The Alpha's Mutt
The Matter at Hand

“Come in.” Farris bid from the other side of the door after his guard had knocked to announce our presence.

Jamari and I entered the room to replace Farris sitting at his desk, papers askew. Deene and Alessa stood to one side of the room. I smiled when I saw Alessa there. I had missed her greatly since I had been gone. I did not move to greet her further though; I was not certain what her feelings towards me were now that we had spent so much time apart.

That was until Alessa rushed forward, wrapping me in a tight hug. The kind that would have crushed my ribs had I still been the weakling that I was. I gratefully returned her hug, elated that she was still the friend that I had always known.

“I missed you so much!” She squealed, still not loosening her grip.

“I missed you too. You have no idea how much.” I assured her.

She finally released the hug, but only took one step back, keeping her hands on my arms, as she looked me over.

“I have been so worried about you, Mysti. You have no idea! I was so scared of what would become of you out there.”

I could see the tears beginning to fill her eyes, threatening to crest at any moment. I could not stand the thought that I had worried her so. I wished, desperately, that I had tried harder to reach her. She had done so much for me. Stood by my side when no one else would. I should have found a way to let her know that I was alright.

“I am so sorry that you had to worry. But as you can see, I am fine. I did surprisingly well outside of this pack.” I hoped that my words helped assure her, at least a little.

Though, I knew that there was nothing that I could do to make up for the time she had spent wondering about me.

“Turns out that I just needed to believe in myself, which I was able to do once I was no longer surrounded by negative influences. I am sorry that I had not been able to say good-bye, but my leaving was not so much my own choice.” I had returned my attentions to Farris as I spoke, hoping to make a point.

Hoping that my words would sting. Reminding him that he had pushed me away.

“We know.” Alessa nodded, sadly. “I swear that I would have stopped them, had I known.”

“It is alright, Alessa. I do not hold anything against you. You have no say in the rulings of your Alpha.” I spat the last few words in Farris’s direction.

While I was not eager to get into this, just now. I could not help the anger that I was feeling as I was reminded of the betrayal that had overcome me on that night. Though things had worked out for the better. It still stung when I replayed that night in my mind, the heartache was still all too real from being told that not only did my mate not want me, but he also wanted me gone from the pack altogether.

“Mystique you don’t understand, that is not –…“ Farris jumped up from his seat and walked around his desk, closing the distance between us.

“It is Alpha to you.” Jamari snapped, taking a step towards him.

“But, I –…“

“I have no desire to hear your excuses.” I interrupted him this time, raising my hand for him to stop.

“But Mysti, you don’t understand. There was some confusion about what happened that night. But we can clear it up now. Things are not what you think.” Alessa pled, having backed up towards Deene during Jamari’s outburst.

I could not blame her. Jamari was formidable. She would have never hurt Alessa because she knew that she was important to me. But I could see why Alessa may have been uncertain.

“That may be.” I stated, attempting to remain calm.

I needed to be in control of my emotions, now more than ever.

“But I am not here to discuss this just now. I am here for a much more important reason.”

I needed to steer the conversation in another direction. The tension was mounting, and I needed it to stop. There would be other moments to discuss my departure from the Elwood Pack. What mattered now was the reason that I had returned.

“Have you or any of your ally packs noticed anything strange happening?” I questioned.

Farris was unable to hide his disappointment that I was not willing to talk about us, but he righted himself quickly. Considering my question for a moment.

“I’m not sure what you mean by strange? Care to elaborate?”

“Unfortunately, I cannot. I have very little information on this matter. I just know that something is coming and, with it, the potential to wipe out the wolf race.”

“What?!” Alessa gasped.

“Deene, have you heard anything from any of our allies?” Farris asked, suddenly very serious about the situation.

I was glad that he understood the gravity of what we were dealing with. We may not have known what it is or where it was coming from, but we had to be prepared for whatever it was.

Somehow.

“No, Alpha, not really. There was one pack that reported a strange illness having afflicted a few of their members a week or so ago. But they have reported nothing since, so I have assumed that it turned out not to be of importance.”

“That is the only report that we’ve received from anyone?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Which pack? It may be nothing, but it could be worth looking into.” I inquired.

“Uh…the Crystal Lake Pack.”

“Interesting…Alpha Farris, do you think that you could get in touch with their Alpha?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Let’s just make sure that it really turned out to be nothing.”

“Agreed.”

“Anything from your allies?” Deene asked, clearly unaware of the makings of our pack.

“We have no allies.” I answered.

“Well, you do now.” Farris asserted.

“Very well.” I added with a nod.

I was not eager to give us more reasons to communicate. However, I was an Alpha and I had to make the decisions that were best for my pack. The fact of the matter was that Elwood was a very large and rather strong pack. Having an allegiance with them could only bring us good things in the long run.

“We will draw up the paperwork later. In the meantime, Deene could you please take the Beta here and show her the files of our alliances. We should start checking with everyone to be certain that they have nothing strange to report.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Deene nodded.

Deene and Alessa walked to the door, prepared to exit. Alessa turned and offered me a small wave good-bye with the promise to speak again soon. But Jamari paused and looked back and forth between Farris and I for a moment.

“Are you certain that you will be alright, Alpha?” She questioned, knowing my difficult past with Farris.

“I will be fine. Thank you, Jamari.” I assured her.

Once the three of them were gone, the silence felt heavy in the air. Neither of us seemed to know what to say to the other. So, I prepared to break the silence and excuse myself from the room. I was not sure that I was ready to be alone with him, there was too much tension.

“Well, I will be going. Please let me know when you replace out anything.”

I turned to the door but did not make it more than a step or two before I felt a strong hand wrap around my arm. The tingles beginning to spread throughout my body from his touch, a sensation that I thought I would never feel again. I gasped at the surprise and intensity of it.

“Wait…” Farris all but whispered.