Chapter Three (Zaid's POV)

"Your mate?" Holly gasped. The man didn't look at us with a lick of shame on his face, just the heart-wrenching grief I would never comprehend.

"Yes. We've been mated since I turned eighteen, four years ago," He responded, his voice shaking before he looked away, locking his eyes on me again, "And now he's dead and it's my fault."

"What do you mean?" My voice came out a whisper. I felt my mother's eyes burning into me accusingly, as if it was my fault I had brought this man here.

"The Hunters fell upon our pack while we were sleeping. We woke up to the sound of our pups screeching. We tried to get to their room in time, but it was too late. We tried to attack them, both in human form and wolf form, but nothing worked. They're bigger than they used to be, stronger and smarter. Felix and I barely got away and we kept runnig, but we ran into an ambush. That's when Felix was wounded. It was my fault because I kept urging him to go on when we both knew he couldn't."

"If you had left him there, they would have killed him anyway." My mother replied, the ice in her voice striking through me. How could she be so heartless? Just because we were wolves, didn't mean we were callous. Even so, she gazed at him with a blank stare. He ignored her look and kept his eyes on me.

Why was he staring at me like that? Was I familiar to him or was I really the only one showing sympathy for him?

"They wouldn't have killed him right away," The man murmured, "They would've tortured him, like they did with the rest of our pack. They burned my parents alive. They torched our homes and hung our elders from the trees. You don't understand, these Hunters are monsters! They speak of us like we're fiends, when they're the real beasts! You're not safe here, they're moving west and they will stop here; Of this I have no doubt in my mind."

"No," My mother responded coldly, "They won't find us. We've hidden here for generations. The Luna pack is safe here." At the name of our pack, the man reeled.

"Luna?" He asked for confirmation. My mother nodded. The man's eyes flickered around thoughtfully before landing on my face again. I gave him a questioning stare, but he said nothing in response to it before he looked at my mother.

"Your pack leader is Nyt Kallas, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"I am Jack Runningwolf from Trinity. My pack leader was the brother of Nyt." He informed. My mother's eyes flashed.

"You lie."

"I do not. Otis Kallas. We were a pack of three combined. The Rose Wind, the Dark Sky, and the Runningwolf. We became Trinity not more than six months ago." Jack replied, glancing at me. I felt a chill go through me as his dark eyes seemed to darken. My mother frowned.

"Damn it," She cursed, "All right. Holly, keep tending to him. We'll keep him here until Nyt has drawn his own conclusion. Until then, keep your eyes peeled and do not let the pups go outside."

And that was that. Everyone split off to do their own jobs, Holly and I staying behind as Jack settled back on the bed, breathing heavily with pain. Lars was reluctant to leave her sign and gave me a warning glare that meant to protect her with my life. I nodded, watching him depart before I turned to Holly, who dabbed the cold cloth on his forehead.

"You've gone through so much. I'm so sorry for your loss." She said quietly. Jack gave a broken, weak smile as he sighed deeply.

"This is just the beginning. I'm not done fighting yet." He answered tiredly, then his eyes shifted to me. I stared back at him, glancing at Holly as she rose to her feet.

"I'm going to have to stitch your wound shut. Unfortunately, we've run out of anesthetic... And alcohol." She announced. Jack gazed up at her.

"A little stitching is nothing compared to losing my mate."

Holly grimaced and nodded, heading out of the room to fetch her medical supplies. I watched her go, then turned around to face Jack as he panted softly, his toes curling in anticipation.

"Do I know you?" I asked at last. Jack stared at me.

"No. I've never been this far west before."

"Are you sure? You keep looking at me." I muttered. Jack smiled.

"Does it offend you that my mate is a male?" He asked. I blinked at the sudden question, feeling my cheeks burn. He had no idea how much I sympathized with the fact that he loved a male. I loved Scythe, and just until a couple hours ago, I assumed he would never love me, but the sliver of hope he gave me was making my heart pound in my chest.

"No." I answered at last. Jack's eyes glowed.

"You love someone too."

"How did you know?"

"The look in your eyes. Believe me, I know the look of affection." His voice was pained as he closed his eyes, going into submission as Holly came back with her supplies. She gestured for me to take Jack's hand. His palm was large and rough, his finger tapered as he gripped my hand. I sat there, grimacing as he clenched his fist around mine as Holly began to weave the stitches in and out of his flesh.

