4. Deaths and death wishes

Finn

Frankly, I was pissed off after that training session. The only wolf who had really impressed me was that smart-ass little golden-eyed she-wolf. She was the quickest wolf I’d ever seen, and she improvised well. Her mouth-watering vanilla and roses scent was all over the training field and it had made it annoyingly difficult for me to focus. I couldn’t help myself when I had gone to talk to her. Her snappy replies had defintely caught me off guard. She was a challenging little thing… and I felt like I might be intrigued by a little challenge.

I showered and went to go chat with my beta Caleb about what he thought about the warriors. I caught up to him outside the arena talking up some little she-wolves. As I walked closer, they sensed my aura and turned.

Caleb rolled his eyes knowing what was coming. “Hi Alpha Finn, you looked great today! You guys were the strongest wolves out there!” one of the girls cooed. “Leave.” I snapped without looking down. Caleb shook his head and the girls backed away submissively.

“You know,” he started after they were out of earshot “your mate probably came, and you told her to ‘leave’ without even realizing. Do you even have a heart? No scratch that…do you even have a dick? Because I do, and I’d like to use it today thanks…” I glared at him as he smirked at his own joke.

“Can you act professional for one second? You use that dick so much it’s going to fall off before you even meet your mate.”

“I just don’t believe in depriving these sweet she-wolves of my lovin! It would be cruel to the rest of the world if I saved myself for just one woman.” He feigned a sense of sacrifice. I rolled my eyes and changed the topic.

“Did you catch that little golden-haired thing in the area today?” I asked nonchalantly.

“You mean the one you couldn’t stop staring at? Ya, she was fast. Crazy fast. Their male wolves here are good, but the she-wolf warriors here are some of the best I’ve seen in a long time. I’d very much like to see more of them.” He winked.

“I wasn’t fucking staring at her” I growled. “She was just good, that’s all. Fast or whatever.”

“Okay alpha, whatever you say. But next time you could bring binoculars and it would be less obvious.”

I let out a threatening growl. Caleb was a fantastic beta, but he could really piss me off sometimes.

“Look you can just say she’s a babe! Don’t be so modest! I’d tap that for suuuuure if she wasn’t Alpha Jacks daughter.”

“Back the fuck off, Caleb” I snarled. He looked taken aback by the sudden intensity.

“Woah, sorry alpha. I was just joking around.” We walked in silence, and I couldn’t keep my thoughts from straying to her sweet scent, her curvy and athletic body, her feisty attitude that I so badly wanted to tame. Ugh I was going to regret asking the next question, but I couldn’t fucking help myself.

“What’s her name?” Caleb’s shit-eating grin split open wide, and he stifled a laugh knowing not to piss me off further.

“It’s Everest.”

The rest of the day floated away with work and discussions about the treaty. Later in the afternoon Caleb and I were sitting in the lounge discussing the next day’s training when Alpha Jack came in. I respected Alpha Jack. He was a straight to the point kind of man. He was strict but fair and he led his pack very well.

“Alpha Finn… Beta Caleb. I just got off the phone with my Beta Henry. Apparently, they’ve found a body just outside the pack border. I’m headed out there now to check it out, and I’d like it if you could come along too. Out here we would assume it’s a rogue, but they’re telling me the attacker hasn’t left a scent behind. Any thoughts?” Caleb glanced sideways at me with a frown. I frowned myself.

“Actually, yes. We’ve been experiencing the same thing, but we assumed it was also just rogues masking their scent somehow. The victims have their hearts ripped out. Classic rogue bullshit. We doubled our border security before we left to keep the pack safe. But if the same thing is happening here too…makes me think that isn’t a coincidence…and maybe not a rogue then.” Alpha Jack looked concerned.

“Definitely not a coincidence…You boys good to come take a look? See if anything is familiar to what you’ve been experiencing?”

“Course, Alpha. Happy to help.”

“Alright let’s head out right away then.”

We took off towards the pack border and shifted once we got to the trees. Our senses were heightened in our wolf forms making it easier not to miss any potential clues. Alpha Jack led us to the site which, to my surprise, was next to the waterfall pool I had met Everest at the night before. I frowned thinking how close she might have unknowingly come to this fate.

We patrolled the area ensuring it was safe but didn’t pick up on any fresh scents or prints. Whoever had been here had left no trace behind except that of the mutilated girl.

I shifted back and walked over to get a better look at the body. It was a young female omega.

“Her name was Heather. She worked in the packhouse. She wasn’t mated yet. She was barely 18 years old” Alpha Jack growled. I understood the rage he must be feeling. As alpha it’s your duty to protect your pack, no matter the rank or status of the wolf. Losing one always cuts deep. “It makes no sense…I didn’t feel her pack link sever.” Alpha jack frowned.

“I didn’t feel the ties breaking in mine either.” I told him. I frowned. A quick death like a heart being ripped out should trigger the pack link to sever and the alphas always feel it. We were definitely missing something here.

“I would advise that you double your border security as we did alpha. No one patrols alone and only use your best on the outer borders. And make sure no one sneaks past the boundary.”

Alpha Jack nodded with serious eyes. “Exactly what I was going to do Finn. If we do have a rogue on our hands, we will find them” he promised threateningly.

They took the body back to the morgue for the autopsy to be completed but it would take a few days to get any results back. Alpha Jack had doubled his security as I said, but he hadn’t wanted to announce anything publicly.

“I don’t want to create any unnecessary panic. It was outside the border technically so I would rather just enforce the boundary rather than panic the pack members.”

While I understood his decision, I guessed there was one little wolf who would be attempting to escape the boundary regardless...and who might just be quick enough to do it.

