The Alpha and Her King

Chapter Nine

Piper’s POV

It was a long day at school and I just wanted it to be over with. My nerves were on edge, worrying about Leo and his men, hoping they would be successful this time. Dad has gotten reports of humans being outside the pack, so we think they are the hunters Leo is after. My phone vibrated in my pocket, but I couldn’t answer it in the middle of class. After class, I checked, and it was from a number I did not recognize, but whoever called left a voicemail. I jumped into the bathroom to check quickly in between classes and it was from Leo. He left a brief message, letting me know they arrived safely and he would try to call later. For the rest of the day, I just got a weird feeling that something was not right, so I tried calling the number back after school and got no answer.

I went straight home after school, so I could meet with dad to learn some of the stuff to run the pack. Dad has been teaching me how to be a leader for our pack, going over the budget, and how to dissolve any disputes the pack members have between each other. While I sat there at dad’s desk, learning how to balance the budget for the month, Leo’s mission distracted me.

“Are you ok, princess?” dad asked me.

“No, I am not. I am worried about Leo and this mission he is on to stop the hunters,” I replied, putting in the numbers for the utilities of the packhouse.

“I am sure he will be ok. His generals and security team will not allow him to get hurt,” he assured me.

“I hope you are right, dad. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him.”

“I know, sweetheart. Just have faith in him and his generals. Let’s call it a day and go relax. You look like you could take Venus on a run. I will go with you. Deacon has been antsy all day with the hunters nearby,” he suggested. Venus wagged her tail, wanting to get out.

So, dad linked mom to let her know we will be late for dinner and headed to the woods. As soon as we got there, I went behind a tree and took off my clothes and shifted into Venus. When Venus came out, dad did the same thing. We took off towards the north gate, as we were having issues with rogues and hunters up there. As we arrived, it was quiet. The guards were not in their positions. Dad tried linking them and they did not answer.

“Piper, I dislike this. As soon as the warriors get here, I will have a couple of them escort you back to the packhouse.”

“No, dad, I need to be here to help defend our pack, especially when I take over,” I argued with him.

“No, you are the future Alpha. You need to be protected,” Deacon growled at me and Venus. Venus rolled her eyes at him and shifted her vision into her heat seeking vision. I saw three figures crouching inside the gate, hiding in some bushes.

“Dad, there are three figures hiding over there. I can use my force field to hold them until the warriors get here.” Deacon nodded his head, and I projected my force field at them, holding them in one place.

“What the f**k!” one of them yelled. “I can’t move!”

“Neither can I,” the other two said. Dad shifted and walked up to them.

“Who the hell are you and why are you trespassing on private land?” he growled. Venus growled at them, scaring one of them bad enough that he pissed his pants.

“You know who we are, freak. You and your pathetic pack don’t deserve to exist,” the first one said, smirking at dad. Just then, the warriors arrived and saw that I had them subdued. The warriors handcuffed the three hunters and led them towards the prison. We looked for the bodies of the two guards and Abe found them, both shot in the head, most likely with silver and wolfbane bullets.

“I will have to interview them after dinner. The one who pissed his pants would be the perfect one,” dad said, pissed that they killed two of our guards and got onto our land. “We will double up with patrols and at the gates. Who knows how many more are out there?”

“I can check, dad,” I told him, after I shifted and put an oversized T-shirt on that I found in the guard shack. Dad was apprehensive about letting me go out and search for more hunters. I saw that he, Abe, and Jack were linking back and forth about letting me go. Finally, after a few minutes, dad agreed.

“Ok, you can go, but Abe, Jack, Nick, and Oscar are going to be glued to your side, with a dozen warriors will be one hundred yards behind, so it doesn’t affect the heat signatures.” I silently squealed inside, with Venus prancing around. “But I want a report every ten minutes where your location is. That way, if you run into trouble, I can send additional help.” I hugged dad about his decision.

“Thank you, dad, for trusting me with this. I will not disappoint you,” I told him, trying to contain my excitement.

