Cara sat on a park bench in a large, fenced off garden known as The Commons. It was a neutral zone between two werewolf packs; a place where both packs could mingle and co-exist without restrictions. She stretched her long, tanned legs out in front of her and tilted her head back, enjoying the feel of the sun’s warmth on her face.
A shadow fell across her and she slowly opened one eye, spotting the culprit and swatting him away playfully with her hand.
“Babe, you’re ruining my tan. Move over,” she whined, trying in vain to move the large, hulking figure of her boyfriend, Dane.
Dane was Beta of the Cape Point Pack and oversaw the training of the pack’s military-style warrior army. Cara had always hated his shaved head, but it was compulsory in the army and Dane liked to show the men he was one of them.
She couldn’t fault the rest of his body though. He was tall, with broad shoulders and strong arms that picked her up with ease. His pale blue eyes looked like the sky on a summer's day, yet could turn a person to ice when he was angry. He was the finest male specimen she’d ever laid eyes on, and she knew she wasn’t worthy of him.
“Lucas will be here soon. You should probably head off anyway,” he replied.
Cara sat up and cuddled into his side, butterflies dancing in her stomach.
“You’ll be careful, right?” she asked, locking her piercing green eyes with his.
“Don’t stress. Have I ever let you down before?”
She shook her head and relaxed into him. She knew he was right. He’d never let anything or anyone stand in the way of their relationship before - and many people had reason to. She was an Omega from a working-class family, the lowest rank of all, while Dane was a Beta. Their classist society says they shouldn’t be together, but he was all she ever wanted.
She stood and kissed him once more, waving to him as she left. She trusted him to do what needed to be done, for them and the future of the pack.
Dane spotted Lucas entering The Commons from one end, just as Cara was leaving from the other. He had the build of a werewolf, but unlike Dane, whose body was sculpted from a decade of hard work, Lucas looked more like a werewolf with a full-time office job. Dane grinned at his own joke as Lucas approached.
“Beta Lucas,” he greeted, with a friendly and familiar tone in his voice.
“Beta Dane,” replied Lucas, as both men shook hands. “How’s things?”
Lucas was Beta of the Green Plains Pack. The two held regular meetings together to talk inter-pack business. They had a good relationship, and knew it was important that they did, because above them at Alpha level, things were tense between the young and rash Alpha Patrick and his Green Plains counterpart, Alpha Marcus.
“I guess we should discuss Sarah Morgan,” started Lucas.
Dane stopped in his tracks.
“It’s not looking good,” he said, frustrated. “Patrick wants her returned to Cape Point territory. He wants her executed.”
“Absolutely not!” Lucas growled, his eyes darkening as his wolf protested.
Sarah Morgan was a young member of Dane’s pack who had fallen pregnant to a man from Lucas’ pack to the north. After discovering she was pregnant, she fled over the border and into Green Plains territory. To Alpha Patrick, this was treason, and he wanted her executed to set an example.
“Don’t blame me, blame Patrick,” said Dane, sensing Lucas’ aggression and hoping he could use it to his advantage. “He’s out of control.”
“Just between us, we’re getting very nervous about him.”
“He’s going to set us back a hundred years. All the progress we’ve made will be wiped out,” lamented Dane.
The Cape Point Pack was formed by Scandinavian werewolves forced into exile. Their brutal Viking nature made them the fiercest fighters going around. Their land was gained with a speedy yet bloody invasion that pushed Green Plains back, taking a sizable chunk of their territory. The two packs were sworn enemies for over a hundred years, until headway was made in the last few decades and The Commons area was established.
There was a rising fear that under Alpha Patrick’s increasingly aggressive rule, Cape Point was heading back to those dark days of savagery and isolation. Despite their truce, Green Plains still held a grudge, and it wouldn’t take much for Alpha Marcus to declare war.
“Marcus would have no problem with a war. He thinks we have an advantage with the weight of numbers, despite the strength of your army,” said Lucas.
“With all due respect, he’s an idiot if he thinks that. Have you seen my warriors? It wouldn’t even be close.”
“You and I both know that, but Marcus is too optimistic. He sees it as an easy opportunity to decimate your pack and regain our lost territory. He can easily blame the crazy neighbour to the south for being out of control if the Alpha King asks questions,” Lucas exclaimed, the worry evident on his face. “I don’t want it to come to that. I don’t want a war wiping out both our packs.”
“Neither do I. We need to think of a way of stopping it from getting that far.” Dane suggested, planting the seed of doubt he and Cara had been plotting for a while now.