I avoided watching, keeping my eyes on Jack's face. He was as stoic as a doll, staring up at the ceiling and the only way you could tell it hurt was the way he gripped my hand like death.

He passed out afterwards and Holly shooed me from the room as we left, closing the door quietly as we said our goodnights, splitting off to our rooms. I drifted past my parents in time to hear a loud crash and I jumped, coming to a halt and staring at the door.

My accute hearing picked up on every single word of their argument.

"How dare you even suggest such a sin!" My father's baritone voice shook, the sound of his nails scraping on the wood of his desk.

"Oh, quit your shrieking. We have pups and a sick wolf. Look, I'm not saying for sure. I'm just saying that it looked like Zaid was sympathizing. He actually looked like he was going to cry, Nyt."

"How many years did it take to build up that wall? Only to have some filthy omega come along and crash it down."

"I don't think that's quite it. Zaid has good control over his emotions, his human self. At least, most of the time. I'm assuming he... Well, call it woman intuition, Nyt, but I think Zaid's gay."

"No. Impossible. We've shown him several females of the other packs and he's shown interest."

"Yea? Then why hasn't he chosen one? Answer me, oh great Alpha."

"Your sarcasm isn't necessary, Acacia. Zaid is stressed. His eighteenth birthday is coming up, and on a full moon no less. His powers are going to be great. I know it."

"What about the Hunters? What if they are to show up before then?"

"Over their rotting corpses. Let's not discuss this now. We'll talk with the others tomorrow. Send Zaid off so we can have some privacy. Who's to say he's not eavesdropping now?" My father demanded. My eyes widened. Had he picked up my scent? Or maybe he heard me breathing? I didn't waste another moment standing there so obviously. I bolted to my room, closing the door as quickly and quietly as possible.

My back pressed against the door as I took deep breathes to calm myself.

This was bad.

My mother was already suspecting and thank goodness I was a good liar, otherwise, my father would know as well. I think the only person who seemed to know was Jack. Something about him made me shiver.

The depths of his eyes, the overpowering sensation of how much he loved his mate and didn't care who knew. The grief on his face when we told him his mate was dead was enough to have my throat clenching. Even though Scythe and I weren't mated, I know I'd still feel agony over his death.

I didn't even like thinking about it.

But I did like thinking about Scythe, I thought wistfully, then it snapped into place what went on earlier in the woods before I discovered Jack.

Scythe and I were going to meet up. As a date. As a serious date. At least, that's what I'm assuming that was. Guys just don't invite other guys out to dinner. Especially wolves. It wasn't in our nature to do that kind of thing, even if we were part human.

But I was still excited, even if I knew it was dangerous. It's not like anyone would be with me.

It was going to just be me and Scythe. Scythe and me. Together.

I shivered and mentally slapped myself for being such a girl about this whole thing. I wasn't a girl.

I just happened to be a guy who liked a guy.

I threw myself on my bed, rolling over on my side and curling up with my pillow as I stared out the open window, the gentle spring breeze rolling in and ruffling my curtains. I closed my eyes, relaxing as I willed the night to hurry by.

I woke up the next morning, feeling cold and sweaty. I sat up, breathing heavily. I couldn't remember dreaming about anything in particular, but whatever it was, it was bad enough to have me waking up in a cold sweat.

I could smell food from downstairs, grimacing as my stomach growled viciously as I had missed dinner last night. I crawled out of bed, taking my time as I showered down and changed into a pair of torn black jeans and a gray/blue plaid button up shirt. I yawned tiredly as I gave up on fixing my hair, heading out and down the hallway to the stairs.

I paused in front of the guest room Jack was using. I pressed my ear to the door, but heard nothing. I figured he was still asleep and went on downstairs to find that everyone was walking off with their breakfast.

"Where is everyone going?" I asked Lars as he came out, a biscuit in his mouth. He gulped it down, gnashing the gravy in my face and making me roll my eyes. He grinned.

"Your dad and I are heading to the borders to do our rounds early. You know, just in case there are boogeymen out at night." He drawled, pausing to scoff as he stuffed another biscuit in his mouth.

