The Hunt

Chapter 17

The female Alpha, also known as Luna, is the dominant female within a pack. We have studied the behaviors of Alpha males extensively as finding a true Alpha born female is rare to come across. Male children being the more common offspring for Alpha’s. We have, however, been able to observe a Luna from a distance, not able to capture her. True Lunas tend to be more aggressive, displaying their dominance more than Alpha males. This aggression is heightened in the presence of children and other females, driven by the need to protect what is hers and because of this it is difficult to get close to one without suffering major losses. We have studied the behavior of females who have earned the title of Luna through the mate bond. They gain some of the distinct mannerisms of a born alpha female but can not hold true to the aggression and power that comes with being born with the title. 

Hunter’s Codex, Pack Dynamics pg. 636

    My phone’s ringtone woke me from the deepest sleep I’d had in a long time. We were both wrapped in each other's arms soaking up the warmth and content that came with being together. Michelle was tucked away under my arm and curled against my chest, lightly snoring. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and saw Caden’s name on screen as it began to ring again for the second time. Groaning, I rolled to get out of bed. 
    “Where are you going?” In the process of detaching myself from Michelle she woke enough to mumble out words that were barely recognizable.
    I pulled the covers back over her, “Just need to make a call.”
    “Hmm.” she snuggled back into her pillow and dozed off again. “Hurry back. You were warm.”
    The phone rang in my ear as I called Caden back, waiting for him to answer. It didn’t take long for him to pick up with the sound of people talking in the background.
    “Sorry to ruin your good time there,” he said. “We need you back for the next few days.”
    “And I only thought I could get good sleep for once.” I laughed into the phone at him. I felt good right now, not as good as I should though, so a few days away from her wouldn’t be hard to manage. “What’s up?”
    “Alpha Bailey finally responded. He’ll be here for a meeting tomorrow and I need you back to help.” The sound of paperwork shuffled on the other line. “There’s a lot of information we need to get organized for the meeting to help speed things along. Bailey said he should be here about ten in the morning so I need everything perfect before then.”
    “Let me guess, cleaning out the community hall is one of those things.”
    “Of course. But not for you to do, I need your help organizing all of this paperwork.” He said.
    I could see Caden now, sitting on the floor of his father’s office organizing everything in the files and shelves. Where Caden was an organized genius who needed everything filed and bulleted, his father was the complete opposite. He thrived in chaos and his office reflected that. 
    Caden mumbled to himself on the other end, the sound of papers shuffling getting louder. “Please hurry, you're the only one here who knows how I like things organized.” 
    He wasn’t wrong either. After growing up with someone and spending every waking hour together you tend to know what makes their mind tick. I laughed, “I’m on my way, just give me a minute and I’ll take care of it.” I knew exactly what was going on in his head and the grunts and grumbles coming from him only confirmed how stressed he was in the presence of his father’s ‘work flow’. 
    “Thank you.” He mumbled out between talking to himself. As soon as I got there he would sit back and let me filter through it all so he could go through and make sure it was all organized. He had a hard time thinking in disorganization so leaving him there on his own would only create more chaos. 
    I hung up and turned to see Michelle staring up at me. “Called into work?” 
    “Yeah, we have an important meeting tomorrow and I need to help Caden get some things ready.” I sighed and laid back down next to her. 
    “Caden’s your best friend right?” She snuggled back into me.
    “Yeah. Best friend, boss, damsel in distress at the moment.” 
    She laughed, “Are you gonna go rescue him?”
    “I guess I have to. He is my boss after all.” I kissed the top of her head and pulled her in for a hug. We stayed like that for a moment and I only pulled away when I realized I may never leave if I stay any longer. “I need to go before he gets impatient.” 
    She stood up with me and followed me to the front door. “I would offer breakfast but I guess duty calls.” 
    “Unfortunately.” I said. I grabbed her hips and held her to me. She leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss, melting into my arms. “Hm. I don’t think I want to go now.” 
    She laughed and gave me one more kiss before pulling away. “Go, before your damsel gets mad.” 
    “I’ll see you later.” I said, stepping onto the porch and making my way down the steps. 
    It didn’t take long to reach my truck. I had parked it on a gravel road just a little ways away from Michelle’s house and made my way back through the woods almost immediately after pulling out of her drive last night. I couldn’t leave her there alone with him after he saw me. 
    Caden called me again when I was halfway back complaining about how he just wanted to burn the place down and start over from scratch. I left him a little too long in his own head and knew I was going to suffer the consequences of it. 
    I pulled into the parking lot next to the community hall and wasn’t able to even get out of my truck before Caden was there complaining. “I can’t do it anymore, Will. I don’t understand why he lets it get that bad. How does he even function?”
    “Caden. Please. Take a breath, go grab a cup of tea, take it to your room and soak up all the beautiful organized bookshelves.” I put my hand on his shoulder and pushed him in the direction of the community hall. 
    “Thank you. This is why I need you.” He sighed and led the way inside. 
    “You owe me a week-long vacation when Michelle and I finally make things official.” I said.
    “You can have a month if you manage to fix whatever is going on in that office.” 
    “Deal. I’ll let you know when I’m finished so you can look it over.”  

