12.

Farryn wandered in a slight daze to the edge of town where Tony and several other younger packmates waited, some impatiently who had already shifted into their wolf forms. Tony lifted his head when she drew closer. “Are we ready to head out or would you prefer to take a scenic stroll?” His question was a sarcastic one but one of the younger males still chuckled. While the wolf inside her raised her hackles threateningly Farryn simply waved her hand at them all dismissively.

“Go ahead, I’ll meet you there.” Tony narrowed his gaze sharply but didn’t dare resist before motioning for everyone to follow after him. The only one who didn’t was Emily who Farryn hadn’t noticed was apart of the group until the broody female now stood alone. Emily rolled her shoulders a bit as she straightened herself up.

“I find it oddly convenient that the random female we found in our territory is suddenly our new Alpha.” Farryn smiled warily but Emily’s expression wouldn’t budge.

“May I remind you I was on the edge of death when you found me? Or would you perhaps like to hear my history of how my father wasn’t an Alpha and my mother was no Luna?” Farryn scoffed softly as she began to walk with Emily just slightly behind her.

“Honestly? It doesn’t matter what you tell me now. I won’t believe anything you say.” Farryn glanced over her shoulder just slightly, half expecting the dark-haired girl to suddenly launch into an attack.

“Then why tag along? Just want to watch me make a fool of myself in front of the others?” There was a pause of silence as Farryn faced forward once more.

“Because I am honor-bound to protect my pack and right now you are my Alpha even if I don’t agree. So I am tagging along in case Tony is right for your protection.” Farryn sniffed a few times before looking over her shoulder again but the look that Emily gave her was a rather emotionless one.

“I suppose I should thank you?” Emily focused her attention on the surrounding area instead of responding to her alpha, prepared to defend should she need to. Farryn cleared her throat before turning her walk into a run knowing that Emily was right behind her.

It would have been faster for the pair to shift but Farryn had been doing her very best to ignore the white creature in her mind. Tony already had the rest searching the area again by the time the other two arrived. “How kind of you to join us Alpha, please, have a look around.” He made a broad gesture to the area around him. Farryn could feel the eyes of everyone on her as she approached the carcass of the deer to examine. It made her uncomfortable to know that everyone was waiting for her to fail.

Farryn’s fingers traced the edges of the wound at the deer’s throat, her brows drawing together with a frown etched on her face. The edges of the wounds were smooth but too large to be done by teeth so Tony had been right after all. She sniffed softly, it would have been easy for any werewolf to do this but there was no scent which was highly unusual. “Well Alpha, did you find anything of use?” She froze as Tony moved to hover over her shoulder. The wolf inside forced a low growl from her, the male behind her stiffened in slight alarm.

“Hovering and watching my every move will not make me find anything faster. However, it will cause me to miss something.” With a sharp look at the male, he raised his hands quickly before backing away. She inhaled deeply before turning back to the animal. She wasn’t sure there was anything for her to find. From what she had seen in her brief time with the pack they had several very skilled trackers and she had never been the best at it. The wolf in her mind was pressing forward, insisting on being released, she wanted to have a look around herself. The feeling of doubt towards Farryn’s skill was a heavyweight in her mind and she considered briefly giving in, until noticing the way some of the undergrowth was pushed aside like someone had recently gone through it.

The wolf settled back down as Farryn stood up and quickly stepped over the carcass of the deer, Tony and Emily both following behind her but not as close this time. “Has this area been searched?”

Tony cleared his throat to hold back what Farryn assumed was going to be a snort. “Of course.” She hummed softly as she squatted down, her fingertips just barely brushing the edge of the ferns. Just like with the deer there was no scent. A fit of frustration washed over her but she forced herself to take a deep breath, to give herself a moment before standing up. There were no footprints or anything of the sort to suggest what direction they might have gone in but if Tony was right then they wouldn’t have to wait long before finding out. Her lips twisted into a frown as she turned to the two standing behind her.

“The Northern border is not a concern of ours any longer, whoever killed this deer is gone. Return to patrolling the borders like usual.” Farryn pushed herself past the two who stood in her way, neither one had a problem with showing their distrust at her order.

“Like usual? Did you not hear anything Chandler or I told you earlier?” Tony reached out quickly and grabbed her wrist to keep her from walking to far away. Farryn’s nose twitched as she looked down at his hand then up to him.

“I did. I heard the rambling story of someone who cheated his way into power and his friend. What I have decided is not up for discussion.” The grip on her wrist tightened until her fingertips began to turn red. Emily gave Tony a warning growl as she took a single step closer to him but he didn’t turn away from the alpha.

“You are going to get us all killed.” His voice was a harsh whisper but everyone standing in the area could hear. Farryn could feel the eyes of their packmates on them.

“If you have an issue with my command than you are welcome to challenge me at any point and time Tony. Until then, my word is the law.” Once Farryn spoke she raised her arm and swung it to the right. The sudden movement unbalanced Tony and caused his grip to loosen.

In one swift movement, she pivoted, grabbing his shoulder with her left hand and driving him to the ground. He grunted as she rested her knee on his back. “Do not question me.” She growled threateningly before rising to her feet and allowing him to bring himself to his knees, his gaze stuck on the ground.

“My apologies Alpha, the patrols will resume as they had been.” His words were clipped, he was holding back his emotions which was the smart thing to do. When Farryn turned back to the rest of the pack there was a small glimmer of respect among them all, even Emily.

“Dispose of the carcass, it has been sitting here for far too long, the meat has gone bad by now.” Two of the younger wolfs who had been keeping themselves closer to the trees nodded their heads as they approached the deer. Farryn motioned for Emily to follow as she began to head back in the direction of town.

“While that was impressive, it doesn’t change how I feel about you.” Farryn shook her head slowly before straightening her back.

“I don’t care about that Emily, not right now at least. There is a good chance that whoever did this is still in the area and watching.” Farryn kept her voice low, barely audible over the sound of the leaves in the trees rustling with the slight breeze. Emily hesitated, perhaps wondering if she had heard her correctly.

“Then why would you set our patrols back to normal?!” Luckily Emily was smart enough to keep her voice down.

“If we increase patrols here it weakens another area, if we seem to not take this as a threat they will want to leave us another message for a warning. We cannot give them a show of us being afraid, if Chandler and Tony were telling the truth then they are only going to get worse the more afraid we become.” Emily drew herself closer to Farryn as she spoke. The female remained just slightly behind her alpha but being closer allowed her to catch a glimpse of Farryn’s stoic face.

“And if Tony was also telling the truth when he said you were going to get us all killed?” Emily’s voice held a challenge in it but Farryn’s expression didn’t alter as her gaze drifted to the side.

“Then we will die fighting, and I will die with you.” Emily nearly tripped over herself in surprise.

“Are you suggesting war or something?” She snapped, any feeling of respect she had for the female alpha had disappeared. Farryn turned back to her path forward and pushed her hands into her pockets.

“If a war is what it takes then war it is. I will not be pushed out of another home and neither will you.”