The Alpha Hunter

Chapter Five - New Job

✺Darion✺

“Why didn’t you go to the party?” I heard Everette question curiously from the sitting room and I rolled my eyes as I finished getting dressed for the day. “It would’ve been a great opportunity for you,” he added when I walked into the room.

“I found something else to do with my time,” I said as I pulled open the fridge and took out a bottle of water. I wasn’t going to have time to make lunch.

“Like what?” he scoffed, and I smiled to myself.

“Like my next-door neighbor,” I answered as I thought about the fiery, sexy female that lived right next door. Irene Kidd is downright the sexiest female I had ever met and even though I had known I should go to that party; I had found myself entertaining the lovely Irene.

“Ah, well that makes sense,” Everette said with a chuckle as he opened the apartment door. “Just don’t let her distract you too much,” he added as we walked out. I locked the door and hurried down the hallway to the elevator.

“I won’t,” I promised. I wasn’t looking for anything serious and the female wasn’t my mate. Of course, I had a lot of fun with her, and I was sure I would have more fun in the near future, but right now I was running late. We parted ways outside and I drove like a mad man to the shop. With five minutes to spare, I barged in, breathing hard and pretending that I was unfit, despite my size. Oliver stood behind the cash register, smiling, and next to him stood a male I didn’t recognize.

“Just in time,” the male said as he came around to greet me. “Bradley,” he introduced.

“Darion,” I said as I looked him up and down. Bradley was bigger than Oliver, stronger, tougher, and as I glanced over at Oliver, I had to add, rougher. Where Oliver was well-groomed and just about perfect, Bradley was rougher around the edges. His shorty, spikey brown hair suited his hard features. I noticed that he too had a circular beard, but it suited him.

“Nice to meet you, Linda couldn’t make it, so I’ll be filling out your paperwork,” he informed me, his brown eyes sparkling with mischief and I nodded as he led me to another office in the back. This one wasn’t as well put together as Kurt’s and it was clear that this was an open space. Bradley headed over to one of the large desks and sat down. It didn’t take long for everything to be filled out and soon I was signing my name at the bottom of the page. I was officially an employee of Kurt. Officially a hunter. It made me sick, and I glanced down at the printout Bradley had given me. It was all my times, lunchtimes, and meetings. I scanned through everything, but I didn’t see anything about training, or hunting, or anything of that sort. “Now, I’ll be your trainer, so according to your schedule, I think we should do it on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday,” Bradley looked at me for confirmation and I nodded once. “After work, I’ll come by and we can get started,”

“You don’t work here?” I asked curiously.

“I do but, on those days, I usually go out with Oliver to get supplies and such,” he answered vaguely.

“Do I start today?” I asked and he nodded. “Yeah, for now, you can help me at the back and meet the others,” Bradley led me through the back of the shop. The storeroom was rather large and rows upon rows held weapons that I had no idea about nor cared too. Two men stood taking inventory and Bradley quickly introduced me to them. Chris David and Sam Wills. Chris is a tracker and Sam is a rifleman. We left the storeroom and entered a smaller room that looked a lot more comfortable with three sofas’, a large coffee table, and a big screen tv. This must be where they all hung out. Bradley introduced me to another two males, Ronny Matt, and Dale Johnson. Ronny is a scouter and Dale was another rifleman. Bradley then led me to another area and although this one was still somewhat comfortable, it was clear that this exceptionally large area was where all the action happened. I could see that on the left was where they did their training and their target practice and on the right was where they held their meetings. It was a nice enough space and I saw only one male in the back drinking water. Bradley introduced us and I met the last man on the team, a rifleman named Caleb Jones. Every single male was buff and looked like hunters. I was curious as to where Kurt was, but I waited patiently as Caleb discussed his aim with Bradley. I continued looking around and spotted a whiteboard next to a file cabinet. Right on top of the board, stood the written letters: The Spirit Tails. All written in large block letters. My pack. I felt the anger rise and I struggled to keep myself together as Dion, my wolf tried to push through.

“So, what do you think of the place so far?” Bradley questioned as he came over to me. I took a deep breath and nodded slowly before turning around to face him.

“Looks good,” I hissed out. Bradley raised a curious eyebrow but didn’t pay much attention to my odd behavior.

“Where is Kurt?” I asked, trying to distract myself as well as my wolf.

“Oh, he should be coming in later with Cooper,” he replied dismissively. “In the meantime, follow me,” Bradley led me back into the lounging area and we sat down on the sofa. He talked me through my training not only as a worker in the shop but as a tracker. According to Bradley, their current tracker, Chris, was getting on in age and would soon retire. I tried to remember who Chris was, but I drew a blank.

