The Other Animals

Chapter 28

"Oliver with Stephanie?" Nikolai asked as he heard his beta return to the office without ever looking away from his computer screen.

"Yeah," Jackson grunted as he sat down in the armchair in front of Nikolai's desk, setting a steaming cup of coffee down onto one of the cork coasters. "They're planting potatoes."

The Alpha chuckled, resting his chin in the palm of his hand and tapping the end of his pen on the notepad in front of him. "I think we're going to have to raise taxes a bit this year."

"I'm sure we'll hear some squawking about that," Jackson sighed, scrubbing a hand through his platinum blond hair as he poured over the report in front of him.

"I would be concerned if we didn't. The pack is growing, we have lots of young pups needing food and medical care." Nikolai sighed, eyes dancing over the spreadsheet filled with various categories and how much the pack had spent within the past year.

"Well, we're taking on Oliver's medical expenses too."

Nikolai gave Jackson a dark look that had the beta raising his hands in surrender and going into damage control. "Wh-which is perfectly necessary and I'm sure everyone would be happy pitching in to help their Alpha's mate," he rushed. The other man hmphed, returning to his work.

The two worked in silence for a long stretch of time, zoning out as they became more focused, their surroundings beginning to blur as they completely forgot the presence of the other person in the room. Their workflow was harshly disrupted by the ringing of Nikolai's cellphone, startling the two men as they cursed under their breaths.

The Alpha glanced over at the screen, "Christ, it's Hanson," he mumbled, begrudgingly accepting the call and holding the phone to his ear.

"The rogues are gone," the panicked voice spat, loud background noises of yelling and rustling filtering in over the line.

"What the hell do you mean 'the rogues are gone'?" Nikolai growled, and Jackson shot up in his chair, leaning over the desk to hear what Alpha Hanson was saying.

"The- the group. The one that was living in the unclaimed lands- the one we were monitoring. I just sent out patrols to check up on them in our normal time interval and they're just gone. Up and left!"

Nikolai felt his face pale. "You- you think they're coming here?" He breathed.

"Well, they're sure as hell not going east! Adriano has been putting traps all over the place. Doesn't matter, they're heading towards you, Nikolai, and they're terrified. They are in the most dire, desperate state a wild animal could be in, and there's no telling what they'll do out of fear. They're not afraid of going after claimed pack territories, they tried it with us, but I think even Glacier is too close for comfort to Atlas. I've sent a group of wolves over to back you up, but there's no telling when those wolves left. I would prepare for a fight," Hanson stated grimly. Nikolai swallowed thickly, balling up a piece of paper in his fist.

"Alright. Thank you, Alpha Hanson."

"I wish you and your pack the best of luck, Alpha Raus," and with a click, the line went dead. Nikolai and Jackson's gazes met over the desk, widened eyes communicating the words they did not utter, as both men rushed out of the room.

Oliver was bent over on his hands and knees in the dirt, jamming the small trowel into the soil to deepen the hole he was digging. He blew one of his curls that fell into his face away, using the back of his hand to brush the rest of them out of his vision.

"How you doin' over here, Oliver?" Stephanie chirped, coming to stand over him and examine his work. She wore faded jeans and a grey hoodie that were both covered in dirt, with cherry red rain boots that were so bright, you could see her from across the lawn. Her long, black hair was in a French braid trailing down her back, brown eyes gleaming in the sunlight.