The People's Alpha ✔

30: Salmon Creek

As we pulled into the Salmon Creek pack grounds, I could very quickly see that all was not well.The houses, lit up in the headlights, looked dilapidated. I could see broken windows and blocked gutters that shouldn't have been there. There were also some overhanging tree branches that definitely shouldn't have been there.

There were some pups playing with an old ball. They scurried into the shadows as we approached. Judging by the state of their pelts, they had been in wolf form for at least a few days. This was not good. People usually only stayed in wolf form for prolonged periods when there wasn't enough food to go around. I guessed that this was the case.

A fully grown wolf came in from the bushes with what appeared to be a fresh hare in his jaws, its eyes red in the glare of the headlights. I swore I saw it enter the open front door of a house. I sucked in a breath.

This was not looking good. Not good at all.

We pulled up next to the pack house, which also had seen better days. There was a small party out to greet us outside, shivering in the cold. The two guys that had led the envoy to our pack, and two others that I did not recognise.

It was a clear night, and the temperature had dropped quite drastically since night had fallen. I looked up at the stars, framed by the black silhouettes of the trees, which were swaying in the breeze.

The pack house door was open, and through it I could see a fire burning, and a circle of chairs drawn around it, and haggard-looking people huddled around the fire, trying to keep warm. Thurgood greeted them warmly, and spoke briefly with them. His men piled out of the back of the Troopy and got straight to work. They had been on this beat for a week now, so they had the whole routine down to a T. Brian and I just stood there in the background, admiring their efficiency.

"Brian," Thurgood beckoned, "Come with us." He tossed me a flashlight. "Jim, Go get Kaden out of his, er, lair for me, will you?"

I looked at the welcome party, their faces lit by the thin orange light coming in from the pack house. They were looking at me expectantly. "He still hasn't come out?"

Thurgood shrugged. "You believe me, they've tried. Maybe you can. You seem to be able to get through to him."

I recalled the last time I'd spoken to Kaden. "Perhaps." 

***

I walked towards the Alpha residence. The trees and hedges in the gardens, carefully manicured on the last time I had visited here, had long been left to go to seed. Their shadows looked menacing in the dappled moonlight.

It was an imposing affair, even in the dark, two storeys of stucco and Corinthian pillars, of the faux-Italianate style that had been all the rage in the 1990s. The windows were unlit, their dark voids ominous. I could see cobwebs covering some of them, ghostly pale in the moon's silver pall.

I proceeded up the path. There were two cars parked outside, a blue Bentley and the Mercedes. I ran a hand over the Bentley, which also had a flat tyre; it had obviously not been driven for some time. My fingers came back with a thick coat of dust.

The huge front door was ajar, and I pushed my way inside. Inside, it was pitch-dark. There was no It smelled musty, like nobody had lived in it for a long time. Even in the small amount of illumination coming from the third There was dust covering every surface.

"Kaden!" I called out into the darkness. "It's Jim. They're looking for you. Come out. They need you."

No answer. I tried again. Still no answer. I thought I heard a slight movement upstairs, but it could have been the wind. Or a mouse. Or anything.

Turned on the flashlight. The inside of the house looked unkempt. I saw a clock on the wall, its hands permanently frozen at 3:47.

The musty smell got worse as I approached the open-plan kitchen. The sink was piled high with dirty dishes. I opened the fridge and immediately regretted my decision.

There was another noise, upstairs again. There was definitely someone else in the house. Maybe it was Kaden.

I made for the light switches and flicked them, bathing the interior in warm yellow light. Most of the chandeliers had at least a few blown-out bulbs. This place was starting to creep me out.

I went back into the foyer and took the grand staircase two steps at a time. Dust motes leapt into the air with every step, dancing in the light of the ornate crystal chandelier above. I opened the door to the first bedroom. Empty. I tried the next one.

I took a moment to read the scene. Food wrappers and clothes strewn everywhere. A TV, switched off. Kaden, sitting on the four-poster bed, staring at the wall.

He didn't look at me.

"What the hell is going on here, Kaden?"

"This wouldn't have been like this if it hadn't been for the humans," he mumbled.

"I'm not here to talk to you about humans, Kaden. I'm here to talk about your pack! Look outside! Look at the state of it! They need you more than ever." I surveyed the mess on the floor. "Kaden, there's no way humans have done what they've done. It's impossible. They're three thousand miles of ocean away. And even if they did, you should at least be trying to stop them." "Yes! They did all of this. All of this." Kaden repeated himself, as if to convince himself that what he was saying was true.

"OK, Kaden. The humans ruined your life. They made your mate escape and they've destroyed your pack." I got up close to him. He was still staring into space. "Kaden, name one thing in this room that wasn't designed, invented or built by a human."

For once, Kaden was silent. I could hear his breathing. He looked like he couldn't compute what I was saying.

"They've done nothing for us!"

"Without humans, Kaden, you'd be freezing your sorry arse off in a cave somewhere. So have some appreciation of what they've done for you for a moment. Have some respect and for the love of Monagh, stop blaming them for your own mess. You're 19 years old! You're an adult! You're not a child anymore! You're responsible for all of this! Get a grip!"

"They even sent some wolves to scout my pack territory. Wolves that smelled like humans. Luckily I stopped them."

"You didn't tell anyone."

"I thought they were just some normal rogues. But now looking back... I think they were possessed by humans. They had this weird smell. Really sweet. Like humans."

"Sweet-smelling wolf demons possessed by humans or not, Kaden, you need to get out there and lead your pack. They need you. They're out there, waiting for you! Come on!"

"Stop yelling at me!" He was staring at me directly now, and I could see the whites of his eyes were bloodshot. "You're like that crazy human chef guy on TV! You even look like him!"

"Unlike Gordon Ramsay, I don't have a problem with raw food." I tried once more. "Kaden. Just listen to me. Please..."

"I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask for these humans to come here! I didn't ask to be born to an Alpha! I can't do this! I can't-"

"Kaden!" I put my hands on his shoulders and forced him to look at me. "Your pack needs you. You're a talented warrior, Kaden. I saw you at that training showcase. You were easily head and shoulders above anyone else in that arena. Maybe you're not the best at leading your pack, you can protect your pack, and that's probably the most important thing you could do right now. If you can rip through a bunch of hardened soldiers like that, you can do this. Now take a deep breath."

I felt Kaden relax. He did as he was told.

"Now get up, and we're going to go to the pack house and you're going to make an announcement to the rest of the pack."

Kaden got up. He paused to straighten his collar.

And then all hell broke loose outside.