The Thief and the Alpha (Book One of the Warrior Series) ✔️

- Chapter 38 -

The first thing that hit me were the buildings. While our pack reminded me of a quaint village or small town in the woods, the Lunar Blaze pack grounds reminded me more of a medieval city. People milled the streets, most of which appeared to be diplomats or foreign emissaries. The diplomats' ranks were apparent by how well dressed they were, the servants that trailed them dressed according to rank as well.

The large buildings, while not overly tall, were decorated with care, retaining a white marble sheen as though polished daily. We followed Imrod through the pack grounds, the crowd parting in our wake.

"As you can see, our grounds are planned out and decorated with the finest care. I believe that this may be a shock to you especially, mate. Contrary to popular belief, not all of us like to live in warrior's squalor. Most of us have standards."

I held back a scowl at the impertinence he infused into the word mate, instead keeping my face a mask of disinterest. Imrod cleared his throat, wringing his hands out and continuing, planting another smile on his face. "To maintain our camouflage, we have researcher pack members working non-stop on technology to protect us from satellite mapping and nature explorers. Though sometimes the latter is much easier to get rid of." His glance at me proved how his last sentence was a jab at humans in general. He clearly considered us expendable.

Both Jaxon and Alex ignored Imrod throughout his small speech, instead scanning over the crowds of people making their way through the pack grounds. I did the same, my eye catching on less humanoid looking species. Fangs, gills, you name it; there seemed to be an emissary for every species living on the pack grounds.

Once we had reached the gates of what appeared to be a small castle, Jaxon again acknowledged the guards at the door with a nod of respect. The elaborate doors were opened for us once more, with Imrod pushing ahead, almost desperate to lead the way for us, to retain that small bit of power of treating us like guests in his home.

"This way." He said, rushing to one of the hallways on the right, leading out of the huge main foyer. We all walked at our own pace, our expressions harsh and unchanging. This seemed to intimidate a few passers-by walking out of what appeared to be the guest wing, with people sticking to the sides of the walls almost desperately as we strode down the middle.

We turned a corner, the hallway decorated lavishly. I tried not to think about how the vanity reminded me of Vadim's office.

Jaxon's mouth twitched upwards slightly, the only indication that he recognized the man who nearly bumped into Imrod rounding the corner. The middle-aged man didn't appear to be intimidated by Jaxon, which led me to believe that he was high ranking himself. He also didn't hold himself like a diplomat, fixing his glasses almost compulsively and bouncing occasionally, as though hyper.

"Alpha Adler! Looking as imposing as always, I see!" The man said brightly, catching me slightly off guard.

"Alpha Ernwood." Jaxon said lowly, but respectfully. The researcher alpha, then.

"I'm assuming you just arrived now?" Not allowing Jaxon time to respond, Alpha Ernwood shook his head sternly. "No, no. Of course you have. That's a stupid question. After all, I just saw servants running through to put your suitcases in your room! Rooms? No, no... Hm. Oh! That's intriguing. I thought the maximum amount of beds in a room was two? But... there appears to be three of you."

Imrod held a hand up, clearly trying to hold a sneer off his face. "With all due respect, Alpha, we do not wish to be standing here for another six hours. They have just come off a long drive and-"

Alpha Ernwood smiled, cutting in, appearing unaffected by Imrod's annoyed demeanor. "Why, of course! My bad. I'll talk to you all later. I must show you a new invention that I've been working on for a few months that'll vastly improve your warrior's stealth capabilities-"