The Rogue Alpha’s Claim

“Welcome to the Den.” The alpha managed a smile as he looked at her, and he stretched out his hands to her.

The Den?

It took everything in her not to burst out laughing. That was a horrible name for a pack, but who was she to complain?

“Thank you.” Ariel mirrored his smile as she took his hand and shook it warmly, repeating it for his beta and gamma.

“Welcome.” They echoed the greeting, but after what the gamma had done, Ariel was still skeptical about them.

“It should be time for dinner now, and we can go down to eat. I assume you are hungry.” Her stomach grumbled as if in response to his words, and she gave him an apologetic smile.

“Oh no, I could eat my own here if it is possible.” The last thing Ariel wanted to do was meet his pack.

If their leaders were like this, who knows how the pack members were going to be? And she had no strength to fight anyone.

“No harm will come to you as long as you are here.” The alpha said and Ariel’s head snapped up, looking at him with wide eyes.

“Can you read my thoughts?”

The alpha chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “That would be absurd. Just come down; I want to introduce the pack to you. You will be our guest until you are not needed anymore, and it is only right that you are given a proper introduction to the pack.”

“Alright, if you say so.” Ariel shrugged her shoulders, patting her hair in place and straightening her dress until she noticed the stares, and she wanted to shrink into the ground.

“We will be outside.”

Ariel nodded her head, and she went towards the dresser, staring at her reflection. She wasn’t here to impress anyone; there was no need to make the effort.

Maybe a little bit, she thought as she ran to the bathroom, picking up the lipgloss she had seen in the basket, and she ran it across her lips.

Her lips don’t have to be charred, even if she wasn’t here to impress them.

Satisfied with the results, she hurried after them, shutting the door behind her and making sure to keep a safe distance from them as they walked down the stairs.

Until they came to a large dining hall.

If Ariel had thought that Kane’s pack was large, it couldn’t hold a candle to what she was looking at now.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Only there were long rows of tables and chairs-the ones you would see in a Harry Potter movie. And people were already seated, chatting excitedly as the food was passed around.

Only the noise was quick to turn to complete silence as they saw the alpha, and everyone stood up, lowering their heads and raising them at the same time, as if it had been rehearsed before hand.

“Hmm mm.” The alpha cleared his throat, and he motioned for Ariel to come forward. “We have a guest joining us. She had been working as a spy for us, and she would be staying with us for now. She is my guest, and she should be treated as one irrespective of who she is, and failure to abide by that will result in consequences.”

From the way the pack gulped, they were well familiar with his consequences, and they all nodded their heads.

“Good.” The alpha smiled, and he left for his seat, leaving her standing there and looking like a fool.

Lucky for her, she didn’t have to stand too long as a lady came to her, directing her where to sit, and she was grateful to be saved from the embarrassment.

The lady led her to her seat in the half-filled hall, and they took their seats. “Thank you for saving my ass there; my name is Ariel.”

“The alpha asked me to do it, but you are welcome.” The lady’s sharp reply hindered any chance of friendship blossoming, and Ariel nodded with an awkward smile.

The food began to pass around, and she took a long sniff as the scent filled the air, her stomach growling in response.

She waited as per their law for the alpha to take his first bite, and almost immediately she wasted no time, digging into the food.

At least she wasn’t going to starve here.

She finished her meal and helped with packing the plates and cleaning them up. If she was going to stay here, it was only right that she help with some of the chores.

She couldn’t be a freeloader again.

Dinner was over as soon as it started, and Ariel went back to her room, throwing herself on the bed and staring at the night sky.

It got boring real quick, as she had nothing to do and fell asleep.

The pounding on the door shattered whatever sleep she had been having, and she dragged her feet towards the door.

“Hello,” Ariel muttered, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.

“It is time for breakfast.” And she was walking out.

Ariel stared at her retreating back before it clicked in her head that the food may likely be gone before she got there, and she was running after her.

Luckily, the alpha hadn’t come down, and she sat down, only eating her meal when the alpha had taken his bite and helping to pack the plate before she retired to her room.

The first thing that welcomed her as she stepped into her room were some shopping bags sitting on her bed.

She peeped outside of her room to see if she could catch the culprit, but it was as empty as whatever, so she went back inside. It was creepy enough that anyone could have access to her room, but it wasn’t like she would complain.

She brought out the clothes, sizing them up. Many were not to her taste, but at least they fitted her well, and she kept them away.

She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and sat down in her room, bored out of her life. There was nothing to do, and it irked her more than anything.

But she was standing up as if she had been jolted by a bolt of electricity, and she was heading outside her room. As she walked, she could hear footsteps behind her; although subtle, her ears had picked them up, and she turned, sending a flying punch.

But damn werewolf reflexes, he had seen it coming and was able to dodge at the last minute.

“Why are you following me?” Ariel asked, her hands on her hips as she tried to look menacing, but the 6’3-foot-tall man didn’t even move a bit.

“I am to guide you around the pack.”

Another word for a bodyguard, but she wouldn’t care.

“I would like to go to the library. Can you show me the way?” There was no response from his end; instead, his eyes gleamed for a few seconds before they were restored.

“Follow me.”

Geez, everyone had a stick up their ass in this pack, but she reluctantly followed him as they went down the stairs, well aware of the stares they got as the other pack mates passed them.

They entered the room that had the library etched above the entrance, and her eyes widened in awe as she stepped into the room.

“Wow.” She couldn’t stop the words from leaving her mouth.

This was every reader’s dream.

The majestic row of shelves stretched before her, filled with books from top to bottom, and a sturdy ladder was attached that could help her access the top.

“How may I help you?” The librarian, a bespectacled buxom woman, stood in front of her, looking every bit like your typical librarian, and Ariel glared down at her, happy to know she was taller than someone in the pack. “I know. I don’t need the glasses, but I am trying to look at the part.”

“Hmmm.” Ariel nodded. Who was she to deny a woman her pleasure? Besides, she was the first person to smile at her without any form of hostility.

“She will need books on pack history, especially on the moonlight pack, if you may.” Her guard spoke up, and Ariel stared at him with an open mouth, wondering just how much the alpha had told him.

But she was quick to recover. “Yeah, and maybe anything you could get on Alpha John and his family. He was the alpha of the moonlight pack.” She added, and the woman smiled.

“Of course, I will be right back. Make yourself comfortable.” Her ‘bodyguard’ continued standing, and she saw no need to sit.

But she was already regretting it when more than 15 minutes had passed and the woman wasn’t yet on sight.

She should have opted to sit.

A sigh of relief left her as she saw her, quickening her steps towards them with some piles of books in her hand, and Ariel’s smile only grew wider.

“Sorry for the delay; it was a little difficult getting it, but all you need should be here.”

“Thank you so much.” Ariel replied with sincere gratitude, and she took the books from her. “Am I allowed to read it in my room?” She asked the man behind her, just to be on the safe side, and the little yes was the only confirmation she needed.

“Thank you!” Ariel exclaimed, cuddling the books to her bosom, and she was skipping all the way to her room.