Chapter 2. Nate

Nate

The previous day 

As I enter the forest, I slow down the car and roll down the window to smell the fresh snow in the woods. I can never get enough of this view and scent. It is still early morning, and the sun hasn’t had time to chase away the icy morning weather that almost freezes my windpipe and lungs. 

'You can stick your head out with your tongue hanging; I won’t tell anyone.' I hear my inner wolf Dante mocking me. 

'No, thanks. You can ask next time when we are riding with someone if you want that, you know,' I reply, knowing he would love doing that very well. 

'I’m not a dog,'” he huffs, returning to the back of my mind, enjoying the view. 

After driving for a few minutes, I can see my two huskies running alongside the truck, between the trees. 

I just arrived back in the territory, and they recognize the sound of my Ford pick-up truck every time and follow me throughout the territory. I whistle at them, and they bark back. My big black and white boy, Champ, has been with me for over five years. I moved out of my room in the packhouse to have our own house with a garden, secretly hoping my mate would love the place as much as I did. My new puppy, Bonbon, has chocolate brown fur, and she is just a cutie, tiring Champ with her playfulness every day. 

I was called to our packland’s border because some rogues asked for entrance. As I arrive, I take a moment to observe the scene from my seat. It seems they are not here to fight. They look like a father with three pups. 

“Beta Nate.” one of the guards approaches me, while another stays close to the intruders. This was not what I expected when I received a mind link that rogues had been spotted at the border. 

“Hi, Scott. What do we have here?” I ask, looking at the intruders while petting my dogs’ heads. 

“They claim to be a family. According to the father, his wife was killed when their pack was attacked. They are looking for a new home. They were respectful, stood by the border, and waited for us to show up,” he explains. 

I look at them, and the father stands proudly but a bit broken. Two pups stand around him, and he is holding the youngest one. Protectiveness is shown in his movements as he strokes their heads and shoulders while whispering comforting words. They are dirty, and their clothes have seen better days. 

“All three of them are under 10,” Scott explains further. “They don’t seem injured, but they look like they've been on the run for a while without food or shelter.”

“What rank was the father?” 

“He says he was a guard.” 

He is not big enough to be a ranked member but too well-built to be an omega. He looks like what he claims to be. The pups around him feel safe being close to him, so he might actually be their father. I’m suspicious, though, because I haven’t heard of any attacks recently. 

“I’ll talk to them,” I tell Scott. 

“Stay here,” I order Champ and Bonbon. 

As I step closer, the boy hides behind their father while the oldest one stands next to her father fiercely. Her face shows strength she doesn’t have. I smile in admiration. “Hi, I’m Beta of the Black River Pack.” I address the father. 

“Hi, Beta. My name is Jacob, and these are my children. We are from the Riven Pack.” 

I know that pack. I’ve been there before. It’s far from us, about two days on the road. Have they been attacked? When? Who attacked them? 

“We left when the pack was attacked, and I’m afraid we can’t go back. We are looking for a new home.” Sorrow is evident in his face and whole demeanor as he holds his youngest. 

“How did you escape? Where is the rest of your pack?” I ask him, and he looks at his pups hesitantly, unsure what to say. 

I nod my head, understanding. The pups might have been lucky not to witness the killing. “All right. Two of our guards will show you to a house you can stay in for now, and we will talk about everything later.” 

Relief washes over his face, and he looks at his pups to assure them things will get better now. Spending days in the forest during winter with three pups must have been hard. I mind-link Avery, one of the Gamma females, as she is responsible for housing, and ask her to meet me at one of the log houses we keep for situations like this. I also link the head of our guards to make sure two guards watch over the house at all times. 

*** 

I head home with my dogs running next to the truck again. Ivette, my neighbor, greets me when I park. 

“Hello, Nate Darling,” she waves from her porch in her usual apron over her clothes. 

“Good morning, Ivette.” I wave back. “Thanks for taking care of my guys again.” 

She feeds my dogs when I have to leave the pack grounds. I don’t even have to ask anymore. She sees that my truck is not here and looks after them. If she has her grandkids over, they take them for walks too. 

“Anytime,” she replies. “Did you have a chance to buy that book for me?” 

“Yes.” Her favorite chef published a new book, and she asked me to pick it up from a store in the city. I quickly take it from the backseat and run over to her house. 

“Thank you, Darling. I’m cooking the first meal from it today; you’re welcome to eat dinner with us,” she hugs me thankfully. 

“Thanks, I’ll try to make it in time.” I hug her back and hurry up to get ready for training. 

Years ago, when I became Beta, I started training the warriors alongside Gabriel, my brother, and Alpha. This was something we were very excited about. We knew warriors needed more than brute strength to win a fight and started experimenting with different techniques. We even sent some of our warriors to various fighting classes in the nearby cities to learn new skills. Teaching those techniques to every pack member was also crucial. 

These changes annoyed our father, but we’ve been planning them for years. We were both fed up with how our father was leading our pack and how he terrified everyone into this regiment of life where we had no fun or laughter, only the painful iteration of regular training and obedience. 

