Under The Alpha's Protection

Chapter 2: The Human's Scent

The Northern Pack had about five small warehouses in their Territory where all their supplies were organized and accounted for every day.

The sun had fully disappeared from the horizon, and their bi-weekly meeting with the Eastern Pack at Setting Forest had been a success as usual.

Long-term partnerships between Packs had never been heard of in their grueling history as the four Packs of Clawsbrought State, until Lucian Steele had taken his place as Head Alpha of the Northern Pack and saw an opportunity both his and Head Luna Sorrel's Packs could benefit greatly from.

The werewolves present during the meet-up earlier now wheeled in carts and carried boxes given by the Eastern Pack into the warehouse with the most vacant space. Lucian's Pack had gained a few more rolls of fabric for the seamstresses to use in getting a head-start on sewing winter clothes, more dried meats that were separated into different varieties, fresh fruits which would be handed-out for breakfast tomorrow, some spices in varying sizes of glass jars, cooking and essential oils, plus some medical supplies which Lucian had taken to the medical den earlier.

As Head Alpha, it wasn't necessary for Lucian to be here. His four other elected council members were watching already over the goods being brought in, making whole new lists to note each item and their quantities. But Lucian had wheeled a steel cart all the way here because he still wanted to. He watched as other alphas and betas put away the supplies onto shelves and boxes. The easily perishable goods would be brought to the communal kitchens where they had three industrial refrigerators.

Amidst all the sounds and bodies moving inside the space, Lucian, who was leaning close to the door, instantly got a whiff of his sister's scent as soon as she entered.

Laia Steele bound into the warehouse with a plastic bag and a grin that lit up the place brighter than the fluorescent lightbulbs. She hugged Lucian as soon as she spotted him, their heights nearly matched. "Working late again, big brother? I thought you'd already be at your home, brooding away with your special vodka."

Lucian's nose twitched.

The closest thing Lucian could compare Laia's scent to was that clary sage oil she always dabbed on her scent glands. But as soon as he stepped into her personal space, he was able to pick up on her more natural, earthy scent too, which came from living in the Northern Territory.

His sister's scent was always a comfort to have, but today, that other scent was clinging to her.

It was different from the smell of the city. Lucian always smelled oil engine, gravel, artificial air purifiers, and leather on Laia whenever she came back from whatever human-dominated town she had felt like going to.

The other scent clinging to Laia's clothes was barely noticeable, and sweet—like whatever pastries she had bought and carried in that tiny bag. Lucian thought he got a whiff of lavender too, on top of that unmistakable scent of human.

Sighing, Lucian patted Laia's back, grumbling so only they would hear, "You have a human's scent on you again."

Laia released Lucian from the hug with a roll of her blue eyes, the same size and shape as Lucian's. "This again. Is it bad to make friends outside our Pack?"

"Yes," Lucian deadpanned.

His sister groaned. "Not all humans are terrible, Lucian. This one, in particular, has been nothing but friendly and kind to me."

"Have you been meeting a man?" Lucian had never once felt the need to control Laia's actions (if he did, he wouldn't have even let her go into those human towns in the first place). But if he was right, then this situation was completely different. "Laia, that's highly inappropriate."

As if she remembered where they were, Laia took a quick look around before grabbing Lucian by the elbow. Lucian let her pull him outside until they were a fair distance from the warehouse, next to a tree that cast a shadow on the ground from a light above the warehouse's entrance.

Laia turned to Lucian, and very seriously said, "First of all, just because I'm to become mates with another alpha doesn't mean I can't have male friends. I have tons of guy friends here, and you don't have any complaints!" Luckily, she didn't sound pissed. Lucian hated it whenever Laia got angry with him.

But he had to at least try to make her see why pursuing such a friendship with that male human wasn't ideal—or any human for that matter. "That's because the male friends you have are here, in our Pack. I know them, and I know they'd never put you in harm's way. Your soon-to-be mate will not appreciate you meeting a stranger in Neutral Territory, and then you coming home at night after spending time with this human–"

"Second of all," Laia continued as if she didn't hear a single word Lucian had just said. "That human is a girl. You can now stop thinking that I'm having s*x with a male human and dishonoring the pact we made to the Eastern Pack."

Lucian reeled back, blinked, then shook his head. "Doesn't matter what their gender is. You shouldn't be meeting with humans you barely know."

Laia groaned again, staring to the side and shaking her head, brows pinched together. "Save it, brother. Just as I can't force you to sleep earlier than midnight, you can't stop me from seeing my friend."

Lucian and Laia had always been stubborn. Lucian wasn't sure if it was something they got from their parents, or if it was because they were both born alphas. More often than not, their mutual stubborness was what fueled their arguments.

They'd had this conversation many times before, where Lucian would dissuade his sister from meeting with any human. The risks of Laia going alone into Neutral Territory were too many, and the dangers were unpredictable, not onyl because Laia was a female alpha but also because she was the Head Alpha's sister. Many people would like to see her hurt, simply because of what she was born as.

Sometimes, this type of conversation ended with them screaming at one another. On rare occasions, Laia left their talk midway and didn't speak to Lucian until he agreed to drop the subject.

Lucian, already gearing up to continue what he was saying earlier, was cut off when Laia held up the plastic bag. "I bought Florence a gift!" She said cheerily, swerving the topic like Lucian had seen her do with their father's motorcycle many times. "It's the cookies she loves but can't have as much because it's only sold it in this bakery in Bracket town. Since Florence is near her due date and was ordered to stay in bed until she gives birth, I hoped some dessert might brighten her mood." Laia shot one hand into her plastic bag to take out one of the boxes, holding it towards Lucian. "And I got one for you too!"

Florence Ire was an omega who was set to give birth to three pups some time next week. She and Laia were close—but then again, Laia was close to pretty much everyone in the Northern Pack.

