Page 15 of Heart Broken Mate

“Hmm,” he growled, and at that moment, the door to the throne room opened, and a man stepped in. He was younger than the other werewolf that had died but looked menacing, and by the look on Buff’s face and the others, I guessed this was the new alpha. He was followed by other members of the pack. I remembered him from the reservation earlier. And the others, too.

They don’t particularly look like a pack who just lost their alpha, but looks can be deceiving, I have come to know.

The new alpha walked on, and they made way for him and his pack. He walked to the throne and looked at it for a while but didn’t sit. He stood beside it, his hands on it.

“Is this the best Nillport has to offer?” he asked and didn’t look very impressed with the crowd gathered in front of him. I couldn’t determine the cause of his dissatisfaction. The lot before me looked battle-tested like any hunter I have ever seen. I guessed he expected them to look more rugged and scarred. A great misconception about hunters,

I have been a hunter all my life—at least before the last three years—and the most important attribute of a hunter was blending—the ability to be subtle and appear ordinary enough to mix with people.

“I guess I’ll have to make do with you,” he said. “The woman you're looking for is dangerous. She is deceptive, and most importantly, she is a traitor. She betrayed her Alpha, her pack members, and the order of nature.”

I looked at the new alpha and the rest of the pack. They looked betrayed but not angry, or at least their anger has been kindled and was not fiery enough to capture her. They have spent years with her and are more suited to track her down, but it seems they have larger business to handle.

“I am not looking to hire one of you,” the new alpha said. “I want to hire all of you.”

Now that is interesting.

“Whoever brings her to me, dead or alive, will be the one to receive the payment. You can work in a group or work alone. Idon’t care. I want that traitor found. If you bring her alive, you’ll have the crown in your debt. You can go.”

There was a murmur of ascent amongst the group, and they all turned to head out. That didn’t go the way I thought it would. I had no idea how I expected it to go. I have never hunted for the killer of alpha before.

“Excuse me,” Buff said suddenly, loud enough for everyone to hear, and they all stopped. “We have people amongst us who shouldn’t be here,” he continued, and I grinned. I didn’t expect him to go that low.

Everyone looked at each other, wondering what he was talking about. He stepped forward to the Alpha and then pointed at me. He recognized me immediately.

“We shouldn’t be sharing an assignment with a lone wolf. It is below us. Besides, we’ve all heard about what went down between him and the criminal earlier in the day. Who is to say they are not conspiring together.”

The new Alpha glared at me. “You, come forward,” he said to me.

It was a bit disrespectful, but I stepped forward. I wasn’t looking to cause any trouble.

“You’re the leader of the lone wolf pack, aren’t you?” he asked.

I wanted to explain to him that the lone wolves weren’t a pack and I was not their leader, but what good was it? They have their presumptions already. Let them run with it.

“Yes,” I told him.

“What business do you have with this pack business, then?”

“None. But I heard the killer was the same person that accosted me earlier in the day. I became interested.”

“Are you not working with her?” Buff asked, and I wanted to knock him on the head to show he was making a stupid statement.

“I have only seen the lady once in my life, and that was earlier when you came with her,” I said to the Alpha. “And you know how I reacted to her advances. You tell me, did they look like the actions of a man in collusion with her or one surprised?”

He didn’t answer my question.

“What are you doing here?”

“Hoping to win a bounty just like every other person in here. That isn’t forbidden, last I checked.”

“He isn’t to be trusted,” Buff said. “He is dirt.”

“Why should I let you join the hunt?” Alpha asked.

“What does it hurt if you do? If I get the girl, you win, and I win. If I don’t and someone else does, you still win.”

The Alpha seemed to think about it for a while. “If I find out that you’re working against us or for Hayley, I would have you pulled limb from limb until you tear.”

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