Chapter Four

"The Beta has assembled the warriors for an important meeting and you are here, slacking off with some chic?!" Diana scolded with her hands fixed firmly on her petite waist.

"No, I'm sorry but I have to correct your statement. Don't you dare talk to me like that and your brother was presently questioning me about my pack and my origin which is his 'duty'. I take that's what he ought to do?" I said with emphasis on the word 'duty'. I'm not sure twin sisters were supposed to bitches towards their own brother. She shot me a look, obviously fuming, her eyes immediately returning to the Gamma.

"Yeah, in the garden like the romance movies. What an interesting interrogation." She said, her words dripping with utter sarcasm. I looked over to the Gamma,who stood idly, watching the scene his so-called twin sister was creating. How could this be a sister?So bitchy and bitter towards her own brother.

Removing his huge arms which was folded across his chest,he scratched the little stubble across his chin."Are you done? What does Aiden want? Is the meeting that urgent it had to be held around the early hours of the day?"

Looking at her watch, she turned up to face him, giving him an incredulous stare."It's 11:45 am. It's gonna be noon anytime soon." He stared at the ground, obviously defeated by his sister."What is it?"

"Another she-wolf had been raped."She said,her features suddenly turned stone cold. The Gamma's countenance became cold as he looked up at his sister's vapid face."When?"I was beginning to feel like the outsider around here as the air had become taut with an incomprehensible tension

"Around the early evening, down the southern border. We shouldn't keep the Beta waiting anymore. Or....... would you like to continue with your-"She cut the sentence short,her brown eyes slowly darting back to me.

"She's coming with us." The Gamma announced, his arms folded behind his back. He was clearly commanding her with his Gamma authority. Serves her right.

"Why? She doesn't have to come into the pack. I don't trust her!" Diana protested.

"Diana, you haven't trusted anyone in the last five years. Besides, it's protocol."He said with that dominating Gamma authority of his. He turned swiftly, grabbing my hand but I wiggled out of his grip, raising my hands in a form of protest.

"I'm sorry but don't I get to have any say in this? Besides, I'm not dressed to go out."I said calmly, nor to aggravate the already tensed atmosphere.

"You are perfectly fine."He said, practically checking me out."Besides you are in our pack's territory and therefore are subject to our pack's rules and laws. You will have to see the Alpha or Beta in order to consent your stay in our territory. One week, isn't it?"

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Good, it wouldn't be hard if your father gets into the picture." He grabbed my wrist, tugging me slightly out of the garden. Diana followed behind us, rolling her eyes.

They were the weirdest pair of twins I had ever come across. One was dominating while the other was submissive at their own fair time. Going back to the entrance of the hotel, a black SUV was parked at the driveway. Going closer, I couldn't help but notice it had tinted windows. The Gamma opened the door for me, gesturing for me to go in. I hesitated."I can't, I don't where you are taking me!"I yelled out in exasperation.

Diana came into the scene and with one push, she had me shoved into the car and slammed the door before I could react. Yeah, this was one of the reasons I needed to train. I am a lycan. A werewolf should shiver before me or so Clio thought. I looked at Derek who emotionlessly walked around the car, settling into the driver's seat and tuned the engine to life. "Don't worry, this isn't a kidnapping."

*******

I didn't know this city. I had no fucking clue where the hell they were taking me. All I could make out from it is that we passed the usual New York traffic, sped down a quiet highway which took quite some hours before entering a carved out road somehow hidden by the evergreen vegetation. Who knew such places existed in such an industrialized city filled up with a massive population of knowledge seeking and power-hungry humans. I didn't dare ask Diana. The death glares she occasionally fixed me with let me know she wasn't the least bit friendly. Occasionally, the shadows of sleep ominously hovered over as the dead drop silence was boring me to death. Not even Derek uttered a word. But I kept my eyes peeled open. I had to see where this was going.