"Boogeymen aren't even in the United States of America," Ivy snorted as she came out of the kitchen, wearing a skintight black leather jumpsuit that could make any man's cock jump, "They inhabit the less populated areas of Europe. If you're done being an asshole about everything, you can pack up the Raptor. I'm taking her around the border too."

"No way," Lars protested, "Who's going to keep Holly safe?"

"Even with a litter of pups, she can easily destroy anyone who comes near her. Besides, she has Breece to protect her and we both know he could hammer anyone's head through a steel door." Ivy responded nonchalantly, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder as she sauntered past us.

"How am I related to her again?" I asked dryly.

"Your mother and your aunt are like two peas in a pod. If they didn't look so different, I'd say they were twins." Lars answered with a depressed sigh, then gave me a crooked grin and a quick wave before he bounded out the door.

I rolled my eyes and went into the kitchen where my mother was just finishing her breakfast while Holly washed the dishes.

"Zaid," My mother greeted, rising to her feet, "Since you disobeyed me last night by running off to Goddess knows where, you have some extra chores."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. I was the one that found Jack in the first place and practically rescued him, in my own sense of the word. My mother ignored my protest as she withdrew this viciously large looking list.

"Seeing as Holly is due any day now, and pretty much everyone is MIA, you will do her chores too. Sweep the floors, wax the banisters, relieve Breece of his afternoon job and by five, I want you to be in town grabbing the supplies you so kindly forgot to bring yesterday."

"Mom..." I started to groan, then stopped. That was my chance. It was the perfect time for me to run into town and meet up with Scythe. Of course, my mother would be suspicious if I didn't gripe about the whole thing, so I let a little whimper escape my throat in protest. My mother growled animalistically.

"Get out and do some work! Alpha when you're eighteen my ass. You act like a three-year-old!"

"Mom-"

"Out!"

"I'm going, I'm going, jeez!" I complained, scurrying out of the kitchen to head upstairs and change. Being downstairs in those few moments was already revealing how hot the day would be. I went upstairs and pulled my shirt off, tossing it on the floor as I reached for a tank top.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, my ears picking up on the sound of someone breathing in my doorway. I whirled around to see Jack standing there, using the doorframe to keep the weight off his sore leg. He was staring at me and for some reason, that made my face catch fire.

"S-Sorry." I managed, cursing myself for stuttering. Jack smiled faintly.

"I should be sorry. I walked in on you."

"Uh, you didn't know." I answered slowly, but the way he was looking at me told me he did know.

He couldn't possibly be flirting with me! His mate just died!

In a wolf pack, once your mate died, you lost half of yourself. It led to suicide almost every single time. There was simply no more meaning in life if you had lost your mate and the very thought of ever going through that, struck me hard.

Jack couldn't possibly have gotten over the death of his mate, not that fast.

"So, do you have plans today?" Jack asked, his eyes searching my room innocently.

It wasn't anything to look at. Just a simple four poster bed with a wooden floor, a large dresser and wardrobe with a walk in closet that I used to store all sorts of crazy things I found. It had a distinct smell of apple potpourri that I always loved having. Now, I felt like Jack being here was...

Invasive.

This was my room. My santuary. He was treading on my territory. It was almost like feeling him touch me. I felt a shiver go through me as I kept my back to him, pulling my tank top on and tossing my other shirt in the wardrobe carelessly.

"I have chores." I answered, turning to face him. Jack had drifted into my room. Had I been in wolf form, my hackles would've risen. Didn't he know that this was dangerous for both him and me?

"That's too bad," Jack murmured, his eyes turning sad as they locked on me, "I... I know most wolf packs leave the bodies of their dead for the Goddess, but I can't stand knowing he's out there where another, unworthy animal could be making a feast of him." I frowned, shifting uncomfortably.

I knew what he was asking. He should know too. It was dangerous for me to get near a dead wolf, particularly this time of day. Other scavengers were bound to be enroute for the corpse, not to mention, my father would kill me if he found that I moved a body.

It was respectful to leave the body where it was in nature, should it die in nature. That was the territory of the Goddess. We weren't allowed to mess with it disrespectfully.

"I'll mention it to my father." I answered. Jack's eyes glinted.

"I'm mentioning it to you. Or did I mishear that you are to be the next alpha of the Luna pack?" He asked. This time, I didn't restrain the threatening growl in my throat.

