The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Heartbreak Hotel

"Did you see the way he looked at me? It was like he thought I was about to tear him to pieces." Elijah complained gruffly as they walked away. There wasn't much light to begin with on the cloudy day, but what was left was fading quickly. 

"Well, you've got to make progress Alpha,"  Anna explained softly. It was meant as encouragement, but she was only half paying attention. She'd never been within a human village before and her eyes were a cheery yellow matching some of the exteriors of the shops. The longer they were there the less the sheer act of existing felt like an assault on their senses, and Anna having the weakest senses anyway was quickly warming up to Belford. 

"This is our alp- Elijah!" Daniel scoffed sarcastically, bumping her shoulder. She turned round and rolled her eyes at him. "Neither of you have any idea how to talk to humans. If we're gonna be kicking about Belford Bay for a while, we're gonna need to work on that."

"Shit man, it's just weird. We never really use each other's names." Anna shrugged.

"What do you mean if we're gonna be 'kicking around Belford Bay for a while,' Beta?" Elijah asked. His voice paused both those who walked down the wet stone street ahead of him.

"We're not just gonna drag him back by the tail, Alpha!" The girl snorted before being cut off by the sharp glare of the Alpha. She pursed her lips in annoyance and went back to cataloguing the buildings and signs that they passed. The inn was only two doors down, but Elijah was stalling so they didn't move fast. 

"She's right. You need to build a relationship with him. It's very easy to overwhelm humans, their emotions move a lot slower than ours do." Daniel stopped walking to explain. He spared a cursory look back towards where he knew Teddy had been. 

"I don't have time to be worrying about human emotions." Elijah gruffed, crossing his large arms across his chest pestilently. "I don't have time to be worrying about humans, period. My brother is hungry to take my place, do you understand? I've got to get Te- the boy back as soon as possible. I don't have time to move slowly."

"Alpha," Daniel attempted calmly. "You said it yourself... he was frightened of all of us, and that's only natural--"

"I'm not letting some damn human ruin our whole pack, Beta."

Anna, noticing the other two had stopped walking, dwindled in her own steps and stared up at the second stories of the shop buildings they were passing by. Each window above the little blue building marked 'Bakery' had a box of white flowers blooming and dripping from the water. 

"I'm not asking you to let a human ruin the pack," Daniel sighed heavily. "I'm asking you not to let your impatience ruin it."

Elijah's eyes flashed red and he growled deeply in warning. Daniel dropped his head in submission, but he didn't back down from his principles. With the most experience in human ecosystems under his belt, he knew he was right. Teddy didn't seem like the 'throw caution to the wind type' and demanding he act like that would only serve to seed resentment.

"If the human rejects you because you kidnap him, they'll be no going back. If you take your time and Sampson happens to make a move, you'll just have more of a reason to take him out than you already do." Daniel challenged, though his eyes were trained to the floor.

Anna let her eyes drift down from the buildings and over to her companions. She knew she ought not to get involved with the dealings of the higher ups of the pack, but she'd been invited on the trip regardless--- that meant her opinion must be worth something... she hoped. 

"I think Daniel's right, Alpha," Anna offered weakly. Both Daniel and Elijah looked to her, one in mild surprise, one in anger. "But not about everything. Love moves fast even for humans, maybe Teddy already likes you, and it's just a matter of flirting.... but you should test the waters before you jump in."