3

***

     I’d taken one last look at myself in the mirror and exited the bathroom. Today’s party is going to determine the future of my pack. I sighed, at least what is left of it anyway. When I joined the others downstairs, Kent did a head count, and when everyone was accounted for he said. 

"Remember guys, Dark Woods Alpha has a reputation for being ruthless, both to his enemies and pack, but we're here because He is the only one that invited us, we don't have choices so we need to make this work. Good?" 

The others nod but I'm not paying much attention. 

I have no business with Alphas. I avoid them as if my life depended on it. We step out soon afterward leaving the lodge we were staying, I think Kent already did some looking around because he seemed to know where he was going as he led us past several buildings. It was nighttime, seven or eight o’clock. We weren’t given a time so I don’t think we were late. Hopefully, we just had to mingle for a bit, meet a few of the Dark words park members, and call it a night.

    We walk in silence, no one saying anything, they are probably too nervous to say anything. I share their feelings, some were probably thinking this was too good an opportunity and wanted to be on their best behavior, and others were probably looking at everything with a suspicious eye. Our pack was destroyed and all of a sudden another Alpha invites us to join his pack. Okay, it wasn't that sudden, it's been months, months of living in caves and camping tents, months of barely surviving. But still, feels too good to be true.

   As we round a corner, I begin to see lights and people handing around, the closer we got I realized the lights I could see was coming from a huge two-story lodge. When we get closer to the entrance Kent walks up first and talks to a huge male standing by the door, they exchanged a few words. A moment later, Kent waves his hands at us, signaling the okay for us to proceed forward.

   We enter the house in twos Lily and I are just behind two other girls and then the last two guys come up at the rear. The music gets louder the further we proceed, smooth polished wooden floors making muffled thud sounds beneath my heels. We pass by a few people standing in groups who give us strange looks. But they quickly carried on with what they were doing.

“Finally, you’re here. I was beginning to think I’d have to go hunt you guys down” a young male says coming over to us. I suddenly recognise him as one of the wolves who found and invited us over.

“Yeah,” Kent replies, the rest of us just stand quietly behind him.

“You guys are late, we already finished the summer full moon ceremony, the other Alphas have already left to return back to their territories,” the male says.

“Oh shit, no disrespect man, we didn’t know,” Kent says quickly

“It's cool, as long as you guys are here, that’s what matters, the idea is for you guys to mingle with the pack so no harm done,” he says, I can see Kent visibly relax even from all the way over here.

“Thanks, man”

“Grab a drink, have fun kids, welcome home,” he says with a laugh slipping a hand out of his jeans pocket and patting Kent on the back before swaggering off.

I'm not the only one who looks a little surprised at that, he seems quite nice for a ruthless enforcer. 

Kent turns to the group “Okay guys, you heard what the man said”

    Some nodded, and others were already looking at the different activities going on in the room. There was a pool game going on at one end of the room, and on the other side was a drinking game, several young people were scattered around the room sitting on couches, standing, talking, and laughing. 

   And I get why there were staring, we never had parties like this in our pack. It looks more like one of those college house parties we often snuck off to.

    The one time our pack hosted the summer full moon festival a few years ago, granted I was only a kid then but I don’t remember it being this social.

Is their Alpha aware that they turned the main pack house into a fraternity party? 

My guess? 

NO.

“Wow” I whispered under my breath.

Suddenly a thought struck me. The summer full moon ball always fell during late August.

“Do you know what today's date is?” I ask Lily she steers me into the room, turning around, she passes me a red solo cup.

   Lily makes a thoughtful face, and I know she is considering what I’ve just asked her, I take the time to bring the cup to my nose sniffing it. A sweet fruity smell tells me it is some kind of fruit punch. When I don’t smell any acidy or metallic bitter smell that might be associated with poison, my nose, and instinct telling me that it was safe to drink I take a small sip. A cool sweet taste blossoms on my tongue.

“Er. . . Twenty-eight I think. Why” she asked then takes a sip from her own cup.

I don’t say anything, just give her a moment to figure it out,

“Oh shit, it’s your birthday!” she exclaims

Smiling a little. I nod

“I can’t believe I forgot, I can’t believe we all forgot,” she said biting her bottom lip “My birthday was two months ago, and we just forgot” a solemn look on her face.

 “Yeah, we’ve had one hell of a year,” I say with a small shrug

She pulls me into her arms. “Happy birthday A” she says into my hair.

