Falling For The Ruthless Alpha

“We have about fifteen seconds to turn our ass’s around and go home before we go have a dinner party with death! And.. with us on the menu of course!” Brody whisper yelled in sarcastic excitement when he said the last part, causing a wave of silent laughter to sweep through the rest of us. “We should have about eight seconds to go out there and prove that we're ready to join the hunt” Rowena, the first to pull back her laughter and remind us why the risk is necessary. “Time's up!” Came Lexie's voice from above us and I gave the order. “Go!” And without hesitation, my team of seven sprinted past the barrier my mother had put up almost two decades ago to keep the evil out and the Kingdom safe, to keep me safe. That familiar instant change in the air the second we passed the barrier sent chills down my spine, a reminder of the danger we were walking into. But the danger was the only way to prove ourselves capable, worthy. We made sure to avoid the elves guarding the forest beyond the barrier with Lexie's help until we reached the spot where Rowena caught the scent of a dead one. Bloodthirsty creatures of dark magic that have plaqued the forest beyond the barrier for longer than I have lived. A witch’s legacy. “Okay, around here” Rowena said, eyes darting from one tree to the next like she was looking for a marker or something. “Can't smell anything” said Matt, looking and sounding like he had something better to do than be out here with us. “It was a couple of hours ago, it's probably faded already” Dom said in the same tone his brother, Matt, had used, which was frustrating Rowena. “Not helping Dom!” Rowena rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why don't we sniff around, maybe there's still something to track” I said, running my hand up and down Rowena's back to calm her. I held Rowena back as the others started looking around, the need to make sure she was okay overwhelming me. “You're nervous” I said low enough for her ears alone. “How couldn't I be? If we don't find it and bring it's head back to the pack as a trophy, then I would have gotten everyone in trouble for nothing! And our parents will never let us join the hunt!” She ranted, running her hands through her hair. “Rowena, breathe” I said, taking her by the shoulders. “Just focus on me and breathe” I did the exercise with her until she was calm. “You need a level head to do this, nerves result in mistakes and we can't afford any, okay?” I smiled at her, watching as she put on her game face. “Okay” she nodded, determined to prove not only to her parents, but to herself as well, that she was a good hunter and deserved to join pack hunts. “That's my Queen” I kissed her, making her blush. I loved how she got so red every time I reminded her of what the future had in store for her. It was cute. “Stop! I need to focus” she said, covering her face, which made me chuckle. “I love you, I love you more, perfect now wrap it up, I found something” Lexie said popping out from behind a tree, making Rowena’s face go tomato red. “Honestly, not the place to be all in love and stupid. You two have s**t timing” she continued, leading us to the rest of the group. “It's faint but it's enough to lead us in the right direction” Lexie said, taking a big sniff and wrinkling her nose at the disgusting smell of a dead one. “I just want everyone to know that we can still go back, we'll be grounded, sure, but we'll be alive!” Brody tried to change our minds again, and as terrifying as this was, we all knew we wanted this. Even him! “Way past that buddy” Max, my best friend and future beta, said with a smirk, making Brody sigh, giving up on trying to get us to turn around. “Don't worry baby, I'm always here to protect you” Lexie said draping her arm over his shoulder with a sly smile. “Mhm” Brody hummed softly at the feel of his mate's touch, his body visibly relaxing. “I'd say get a room but we're in the middle of the woods and can't afford to attract any attention to ourselves” Max said with an eye roll. “Don't be jealous” Lexie smiled, making Max look away. Although he wasn't the only one in the group that hadn't found their mate after turning eighteen, the subject of mates was still a bit… unsavory. “Can we get to it already, I don't want to be out here all night” Dom said with an annoyed frown. “Dido” Matt nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yes, please, the sooner we find the beast, the sooner we can come back and rub our victory in our parent’s faces” Rowena quipped excitedly. “Fake friends, jealous of our love” Brody said, pouting at Lexie, who nodded with a look of mock disdain at the rest of us, slowly shaking her head. “Let's get this done with, keep a look out. Lexie, in the trees and stay as quiet as possible. Let's go hunting guys” I gave the command, to which no one objected. A good ten miles in and the scent got stronger, much stronger. Almost like way too many of them had been camping here not too long ago. The scent was thick, disgusting, and everywhere. “Lexie, do you see anything?” I asked through the pack link, growing a little suspicious at the potency of the scent of death; and the silence. It was too quiet. “Nothing yet” she said, sounding just as suspicious as I was feeling. “Slow down guys, and keep a close eye out, it's close” it wasn't just the scent, there was a shift in the atmosphere and the air was suffocating. Not because of the stench, but the creeping feeling of chills running down your spine from being watched by something sinister. I could feel it, we all could. The eyes of death watching our every move, unblinking. Even if I wanted to call everything off and return back to safety, I knew it wouldn't be that easy. “Anybody else get the feeling we're about to die horrible, horrible dea…” Brody didn't even get to finish his sentence before a thunder of loud, menacing growls pierced through the thick, sickening silence. “f**k f**k f**k! We're surrounded!”