✺ ✺✺

When I got home, I was tired, annoyed, and angry. Kurt hadn’t bothered to come in and Bradley had trained me on how to pack, unpack and clean the rifles the shop specialized in. There had been no more talk about hunting, or training. I didn’t need the job and if it wasn’t for the fact that I needed a way in, I would’ve told Kurt to shove his job up his…I sighed as I flopped down onto the sofa and closed my eyes. I had to hand it to Kurt, he took good care of his men. Bradley, Oliver, Caleb, and Dale all told me how Kurt had taken them off the streets, found their potential, and taught them everything they know. It was impressive but also deadly. I had learned Chris was in his late forties and although that meant he was getting older; his wife had recently threatened to leave him. Kurt had cut Chris’s hours down so that the male could spend more time with his family. Bradley had been a substance abuser and Kurt had helped him get clean and start fresh. Ronny was actually a distant relative on Kurt’s side and that’s how he got into the group. Sam and Oliver were both ex-criminals and both had been saved by Kurt. Caleb and Dale were actually stepbrothers, and they had murdered their mutual stepfather when he had attacked their mother. The stories were all detailed and although it had been shocking to listen to, there had been one common facture that they all shared. Kurt Marshall. The man was a legend and the stories Everette had shared didn’t compare to this. Even the Marshall book I had read didn’t give me this much of an insight. Kurt Marshall, forty-three years old, widow, lost his wife to a deadly sickness five years ago had one son, Cooper. Kurt Marshall, hero, savior, and leader of The Fangs. I was intimidated but my desire to take revenge against all of these mere humans was enough for me to see their stories, their lives as nothing. Since they had ruthlessly killed my whole pack, I couldn’t afford to see them for what they truly are. My mind was tired, and I felt exhausted, so when I heard a knock on my apartment door, I sighed loudly.

“Hello, sexy,” Irene greeted, and I smiled despite myself, the tiredness disappearing as I stared at the female who made my body come alive.

“Hi, come on in,” I said as I stepped back for her to come inside. As she passed me, I got a whiff of her perfume and smiled. Rose. Sweet and delicious.

“I brought some food,” she said as she placed the large glass bowl on the kitchen counter. I wasn’t interested in the food though as I went up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She didn’t seem to mind as she pushed herself up against my chest.

“You are a welcome distraction,” I growled lowly into her ear.

“Perfect,” she purred in response. I ran my hands along her hips and sighed with satisfaction as I continued to explore her curvaceous body.

“Bedroom,” I said softly as I angled her body away from the counter and towards my bedroom.

“What about the food?” she teased, and I chuckled hotly against her ear as we made our way down the short hallway.

“After,”

✺Cooper✺

“I don’t think I want to,” I said once again to my father as I stared at him from across the dining table.

“What do you mean, you don’t think you want to?” he questioned, and I was tempted to roll my eyes at the man. He could be so stupid sometimes. He knew exactly what I was saying.

“I don’t want to be a part of your group,” I spat out as I looked down at my plate. My half-eaten steak was now cold, and I pushed the plate away.

“Why not?”

“Because I am not a killer,” I said firmly. “The reason I went to college was to get away from all of that,” I further explained. This conversation or to use a better word, the argument had gotten old.

“What about the shop?” Kurt asked as he too pushed his plate away.

“What about it?”

“Well, if you aren’t interested, who will take it over?” he asked, and I knew he was fighting to keep his control. I could see that all he wanted to do was knock some sense into me and I couldn’t stop myself as I smiled over at him.

“Dad, the shop is a different situation,” I said.

“What does that mean?”

“It means, I will gladly take the shop over when the time comes, but I refuse to be a hunter,” I stood up and gathered our plates. “Besides, don’t you think it would be better to just sell it?” my question hung in the air and then I finally turned around and went into the kitchen. I knew he would never sell and although his hunter group had gotten smaller over the last two years, I still didn’t want anything to do with it.

“I have a proposal for you,” I heard him say from behind me and I sighed. This was one thing we did well, negotiating and making deals.

“I’m listening,”

“Come to work tomorrow, join our weekly meeting and then we can discuss our next job,” I raised my eyebrow at his suggestion, but he quickly put his hands up. “Do one job with me, just one so that I have that and if you still don’t want anything to do with it, then you can sell the whole thing when I die,” I thought about it for a moment and then slowly nodded. I already knew I wouldn’t want anything to do with it but if this got my father off my back then so be it.

“Deal,”