Hunted Derick

Chapter One - Freedom

★ Derick ★

Freedom. I couldn’t believe it; I was finally free. It hadn’t been bad serving time at the council, especially after the renovations and improvements. Yet, knowing I was free, was overwhelming. I didn’t look back as I started my journey. Of course, I had a couple of stops to make before starting my new life, but I wasn’t too worried about much of it. Kaila had helped me in so many ways that I held no hard or bad feelings towards her or the council. In fact, I had even forgiven The Night Drifters Pack for everything, for changing me. I now considered it more as a blessing in disguise.

“Would you like a ride?” I turned to see Kaila sitting in the driver’s seat of a beautiful white SUV. I smirked as I stepped towards her.

“Would I?” I asked her teasingly and she rolled her eyes. Kaila reminded me a lot of Laura; I had even told her that on more than one occasion.

“I am about eighty percent sure you’d like a ride,” she remarked, not missing the ball. I burst out laughing and went around to the passenger side.

“Thanks, K,” I said as I got in and she pulled away from the curb.

“Don’t sweat it, D,” silence filled the car as she drove along, but it wasn’t for long. As I had expected, Kaila broke the silence. “So? Where too?” she questioned.

“I have a storage unit in Sturough,” I replied easily, referring to a city about eight hundred miles away. Kaila raised her eyebrows.

“Sturough hey? Hmm, interesting choice to have a storage unit,”

“Why?” I asked glancing over at her carefully.

“Why didn’t you pick a place closer?” she questioned without taking her eyes off the road.

“No, you don’t understand, it wasn’t like I pointed at the map and said eenie meenie minie moe, that one,” I grinned as I twisted the hem of my white t-shirt listening to her giggle at my joke. “Sturough is my home town,” I admitted softly after a moment.

“Oh,” silence fell between us once again and I had to admit to myself that I no longer felt any awkwardness between us. Kaila is like a sister to me. She knew all my secrets, even the dark ones. “So, Alpha, what is your plan?” she asked me after about zero point five seconds. My head fell back against the headrest and I burst out laughing.

“Ah, come on, K, you know my plan,” I said when I had calmed himself down enough. Kaila threw me an innocent look but shrugged regardless.

“Just remember to keep in touch,” she finally said. I nodded and then turned to look out the window, watching the scenery pass us by. Of course, she knew my plan, she had, after all, helped me with it. She had even helped me to pick out a pack name. The White Howlers. After the renovations of the council grounds, I had worked hard to earn some money. Kaila and her mate had even spread the word of a new pack. I felt grateful to have friends like that. I already knew what was waiting for at the storage unit but that was more of a quick stop. The council had unexpectantly helped me in buying a piece of wooden land in Savana. From what I had seen on the internet, the place looked peaceful and quite breath-taking. The wooded area or forest was called Ashcester and as of two days ago it officially belonged to me. I was extremely grateful and felt blessed and humbled for all the help they had given me, despite my heinous crimes. Dimitry had even promised to send ten wolves to help out. I am, admittedly, excited and I couldn’t wait to start this amazing journey.

★ ★ ★

After a good few hours on the road, Kaila pulled into the parking lot in front of the large building. I got out of the car and stretched my tired body.

“Do you need me to give you a ride somewhere else?” she asked me as she too got out of the car, but I smiled sweetly at her. This was one thing she didn’t know about and it was also the one thing I didn’t want her to know about or anyone else for that matter.

“No, K, I told you, this is my hometown. I’ll head over to a friend’s house,” I offered as an explanation. It wasn’t a lie. I would be heading over to Tom and Josie when I was done here.

“Alright, D, then I guess this is it,” she said sadly, and I quickly went over to her and hugged her.

“Not for long, you’ll be coming out soon to help me set up remember?” I reminded her and she nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, I remember,” she hopped back into her car and with a quick wave, she drove off. I headed inside and stopped at the receptionist's desk.

“Good day, how can I help you?” a young girl said as she looked up at Derick.

“Hi, yes please, I am here to calm the stuff in my unit,” I said and the girl, whose name was Mandy, according to the name badge on the right side of her chest, nodded and handed over a book and pen.

“Alright, please fill this in,” she said, then turned her attention back to her computer. I quickly filled in the document and showed her my license and key. Mandy radioed in for someone to come and help me and after a moment or five and an older man entered the small room.

“Hey there, I’m James,” he greeted me with a firm handshake.

“Hi, I’m Derick,”

“Number?”

