Orphan Alpha

Chapter 5

“We’re going to have to come clean, sooner rather than later, Alpha.” I said. “From what I know of the

young Alpha Tristan, he’s going to want to push her emancipation instead of wait for her birthday.”

“Barb, you worry too much.” Alpha Bruce chided. “She turns eighteen in a month, and with you

covering at the orphanage, he has no reason to push for it.”

Shouldn’t the Luna be involved in this conversation? Hannah is her niece after all.” I demanded,

breaking protocol by challenging my alpha.

“We agreed to do whatever it takes to protect her already. Judencia would agree with me on

this. Leave it alone, Barb.” He growled.

I sighed. There was no arguing when he used his Alpha tone. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t

broach the topic with my Luna. I bowed my head and made my way out of the packhouse. Whoever

had murdered Craig and Jordan was still out there, and it infuriated me that Alpha Bruce couldn’t see

that keeping Hannah in the dark about her claim to the throne was putting her in danger.

I had come to love her as my own pup in the time I had cared for her at the orphanage. If I had

had my way, she would have been under the protection of the Silver Moon pack from the start. The

only thing that had stopped me from pushing the issue was knowing that her parents had been

surrounded by warriors and still died. Silver Moon was a strong pack but couldn’t hold a candle to the

wolves Hannah’s parents had commanded. They had all died when the compound had been attacked.

Nobody outside of myself, Alpha Bruce, and Luna Judencia knew Hannah was the last blood

line heir to the throne. We had managed to use what influence the pack had to keep her true parentage

out of court documents when we had her placed in my orphanage. Hannah herself was completely

unaware that she was a royal. The girl deserved a chance at a normal pack life, without the danger and novelbin

intrigue that came with being royalty.

I sighed and turned down the road towards the compound. Nobody from Silver Moon pack had

visited since the police had closed it down for evidence processing. I still didn’t know how they had beat

us to the scene, but once they were involved our hands were tied. I wasn’t sure what made me want to

come to the place now, but I had learned long ago to trust my instincts.

When the iron gates came into view of my headlights, I slowed to a stop. The crime scene tap

was still up, though beaten by years of weather, and the gate had long rusted shut. I made quick work

of scaling over it into the compound, before stripping down and shifting. I had suspicions when the

attack first occurred that the police would miss something vital though I could never bring myself to

enter the compound before. Most of the evidence would be long gone by now, but something urged me

forward.

There were no scents to follow, even the humans had avoided the place for the last ten years.

The authorities had passed it off as a wild pack of wolves, thanks in part to the few who had died in

their wolf form. Those who didn’t believe the official story were convinced it was some religious murder

cult, either way they avoided the area. I forced back the images of the murdered wolves from my mind

and made my way to Hannah’s childhood home.

The house hadn’t held up well without maintenance, the door was warped and barely set on the

hinges. I carefully made my way inside, not sure what I was looking for. Aside from the damage of

unchecked time, the place looked as it had when Craig and Jordan moved in. The family photos were

still along the walls, dinner plates were left on the coffee table where their meal was interrupted by the

attack. If nothing else, I could gather some photos to give to Hannah, she would appreciate them.

If I were a clue, where would I be? I thought to myself before making my way to the master

bedroom. I shifted back to human form the moment I saw the room. Unlike the others, it was trashed.

Someone had torn through it as if they were looking for something. I could tell by the lack of scent that

it hadn’t been ransacked recently, I only hoped it had been curious kids looking for something to steal

and not whoever had killed them.

Footsteps caught my attention, and I lifted my nose in the air to catch the scent. I’m imagining

things. I scolded myself. There wasn’t any detectible scent which meant that I was alone. I gingerly

made my way deeper into the room, scanning for anything that stood out in the mess. My eyes landed

on a torn piece of cloth; it was caught on the edge of an open drawer. It looked remarkably similar to

the material the royal guard’s uniforms were made from. It was the same type and color. Something

was definitely off about it being in this room.

The sound of footsteps reached my ears again and I crouched down. I still couldn’t smell

anything, but every sense in my body was screaming that I was not alone. I shifted quickly into my wolf

form and hid myself beside the bed as best I could. I had barely concealed myself when a man dressed

like the royal guard entered the room. I froze, praying to the goddess he wouldn’t see me.

“Owen.” Called a woman’s voice. “We’ve already checked that room. There was nothing that

would lead us to the girl.”

I couldn’t control the growl that escaped me, the drive for self-preservation was overruled by the

need to protect my pup. I lunged at the man, knocking him over, and raced out of the house. A quick

glance over my shoulder as I pushed myself towards the gate revealed a tall, blond woman, watching

me. Whoever she was knew about Hannah and she was looking for her. I needed to get back to the

pack house and warn Alpha Bruce.