    I was drained. I ended up spending all day and most of the night organizing the office space for the meeting. Why I do these things for Caden, I’m not sure, but I would much rather do this than have to suffer through his mental breakdown because we are greeting another Alpha in a mess. 
    I was still sitting on the floor of the office, watching Caden go over the last few details on the file we had made out for the meeting over the hunters. I picked at the breakfast in front of me, all of the sleep I had managed to get the night before, pointless. I felt like I was back at square one, drained and no desire to eat. Spending a night far away from Michelle did more harm than it should have. The mate bond must be a lot more strained than I realized. 
    “You look awful.” Caden said, glancing up from the file he shut. 
    “I feel awful.” I pushed the plate of food away and leaned against the wall behind me. “I feel like curling up in bed and just waiting for this all to be over.” 
    “I won’t let you. I need you still, obviously.” He waved his hands around the, now clean, office. “She’s coming around and one day we can look back and realize it was worth it.”
    I sighed and ran my hand over my face. “Yeah. It’s just hard to stay motivated.” 
    “Your slumber party didn’t help any?” he asked.
    I thought for a moment. “No, I think it may have made it worse. I got a little taste of what it could be. Instead of craving her, I’m now having withdrawals.”
    Caden didn’t say anything. He knew this was how it was.
    We sat in silence as Caden continued to work on the file for Alpha Bailey to read over and I stared at the plate of food, willing myself to want it and failing. 
    Alpha Andrew came in thirty minutes until the meeting. “Well, looks like you boys just pulled an all-nighter.”
    “That’s because we did, dad.” Caden stood up and handed the finished file to his father. “Here, it’s all ready.”
    “Hm.” Alpha Andrew skimmed through the pages, not really looking at any of it. “The office looks nice.” He shut the file and sat down at his desk, Caden taking a seat across from it.
    “That’s because Will spent the last 24 hours filling and organizing whatever you had going on in here.” Caden said. “How in the world do you manage to run a pack? It was pure chaos in here and you only showed up with half an hour to get the file ready for Bailey?” 
    “John’s not picky, I just assumed we would talk about it. Files aren’t necessary.” Caden looked like his head was going to explode from the lack of professionalism from his father and Alpha Andrew looked around the room taking it all in. He glanced at me and nodded, “Good work.” 
    “Thanks.” I didn’t have anything left in me to hold up a conversation. 
    “Now tell me why you’re fighting your mate bond.” Alpha Andrew sat back in his seat and held my gaze.
    Caden froze in place and watched me, waiting to see what I would say.
    I slumped down where I was, giving up on trying to put up a front. “Because she doesn’t know about the bond.”
    “What do you mean?” He crossed his arms, furrowing his brows. 
    “She’s human, she doesn’t know we exist and, honestly, I’m not even sure if she can feel the bond or not.” 
    Alpha Andrew just stared at me for a moment, his face not giving away what was going through his mind. I just stared back, not sure what to do at the moment. He turned and looked at his son, face still devoid of any emotion. “And you knew?”
    Caden nodded at his father. “Of course, what kind of alpha would I be if I didn’t know what was going on in the life of my beta.” 
    Andrew nodded, still deep in thought. He glanced at the door and sighed, releasing the tension in his shoulders. “We’ll discuss this later. I believe our guests just arrived.”
    I stood up as my father entered the room followed closely by who I assume was Alpha Bailey and a young girl, no older than 18.
    “Andrew!” Alpha Bailey bellowed out, his large frame made mostly of weight gained from being overly comfortable. His brown hair was beginning to recede at the front but his gray eyes still shone with youth that came from having the health of a werewolf. 
    Caden’s dad clasped hands with Bailey, a massive grin plastered on his face. “John, it’s been some time.” He looked Alpha Bailey up and down, taking in his old friend. “Years have not been too kind to you now have they?” He said, laughing. 
    “I think the problem is they’ve been too good.” Alpha Bailey howled in laughter, his personality matching his size. 
    I was only partially paying attention to the banter between Alpha’s. My eyes were glued to the exchange happening behind them. 
    Caden was frozen in place, eyes locked onto the young girl who had followed Bailey into the room. She must have been his daughter, her brown hair and gray eyes the same as his. Unlike her father, though, she had a small petite frame barely taller than five feet. Her soft features making her look gentle and meek. 
    She had her eyes set on Caden as well, a bright red blush creeping up her neck. 
    Alpha Bailey turned and reached an arm out to her, “And this is my daughter, Alice.” It was around that time that the older men realized something was happening and went silent.
    A smile played at Caden’s lips as he stared at Alice, “Hey.”