Keegan's POV

Saturday, October 13, 2018

As soon as I open my eyes I jump out of bed. I can't wait to see Emily again. Unfortunately, I have to see to my duties as alpha before I can go to her. I quickly slip on a pair of shorts before running down to the kitchen. Finding my mother, I walk over and give her a peck on the cheek. "Good morning, mom."

"Good morning to you, too." She says with a smile. "I'm glad to see you. I was so worried when I heard about what happened last night, and then you disappeared for a few hours after everyone else returned."

"Well," I rub the back of my neck, "about that. I have some news."

She looks worried. "What is it? Don't tell me we are already having issues with another pack."

"No. No, nothing like that. It's actually good news." I reassure her. "I met my mate."

I duck when she tries to slap the back of my head. "Don't scare me like that. Why didn't you tell me sooner? Who is it? What's her name? Or is it a he? I know you've been saving yourself for your mate, but I've never even seen you looking at a girl. You know your father and I would love your male mate just as much as a woman. Is that why you were hesitant? You shou.."

"Mom! Chill." I tell her once I pick my jaw up off of the floor. "My mate is a girl, and I already know that you guys don't care about that sort of thing. She is Ivy's roommate, Emily. I was a little reluctant to say anything so soon because she also happens to be a witch, and things just get more complicated from there. I wanted to figure everything out before announcing it to the pack because I want to have answers to any questions that might arise."

"A witch?" Mom asks me with wide eyes. "Like, an actual magical witch?"

"Yes, mother. A real witch, with spells and everything." I answer with a chuckle. "She helped us find Asher last night by... well you'll have to ask Ivy what she actually did, but it was magic and only took minutes for her to know his exact location. She is really powerful. She is also very pure of heart and it is humbling that the Moon Goddess considers me worthy enough to be with her. I just hope that the pack won't show prejudice. Witches aren't exactly our enemies, but I know I've never heard anything good about one."

"Neither have I, son. I know that there was some sort of fight with a small coven and my birth pack, but I was only a child. I don't know what it was over really, only that they did something that scared our Alpha so badly that he sent out all of our warriors to wipe them out." She tells me with a furrowed brow.

"That's not comforting, but I'm sure once everyone meets Emily that they will see that she is as amazing as I know she is. Just keep this to yourself for a bit, yeah? You can tell Dad if you want and Ivy already knows, but no one else, not until I know everything I need to." I say seriously.

She nods and is about to speak when we hear the sound of the warriors making their way towards us. Mom just gives another firm nod before turning back to preparing breakfast. I grab a plate and pile on some bacon, eggs, and toast before pouring myself a glass of juice and taking a seat at the dining table. I dig in as the table fills up with my men and we all dig in. Once I've cleaned my plate, I drain the last bit of juice and take my dishes over and give them a quick rinse before placing them in the dishwasher. I give my mom another quick kiss on the cheek and thank her for breakfast then head outside.

Knowing that Ivy will want to go through with the plans from yesterday, I send out a message through the pack link. *Training is canceled this morning, we'll pick it up tomorrow. Warriors, go straight to your posts when you finish eating. Just because the Black Forest pack is no longer an issue doesn't mean that we will become lax in our patrolling.* I strip out of my shorts before shifting and sprinting into the forest. Heading straight for the border, I suddenly realize Aidan has been completely silent all morning. He hasn't really said much actually since Emily and I talked last night.

'Hey Aidan, you alright?' I ask him.

'Fine.' He grunts.

'Well that's convincing.' I say. Aidan just huffs. 'Seriously, what's wrong?'

'Nothing, I'm just thinking. I don't know what it means to be a familiar, and I don't want to mess it up. I mean, what if I suck at it and Emily decides that she doesn't want to be with us anymore. It would be all my fault, and just because I think you are an egotistical loser most of the time doesn't mean I want to be the reason that you lose your mate.' He tells me, sounding devastated.

'Hey! Don't be like that. I don't know what it means either, but Emily does and she will tell us. From what I do know, a witch's familiar is very important to them. She won't just toss us away if you make a few mistakes.' I try to comfort him. 'Besides, there is no way she would ever send us away, I am awesome.' I say, making my tone overly smug.

Aidan chuckles. 'No, you're right. She definitely won't leave because of me. If anything drives her away it will be the size of your head.'

I just laugh, glad that he is back to his snarky self. When I reach the edge of my territory, I slow and turn to stay in the boundaries as I begin my lone patrol. It takes a little over an hour to make it back to my starting point and having not scented anything unfamiliar, I head back towards the house. Reaching the porch, I quickly shift and pull my shorts back on before going inside and to my office. I take a seat at my desk and begin the arduous task of going over the pack's financial reports.

