Page 9 of Fated to the Alpha

Hank picked up the file folder from the floor and opened it. Like reading off a financial report, he worked through the more redundant bits of the meeting, reporting on the successful placement of Shane’s pack in both housing and occupations.

“You don’t have a beta yet,” Hank stated, as if it wasn’t something to be ashamed of. “Do you need help picking one?”

Shane clenched his teeth and hated the way his insides flipped at the thought of taking on another beta. In one sense, he knew he couldn’t go without a beta forever. Small packs often didn’t need a beta, but a pack of his size still needed that structure. Though lately, beta had become synonymous with betrayal, at least it had for Shane. How could he possibly pick the next wolf who could try to split his pack again? He judged that he would need a little extra push to get him moving.

“Yeah, probably,” he mumbled, folding his arms tighter over his chest.

Dominic offered, “How about you, me, and Cole go out for drinks tomorrow night to talk about it? Howling Bones Bar can get a little busy on Saturdays, but it’s the best place in town for a cold beer and a game of pool.”

Shane weighed the idea. He had a special project for some flower shop tomorrow that Ferrin had assigned him earlier that morning, but he suspected he was overdue for night out.

He nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Cole grinned. “Gage should come too,” he said. “Your pack isn’t too big right now, but it will be some day. Might as well learn something.”

There was something in Cole’s grin and Gage’s grimace that told Shane the younger alpha wasn’t too keen on the idea. Gage took another sip of his coffee and grunted a begrudging agreement to the plan. It was settled.

“Do we want to review the pending applications for sanctuary?” Hank asked Dominic.

All eyes looked to the Prime Alpha, the man who held the fate of endangered shifters in his hands. This was what Tolstone was all about, and Shane was eager to see how Dominic handled such an important job.

Dominic nodded and slipped one of those trusted hands into Erica’s. Shane watched the way their fingers laced together, and a weird bit of envy struck him out of nowhere. It had been so long since he held a woman’s hand like that … Since he held Kimberly’s hand like that.

Hank’s eyes dropped to the file folder as he shuffled through the packets. One by one, he listed the packs on the waiting list. He gave their locations, the crisis, and the size of the pack.

A pack of five in Colorado was unable to find jobs.

A pack of twenty-eight in Wisconsin was short of females.

A pack of ten in Florida found they had three too many alphas and struggled to make their own peace.

After each one, Hank waited for Dominic’s verdict.

“No,” was his answer across the board.

Shane understood. Their problems did not warrant a move to Tolstone. They were temporary conflicts that could be resolved themselves, or they weren’t problems at all. They all seemed mild or downright silly. But it spoke volumes about Tolstone’s reputation. Shifters were desperate to come here.

Then, they came to one that was different from the rest.

A pack of eleven from Virginia believed they were in the crosshairs of a hunter.

The thoughtful silence was deafening. Hunters were the boogeyman of the shifter world. Humans who knew too much about their existence either went mad at the reality that men could turn into animals, they accepted the truth and coped with it in their own ways, or they became hunters. Those humans made it their mission, their sacred purpose in life, to exterminate shifters indiscriminately. They weren’t that common in the modern world. Centuries ago, shifters could find leagues of hunters in just about every country. With globalization and the age of science, humans gave up tracking down fairy-tale monsters.

However, when hunters did make an appearance, it shouldn’t have been brushed under the rug as mere hearsay or paranoia. When they hit, they hit hard and fast, leaving few, if any, survivors.

They all held their breath and waited for Dominic. The Prime Alpha leaned forward on his knees and rubbed his mouth, considering whatever factors ultimately played into his final decisions. But what was there to decide? Shifters could have been in danger. This was what Tolstone was founded for. Why did he hesitate?

“What’s their evidence?” Dominic asked.

Hank looked at the notes. “All they listed was suspicious activity in their town, and a few of their pack went missing.”

“Did they give any details of the missing wolves?”

“No.”

“What’s the makeup of the pack?”

“Two singles, a family of three with a child under a year old, two married couples, and the alpha.”