a Primal Pursuit

forty six

Standing outside of the meeting room, Piper and I staggered to a stop. Staring at the door, neither of us made a move to open it. My nerves grew tenfold, and I wrung my hands, unsure if she wanted me to knock.

Or are we just standing here for decoration?

"Piper..."

"Yes?"

"What exactly are we doing?" I wondered.

"I don't know," she admitted.

I trailed my eyes over the hardwood, frowning. "Okay."

Silence enveloped us, an awkward confusion settling between the two of us. It had taken a few minutes to march our way here, and over the course of those minutes, the confident boss moment faded. We wanted answers, but we did not know what we were supposed to do now we were here.

My lips parted, ready to ask another question, when the handle on the door turned. With wide eyes, I quickly shoved Piper, so we stumbled down the hallway and around a corner. With a soft thump, she hit the wall, and a muffled complaint escaped her lips.

I peered around her when bodies filtered down the hallway. Piper soon quietened, realising why I had shoved her away. She spun, forcing me in front and beneath her since I was smaller, so we both could see. I could smell her perfume and hoped that nobody picked up on our scents.

Time to activate those weird hearing powers I seemed to have gained...

Staring ahead, I narrowed my eyes with concentration, tuning out my surroundings until I centred my focus on the open doors. Various large men filtered out of the room, and after I counted fifty, I grew tired of keeping track. They kept on coming, flooding out of what I now assumed to be a conference room. Asra said there were around two-hundred alphas, so were they all in there right now?

Piper's grip tightened on my back as the current trickled to stragglers, and I rose an eyebrow with interest when the hallway fell quiet. The footsteps had vanished, and in return were the soft, deep voices of the remaining men. I couldn't pick up my mate's voice, but something inside of me knew he was in there. The bond was playing in my favour, and I just hoped he was too distracted to notice I was so close.

Was my mind closed?

I frowned, scouring the depths of my brain to make sure I was alone. Since mating, Asra has sneaked into my mind without me realising. If I was too distracted or distressed, he did it easily because I let my control slip.

Not this time, bucko.

Piper leaned away from the corner, standing a few steps behind me. I straightened my spine, standing half-out into the open as I listened to the voices. It sounded like they were talking about... humans?

Why were they talking shit about us? What have we done other than confine ourselves to their standards?

My eyebrows furrowed, and I took a few steps closer. I heard Piper curse my name softly, but I ignored her, pressing my back into the part of the wall next to the door.

"We cannot just give them more rights, they could overthrow us!"

I recognised the tone of Alpha Black right away, my nose crinkling with distaste.

"I agree. Humans are nothing but trouble. They breed and spread sickness," someone else grumbled.

Well, rude. Perhaps give us better living conditions and we won't be sick every month.

"They have no strength, no magic in their blood, no ability to produce a stronger bloodline. What good are they other than hard labour?" Black grunted.

Come and say hello to my fist and you'll realise what I am good for.