The Hunting
Chapter 26

Two weeks had gone by, with the help of the towns people and various tests, Tobias found the perfect people to appoint as new leaders. A man named Lance, which he knew from his childhood, became the new Beta male, a woman called Marge, who was a terrific tracker became the new Delta, he appointed three different people to the position of Gamma - mostly because they were triplets. Tobias also made some new positions available, he had a Deligator whom he appointed to speak for the pack whenever meeting were held - mainly what they'd do is go speak to all the pack members about a specific situation and then return to the Alpha with their concerns or solutions, a man named Richard was appointed to this position. And lastly he had a Negotiator, a woman named Fiona, who would be going out to other packs before the Alpha and seeing if matters can't be settled in other ways.

Back at Riverdale, the councilman named Kent the new Beta male, he will be observed and trained under the watchful eyes of Clayton. He was hesitant at first, not wanting to step on anyone's toes since the title rightfully belonged to Kia, but Clayton assured him that all was well. Clayton had also been traveling back and forth between Riverdale and Blood Moon, to assist Tobias with the threats he's been getting. He was quite proud of his son-in-law, although their mating was forbidden, Clay would always see him as Kia's mate, and therefore, family.

So far, no one has made any moves to remove Tobias from his position, but Clay got the feeling that it's only a matter of time. The men he took out of power were growing restless, you could feel the tension in the air whenever you visited that pack. Tobias had a good feeling about who it was that wanted him dead, but without proof he couldn't do much about it and they both knew it. So all they could do now was wait and see how things played out.

--St. Aims--

Kia had been suspiciously cooperative over the past few weeks. She attended council meetings, read all the books they stacked into her hands, learned what they taught her. But she had been doing it in an uncomfortable silence, one that made a person wonder what was going on in her head.

"Kia, you've been awfully quiet. Do you have nothing to say?" Daniel asked her.

"No, councilman. I am only here to observe and learn." Kia said politely.

The council members looked at her in shock, some with raised eyebrows. Everyone expected her to rebel, to lash out, to refuse training, yet she was doing the exact opposite.

They returned to their business and Kia remained silent off to the side, watching their every move.

"How long?" Niri grumbled in her mind, huffing at the scene in front of her.

"Untill I'm sure." Kia growled, shutting Niri out.

Luckily for Kia, Councilman Dominic's attempts at getting the council to agree to their mating has been unsuccessful, so far. But she wasn't stupid enough to believe he didn't have other plans.

She kept a close eye on him and often found him staring at her with black eyes, or peeking into her room from his - that was "coincidentally" right aross from hers in the opposite building. His eyes followed her wherever she went, he often growled when other males touched her, whether inappropriately or not. She could see him struggling to control himself whenever he was around her.

More often that not she found herself pressed up against a wall with his hand around her throat, his breath stinging her skin as he whispered in her ear what he'd do to her once the council agreed to his terms. She'd stand there, controlling her fear, keeping her hands from shaking while silently begging him in her mind to just do it so she could kill him on the spot and claim self-defense, but he never gave in to his lust.

Soon, Kia would tell herself. Soon, they'd all regret bringing me here in the first place.

While in her room, Kia heard a soft buzzing sound and walked over to her bedside table. Her fathers name flashed across her phone screen as the buzzing continued. She ignored the call and proceeded on her way to the gym. She didn't need distractions right now, she needed to focus on the task at hand.

--Riverdale--

"Voice-mail, again." Clayton said with a sigh as he threw the phone down onto the sofa.

"She'll come around, she's probably busy." Elaina said as she rubbed her hands up and down her mates arms.

He growled, "Or, she's planning something." he said.

Elaina looked at him, questions blooming in her eyes. "What?"

"Think about it, El. Whenever Kia got this quiet, she made shit happen." Clayton said rubbing his face. "She's definitely up to something, just this morning Greyson was telling me how well she was doing in Council training." Elaina pulled a face and scoffed, "Yeah, that's what I did too. I mean Kia makes your life hell whenever you force her into something, but he says she's complying, she's doing the work and learning." He said shaking his head.

"Oh boy." Elaina said as the thought dawned on her. "This is going to be bad."

Clayton nod his head, "Well, best we prepare to be at her side, whatever happens."

He walked out of their house and went in search of Henry. He found him in his office with a whiskey in hand.

"What's the use?" Clay asked, pointing to the glass in Henry's hand.

"Can you blame a man for wishing." Henry joked as he put the whiskey down.

"We need to talk, Henry. Best call Kent in too." Clay said as he sat down.

He watched Henry mindlink Kent and a while later the younger man joined them, looking nervously from Clay to Henry.

"Hold on, I need to get Tobias on the phone." Clay said as he dialed the number. After a few rings Tobias picked up. "I'm putting you on speaker, I've got Henry and Kent with me." Clayton said as he placed the phone on the desk.

"What's going on, Clay?" Tobias' voice asked from the phone.

"It's Kia, she's up to something and I know it's not going to be good. We need to make some plans that'll enable us to be there when she needs us." Clayton said sighing, "Believe me when I say, shit is about to go down."

Tobias and Henry sighed at the same time, Kent shifted around nervously. He knew Kia just as well as everyone else there. He was there to witness a few of her "up to something's".

"Why do you think she's up to something?" Henry asked, taking a gulp of his whiskey.

"She's cooperating with the council." Clay said with a shake of his head.

Henry's face got serious and Kent's eyes went wide, "She's what?" Kent asked, dumbstruck.

"Wait, am I missing something?" Tobias asked over the phone.

"You haven't really seen this side of Kia, but no one makes her do something she doesn't want to. Whenever Kia seems okay with a situation, you know she doesn't agree with, it spells trouble." Henry explained.

"I see." Tobias said, "But what could she possibly be doing? She's surrounded by council guards."

"That's what worries me." Clay said. "She's a smart kid, whatever she's planning, it's going to be big."

Everyone was silent for a while, "What can we do?" Tobias asked, finally.

"Make sure your warriors are ready to go at a moments notice." Clay said to Tobias, while looking at Kent.

"Done." they both replied.

"Other than that, I'll talk to some people I know. See if they can give me some intell on what that girl of mine is up to, since she refuses to talk to me." Clay said.

"Do you want me to try and talk to her?" Tobias asked, a hint of hope in his voice.

"No, she won't talk to you either. She gets like that, sees everything as distractions when she needs to be focused. And the fact that she feels the need to be completely focused, tells me that she's about to do something life-threatening." Clayton said, glancing at Henry anxiously.

"We'll be there for her, Clay." Tobias said before he hung up.

Kent left to prepare the warriors, not knowing how much time they had to do so, he wanted to start immediately.

"Reminds me of the old days." Henry said laughing.

Clayton scoffed, remembering when Kia was younger and would cause mischief throughout the pack.

"Like that day, that boy told Layana she was ugly. You remember, is was right after she fell from the tree-house we built them, and broke her nose. So she was all purple and swollen." Henry said, laughing as he motioned to his nose with his finger. "We had to put the whole pack on high alert to keep Kia away from that poor boy."

Clayton nodded, "She got to him anyway, she'd been planning it out, waiting for the perfect moment - anyone could see that. She watched everyone like a hawk for days." he said, smiling. "Scared the lad half to death when she jumped on him and made him apologize to Layana for what he said." he laughed, shaking his head. "She always was so protective of Lay's feelings."

Both men sat there reminiscing the past. "I miss the old days my friend." Clayton said as he got up and put a hand on Henry's shoulder. He walked out and returned to his house, leaving Henry alone once again.

"Me too." Henry said as he drank the last of his whiskey.

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