"I spoked to her mate, Jones, earlier while Florence was resting. He told me that Florence was getting more sensitive now that her due date is near," Lucian said, hands not moving. "Florence even tensed up when our Pack physician did his weekly check-up on her."

"Might just be jitters." Laia shrugged. "I'll drop by their place before heading home." She took a good look at Lucian, the box of cookies lowering a tiny bit. "You should get some rest too, big bro."

"Won't happen in the next few hours." All the responsibilities of a Head Alpha were familiar to Laia, and she's the only biological family Lucian had left—so even though Laia wasn't a council member, Lucian didn't mind sharing some of his worries with her. "I'm deciding who among our alphas and betas to send as additional guards to the Eastern Pack, and their travel arrangements need to be finished by tomorrow morning."

All playfulness disappeared from Laia's face, noting the change in Lucian's own tone and expression. "You're sending more of our werewolves to the Eastern Pack? You've already sent six to their Territory this week."

Lucian took a careful breath, knowing he'd have to be the bearer of bad news. "There was another attempt to attack Eastern Pack hunters at Colossal Forest."

Laia's eyes widened. Promptly, she cursed under her breath.

"Head Luna Sorrel just informed me earlier. Two alphas from our Pack helped defend their hunters, thankfully," Lucian continued. "But now, the Eastern Pack is scared an attack may happen again soon. And not just in Colossal Forest."

His sister's sharp jaw locked visibly. Then, she asked barely above a whisper, "Were they attacked by the Southern Pack again?"

Just the mention of that Pack had Lucian's lips pressing into a thin line. He nodded tensely. "As far as Head Luna Sorrel knows, it was even the same werewolves who tried trespassing their Territory last time."

"That's the second time those Southern Pack bastards were in Eastern territory this month!" A look of horror flashed on Laia's face. "Were any of the Eastern Pack hurt?"

"None were badly injured, just some scratches. One of the hunters sprained an ankle." Even as he said this, Lucian knew who specifically Laia was asking about. "Your future mate wasn't with the hunters at the time."

She released a harsh breath, eyes closing. Laia would never say it out loud, but Lucian was sure his sister was relieved to hear that her soon-to-be mate wasn't doing his duty at the time.

"Do you think these attacks are simply attacks?"

Lucian had not expected the question. "What do you mean?

His sister looked around, checking to see that nobody was near to eavesdrop. She still lowered her voice anyway, even when the coast was clear. "I mean, the Southern Pack are the root of our problems but they never used to trespass into other Pack's territories as much. Maybe once every few months we'd hear about an incident, but trying to attack Eastern Pack werewolves twice in a month?"

Laia had a point.

The Eastern Pack were the smallest of the four Packs in numbers, but their settlement was in the most favorable place, with many available natural resources at their disposal. Most of their werewolves were involved in maintaining and producing goods. When Lucian had become Head Alpha, he'd offered Head Luna Sorrel a partnership wherein the Northern Pack would help protect the Eastern Pack from the increasing incidents of trespassing and any other attacks they could possibly face now that Head Luna Sorrel's husband, the then Head Alpha Darius, had perished from sickness.

It didn't seem likely that the Southern Pack had the intention of invading the Eastern Pack five years after Head Alpha Darius' death. Lucian also highly doubted that the Southern Pack were after the Eastern Pack's resources. The Southern Pack may have the largest number of werewolves and not as many sources of natural products within their territory as the Eastern Pack, but they'd always managed to survive on their own. They'd try, of course, to steal and get their hands on other Packs' resources from time to time, but other than that, the Southern Pack had never outright proclaimed their desire to claim another Territory's environmental assets.

Lucian had been pondering the why's in his head ever since he and Head Luna Sorrel spoke earlier.

He hid the worry from his sister as best as he could though. "I don't know, Laia. We can't be sure why the Southern Pack is targeting the Eastern Pack now. But our part of the partnership includes providing additional reinforcements whenever Head Luna Sorrel deems it necessary, which is why we're sending more werewolves to help patrol the Eastern Pack."

Because this was the Eastern Pack they were helping to protect, she could not say anything in contrast to the agreement. "Do you need help with their travel arrangements?"

Lucian shook his head. "No, you go ahead to the Ire's home." He tried for a smile, but it came out tight over his face. "Give the expecting couple my best."

That should have been her dismissal. Laia stayed in place, chewing on her bottom lip in hesitation.

Lucian sighed. "Out with it."

She didn't hesitate to voice out, "I want to patrol the Eastern Territory along with the other alphas and betas you're sending off tomorrow."

"No, absolutely not," Lucian shot down the idea instantly.

"Lucian, come on!" Laia whined, and it was moments like these when Lucian was reminded that she was his younger sister. "You and I are equal in a fight. You know I can handle myself, and you said it yourself, the Eastern Pack needs reinforcements. Please, let me go–"

"Laia, what do you think the son of Head Luna Sorrel will say when he discovers that I sent out my own sister—his future mate—to help guard their territory? Huh?" Lucian tried to reason. "Think he and his mother are just going to let that slide? You don't think they'll see it as an insult, because they'll assume I don't care about your safety?" He rarely ever used such a condescending tone, but Lucian didn't even regret it, not when he saw understanding dawn on Laia's dejected face.

Laia closed her eyes again, swallowing a few times. She was visibly reeling in her annoyance. "Fine. I won't jeopardize your reputation with the Eastern Pack by going." When her eyes opened, she pressed the box of cookies she'd been holding this entire time against Lucian's chest, and Lucian caught it in time before Laia's hold had loosened. "Here, take your dessert and go do your duties or whatever," she grumbled.

As Laia spun around, beginning her trek to Florence and Jones' home, Lucian ignored how that human's scent still tickled at his nostrils.