Avoiding Alpha

Chater Eighteen

Ray had disappeared a long time ago. Tendra was with Tim, but he was silent, he picked up on her mood.  She cursed herself for being so concerned over the sight of the dead that she hadn’t thought to try to smell. But she knew for a fact, it wasn’t the Sanguis pack. She would recognised them anywhere. That rotten smell would not have eluded her senses, no matter what scene was in front of her. Ray hadn’t ruled out the Sanguis pack’s involvement though. He knew what slaughter they could do and he wouldn’t put it past them to use another to do their dirty work for them, so if by someone was able to recognise them the pack they would be thrown off if it didn’t look like their doing.

                He also hadn’t ruled out inside involvement, as much as he was sceptic about that, he was Alpha and had to bear everything in mind, no matter how unlikely. He had long ago taken his men into another room and told Tendra to remain waiting for him outside with the rest of the pack. She was annoyed he had excluded her, she was a part of this whether he liked it or not, but she had conceded to his wishes. Simply because she was feeling too guilty to argue with him.

                The people were looking at her. Curiosity was rife amongst them, they had heard the rumour that their Alpha had now found his mate but she had neither introduced herself nor been introduced to them and they desperately wanted that introduction now. Tendra however was sat on the stairs while everyone milled around and she didn’t want to introduce herself. She sighed; she had a duty, as the Alpha’s mate to see to what was now her pack. Taking a deep breath she stood up. Instant silence greeted her actions. The pack was waiting with bated breath to see what she would say.

“Hi.” She started off, “I’m sure you all have an idea, but I’ll just clarify. I am Ray’s mate and I am very pleased to join your pack. I would like to meet you all.”

                No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the women were running for her and crowding her with gleeful smiles all over their faces they began telling her not only their names and where they usually lived but their children’s names and those of their husbands, pointing them out even if they were not in the meeting with the Alpha. The mothers who had lost children nodded in respect to her but did not come to her. Their names were told to Tendra by the other woman who in hushed voices explained who had which children and who had lost the most. The fallen warriors and non fighters of the pack were named and Tendra took it in. The remaining pack she would struggle with the names, but she would not forget the dead. Out of politeness and respect she ensured those names were plastered in her mind.

                The pack were welcoming on the whole, but then when they were thrust into an even deadlier world, they seemed to look up to another authority figure. The more leaders there were to help them live another day, the more grateful they were. As the Alpha female Tendra to them was not only a fountain of knowledge but her ideas and opinions counted when other’s did not. They knew the Alpha would listen to anything she said, and that he would tell her everything he knew. On the whole it was a mutual relationship. An Alpha female needed to be welcomed into the pack and the pack needed another leader. As initial greetings went, it was fairly successful.

                A few of the woman had smiled in complete earnest to her, smiled in a different way and introduced themselves with a little more shyness. She expected it was them, who were not here for the benefits, that would become friends to her. She tried hard to remember their names as well.