Chapter 3 Episode 3: The Unknown

Red's Point of View

Shadow Storm Pack In The Deep Forest, Somewhere In The Outskirts Of Delmock.

"The pack is awfully quiet. Did something happen when I was aloof?" I asked as I walked towards my place with my best friend, who is also my Beta, walking close to me.

"No Red, everything is fine, you, on the other hand, don't look fine, plus you have been going out a lot more these days."

Anderson is my best friend, and he knows me very well, and, as always, he is not wrong with his observations.

"You are right, Anderson, I am not fine, damn it" I finally replied as I took a seat.

"You won't believe who I found Anderson. I still can't believe it myself."

"Who! Come on, tell me already. You are making me neurotic," he said eagerly. I would have laughed at how neurotic I made him, but not today.

"I found my mate."

"What the hell did you just say? You what?" He inquired, sounding astonished.

"My mate," I reiterated, more to myself than to him.

"If you find her, shouldn't you be over the moon in lieu?"

"Well, I would have. But she is a human."

"Oh damn! That's crazy bro," he said in between laughs.

"Shut it down, Anderson, it's not funny. This is very serious, I am dazzled and perplexed," I said whilst pacing in my room.

"Calm down bro, give it time, and I am certain you will figure it out."

I guess he is right, but now I need to focus on how to catch whatever it is that has been killing the pack members.

"So, any news about the killers yet? I still think it is not an animal but a person."

"You keep saying that but all the evidence points at rogues. Although, the Alpha of Ghostcoast is calling for a meeting tomorrow. He says he has pieces of information about the killer."

"I hope Alpha Mike has something concrete to say because I know this has nothing to do with rogues," I said.

"For fuck sake, Anderson, the Rogues are not bold enough to pull this off without getting caught."

"So you are insisting it is the werewolf hunters, yet we haven't set our eyes on any in over a decade," he said. he is right, it's been over a decade since I heard of one.

"I guess they are back, and they might just have a motive for this. Anyway, assign one of the pack members to watch over My Mate whilst we are away and also ask two more members to come with us to the meeting first thing tomorrow morning."

"Okay, but where is your mate though?"

"Well, she works at my newest coffee shop," I said with a mischievous smile.

"Oh wow, how convenient," he said, trying to leave.

"Anderson, you need to talk to your sister about me. Let her know I have found my Mate, but don't let her know she's human."

"Oh hell no, you are putting me in a tight spot, bro, Knox is going to be livid and unruly. You know how much she likes you."

"Yes I know, which is exactly why you have to be the one to tell her, because you know I have already made it very clear to her that nothing will happen between us," I said, laughing at his grimace.

"Whatever man, I will tell her. I need to go and prepare everything for tomorrow, so have a good night," he said with a crestfallen look.

Anderson can be such a big old softy sometimes. I hope he finds his mate soon.

He has been searching for quite a while now and even when I wasn't looking, I found mine.

I pray he finds her soon. He is such a good guy and a good friend.

I need to go to my mother's cabin to tell her about my mate before going to bed.

"Mother, where are you?" I called out the moment I stepped into the cabin.

"Hey brother, she's in the room. Where have you been? Knox and I came to your cabin to look for you earlier today," Lilian said.

"Damn it, Lilian, how many times exactly do I need to tell you that Knox will not be my Luna?"

"I know she's your friend, and she's my best friend's sister, but guess what, she's not my mate, so she can never be my Luna," I said while going to the room in search of Mother.

"Brother, wait, I know she's not your mate, but I like her, can't you just make her your chosen mate since you haven't found your mate? She likes you, she does."

"Mother good evening, can you just tell Lilian that she can't coerce me into being with her friend."

"I am the Alpha, and when I am ready I will show you all my Luna, but it definitely won't be Knox."

"Calm down son, I know she's not your mate, but you are not even looking for her. Don't you want to have a Luna?" She said whilst going to the kitchen with Lilian, and I followed suit.

"Yes Mother, you are right. I haven't been searching for her, but that didn't deter me from finding her." I pointed out, making everyone stop and stare at me with wide eyes.

"Are you saying you found your Mate?" Mother asked, sounding astonished.

"Yes, that's exactly what I am saying, her name is Ana," I said proudly.

"What? When did you find her? Lilian asked.

"I found her a week ago. Don't bother asking any questions. I will not be giving you any more information for you to feed your friend with," I said assertively.

"Anyway, Mother, I am having a pack meeting tomorrow morning at Ghostcoast, so I will be leaving early with Anderson and two other people."

I went straight to bed after having dinner at my mother's cabin. She was elated with the news, excluding Lilian, though for obvious reasons.

I am just a little flustered about how I should tell her that I am a werewolf and that she's my mate. It won't be easy, that's for sure.

The next morning came faster than anticipated. It was almost as though I didn't sleep a wink last night, ruminating about having my mate and how to convince her.

Anyway, that aside. When I finished preparing and stepped outside, Anderson was already outside waiting with Gabriel and Philip.

"Oh man, did you get any sleep?" Anderson joked when he noticed me.

"I wish I did. Is everything set?" I asked as I moved around the pack.

"Yes we are good to go," he said as we headed out towards the cars.

"What about Ana? Did you send someone over to her as I instructed," I asked, as he stepped into the car beside me.

"Yes, I sent Michael over. Everything is in order," he said politely.

Turns out the meeting is in the city, in one of the hotels and not at the Ghostcoast park, hence the cars.

"Welcome Alpha Red, Alpha Mike greeted." Within five minutes, all the others arrived, and we were all seated.

"We have all experienced the incessant killings of our pack members. It's no longer a surprise that we have a target on our backs," Alpha Mike said in his opening speech.

"Anyway, Alpha Red has always been in a strong opinion that these attacks are being carried out by humans," Alpha Mike continued while the other Alphas mumbled.

"Look, I don't know why Alpha Red thinks so, but it is very obvious this is the work of rogues," Alpha Luca from Midnight Crescent interjected.

"I second that," Alpha Fred from Night Stone and Alpha Brandon from Darkshine echoed.

"Well, I used to think so too until recently, when they tried to kill some of my pack members and, luckily for me, two of them were able to get away, but not unscathed," Alpha Mike continued, and that statement piqued my interest.

"So what are you saying, Alpha Mike?"

"I am saying you have been right all along, it's the humans. Werewolf hunters." Mumbles echoed on all sides of the room at his statement.

"Yes, my pack members that survived confirmed that it was a man in his early fifties, he had way too many silver weapons."

"He was so keen and desperate to kill, they said he wore something on his feet." Alpha Mike finished his narration.

He wore something on his feet that had to be a "human-to-wolf footprint", I mumbled to myself.

"Did you say something, Alpha Red?" Alpha Brandon of the Darkshine pack asked the rest of the Alphas to direct their attention to me.