"It doesn't matter. My father is the one who calls the shots until I turn eighteen... Or if I fail to find a mate." I replied sharply. Jack quirked a brow.

"Oh? Don't they know you're in love already?" He asked. I felt myself shrink back as I grimaced before quickly plastering a poker face on, but it was too late. Jack smiled sadly.

"You love a male."

"I don't."

"You do. I know my kind when I see it. I take it your father isn't a fan of gays, eh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Pretend all you want. I may not look like much, but... Well, appearances can be deceiving, Zaid Kallas. That's your first lesson to becoming an alpha. Watch your opponent. Omega, alpha, beta, gamma, pup. You shouldn't judge people by the way they look. Open the book before you decide you don't like it."

"You sound like those Twilight fans who try and stand up for the book."

"Oh, please. Don't associate me with a bunch of girls. I'm just giving you friendly advice. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about." Jack replied, then turned around and drifted to the door, limping slightly before he paused to look back at me.

His eyes practically glowed with life, catching me off guard. I could see his canines coming in as if he was having difficulties controlling his human half. They vanished, however, and he smiled.

"Mention it to your father, won't you? Otherwise, I'll go out there and do it myself." He said calmly, then disappeared from my room, taking with him all the life that had once been in my room.

Now, I felt miserably depressed, no matter how hard I tried to think about Scythe.

Jack was strange. He was different. Something about him actually scared me. As I moved about the house doing my chores, Jack's eyes followed me whenever I went into the same room as him. I tried to ignore him, but it was so hard. Every so often he would smile, every so often he would frown.

And he picked up on the habit of running his tongue over his lower lip thoughtfully.

It was making every sense inside me quiver.

I hurried to the pups' room to avoid him fully. I walked inside, smiling faintly as they yipped and barked at me happily, bounding across the pale blue carpet. I bent down, stroking their soft little heads and poking at their wet noses.

Fin, the oldest pup, who was nearing his age of puberty, barked in my face, his tongue smacking my cheek before he growled playfully, nipping at my fingertips as I went to push him back. I rolled my eyes, then yelped as Mia leapt up from my other side, pouncing at my shoulder before sliding down.

She whimpered when I scolded her. The twins, Markus and Skylar, barked in unison, but stayed back as they eagerly waited for me to feed them. I glanced up at Breece, who was fast asleep in the armchair across the room. Apparently the pups kept him up last night after we interrupted their nap with the ruckus upstairs.

I smiled faintly, then got up and fetched their lunch from the cabinets, bringing it over and pouring it in the bowls. Fin tried to snap at my ankles when I stood up to put it away. I scowled.

"Stop being a jerk, Fin, and eat." I commanded. Fin sank low to his belly, whimpering for a moment. I didn't show him a bit of sympathy. Fin always took advantage of it. He was a fiesty little brat, just like his mother, Ivy. It made me frown.

Ivy never told us what happened to the father. Whether he died or simply left. I didn't even know him, I was too young to understand. It was too bad that Fin wouldn't have a father to guide him, but knowing my father, he would fill that position in without hesitation.

I didn't know who to feel more sorry for.

Fin or my father.

I finally left them, heading upstairs and sighing in relief when I saw that the last chore on the list was to head into town. I quickly ran upstairs, fetching my leather jacket and coming down. I was just hopping off the last step on the stairs, turning around to head for the door, then gasped as I saw Jack leaning on the bench in the hallway.

"Where are you off to?" He asked me.

"One last chore. If you need anything, let Holly know. She's out back right now grilling salmon for dinner." I replied, heading for the door. Jack hummed in response. I paused, glancing over my shoulder at him with a frown. He wasn't looking at me now.

Rare.

I looked away and headed out to my Suzuki, bringing my helmet up and jamming it on my head, cranking up the volume of the speakers so Kashmir by Led Zeppelin came spilling into my ears, distracting me from the eyes that I knew were watching me from the doorway of the house.

I revved the engine, shooting down the driveway and knocking up dirt behind me in a cloud.

I had to get out of there.

I was tired of being watched. Tired of being lectured. Tired of being treated like an omega, not the alpha I was supposed to be.

And most of all, I was tired of lying.

I rode into town, sighing deeply at the scent of food that was being cooked up in the restaurants and town houses. I rolled up into the Wagner's parking lot, parking in my usual place as I snatched the list from my pocket, scanning it over quickly and glancing at the clock that sat above the little town hall.

