to town. I receive a text from Landon once I have cell service.
LANDON: Alpha, here is the address I tracked the rogue to. Denver said you needed it
I know every street in the small town of Lemley so it doesn't surprise me that the house is on the edge of town. I'm curious what the little rogue is up to.
If he thinks he's safe in the company of humans, he has another thing coming. He has to know he's on pack territory. Landon and Denver have both been close enough to catch his scent so I know he smelled them too.
I reach the house in fifteen minutes. It's an old single-story white farmhouse that sits across the road from a sheep farm. There are five vehicles parked in the washed out driveway, so I park behind them and sit for a moment.
I sniff at the air blowing through the windows. Many scents fill my nose. The usual buttery smell of humans hangs most heavily in the air, but I can just barely make out the acidic stench of a rogue and something else—something I've never smelled before on a person.
Then, the aroma of peaches tickles at my nose. My mouth waters at the delicious scent.
The fuck?
My phone dings as I climb out of the Jeep.
DENVER: everything ok? maybe you should have backup b4 going in
An amused smile graces my lips. If I can't target a rogue and deal with a group of humans on my own, I don't deserve to be Alpha.
I send him a smirk emoji and tuck my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. Just in case, I slip my switchblade into the other pocket. My leather soles crunch against the loose gravel of the driveway as I head for the house.