Song: Running on Sunshine - Jesus Jackson

Girl, you got me tripping on sunshine
G

od knows you just made my day
Since you came around, no
I just can't slow down, no
I wanna see you walkin my way

*****

Maksim glanced down the hill towards the hidden pack in the valley of two large hills with quiet observation. His wolf's fur ruffled freely in the air as he watched from a distance the chaos below. Before arriving, they had shifted just in case for everyone's protection. A riot always turns violent especially when people are desperate.

Maksim can see that the warriors in Alpha Hansen's pack were trying to contain the angry mob that was in front of the pack house. They were so busy containing, no one was guarding the borders. Alpha Hansen was nowhere to be found. Shaking his head he indicated for his friends to shift. They put on their clothes as they spoke.

"I can't believe this guy." Darren murmured next to Maksim. Darren was his friend and Alpha to the territory that bordered North of Maksim.

"Irresponsible and poorest excuse for an Alpha," Roman muttered with dislike. Roman was Maksim's second friend and good Alpha that bordered his west border.

"I'm still trying to comprehend how easily we got into his territory," Maksim admitted. How on earth did Alpha Hansen last this long without a rogue attack?

"Or the fact that no one has approached us yet." Maksim's Beta was the daughter of Dimitri--Maksim father's beta. Her name was Antonia. She was trained well by her father and Maksim grew up with her even though she was five years younger than him. They saw each other as siblings. He chose her because he knew she will have his back all the time.

"Ready?" Darren asked.

Roman exhaled dramatically. "If we must."

"Unfortunately, we do. We are the Alphas that are nearest to Alpha Hansen's pack and the Alpha King gave us an offer we couldn't turn down." Maksim reasoned.

Antonia smirked. "Division of this land to hunt if we manage to stop the riot."

"Exactly," Maksim responded.

Roman's and Darren's eyes sparkled again with interest. Hunting land wasn't easy to come by and sometimes werewolves fought over meat.

"Alright. Let us get this over with. I want to get home before dinner." Roman agreed.

They brought a few of their pack warriors and their betas with them too to help contain the riot. Running at an even pace down the hill, their pack warriors paws made the ground tremble as they followed closely behind.

As they got closer they can hear the accusations and Maksim grew angry. Alpha Hansen has selfishly put his pack in danger and spent the pack's income on useless things for himself.

An Alpha always put his pack first. Alpha Hansen was a disgrace and quite honestly Maksim was feeling a sense of protectiveness for this pack which was highly unusual.

The warriors realized that they couldn't control the riot and resulted in beating the ones who were close with batons to keep them at bay. As they made it to the bottom of the hill the people closest to them finally saw them.

"Go back home!" The captain of the warriors roared.

"We want our money back. We invested in this pack with our own money!" An angry voice retorted.

"You will not get anything back! Your money is gone. Now go back home!" The captain ordered.

A sweet aroma wafted into Maksim's nostril and he growled under his breath. Antonia turned to look at him with curious eyes. Maksim shook his head for her to not ask before sniffing the air.

His heart beating at a galloping speed. His ears were zoning out the raging crowds and his eyes scanned the people before him. His wolf was clawing at his skin begging for more of that enticing scent. It was unnerving.

"We will not leave! This is our home! Alpha Hansen is a thief! A liar and a cheat! The kids are starving and we barely get enough food to feed our families. The land is slowly deteriorating. Soon we will not enough meat to go around!" Maksim's gut clenched at the sound of the softly spoken voice.

The captain's eyes zeroed in on someone in the crowd. Maksim followed him but couldn't see the person who had spoken up. He had to fight the urge to push his way through the thick crowd and find the owner of the voice.

"Octavia, we don't need you to add fuel to the fire. Go home. That is an order." The captain growled.

Octavia.

Maksim's heart palpated like the wings of a hummingbird. He licked his lips and clenched his hands at his side.

"Or what will you do? Beat me like how you did to the other rebels who fought with you? Beat a woman? How would that make you look?" Octavia provoked the captain further. "We demand to see the Alpha!"

The crowd went wild then--pushing the warriors to get into the pack house.

"Enough!" He waved to two warriors. "Get her! I will show everyone just what I mean when I say go home!"

The warriors shoved and beat anyone nearby to get to the woman who spoke. Antonia moved to protect but Maksim grabbed her wrist to stop her. His eyes solely on the opening crowd until it revealed a tiny woman with dark tresses falling down her shoulder softly. She was dressed conservatively in worn jeans and an old t-shirt. Her lips were perfectly full and plump, pulling an unexplainable desire in him that burned like nothing else.

When Maksim's eyes found the woman's dark fiery chocolate eyes, his whole world tipped and he didn't realize that he had tightened his grip on Antonia's arm.

The warriors grabbed onto her arms and she was about to fight back but a voice boomed in the air.

"коснись ее, и я убью тебя (Touch her and I will kill you.)" Maksim growled loudly. His eyes were dark as the night. The crowd now realizing they are not alone started whispering and opening up as Maksim stalked toward the two warriors. Antonia, Darren, and Roman closely behind him.

"Who are you?" The captain asked. "You have no right to be on this land!"

Maksim glanced at Roman and Darren. They got the hint and moved toward the captain. When they reached the captain they took him down like nothing. The captain now pinned to the ground was growling in anger. Warriors were shouting but a sharp snarl from Roman shut them up. His eyes flashed black as he glared at everyone daring them to fight him.

Maksim turned back toward the two warriors who still has their hand wrapped around his mate's elbow. His eyes narrowed into slits as he walked to them. In one swift move, he grabbed the man's wrist and twisted his wrist until his bone snapped. He let go of the man who cried like a baby as he held his broken wrist. Maksim turned and his hand went to the other man's throat. The man attempted to fight him but Maksim's claw extended and he ripped the man's throat. Heaving with rage still, he turned toward his mate. Her eyes were wide with surprise. He thought he saw fear but it was something entirely different.

Lust.

Maksim's body reacted immediately. He smirked and took the last step toward her.

"Hello, mate." He whispered huskily. "We finally meet."

He wished he had the time to talk to her and get to know her. However, he had to take care of the chaos in front of him. He turned to face everyone. His mate stood nearby and it brought him comfort that she didn't run.

"My name is Alpha Maksim. The Alpha King has ordered us here to manage the issue you have at hand. I can see that tension is high and you are all very hungry. I promise to do what I can do to right the wrong done here. I will talk to Alpha Hansen and we will come to a conclusion that will be beneficial to you all." Maksim announced. "For now, please go to your home and remain there. Rest assured I will follow up with each and every one of you once I have spoken with your Alpha."

"How can one Alpha change another Alpha's mind? How can we believe you when our own is a selfish dictating ass?" A man in the crowd asked angrily.

Darren stood up as Roman punched a struggling captain to knock him out.

"I am not the only Alpha here. Alpha Roman and Alpha Darren are both hereby order of the Alpha King. You can trust us because we are here by the word of the Alpha King to not harm you. No matter the decision, your family will be well taken care of."

Everyone nodded and started to disperse. Antonia moved to stand next to Maksim.

"What do you want to do about the warriors?"

Maksim turned to his beautiful mate. "Do you trust them?"

"We have a dungeon...its empty right now," Octavia mumbled.

Maksim nodded. "Can you show Antonia where it is so we can put them in there until we find what to do next."

Octavia nodded and waited for Antonia to follow her. They disappeared from his sight and he had to fight the pull to run after them. A hand landed on his shoulder.

"Looks like your luck is looking up now." Maksim turned to Roman who was smirking.

He turned back to the direction she disappeared to. "Definitely."