I hug her as tight as I can. When we pull away like me, she’s blinking back tears.

“Hopefully, this year, we’ll have new things to smile about.” She says after a quiet moment.

I don’t know about that, but I nod my head.

      We both stand at a corner watching people laughing and drinking, in pairs or in groups, some playing games or just discussing. For the first time in a long time, I feel something that doesn’t despair and grief. I notice that the Dark woods are dressed down, most of them wearing jeans and tops, and even the females are dressed in similar attires. Unlike us, who are decked out in our best available attires. The Alina from a year ago would have preferred to be overdressed than underdressed. Now? I just wished we hadn’t, it makes us easily noticeable.

“A hottie at four o clock” Lilly suddenly whispers under her breath, elbowing me in the ribs. Resisting the urge to wince and rub my side, I look to my left only to get elbowed again. “Don’t look now, he’s watching!”

“Then why’d you tell me to look,” I say between clenched teeth.

“Because I don’t want him to know we’re looking at him duh, oh shit, I think he’s coming over here,” Lily says in a panicked voice.

Tipping my head down so my hair shields my face, I look in the direction through my peripheral, and I do see a man coming towards us like a man on a mission, he easily walks around and between the crowd until he’s almost to us.

“What should we do?” Lily asked

“We? What do you mean we?” I whispered back, still managing to keep the panic from my face and voice. At least I hope I am.

Before she has the chance to reply the male is right in front of us.

“Hello” he greets both of us but his attention is clearly on my friend.

“Hello” I hear Lilly say in a soft voice.

“You ladies must be part of those new to the pack” she must have affirmed somehow because he says “Great, welcome to the pack. I’m Tate. Dark woods Beta” he sticks his hand out to my friend. 

She grabs his hand in hers “Lily” she says in a dreamy voice. Concerned, I shot her a look wondering why she sounded like she’s lost her breath somehow.

Pointing her index finger at me “This is my friend, Alina”

   It takes him considerable time before he tears his eye from my friend, not that I can blame him, she looks beautiful in a dark pink dress, her glossy dark brown hair in sort waves around her heart-shaped face and large brown eyes, My friend is stunning.

“Hello,” he says to me.

I nod my head and lifted my right hand in a little wave.

  Tate has the build of a powerful male wolf in his prime, he looks to be in his late twenties. Dark blond hair cut short at the sides and longer at the top. Light blue eyes, he is a handsome man, and it is obvious that both he and my friend are taken with each other so when he asked if he could borrow her for a time, I waved them away, Lily had wanted to stay with me, insisting that I didn’t know anyone but I told her I’d be fine.

“I need another drink anyway, you guys go on ahead,” I tell her when she insists for the third time. She looks at me a moment then nods.

   I move to the other side of the room, walking slowly so I don’t get there in time because then I’d have to think of something else to do, perhaps I’d stop by a group and they’ll ask me to join them and maybe someone might ask me a question about myself and who knows? The start of a friendship will blossom. Lily encouraged me to mingle, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. As I walk, I see other members of my pack hanging around, some of them have even joined games with several Dark Woods members.

   I notice that this side of the room is not too crowded. Taking a sip from my cup, I roll the liquid in my mouth, pausing before I swallow, when I catch a hit of something. I’m not quite sure what it is.

    Narrowing my eyes, I scan the room, once, twice. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, except counting out the fact that a bunch of middle age wolves turned their main pack house into a party venue. Tilting my head to the side, I try to listen with my other sense but with the loud music and various laughter going off here and there, it would be impossible to make out anything from the noise.

   Shaking my head, “it’s probably nothing” I say out loud but no one heard me because no one is paying me any attention. Inhaling for calm, I take a deep breath which got stuck in my lungs.

What…?

I inhaled again, deeper this time.

   Wow. 

Something smells heavenly. A scent, I can’t describe. I sniff again like a dog. But I suddenly feel overwhelmed, my senses covered with that scent. It's that feeling you get when you’re so hungry you start smelling your favorite meal steaming and just fresh out of the oven. Because you just need it, But this time it isn't food I'm smelling. 

pine, woods... I inhale deeply trying to catch it.

   I look around, trying to trace the scent, suddenly wishing I was a better tracker, directly in my line of sight, a man moves a little to the side and then I see him. Not the one who moved to the side, the one who is suddenly reviled.