After driving on the small narrowly carved out road,we arrived at a strange clearing,void of the evergreen which grew on any available space it could find. Through the tinted windows, I spotted some guards.......I mean border patrol at least that was what we called them. They came closer to the car, hitting hardly at the windows. Derek rolled down the windows, obviously irritated. The wolf who previously wore a bold look on his face, bowed his head down, cowering in fear of his Gamma. "I'm sorry, Gamma."

Derek rolled the glasses up, clicking his tongue in irritation as he commenced his driving. Going in, the car halted at a huge gate with walls extending, taking up the entire area in front of us. Their territory was unusually large. So they owned all the way from the hotel..... probably even more. The gate opened on its own accord with two guards standing on each side. The Gamma drove in revealing a new civilization. Finally,we had gotten to the pack's settlement. The outlying villages after the gate were adequately modernized. A few pups ran down the streets, chasing a cat. I chuckled a bit at that. It reminded me of my early childhood days.

The small, old houses and weary cottages gave way to bigger,well-built, white and developed houses. I could barely see anyone walk down the streets. I could even see some large estates among the well-developed part of the pack's settlement. Taking a turn,he arrived at a huge mansion. I wouldn't say it was a mansion. It was large and looked more like a small estate as it had several smaller buildings behind it. A black small gate with the seal of the pack embellished on it stood in front of the house with a low brick fence with some lampstands which perched on the fence.

The Gamma blazed his horn and the gate drew in, giving entrance for the large SUV. The car emerged in, coming to a halt in front of the house.

I sucked in a breath, gathering all of my courage."Where are we?"I asked, rubbing my arm uncomfortably.

"The Pack house."Derek replied, getting out of the truck. Diana followed suit, leaving me in. I took in the a deep sigh, not wanting to leave. I was only in my joggers and sport bra.

'We're gonna face an Alpha.' Clio said irritated. "What a fucking day." I agreed.

"Get outta the truck!"Diana yelled. Her screams penetrated past my eardrums. I left the car reluctantly, rubbing hard at my temples. I met Diana resting against the car's rear."Were you gonna take all day, Your Highness?"She greeted with a sarcastic tone. I rolled my eyes internally."

"Come on, its time to see the Alpha."Diana said, flicking a strand of the sea of raven hair onto her ear. She kicked off her legs from a tyre of the SUV where she had them perched against. I raised my eyes to find Derek staring at us from the entrance of the house. I could have sworn he had his gaze locked on me for a second before swiftly turning away. Two wolves stood at guard at the entrance of the house. Looking over at the house,it had sorta an antique look to it; built with bricks, the house seemed old. Though it had been renovated,it still looked like it could be a century old. A fountain carved out in the shape of a wolf howling stood in the middle of the courtyard of the packhouse. From where I stood, I could see the flourishing green moss on the carved out fountain. The pack house's exterior wasn't properly attended to, it seemed like people barely came in.

I felt a hand pushing me on my shoulder, urging me to move."Would you like it if I carried you around, missy?" The annoying she-wolf continued with her usual sarcastic tone.

I flipped her hand off my shoulder."You don't always have to be sarcastic."I said, jogging up the staircase, entering the open door the Gamma had left behind. Diana's feet shuffled behind me,her eyes locked on me like a hawk on its prey. I was beginning to feel more irritated about this.

Entering the pack house, it seemed more to me like an office with corridors stretching far into places I could not even fathom. The walls were a sparkling white with fire extinguishers which hung on every block. More than a few potted plants were put on the corridors to give a comfortable atmosphere along with the sofas arranged along the sides. I couldn't find Derek anywhere.

"Where's Derek?"Diana asked to no one in particular. I folded my arms, watching her contemplate on what she would do. She couldn't leave me here as she didn't trust me but she couldn't meet the Alpha directly without the Gamma. It was a kind of thing all packs heeded to. Warriors didn't have direct access to their Alphas. Some sort of code of conduct, only broken by a state of emergency. If they had any business with the Alpha, they would seek out the Beta or the Gamma to levy out their issues or they would seek out an immediate appointment with the Alpha which wasn't very wise because the Alpha would have up to a thousand wolves on his waiting list-

"Hey I'm gonna find Derek. You stay right here."Diana said, snapping me out of my reverie."You can't come along with me. Your scent will put a lot of wolves on edge and the Gamma's not here with me nor do I have any weapons on me."