“501 B,” I answered. Mandy handed James a clipboard and he nodded and led me outside. After what felt like ages of walking through units upon units, we finally stopped in front of 501 B.

“Do you need any help?” James asked and I shook my head and waited for him to leave. At first, James didn’t understand but then seemed to get the point and left. “Holler if you need anything,” he said before disappearing behind a corner. I unlocked it and pushed the heavy metal door up. The room was dark and empty. Except for a metal box, which sat in a corner. I hurriedly went inside and retrieved the box and using a key I took out of my pocket; I unlocked the box and emptied the contents into my bag. Once I was done, I closed the unit and headed back to the reception area.

“I’ll no longer need the unit,” I informed Mandy. She looked momentarily surprised and glanced at the box in my hand. I lifted it up and placed it on the counter. “Also, I won’t be needing this,” I waved before turning around and leaving the office. Tom and Josie’s house wasn’t too far away and ended up taking only twenty minutes to walk there.

“Derick?” I turned around and spotted Tom walking up the pavement in the opposite direction. I smiled as I looked at my best friend, the time had not changed the man that much and it was a wonderful feeling to see that not everything had changed.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I said with a chuckle.

“I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow,” he said as we hugged briefly.

“Oh, yeah, I got a ride, so it was a lot quicker,”

“Awesome man come on in, Josie will be pleased to see you,” I followed him through the gate and up the small pathway that led to the house. I couldn’t help but smile, another thing to be happy about was it was nice to know that my two best friends were still happily married.

“Any kids yet?” I asked as Tom pushed open the front door. He held the door open for me to pass by and I did quickly.

“Nope, Josie and I tried but failed, we’ve accepted that we may never have kids,” Tom spoke sadly, and my heart went out to them. Both Tom and Josie had always talked about having a big family and I truly felt for them that they hadn’t been able to have what they’ve always wanted.

“Derick Parks, I can’t believe my eyes,” Josie drawled out as she walked into the sitting room. We hugged and she gestured for me to take a seat. I lazily sat down on the sofa. Josie went over to the kitchen and put on the kettle as Tom settled down on his recliner chair.

“What’s the plan then?” Tom asked.

“Well, I had to come and see you guys but then I’m off. I got a nice piece of land set up for me in Savana,”

“Savana? But that’s so far away,” Josie moaned out from over the counter as the sitting room and kitchen are open plan. “I mean, why don’t you just move back here?”

“Ah come on Josie, you know me,” I said with a chuckle. Some things never changed. Tom managed to convince me to stay for dinner and to leave in the morning.

★ ★ ★

I woke up early, the feeling of excitement was strong enough for me to get up. I quickly gathered up the few things I had laying around and headed out of the spare bedroom. The smell of sausages, bacon and who knows what else hit my senses and I groaned out as my tummy rumbled. Hungry wolf. Josie was standing in front of the stovetop, frying up some bacon when I sat down on the barstool by the counter. Tom was also awake and stood cleaning up as Josie made a mess. Looking at the spread displayed of sausages, bacon, eggs, and pancakes, my tummy rumbled again. I couldn’t help but smile. Josie knew I loved my breakfast and my weakness was pancakes.

“Morning,” I greeted them as I reached for a pancake and took a bite.

“Hey buddy, you ready?” Tom asked me and I nodded as I chewed. Of course, I was ready. We chatted a bit as we ate our breakfast and once done, I followed Tom outside to his garage. There stood my most prized possession. A beautiful black truck. Damn what a beauty.

“I think you love that piece of junk more than you love your best friends,” Josie teased as she watched me lovingly caress the bonnet. I smirked as I glanced over at her.

“Yeah, well, this baby right here has never let me down,” Tom threw me the keys and I caught them.

“Just drive safe and give us a call once you’ve arrived,” Tom said as he gave me a brotherly hug. I nodded as I went over to hug Josie.

“Look after him alright,” I whispered in her ear before letting her go. I threw my bag into the back and climbed into the driver’s seat. Oh man, it felt good to be back behind this wheel. I slowly pulled out of the garage and into the street. With a final wave to my dear friends, I drove off.

