Wolf's Huntress

Chapter Three

Alastair's POV:

My name is Alastair Collins, and I'm the gamma of the newly formed Garnet Moon Pack. My alpha, Preston Wild, was the second son of Alpha Marcus Wild of the Harvest Moon Pack. With both sons having alpha blood in them, it was agreed that Preston could form his own pack after proving that he was a worthy alpha and had enough members wishing to follow him. He was given the territory that was left abandoned after the Dark Moon Pack was killed in one night.

Even after nearly a decade, no one knew what happened to them. It had some of those from the original pack concerned, but we proved that we could handle anything with Preston, the beta Gregory, and myself. It took some time, but we prepared the area for the new pack to move in. There weren't many of us, but Preston was confident we could protect our new home and was sure more would come to us in time.

After settling into the new pack house and setting up the guard patrol, Preston, Gregory, and I decided to go out and celebrate. A nightclub on the edge of town seemed popular with the locals and travelers, so Preston agreed we would go there. After my shower, I decided to wear a grey, short-sleeved shirt that was skin-tight and showed off some of my tattoos. Both arms were done up with wolves, a symbol of Goddess Selena, and some Irish symbols. They went from my wrists to my arms and partly across my chest and back.

I grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans and then my boots. The ladies seemed to love it when I wore my boots and a shirt tight enough to show off my hard-earned muscles. Looking in the mirror, I ran my fingers through my red hair to try and style it a bit. I usually keep the sides trimmed short and the top a bit long. I noticed I would need a haircut soon as my hair started to tickle my ears, and what was on top wasn't curling as tight as usual. My eyes were green as emeralds, traits from my great-great-grandmother, who moved from Ireland to be with her mate.

Once I was done, I went down to the lobby to meet up with Preston and Gregory. Preston was a bit taller than me, standing at a good six foot four inches with brown hair and eyes that were red with a touch of magenta, just like a natural garnet. Gregory was six foot one inch tall with blonde hair and deep blue eyes like a sapphire. We were known as the gem boys back at the old pack because of our eyes. Preston came up with the pack name because of his eye color. I stood next to them, balancing things out with my six foot two inches frame.

"Finally ready to go," asked Preston.

"Hell yeah," I replied.

"Maybe one of us will get lucky tonight. What do you think?" Gregory elbowed me with a wink. Out of the three of us, only Preston had a mate. Gregory and I were living the bachelor life until we found ours. I grinned wickedly at the beta before we took off to the club. Once inside, we could see why the place was popular. The DJ was on fire, the food we could smell from the kitchen was divine, and all the alcohol bottles we saw behind the bar were the good stuff. The place was kept clean and well-maintained. As we were checking things out, I felt my wolf stirring in the back of my mind. Something was getting him worked up.

I shook my head as I told him to settle down before going to the dance floor. It didn't take long to have two ladies approach me looking to dance. They were good-looking, and I could see spending the night with one of them, so I didn't refuse. After a bit, I went to the bar to get some drinks and bumped into Preston and Gregory again. "Any lucky ladies yet," asked Gregory.

"Two possible candidates, but it's too early to tell," I replied. That's when it hit me: the scent of pumpkin spice and vanilla. Looking at the bartender walking up to us, I felt electricity course through my body when our eyes met. The woman had black hair and amber eyes that almost looked gold. She wore a black tank top with a fishnet shirt, a short, plaid skirt of red, black, and yellow, knee-high boots, and a studded collar around her neck.

"So what will it be, gentlemen?"

"Mate," I said quietly, though my alpha and beta heard me. They both looked at me, shocked, but I was concerned about her face. The friendly smile slipped away and was replaced with a look of pure disgust.

"Ox," she practically screamed after turning her head to the left. I tried to reach across the bar to take her hand to ask for her name. Yet she backed away from me and made a move for something that was not on her hip.

"Yeah, boss," spoke a deep voice behind us. Turning around, I saw the most prominent man I had ever seen. He had to be seven feet tall and all muscle.

"Get these three mongrels out of here. Now!"

"What the hell did we do," asked Preston, clearly upset with the treatment and what we were called.

"We don't serve your kind here. And, Ox," she pointed a finger right at me, "if you catch this one stalking the property, call the cops."

"What the f**k," shouted Gregory as he shot out of his seat. The big guy that my mate called Ox put a hand on Gregory's shoulder.

"Leave quietly, or we'll have to call the authorities." Gregory pulled himself out of the bouncer's grip before heading to the exit with Preston. I looked back at my mate out of desperation, hoping to get answers to the questions running through my mind.

"I said leave!" Her face was red with rage, and it broke my heart to see her reject me without even talking to me properly. The bouncer grabbed my arm and escorted me out of the building and off the property.

"What the hell is her problem with us," Preston demanded after I was finally released.

"As the boss said, we don't serve your kind here."

"And what is our kind exactly," asked Gregory.

"Werewolves," he replied bluntly. That threw us for a loop. How did he know? And how did the bartender know? She smelled human enough to me. The bouncer then unbuttoned his black dress shirt to reveal a brand on his chest. The symbol of the Taurus was burned into his flesh.

"Minotaur," said Preston. Well, that explained the bouncer but not his boss. "What the hell are you doing here working for a human?"

"That is none of your concern. But know that if you or your pack come here again, she will use legal force." Ox turned to walk back inside, but I stopped him.

"Wait, please. She is my mate. Can you at least tell me her name?" He stopped and turned his head to look back at me. I could see the wheels turning in his head.

"Her name is Ruth. I suggest you reject her because she'll never accept you." My heart sank at his words as I watched him enter the nightclub.

"Come on man, let's head back to the pack house." Preston grabbed my shoulder to urge me to follow, and I did reluctantly.

"Can we figure out who she is," I asked, looking at my alpha.

I saw the worried look on his face, just as he must have seen the pain in my eyes. "I can't promise you anything," he spoke after a few moments of silence. "But I can give it a try."

"That's all I ask."