I had warned her earlier that I had better not catch her alone in the woods again, but her attitude was reckless—annoyingly reckless. The kind of defiance that should’ve made me furious. And yet, I found myself wondering how far she’d push me before I snapped. Anticipation curled in my stomach at the thought of seeing her again.  

Everest

         Kali and I had spent the afternoon choosing out dresses for the ceremony and my birthday party that was the day after. After deciding we needed some shoes too, we took our purchases back to the pack house and went to put our things away in our rooms. I hung up the gowns and decided I felt like I needed to blow off some steam.

“I’m just going to lie down for a little nap, Kali. I’ll see you in a couple of hours…” I called to her.

“Nighty night” she called from down the hall. It was kind of cool getting to live in the same house as your best friend, even if she was on the opposite end.

I pulled on a sports bra and a pair of short spandex shorts, grabbed my runners and tip toed down the hall. I had mastered sneaking out of this place because no one, not even Kali, knew that I would run off the pack lands every few days. I smirked quietly to myself, proud of my sneakiness. The weather outside was hot and humid so it was absolutely the perfect day to go for a dip at the waterfall. It was a long way, but always worth it.

I ran out the back door and laced up my running shoes. I took off through the gardens towards the back end of the pack house grounds. It was my favourite little shortcut to the waterfall. The gardens were always so well kept and at this time of year they smelled heavenly.

Through the roses, around the pond and out behind the oak trees you were in the woods, and it was just another 25-minute run, if you were on four legs, to the edge of the border. I was doing it on two legs today so it would be a fair bit longer. Just as I reached the edge of gardens by the oak trees I was blasted by the scent of sandalwood, whiskey, and cedar. I stopped dead in my tracks. What was alpha Finn doing out here?

Finn strolled up towards me and leaned against one of the oak trees. His blue eyes smouldered, and I just couldn’t help but notice that he was shirtless. I was right about the rippling 8 pack of abs, that’s for sure. He had a full sleeve of tattoos on one arm wrapping all the way around his pec. His broad shoulders and muscular chest were glistening from the heat and his grey sweats hung low on his hips. His treasure trail was…

My eyes snapped back up to his face realizing I had been about to undress him with my eyes. If he noticed, the only thing that gave him away was his eyes darkening slightly. I bit my lip and flushed hoping I hadn’t been as obvious as I felt.

“Well? Are you going to tell me what you’re doing here, or did you want me to guess?” Sure, poking the murderous alpha might not have been my brightest move, but hey, when someone walks in looking like a thunderstorm wrapped in abs, what’s a girl supposed to do? Stay quiet? Not my style.

A low growl radiated from his chest and his eyes flashed the icy blue of his wolf. “Watch your tongue, little wolf. Remember who you’re speaking to.” He stepped towards me, his aura nearly knocking the wind out of me. It was crazy strong, but I wasn't going to submit to him.

Feeling grateful for my alpha blood I smirked, “So sorry Alpha Finn. My sincerest apologies. Please allow me to rephrase my ever so rude question so that it may not disturb the stick one has up one’s ass.” And that’s how I should have died.

Finn’s jaw twitched and he ran his hands through his hair as he walked towards me. He stopped when he was just a few inches from me and grabbed my chin roughly.

“You’ve clearly never been submitted before.” He snarled in his deep husky voice. “Give me that attitude one more time and you’re going to find out what it’s like.” His gaze lingered on my lips and trailed down to my chest. His eyes flashed ice blue and his canines elongated as he bent down towards my neck and inhaled deeply. I froze panicking that he was about to tear my throat out. His woodsy scent engulfing me would be the last thing I remembered. “If anyone else spoke to me that way I’d have separated their head from their body…do not mistake my self-control for anything other than respect for your father.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath waiting for him to release my chin. “Open your eyes.” I felt his alpha command roll over me, and although I didn’t have the compulsion to obey, I did anyways. I looked directly into his fiery blue orbs and my heart thrummed in my chest. “Do you understand, Everest?”

“Umm yes. I’m…” I couldn’t get any more words out because he was staring so intensely into my eyes, I think he could see into my skull.

“Good girl.” He growled. He gently released my chin but remained looking at me intently. “Now, to answer your question…I don’t care if you think the rules apply to you or not, but you are not to leave the boundary again. Do you understand?”

“Umm.” I decided to choose my words more carefully this time so my head would remain attached to my body. “I appreciate your concern, but I do it all the time. I’m also not some defenceless little girl…I’m a warrior and a strong one at that. So, with all due respect…” I went to move around him, but his enormous arm snapped out and grabbed my bare waist. I gasped at the feeling of his touch and looked up into his fire and ice eyes. He shook his head.

“Enough! There was an attack today at your waterfall and until the culprit is caught you will remain in the pack boundary. I’m going to ask you one more time and then I will put you on your back. Do you understand?” He spoke the last sentence with a quiet ferocity that made a chill run up my spine. The feeling of his hand on my waist was making my core throb. His smell and the tingles racing between our skin made my head foggy. Was he being a ass? Definitely. Did I kind of like it? Hell yeah.

“Okay…” I whispered breathlessly. We stood there for a moment before I broke eye contact. His eyes remained on me, and I saw them darken again as he leaned down to my ear and said huskily “I was almost hoping you’d say no.”

I flushed at his comment as he released me from his grip and walked away. I shook my head as I watched his retreat towards the woods, and I turned back towards the packhouse. A few things were certain: Finn was crazy hot, and I had no idea what to do about it...and I apparently had some death wish to have my head removed from my body. I wanted to talk to Kali or Cas about it, but I wasn’t sure what to even tell them. “I sassed him, and he almost killed me but didn’t. Also, you should see his abs – wow.” Maybe better to just keep it to myself...