“I know you won’t, but please stay safe. I will have your mom bring up a plate and put it in the fridge for you,” dad told me. He sent out a pack wide link, telling everyone that there is a lockdown and no one may go outside until it is clear. The boys were still at school for football practice, so I know they would have to go into the school and lock the doors until I come back to the packhouse. We all shifted and left the north gates, heading to the west. Venus saw nothing along the west border, so we went to the south.

When we approached the south gates, I saw some figures by the guard shack. I projected my force field to hold them until the warriors arrived. Sure enough, I found three more hunters ready to attack our guards there. The warriors apprehended them and took them to prison. The rest of the south border was clear. We then headed up the eastern border, looking to see if there was any more over there and I did not see anymore.

“Jack, should we do a sweep through the woods surrounding the houses and businesses just to be on the safe side?” I linked Jack.

“It be best if we did. We don’t know for sure if any of them slipped through.” So, we did a few laps around the houses and businesses, closing in with each lap. Luckily, I did not see any hunters in the pack’s interior. We headed back to the packhouse and mom and dad were standing up front. Mom had some clothes for me, so all the guys turned their backs so I could shift and get dressed.

“Ok, it is clear,” I yelled, keeping my back to them. They all shifted and dad handed them some shorts.

“How was it out there?” dad asked.

“I found three more by the south gates, getting ready to attack our guards. Luckily, I could stop them in time. Nothing on the eastern and western borders and did a sweep of the interior, just in case,” I explained to him. Dad had a smile of pride on his face.

“Well done, princess. Because of you, the pack is safer tonight. Go in, eat, and take a shower.” I kissed both mom and dad on the cheeks and ran upstairs. Since the lockdown began, I had to use my thumbprint and eye scan to access our elevator. I go up to our floor and did the same with our suite door, going through the scanning process again. When the door unlocked, I slowly opened it and yelled through the cracked door.

“Nana, it is me, Piper. It is safe now,” I warned her, knowing that she would have her revolver out. I peeked around the door and sure enough, Nana had her gun in her hands. She let out a sigh of relief and put the gun down.

“What happened, Piper? Your dad linked everyone to under a lockdown,” she asked as she hugged me.

"I found hunters in the packlands. Dad and I went on a run in our wolves and went to the north gate to check on everything. We got there and neither of the guards were around. I found three hunters hiding the bushes. Unfortunately, we lost two members. The hunters killed them. After we arrested the hunters and took them to prison, Abe, Jack, Nick, and I patrolled the borders to look for more. We found three more hunters near the south gates, preparing to attack. We arrested them and put them in prison,” I explained to her. I saw Emma and Alex sitting on the couch, paying attention to what I told Nana.

“Did the guards have families or mates?” she asked.

"Fortunately, they have yet to find their mates. They were both only nineteen. They grew up here, so Dad will notify both their families as soon as the hospital receives the bodies."

“That is so sad, losing someone so young. I will make some of my cookies and a meal for each of their families,” Nana offered. Mom came in and ran up to me. She examined me to make sure I wasn’t hurt and sighed in relief, hugging me.

“I am so happy that you are safe. But what were you thinking going around the borders to find more hunters? You could have gotten hurt!” she freaked out.

“Mom, I had to. I have the heat signature vision from Venus, so I could find them. Before they could attack us, I used my force field to hold them until the warriors came to escort them to the prison.”

“At least your dad was smart enough to send protection with you,” mom told me. “Your dad is lifting the lockdown but ordering everyone to stay home tonight. Your dad is forbidding everyone from going out unless they’re a warrior or have an emergency.”

I went and got my food out of the fridge and popped it into the microwave. Emmie made my favorite fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn on the cob. I was famished after the patrol. I ate everything, including Nana’s apple pie she made while waiting for the lockdown to be lifted.

When I was done, I went to my room and took a shower. Afterwards, I tried calling Leo again, on both his phone and the satellite phone. There was no answer. That is not like him not answering either phones. I hope nothing didn’t happen or he might be on his way here for my birthday tomorrow. I will try again tomorrow evening if he doesn’t show up here.