Chapter 3

Alpha Dalton’s POV

My whole body aches as I sit up in bed. I heard Nicklaus come through the mind link, “Dalton, there is an issue over near the lake. We need you ASAP.” He sounded worried which was not super unusual the case for my beta. Nick was a beast and that’s why I had chosen him to be my right hand man, but he stressed hisself out way too much. We had been through many battles and seen the world together. I trusted his instincts more than anyone. If he was worried then something was definitely up. I scrubbed a hand over my face and pulled the blanket off of me. “I’ll be there in a few. Is it extremely urgent?” I walked over to the bathroom and flipped on the light. I stared at myself in the large mirror and hissed. I really needed to quit drinking and start sleeping more. Being an Alpha is hard work, but being the Alpha of the biggest pack in the world is harder, Rosewood Pack. We may sound dainty, but we were known for our harshness. Nick came through again, “Yes, Alpha. There’s a damn body on the other side of the lake ripped to shreds and covered in law enforcement. I’d say it’s pretty urgent.” Son of a bitch. I sighed,“Alright, Alright. I’m on my way. Are You at the south part of the border near Green cove?” I threw some water on my face then lathered in some soap. “Yeah. Also, I’m shifted so they don’t see me. I think you should do the same.” I washed off the soap and headed back into my room. I threw on a pair of clean sweatpants. “On my way.” I shut off the mind link and headed down stairs and to the front door. When I opened the giant cedar door I looked down and noticed a Mason Jar covered in blood with a tag. I knelt down and grabbed the tag and read it.

GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR TOWN.

I grabbed the jar and held it up to the light. Looking back at me were two eyes and by the color I could tell it was someone from my pack. When becoming part of my pack or if you were born into it your eyes at the age of 16 would change to amber. Those amber eyes looking back at me in that jar made me sick to my stomach. I growled as I sat the jar just inside the door and jumped off the porch and shifted. My big black paws tearing up the dirt as I made my way to Green cove. Rage flooded me. This isn’t the first time one of my pack members had been murdered as a threat to me. I know it’s the humans. We track them constantly. They are our biggest threat. When my ancestors migrated to these woods in the 1800s we shut ourselves off from the outside world and it was easy to do so for some time, but with modern technology, that all changed. My family had traded the land for safety with a tribe of Natives and they stayed with us. We learned from them and we protected them and they did the same for us. We learned that the outside world is wicked, especially here in the new world. My ancestors made a home here and vowed to never let the evil of the outside step foot into our sacred grounds. That was until my father became Alpha. The man was just a corrupt as the humans. He sold our people and forced us to interact with the most corrupt creatures around, Politicians. They were worse than fucking vampires and that’s saying something. My father ended up leaving our pack high and dry and my mother took over until I turned 18. I assumed the role as Alpha and promised my pack that I would undo all of my fathers screw ups. I would make sure Rosewood would flourish and for the past 10 years it had. We had absorbed other packs either by means of necessary war or because they wanted the safety that Rosewood and an Alpha such as myself could provide. Here lately though, some of my fathers demons have come back to haunt me. I wouldn’t allow it though and that made lots of important humans around us mad. So the threats started coming and my actions started to become more ruthless. I no longer had dealings with the human town council and I think they want me to break just as my father did. They were in for a rude awakening because I’d rip out every one of their hearts before I drug my pack down to my father’s old ways.