The Silver Siren

Where is she?

Standing at the large bay window, I stared out of it. The pack house was big and had a large back yard, even a swimming pool. Blanketed by a row of dense forest, the back yard was one of my favourite places, with secret hideaway spots and shaded verandas. It was even large enough to house an area the size of a football field which we used for outdoor training when the weather was good. Seeing the forest calmed me slightly as I let out a loud sigh. Three long years I have been searching for her. And nothing! After returning from a gathering at the nearby Blue River pack two days ago, the feeling of hopelessness was taking over, and I could do little to stop it. I was sure I would find my mate this time. I felt so close to finding her, it never even entered my mind that I wouldn’t find her on this trip. Everything I’ve done since I turned 18 was focused on finding her and I have nothing to show for it. It was soul destroying. After searching within my own pack for a whole year, I decided to try further afield. I started accompanying my dad, Alpha Spencer, and his Beta, Glen, to every gathering in nearby packs in case she was a member of those packs. As I will be taking over from my father as alpha of our pack soon, it made sense to get to know nearby packs who we have an alliance with. But I can’t deny that trying to find my mate was my biggest motivation.

It was getting harder and harder to keep my frustration in check. After coming up empty handed again, it felt like I was losing it! A knot had lodged in my chest, and I could not get it to budge. Letting my wolf, Maddox, run through the forest for what felt like eternity did nothing to settle me. A 2-hour sparring session with the warriors at the training centre didn’t help either. And sleeping was becoming impossible. Lying awake for hours waiting for sleep to finally come, only to be plagued with dreams and waking up dripping with sweat only a short time later. The exhaustion was torturous.

It was the same dream every time. I was running through the forest searching for my mate. Trees were blurring endlessly either side of me as I picked up speed. I’m running towards something, but I can’t see what it is at first. And then she came into view. I was still running but I could make out the figure of a woman, bright white light beaming all around her like a giant halo. She was too far away to see her face, but I could see long brown hair flowing around her. She was short and had luscious curves. And even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew she was beautiful. I knew she was my mate. I was running fast to try and reach her, but it didn’t matter how fast I ran, I wasn’t getting any closer to her. It was always the same. This is the point that I would wake up, so hot it felt like I was on fire, with a raging hard-on. Standing under a cold shower for the next 30 minutes trying to cool off, I would curse the Moon Goddess. It was really shitty of her to torture me like this. I know it was her way of letting me know my mate was out there, but I was in no mood to forgive and forget. 

My dreams were torturing me slowly. Every. Single. Night. I honestly didn’t know how much more I could take. The frustration of not finding her, mixed with the lack of sleep is making me seriously snappy. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. 

A single bold knock on the door echoed around the room and the door opened. My dad strolled in. Standing well over 6 feet tall, and practically the width of a Camaro, he is every bit an Alpha. 

“The meeting starts in 10 minutes, son.” he said.

I burrowed my eyebrows together in confusion. Before I had a chance to ask, he says, “The meeting to discuss the recent rogue attacks on our neighbouring packs.” 

I swear he knows my thoughts before I do sometimes!

“Right” I said, “I’ll be right there” I nodded, which was all I could manage. I didn’t even bother trying to smile now, I haven’t been able to smile for months now. 

“You ok son?” asked my dad, sounding concerned. As Alpha of the pack, he is a formidable leader. Intuitive, powerful, but above all, fair. He had worked hard all his life to create and maintain a peaceful, hardworking pack who respect him. It was one of the main reasons our pack was one of the biggest and strongest in North America. And he knew something was up. The way I had been acting lately hadn’t gone unnoticed by him.

“Yeah,” I sighed, “I’m fine, Dad.” He pursed his lips together into a thin line. My answer didn’t seem to satisfy him, and he walked into the room further and joined me at the window. 

“You know, it’ll soon be time for you to take over the pack and become the new Alpha, Reece” he said, putting a supportive hand on my shoulder and gently squeezed it. “And that transition will be much easier with a mate by your side.”

“I know, I’ve been looking. Trust me. But I can’t find her. She either hasn’t turned 18 yet or she’s dead.” I said, those last words tasting like acid on my tongue. 

“She’s not dead. You would have felt it if she had died, Reece. She’s out there, just be patient and be strong. You’ll find her,” he soothed. I hadn’t known how much I needed to hear those words. I gave him a weak smile. 

“I’m trying. Trust me, I’m trying” I stared out of the window at the forested horizon and try to calm my wolf, who has started whimpering sadly in my head. Recently, Maddox has been getting harder and harder to control. I felt his pain, I really did. But I have to keep him under control. If I can’t, he will take over and I run the real risk of losing my human form forever. Werewolves need to be able to control their wolves, another task made so much easier by finding your mate and completing the mating process.

A firm but gentle slap on my back from the Alpha reels me back to reality. There is important work to be done now, so moping will have to wait. And working on pack duties always seems to placate Maddox, and I had worked hard to learn as much as I can before I take over the pack.  I followed my dad out of the room and down the hall to the Alpha office where the meeting was taking place. 

The Alpha office held a large mahogany table comfortably seating the small group of men. In attendance were the Alpha’s and their Beta’s from our two closest packs, the Lake Hills pack and the Blue River pack, and also my Dad’s Beta, Glen, and my future Beta, Brad, were attending the meeting. 