★ ★ ★

The drive was long, and my only company was the radio. I didn’t mind it though; my wolf and I chatted a bit too. Argued over the possibility of giving him his own name. it was a new argument, but my wolf had ended up saying he wanted to be called Parker. I had agreed just to shut him up. I stopped in front of the large wooden gate and squealed like a girl. Hopping out, I quickly pushed open the gate and drove through. Finally arriving at Ashcester Forest. The dirt road was bumpy and long but once I got to the small opening, it was all worth it. All the years spent in the council’s prison. All the pain, all the disappointment. It was all worth it. I wasn’t surprised to see a few tents already set up. Dimitry would never go back on his word. As I got out of the truck, I could already see who was who. Well, more like who was apart of the council’s pack and who was there to join mine. The smell of freshly squeezed lemon caught my attention, but I quickly pushed it aside as I spotted a wolf coming towards me.

“Hi Derick, how was the drive?” he asked. I think his name is Gary.

“It was long but good, thanks, Gary?” he nodded and smiled.

“So, we cleared up this sweet little spot right here and set up camp, hope that’s alright with you?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Gary nodded and led me around to meet the wolves he had brought along to help develop the pack village. That sweet lemony smell kept distracting me, but I wasn’t sure where the smell was coming from. Gary ended the quick tour by introducing me to my new pack members. A grand total of four females and eight males. I happily greeted them and thanked them for giving me a chance to be their Alpha.

“I know you are a changed shifter and not born into it, but my mate and I didn’t belong in our previous pack. When we heard about you and your new pack, we were happy to come over and join,” Isaac explained with a smile and I knew right then and there that he would be good to have around.

“Did you hold any position in your previous pack?” I questioned and he shook his head.

“Nothing special. Irene is from beta blood but other than that, we are just us, you know?” he said, and I nodded. I wasn’t going to be hasty in making any decisions. After a few more minutes of chatting with Isaac and Irene, I went over to another group. A small, thin female stood up and bowed her head respectfully.

“Welcome home Alpha,” she said, and I grinned. Alpha. It sounded so good.

“Thank you, and your name is?”

“Susan,” she said and then she turned to the other female. “And that is my daughter, Misty,” Misty shyly nodded and blushed. I waved at her and turned my attention back to Susan.

“Welcome to you both,” I said. “What were your positions at your previous pack?”

“I was head of the house, cleaning, cooking, taking care of those kinds of things. Misty helped me,” she quickly explained.

“Wonderful, thank you, Susan,” I glanced over at the male and questioned Susan with my eyes, luckily, she quickly caught on.

“That’s Harold,” she whispered. “He doesn’t talk much, so I am not sure where he is from,” I nodded and went over to him.

“Hi Harold,” I greeted the older wolf and he looked up.

“Hello,” he said softly.

“Where are you from Harold?” I asked him.

“A tiny placed called Leigh, up north,” he said after a moment.

“What did you do at your previous pack?”

“Didn’t have one, born as a rogue, lived as a rogue,” he explained softly, and I frowned. From what Kaila had explained to me about rogues, I didn’t understand how he had survived without a pack. “I hopped from pack to pack,” he then said, as if understanding my confusion. The frown didn’t leave my face as I wondered if that meant he wouldn’t be settling down. Once again Harold seemed to understand and spoke up. “It’s time for these old bones to settle down,” I smiled warmly at him before leaving for the last group.

“Hi,” he greeted the males and the lone female, and they looked up at me. They quickly realized who I am and stood up.

“Hi Alpha,” one said.

“So, care to introduce yourselves, what your position was in your previous pack and if you want too you can tell me why you left your previous pack,” I said clearly. The one that greeted me stepped forward.

“I’m Dough and my nephew, Spencer,” he pointed at one of the other males, who waved. “We came here because our last pack was horrible. We’ve been looking for a pack that grabs our interest and when we heard about you, your past and all that, we couldn’t wait to come here,”

“Your positions?”

“I worked at the farms and Spencer was a warrior,” I nodded and waited.

“I’m David, came here for a fresh start and I was a warrior,” I nodded at the wolf. Another one stepped forward.

“I’m Keith,” the female came over to him and he rested his arm around her shoulders. “This here is my little sister, Jody,” he pointed at the last two males. “That is Conner and Carter, outcast twins that my mother adopted,”

“We came here because our mother died and the Alpha threw us out, horrible wolf,” Jody further explained, and I frowned. It sounded to me like a lot of packs had issues.

“Anyway, Conner and I were warriors, Jody worked the farms and Carter, well,” I turned my attention to the small, thin wolf and sniffed. Was the smell coming from him or was it coming from Jody? I wasn’t sure but the young wolf didn’t meet my gaze.

“Mate!” Parker shouted out and I flinched.

“Who?” I asked him carefully, needing clarification. Jody or Carter?