I had forty-five minutes until my date with Scythe.

Suddenly, all the joy I had earlier came rushing back and I sighed heavily with relief as I walked into the Wagner's, giving a nod of greeting to the red-headed cashier, who grinned. I went through the aisles, snatching everything as fast as I could before I made my way to the check out counter, just in time for a couple of strangers to walk into Wagner's.

Like I said, being in a small town, you knew everyone.

These guys were totally unfamiliar.

I frowned, pausing as I kept my distance. The wolf in me told to stay put and observe, sniff out if they were human or wolf, friend or foe.

I was leaning toward foe by the way they looked.

The first man was muscular and tall. His head was shaved, his nose strong. His muscles bulged past the black tank top he wore, matching his camo pants and bulky black boots. A pair of black sunglasses sat on his head, a thick belt around his waist. His aura was deadly and predatory, making my skin crawl.

The second was just as muscular and buff, his dark hair slicked back from his face with a two day's growth of beard prickling his handsome face. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of silver and black wrap around shades. He wore a black t-shirt that hugged his muscles tightly, matching the cargo shorts he wore and combat boots ready for stomping.

I grimaced, willing myself to brush past them quickly. I stepped up to the cash register, casually setting my things on the belt as the red-head scanned them. She glanced at me worriedly and I just stared back at her calmly.

"Hey," The one with hair called to the cashier, who gulped, "You got any more six packs?"

"Could you be any louder, Adam? She's a little girl. Don't hassle her." The shaved one grunted as he riffled through the cold beers sitting in the fridges. The girl looked at me helplessly, then stepped from behind the counter as the one named Adam snorted to his friend.

"U-Uhm, we may have some in the back, if you're willing to wait?" She asked softly. Adam scoffed.

"Girl, how much time do you think we have? We're here for a family reunion." He responded. I felt myself relax, but only slightly. I couldn't tell if he was lying or not. If he was, he was really good at it.

"Oh," The girl relaxed visibly, "Sorry. I'll hurry." She quickly darted down one of the aisles, leaving me to stand by the cash register, drumming my fingers. The two guys came sauntering over to the register, slamming down a couple rolls of duct tape, a box of paper clips, and a bottle of strawberry Vodka.

Wow.

Talk about weird.

"What's that smell?" Adam asked suddenly, sniffing the air with a scowl. The shaved man scanned the store dully with bored eyes.

"It's a grocery store. It's supposed to stink."

"I know that, asshole. I mean... Is it supposed to smell like dog?"

I stiffened for some reason, my mind snapping with fire.

I'm not a dog, I wanted to snarl. At the same time, that worried me. Could he smell me? I thought he was human! I swore he was human! I could feel my heart pounding in my chest violently as I avoided looking at them, staring down at my supplies.

"Quit being stupid." The shaved man snorted.

"I'm being cautious, Scorpio. I hate dogs."

"I just smell apples. That's it."

I felt my face flush. I need to get out of here. These guys are freaks!

The red-head came rushing back, placing their beer on their part of the belt before she hurried to pay for my things. I snatched everything up, ready to rush outside when I felt a hand grab my shoulder, making me gasp and whip around, ready to defend myself when I saw the guy named Scorpio handing me one of the Bug Juice drinks I grabbed for the pups.

"You forgot this." He stated. I couldn't speak. My heart felt like it had stopped for a second. I finally willed myself to grab the juice and whirl around, bolting for the parking lot. I stopped by my bike, breathing hard as I tried to relax.

Jeez, I'm paranoid! That's it, just paranoid. I was all tense and nervous about Jack, so much that it caught up to me. I'm crazy.

I glanced up as I watched Adam and Scorpio crossing the parking lot to a large 2012 Ford F350. It was huge and painted with camo. A German Shepherd sat in the bed of the truck, barking angrily and it took me a moment to realize he was barking at me. I felt my eyes widen as I quickly turned my back to them.

I held my breath, listening to the dog call out my presence.

Danger! Master! Master! Danger! Wolf!

Thank God his masters were stupid hicks because they swiftly ignored him, hopping into their truck and driving off down the road, blasting country music until their truck vanished out of town.

As soon as they did, I let myself breath.

Jeez, that was close.