Everyone took their seats, and my dad started the meeting, welcoming the packs leaders. 

“Gentlemen, as you know, I’ve called this meeting today to discuss the recent rogue attacks that each of your packs has suffered,” he started, “Both attacks are very concerning. Do you have any idea who is behind it or what they were trying to accomplish?” 

Alpha Richard, from the Blue River pack answered first and said, “At the moment we do not know who is behind the attacks or what the intended target was. Four rogues infiltrated our defence lines and attacked at the border. My warriors eliminated them all, so we weren’t able to interrogate them. Our teams are still investigating the source and following up on any leads, trying to dig up a possible motive.”

“I see,” the Alpha said nodding. “Alpha Mason?” he turned his head towards the other Alpha and waited for the answer.

“Six rogues crossed our boundary line and attacked at the border in a similar fashion,” he explained, “My warriors killed them all, but I lost one of my men in the attack. The rogue’s bodies were inspected before they were burned but no identifying marks were found. 

My Dad nodded and looked deep in thought for a moment. “It is indeed strange that the attacks on the packs were so similar and so close together. With our close proximity it is reasonable to think that we might be the next target. Our warriors are strong and capable, but I think we should be on high alert from now on. We shall step up our guard presence along our boundary line, and I suggest both your packs do the same. There is no guarantee that you will not suffer further attacks.” Both Alpha Richard and Alpha Mason nodded in approval. 

“We will also be intensifying our training schedule for our warriors.” The Alpha looked at me and I bent my head slightly in silent agreement. “Reece, will you organise that please? Richard, Mason, your warriors are more than welcome to join these extra training sessions here at our training centre.”

My dad was an excellent leader and over the years had worked hard to create a peaceful, friendly relationship with our nearest packs. He had known Richard and Mason for years. He was well liked and well respected and left some huge boots to fill. It made me wonder how I was ever going to be able to do that without a mate, a Luna. My mother has been a rock to my dad over the years and her support is never-ending, and as a result the pack adores her. I would never be able to reach my full potential leading the pack without my Luna.

The Alphas seemed pleased with the solutions my dad had put forward and welcomed the chance of some of their less experienced warriors being able to do extra training to meet the threat level.

The table in the meeting room had been laid with a selection of hot and cold refreshments, and the men went about serving themselves and fell into easy conversation. I sat and pondered over the recent attacks. Something just didn’t feel right about them. It was indeed strange that both our closest packs had suffered very similar attacks in a relatively short space of time, but it felt there was more to it than that. It is not unusual for rogues to occasionally try and breach our borders, and when it does happen its usually only a lone wolf that tries. 

Rogues are werewolves that have left or been banished from their original packs, for a number of reasons. Usually, banished pack members are forced to leave the pack because they have broken a werewolf law. The most heinous crimes are punishable with death, but some of the less severe crimes are punished with banishment. The banished pack member will no longer be able to live within our pack lands or be protected by the pack. But werewolves can also become rogues because they have chosen to leave their pack. They might be trying to escape something or someone and generally these types of rogue move around a lot or look to settle in human towns to live as humans do, outside of ant pack territory. Generally, rogues live as lone wolves so for several rogues to attack all at once, in a pseudo-pack was extremely weird. It was a nagging feeling that I couldn’t shake off. 

As the Alphas and Betas continued to catch up, my attention turned to the plan to increase training sessions. I mind linked Brad.

“Meet me at the training centre when we finish up here”

“You got it”, he mind linked back.

Best friends since we were pups, Brad is set to be my future Beta. He is also one of the strongest wolves on the security squad and I have no doubt that he will be one of the best Betas the pack has ever seen. I could tell he was eager to get started on the new training schedule too. 

Standing almost as tall as me with thick dark brown hair and piercing green eyes, Brad was an expert in all things combat and, still unmated, was also an expert in all things female. His first love remained protecting his pack, but next on his list was most definitely she-wolves and he wasn't shy about taking his fill. But he understood me, and we were as close as brothers. 

As the Alpha brought the meeting to a close and wished the men a safe journey home, Brad and I immediately made our way to the training centre. 

“I don’t like this, man. Are we just gonna sit back and wait to be attacked next?!” he said, echoing my own thoughts.

“I don’t like it either, but there isn’t much else we can do with no information to go on” I replied. He’s right though. We can increase training and guards on the borders but if we don’t know where the attacks are coming from, or why, it feels like we are just waiting for an attack. 

“This sucks,” he said and huffed all the way to the training centre. Once we arrived, we got busy planning the new schedule and making plans to accommodate warriors from the other packs. When we were finished with the plans, we did some sparring and fitness circuits. As we called it a day and headed back to the packhouse, I noticed that nagging feeling again. The Lake Hills and Blue River packs were far from weak and unprotected. Their warriors were strong and committed, much like ours. Their territories were so close to ours it seems almost inevitable that we would be the next target. Brad and I had been trained to protect the pack from an early age, it was our top priority. And to now be faced with a situation where we couldn’t do anything to prevent an attack, that we would simply be waiting for one to happen, just didn’t feel right. Why were rogues teaming up into mini packs? Who was behind the attacks? And why? With so many unanswered questions bouncing around in my head, I decided to let Maddox out for a long run to try and clear it.