A knock on my office door brings me back to myself a while later. "Come in." I call out, happy for a break.

Joel, my beta, steps hesitantly inside. I'm surprised to see the lunch plate he is carrying. "Alpha." He says with a nod to me. "You missed lunch and your mother asked me to bring you a plate. Sorry if I'm disturbing you."

I smile at him. "Not at all, my friend. I didn't realize how hungry I was. Thank you."

He steps over and hands me the plate before stepping back, but remaining in front of my desk. I raise an eyebrow at him, knowing that he must have something to say. It takes him a moment, but he finally lets out a heavy sigh. "Alpha, a few of the teens went into town yesterday to see a movie. They didn't tell me until this morning and don't worry, I gave them the what for about going out without an adult with the threat that was against us."

I nod while leaning back in my chair. "Good, I assume you doled out a proper punishment?"

"Yes, they will be responsible for cleaning the pack house for the next month as well as not being allowed to leave pack lands. But.." He hesitates. "That's not the important part."

Sitting up quickly, I order, "Tell me. Now."

Joel swallows hard. "Well, Bradley said he is sure that he caught the scent of a vampire."

I jump up from my chair. "What?!" I bellow. "We haven't had any sightings of vampires here in years."

"I know, but I sent a couple of warriors to check the area and they returned a few minutes ago. They confirmed that at least 2 vampires have been around within the last few days." He tells me.

"Why didn't you come to me sooner?" I ask.

"I didn't want to bother you if it was nothing, sir. I came as soon as they reported back to me." He explains.

"Ok, well we know they can't be out during the day, but I want 3 groups of at least 2 warriors scouting the town once the sun sets. They don't necessarily want trouble, they could just be passing through. Be sure to tell them that if they locate the vampires to approach with caution and not antagonize them. If they aren't hostile, then I don't want them to strike out thinking that we are." I command.

I don't know what vampires would be doing in this area, but I want to find out. Our town isn't big enough for them to blend in, so I know they aren't trying to settle here. It shouldn't be a problem as long as they don't start killing the locals. Most of the vampires that I've met weren't the killing sort, they just take a little blood from a human and use their saliva to heal the wounds before mesmerizing them into forgetting the entire encounter. No one is actually hurt, so I have no problem with it, after all, they are only doing what we all do, doing what we must to survive. My only real concern with their presence is that they didn't do me the courtesy of announcing their arrival in the area. I guess only time will tell what their intentions are.

Joel nods before excusing himself, leaving me to finish my paperwork and eat my lunch. It takes another 2 hours for me to finally complete my task, and when I do I head straight to my room. After taking a quick shower, I pull on a pair of dark jeans and a soft green t-shirt. I won't even try to deny that I chose the shirt for Emily. I've noticed that she seems to like the color green, and this also happens to be the softest shirt I own which will hopefully make her more inclined to hug me. I pull on a pair of black tennis shoes and shove my wallet and keys into my pocket before heading downstairs.

*Does anyone have anything to report?* I ask all of my warriors through the pack link. When they all respond in the negative, I tell them,*Ok, good. Tell Ivy I'm sorry that I won't be joining in on the fun tonight, but I have somewhere I need to be.* At their agreement, I go outside and make my way to my truck. Trying to control my speed, I drive off towards Emily's house.

When I arrive, I park behind her car and get out. I can hear music blaring from inside, and what I think might be my mate singing. I make my way closer and try to peek through the window, but the curtains block out everything. I knock on the door and when I get no response I try the knob. Finding it unlocked, I open it and step inside only to stop dead in my tracks at the sight that greets me.

Emily is in the middle of the living room, facing the tv with a microphone on a stand in front of her and a weird little guitar strapped across her shoulder. And... She is jamming out. Throwing her head all around as she belts out the lyrics and strums the guitar wildly to what I now recognize as Duran Duran's 'Hungry Like the Wolf'. I decide that that song is fitting as I unabashedly creep on her. The manic smile on my face feels foreign but totally welcome.

https://youtu.be/IxW0n5Fe5CY

^^Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran^^

When the song ends I give a loud whistle and begin to clap. Emily almost gives herself whiplash with how swiftly she jerks her head in my direction. Her eyes are so wide that I fear they may fall out of her skull and her mouth is open in a silent scream. I feel a moment of guilt about scaring her, but the fear in her eyes quickly turns to embarrassment.

"Don't be embarrassed, Schmoopy. You looked adorable, and I loved your song choice." I try to comfort her.

Emily's face goes pink. "Ugh. I can't believe you were watching me like some crazy stalker. Gah, I wish I was invisible right now."

And suddenly, she's gone. What just happened?

A/N: Please Vote and Comment. Thanks for reading!