By The Full Moon ( A Hunter Novel #1)

Five: A Harsh Welcome

Five: A Harsh Welcome

Ava

I hadn't expected a good reaction to me entering their pack land. But this as something else. No wonder they had such a bad reputation. It was like a mob. They were lined up waiting for us to pass, yelling things at me like 'coward' and 'murderer'. It made wonder me what stories were told of my pack that lead them to believe we were anything but peaceful. I ignored them, walking with my shoulders held high, between both Alphas.

Then a man stepped in front. The Alpha's growled at him in warning but he refused to bow. A mistake on his part. Not bowing was a sign of disrespect, and considering the silence that followed, they all knew it.

The man stood, his back hunched as tears wracked his body. He was of average height and weight, with short cut brown hair he was a well-aged man. He looked at me then, anger evident in his face.

"You killed him." I stopped in my tracks. He was a few feet away from me, easily within reach.

"I'm sorry Sir, I don't know what you're talking about." And I didn't, because I had never killed anyone.

"Liar! They saw you lay your hand on his head while he took his last breath!" He was shaking, and I could see he was about to shift any moment. Of course, I remembered laying my hand on his head, the wolf that had nearly killed a young pup.

"Sir, your son and another wolf had attacked a pup, nearly killed him. I merely knocked the other wolf and your son out of the way. He was about to pounce at me but my second in command got to him first. When he was about to pass, I laid my hand on his head, and said a prayer for him, that is all. I never killed him, and I wish he never had to pass away." I said sincerely. But he wasn't taking it. I watched the moment happen that his anger fully took over, allowing his wolf to have free reign over his psyche. He shifted, torn clothes flying everywhere. What came was a six-foot-tall brown wolf, eyes crazed.

I looked over to the Alphas.

Not going to control your pack? I asked them through the link. The black one, Elijah, responded first.

Their future Luna should be able to defend herself should she not? I scoffed at that.

Some Mate you are. I responded before dropping my duffel bag and looking over to the wolf. He kneeled and prepared to pounce. He was a mere five feet away, not giving me much room to work with to twist away.

"Sir, you need to stop, I do not wish to fight you." I stated. He growled in response then, refusing to listen to reason.

He leapt at me then and I twirled away from him. He landed ten feet away from where I had been standing and turned to me. The Alphas had backed away, the rest of the pack forming a circle. I tried once more to reason with the wolf.

"Sir, I have not killed a singly creature out of hate, anger, or for any reason other than hunting for food, and I do not wish to unless absolutely necessary. Please, I insist you stop y-" He jumped again, this time swiping his massive paw out, slicing through my shoulder. The shoulder that already had a massive bite taken out.

"Sweet Jesus." I muttered as blood dripped down my arm. Now I was losing my patience entirely. I looked up at the wolf.

"Last chance, come back to your senses, and act like an adult rather than a petulant child." I growled at him. He snarled at me and charged. I stayed where I was, watching him close in on me. The crowd cheered for him to 'rip my head off'. I scoffed. He opened his jaws, teeth sharp, ready to tear me apart. I took a stance, my right lge behind my left, shoulder width apart. He came at me and I counted the seconds.

As soon as he was within reach, I turned my body towards him, lifting my right leg, it collided with the side of his wolf's head hard enough to reverberate the sound throughout the crowd, silencing them. The wolf crumbled to the ground, whimpering. I knelt to him and ran my finger through the fur on his head.

"I never wanted anyone to die. But I must defend myself and my own. Please, understand, I did not want anything to happen to your son. I hope one day, you can forgive me." I said, before standing.

I looked up. The whole pack stared at me, wide-eyed, in shock, even the Alphas. I walked over to my duffel bag, picking it up, and made my way forward.

Why did you not kill him for his disrespect? Emilio, the white wolf, asked me.

"Because our pack does not rule with fear. We lead by understanding, learning your lesson through fair punishment. His son just passed away, leave him be." The crowd's voices suddenly rose, causing me to pause. I felt the wolf's presence behind me, but I was not afraid. I looked back up and saw him standing over me, he huffed once, glanced at the Alphas, then leaned his head down to me, nudging my good shoulder. He must have calmed down now and realized his wolf had gotten the better of him. I lifted my hand and he put his soft snout in it.

"It'll never be the same, but you and your Mate, will learn to be okay." I said, knowing that his Mate was still with us, if not, the loss of his son would've turned him completely savage. The wolf looked into my eyes, as tears flowed down his fur. I rested my forehead against his as he whined softly.

"It'll be okay again." I said, before a growl cut through the air. We looked over to find both Alphas side by side, growling at the two of us. I felt the shift in the air, the crushing pressure of their Alpha powers, also known as Essentia the essence that allows Alpha's powers to control their pack when they became unruly. It settled over the crowd. The wolf's ears flattened in fear and he whimpered as he bowed to the ground. I looked back at the two Alphas.

Back away from him now! Elijah growled.

Stop touching another male. Emilio said just as angry. I lifted my hands and backed away.

"Okay, now stop." I said, clashing their Essentia with my own since, even though I wasn't next in line, I was still of Alpha blood. A moment passed until the wolf and the crowd were able to lift their heads. I looked between the Alphas.

Stop it. I pleaded. The Lupis Pack hated using Essentia to make the pack obey. We were too passive for that way of life.

Then the pressure disappeared, and silence fell amongst the crowd. I gripped the duffel bag strap tightly in my hands, my body shaking with anger. Ruling by fear was never okay. Without waiting I lifted my shoulders once more and headed forward. I looked around, refusing to look at the Alphas. I took in my surroundings. It looked much like my pack's land, surrounded by trees, the mixture of browns and greens comforting.

But then I noticed, there was no sound of birds chirping, of the forest creatures wandering about. Like they felt the predators and knew to steer clear. There were small cabins throughout the openings, hand built just like our own. Then I saw it, and I knew that was the Alpha house. It was a large brick styled home, much to gaudy and large for my liking. It nearly looked haunted, lacking any form of gardening, or personal touch.

Stop walking away from us! I flinched at the sudden holler in my head. I turned my head sharply, glaring at Elijah. He lifted his lip in a snarl and I copied him, though it probably looked weird in my human form. With a huff I turned back to the house.

"Where's your previous Alpha." I asked.

Dead. Elijah responded.

We killed him. Emilio added.

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Okay, okay, I'm getting more excited as I roll through these chapters. What did you think???

Talk to meeeeee

J. Vas