Weapons? What did she need weapons for?"What do you need weapons for? Plus what if any wolf comes by?"

Her glare tightened at me as she came closer to me."NO. FUNNY. BUSINESS."She literally spelt out, going down one of the plethora of corridors, muttering some curses to herself.

An idea suddenly popped up."Hey,"I called out, getting her attention."What is it?"She asked in between gritted teeth."Why don't you try communicating with him via telepathy?"I put in, hoping to be of help.

"Think again, genius. What the hell do you think I was doing?!" She yelled, going down the corridor. I rolled my eyes, looking into the corridor she disappeared not a moment ago."Bitch."I muttered under my breath. I pressed myself against the edge of the wall, looking up at the porcelain white ceiling. There were sofas comfortable to lodge in but I declined the offer. My ass had been knocked out, sitting in that SUV for more than 3 hours.

The clicking of photocopiers, tapping of keyboards and the distinct chatter of the clerks filled the air. Looking into the open, void corridors, I shut my eyes, pondering about my life. I missed James, hell, could barely stop thinking about him. I hope I wouldn't regret my decision.

The memory of his ocean blue eyes covered with strands of his platinum blonde hair which hung all over his face surfaced as I shut my eyes. The touch of his lips against mine was electrifying-not even my first kiss was able to beat that.

I missed him a lot. Locked in my severe state of oneirism,a large force came over, knocking me to the other side of the corridor. A man in formal attire was bent over arranging his scattered documents on the floor, muttering several apologies as he struggled to arrange the myriad of papers into a tiny file. I bent down in order to render some assistance.

"I'm so sorry- there are about a thousand transfer requests and there are no space for these- The computers should really be worked on......" He chattered on.

I raised an eyebrow at him, reaching for more of the documents."Let me get that for you."I said, grabbing a paper which he gripped onto at the same time. He finally raised his head to look me straight in the eye. His pale grey eyes shone incredulously at me. Yeah,he picked on my scent.

"Who are you?"He asked me curtly, getting up to take a full at me. His pale grey eyes gave me a stern look, causing me to get nervous.

"Get a hold on yourself. He is just one fucking werewolf." Clio grunted, clearly displeased by my behavior. Sometimes,if not most times,it felt like I and my wolf were completely different people.

"Uhmm... just walking around."I said, realising how stupid my response sounded. I moved back, hoping to get away till I got something hard. I flinched immediately, realising whom I hit.

"She's with me."The Gamma sounded, taking a firm grip on my arm. The once dominating wolf lowered his head, going lower to carry away his myriad of documents."I'm sorry, Gamma." The wolf bowed his head once more, running till he was out of sight. The Gamma turned to me, his gaze now fixed on me.

"Seemed you were quite nervous back there. But you had no problem standing up to me back there in the gym."I flinched out of his grasp. He grasped my chin, raising my face to look at him. "You are so strange." He muttered.

I slapped his grip from my chin."And so are you. Your sister had gone all crazy looking for you."

"She had always been crazy...... until five years ago." His expression suddenly turned sullen." Well that side of her's comes up once in a while. I can't help but be that dominating Gamma around her and I don't like behaving like that around you." He said with a flirty glint in his eyes.

He was literally trying to flirt!

"Oh really?"I asked flirtatiously with an amused smile. He came closer, his gaze fixed on me till I pushed him off." Derek we are in your pack house!"I yelped with a wide grin.

"Does it seem like I care?" He asked, winking at me slightly. He was cute but way, way bigger than me and it felt sorta awkward. I placed my hands on his chest, pushing him off as he leaned in closer. "We should probably see your Alpha." I said, going further into the corridor, away from him. "So your Alpha's office is which way?"

Derek tucked his hands in his pocket, smirking at

me."Don't worry, I'll get you one day."

"Says the guy who is afraid of his twin sister."