The Alpha novel Chapter 7

Despite further protests from Will and Jo, I find myself creeping through an empty street. Jo is at the shelter, keeping an eye on everything. Will had wanted to come along, but I told him it was better if I went alone. The more people involved the harder it is to be stealthy. And that's not something I can afford right now.

Trash and debris line the unused sidewalk. Cars sit idly, unused and forgotten after years of having no owner. Stray dogs dig through a mess at the corner of another alley, one looking up at me and growling. My wolf instantly shines her aura through and the dog whimpers and runs off. I can't help but to think of the differences between Crescent City and The Scourge. The inner parts of the city have shiny new buildings and streets lined with fancy modern cars. Ruins have been cleared out to make room for everything new. But here is the exact opposite. Everything is old, rusted, in disrepair.

After a few more blocks, I arrive at an old brick building that is still mostly standing. Ray and the members of his gang took this place as their own. They didn't want to share space with the rest of the packless, probably so no one would witness all their illegal activities. Even though we don't have any sort of justice system in The Scourge most of us still have morals and wouldn't willingly let Ray cause too much trouble. If he really did kill those wolves, he would certainly be kicked out of the territory or executed. Rogues have it much worse than packless. They aren't allowed anywhere near the Crescent Moon territory. They have nowhere to call home and no one to turn to.

I use my enhanced hearing and sense of smell to see if there is anyone present. As soon as I deem it is safe to do so, I enter the building, careful to not let the old screen door slam behind me. I slowly and cautiously move up the steps one at a time, keeping close to the wall and stepping over all the trip hazards that litter the floor. Following my nose, I find his room on the fourth floor. The room has a bed, a small kitchen, and a single bath. Some necessities seem to have been left behind, but the space is in complete disarray and smells like rotting food and dirty clothes. My nose wrinkles in disgust as my eyes take in the room. Luckily, Ray is still nowhere to be seen.

Very carefully, I begin picking through the piles of stuff scattered all over the floor. I dig through drawers and every other nook and cranny I come across. When I get to his nightstand I find a scrap of leather with a white crescent moon on it. My fingers brush against what looks like dried blood and I lightly sniff at it. The metallic scent tells me that my assumption is correct. I look around before folding the piece of leather and sticking it in my pocket for safekeeping. Ray always seemed like the type of person to keep trophies, always looking for a reason to brag. I knew that he would have had some sort of memento if he was guilty and I'm glad I'm right. Now I need to figure out what to do with the information. It certainly wouldn't be the smartest thing to confront him on my own. But I also don't want to include members of the Crescent Moon Pack.

After searching for another ten minutes or so, I decide I should get out of here. I wish that I could mind-link with other packless. That would make things so much easier. I could have had people on the lookout to see if Ray and his thugs came back. Unfortunately, wolves can only mind-link with members of their pack and since we are packless we can't do it at all. I have heard of rare instances where wolves from different packs were able to mind-link, but it was because their bond had been so strong or they had once belonged to the same pack.

I sneak down the steps and begin the trek back to the shelter. Suddenly, I hear the crunch of footsteps coming toward me and I instantly freeze as I go on the alert. The smell of earth, sandalwood, and whiskey floats through the air causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. Shit. "Get out now Scarlet! Run!" my wolf urges, but it's too late.

Ray is standing only a yard ahead of me. His hands are stuffed in his pockets and he has a cocksure smirk on his face. "Well well well, what do I have here? To what do I owe the pleasure beautiful?" he asks as he strolls closer to me, my body tensing as though ready for him to pounce.

"Not that it's any of your business Ray, but I just needed some fresh air," I respond as I try to sidestep him.

"I find that pretty hard to believe. You never come around my part of town," he insists, continuing his slow strut up to me.

"Yes, well I needed a change of scenery and I heard you hadn't been around."

"Indeed. But neither have you. Last thing I heard, you were stabbed in the gut," he remarks, now standing right in front of me. His stale breath making my nose scrunch in distaste. "And now here you are. Looking as fine as ever." He reaches out and slips his hand under the hem of my shirt, brushing his fingers over the spot where I had been stabbed. I quickly swat away his hand and take a step back before speaking.

"What's it to you anyway? Just get out of the way Ray. Jo is expecting me to help with dinner."

I go to push passed him and he suddenly snatches my wrist, bringing it up to his face. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply. When his eyes open, his gaze hardens suspiciously at me and he jerks me towards him, smelling my ear and neck. His closeness is making me feel nauseous and I take a slow, unsteady breath, trying to calm myself. "You were in my room," he states in a low growl. "What were you doing there?" I shrug and try to back away, but his grip tightens on my wrist causing me to grimace. "Answer me Scarlet." He twists harder, forcing a whimper to escape my lips and he smiles viciously. He likes that he's causing me pain.

"Damn it Ray! Let go of me! I was just curious okay!"

He glares at me for a moment before his hand reaches into my pocket and pulls out the leather scrap. He grins triumphantly as he holds it up for me to see. "Did a little snooping I see. And what did you find?"

I angrily yank myself away and take a step back. "You're the reason the Crescent Moon Pack attacked us. You're the reason innocent packless died. Why Ray? Why did you kill those men?" I question angrily.

He sneers at me. "Maybe because they deserved it. Maybe I just felt like it," he seethes as his lips twist in disgust. "Maybe because I recognized one of the assholes I've had run-ins with before and wanted a bit of revenge."

"You're insane," I spit at him. "You killed those men! You murdered them! And for what? One of them hurt your pride once or twice? Grow the hell up Ray! You are not going to get away with this. Not this time," I state bravely though my body is itching to make a run for it. Even my wolf is begging me to get the heck out of here.