Of course, as kids, we looked up to him. He was the biggest and strongest Alpha, and we were always eager to learn from him and follow in his footsteps. However, as teens, we began questioning some of his decisions. We even brought our point of view to his attention, but he shut us down instantly whenever we voiced our concerns. He replied that this was the only way to run a powerful pack that respects their strong Alpha. Soon we accepted that our father doesn’t tolerate anyone questioning his authority, so we kept our mouths shut and played the obedient sons. 

Still, the two of us discussed these matters privately as we were unquestionably planning the changes we would make when Gabriel took over as the next Alpha. We had included the Beta’s son Mark at the beginning, but he not only sided with our fathers, he believed they weren’t harsh enough. 

Before Gabriel left for college, he decided to name me his Beta when he would take over as Alpha after graduation. I was surprised by his decision but accepted, nonetheless. I always knew that I would never be the Alpha of our pack, but I was never sure where I saw myself in the future. 

As our alliances with neighboring and farther packs grew, I had to travel more. I became the person who represented the pack outside our territory. Gabriel preferred to stay on pack grounds, especially since Lucy became pregnant. 

Our Gammas take on various roles and usually lead training for each group. Sundays are when I’m home and lead the drill, as they call it. I’m not going easy on them for sure, but as we perfect each technique, we forge a bond too. “Get up, John, and go again. This time raise your elbow and use the edge of your hand.” I tell our new warrior. 

He just started training with our best group a few months ago. In the last two years, he grew too quickly and had difficulty regulating his limbs. He has another thing coming if he thinks he can make up for it with his strength. I grin when I see him doing it right and taking down his opponent this time. 

Cheering sounds from the forest reach us, and I see our trackers emerging from the trees. Lynn is the new trainee, and it looks like she passed the first test. They are patting her shoulders proudly. 

I feel everyone tense behind me and instantly know Gabriel has arrived. In the last few months, I’ve noticed that pack members have been reacting to him this way. 

Since he became Alpha, I used to feel unitarily pride from the members through the pack link, but that has changed. Lately, some are conflicted; I also feel dislike and distrust. My anger rises in the protection of my brother, but my reasonable side questions if they have tangible reasons to feel like that. 

“Morning, Everyone,” he booms from the stage, and I'm struck by a memory of our father standing and talking the same way. 

“Morning, Alpha,” the group of werewolves answers him dutifully, bowing their heads. I shake off my unease and approach him to discuss today’s training. 

*** 

Later, when the rogue family settled in, and the kids fell asleep, a guard informed me that I could go to the house to talk to the father. He was reluctant to leave his children alone, which is understandable, but we have many things to discuss. Questions need to be answered. 

“Can you tell me what happened?” I ask the tired man. I’m always fair with lone wolves who aren’t a threat, but he has been on our territory for hours, and we still know nothing about him. 

“Yes. Thank you for not making me talk in front of my children. They are too little to hear.” 

“I understand,” I reassure him. I’ve learned over the years that if I have an understanding demeanor, they open up more, and when they feel safe, they let their real personality come forward. It’s much easier to catch a lie or what they are hiding. 

“A few days ago, my pack was attacked. I was at home with my children while my wife was at work in the pack’s main kitchen. I heard yelling from the packhouse and ran there, leaving the children at home. In front of the packhouse, a man was claiming our pack. He told everyone he was taking over as Alpha, and we must submit. My Alpha stood next to him, unwilling to submit, to give over his pack. The man threatened to kill everyone if we didn’t submit. My Alpha shifted into his wolf to fight and protect us, but the attackers came with an army. They appeared from the woods and started killing innocent pack members. Men, women, children. My wife was one of the first who fell,” his voice trembles, and he stops to wipe his tears. “My Alpha, seeing the death of his pack members, attacked the intruder but lost to him. I ran home as quickly as I could, took the children, and we ran into the forest. I don’t know how many have been killed after that. We were a small pack, and they arrived with warriors. We had no chance against them.” 

“Have you heard that man’s name, the pack he leads, or his intentions?” 

“He called himself Alpha Mark and ordered everyone to pack up our stuff and be ready to move to his territory but didn’t mention its name.” 

“I see. I’ll send some of my men to look into this. We have to investigate the situation.” Maybe we can gather some information on who he might be. I don’t know any pack with Alpha Mark. 

“Of course,” he replies. 

“We’ll need all the information on your pack lands.” Although I’ve been to the Riven Pack a few times, I’m unwilling to let him know that. 

“If I may?” he asks with shaking hands. 

“Go on,” I nod. 

“We couldn’t bring anything from the house. And my youngest pup had a stuffed bear he still needs. If your man could get into my house and bring it, that would be a huge help. If that isn't too much to ask.” 

“We will see what we can do. Draw a map of your territory, please, so we know what we are dealing with, and you can mark your house. If it’s empty, they might be able to bring you some things.” 

“Thank you. Thank you very much,” he says. He seems to be concerned only about his pups. I’m still suspicious, though. 

Something is off with his story. His mate was killed before him, and he didn’t fight back? If he was there and saw everything, how could he leave? I know I wouldn’t be able to go when innocents are dying in front of me. Maybe the urge to save his children overpowered that. The other thing is, how did the attackers miss them fleeing? They should’ve caught him with his pups leaving towards the woods if they had surrounded the area. I leave him to rest but instruct the guards to watch them constantly. If we check the pack and everything he has told us proved accurate, we might let them stay. But that takes days. We can’t leave them unwatched.