Hunter didn't let his guard down even though she sounded sweet as
pie. They'd had problems with humans from a new faction where—man or
woman—they came onto Pack land, trying to seduce answers out of wolves
in order to figure out how to take them out. Misguidedly, they thought of
shifters as messengers of evil.
"You're trespassing on Halo land. You better have a good reason, or
I'm either sending you to the human authorities or somewhere the Pack can
deal with you." He didn't tell her that he'd take her to the newly built
holding facility they now had where they could interrogate trespassers. It
was a good way to keep those not Pack away from the den, and keep the
Alpha safe in case Stiles had to come and deal with the humans
themselves.
Lost hikers, or in this woman's case, groupies, got sent home right
away. Because while he hadn't known her scent, now that he got a good
look at her, he knew her face. One of his men had taken a photo of her the
last time she came onto Pack land so the others would know to watch out
for her.
Some humans wanted shifters dead simply for being what they called
abominations. Others wanted to protect them as if they were an endangered
species. Still others desired a world where they could live their lives as if
they were normal.
And some, like this woman, wanted to fuck a shifter to say they could.
This was why he hated people. Human, shifter, witch, or whatever else
was out there. He hated them all. Hence why people thought him a grouchy
asshole. He lived up to that reputation well.
"You've been warned before," he added before she could plead her case.
"This is the second warning. We don't give thirds.
They had treaties with the human government. Their land was protected,
and what happened in their territory in protection of their people was under
the shifters' jurisdiction. Yes, the human faction who wanted all shifters
tagged or killed would always have a problem with anything done on Pack
land, but as of right then, human laws were on the Pack's side.
And that meant the human in front of him was on her last free pass.
He'd already had to kill one person today; he didn't want to make it a
second.
She licked her lips, but it did nothing for him. His wolf wanted their
human, not this one. Not that he was going to allow his wolf to think of
Lia as theirs again.
"I just wanted to…well, I guess you know what I wanted to see. I'm not
harming anyone. There's no law saying I can't…flirt with a wolf."
He barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "No, there isn't. But there
are laws about trespassing on our land. You want to bag a wolf? Go to a
shifter bar like all the other people who want to find someone to hook up
with or be with or whatever your end game is. Coming here isn't helping
anyone." Not that there were actually shifter bars. But there were bars in the
human world that his people hung out at when they weren't on duty, and
when times were safer for them to be away from the den. It had taken too
many years and struggles for them to have that freedom, and it was one of
Hunter's duties to ensure that they were able to keep it.
He also hated the fact that he was having this conversation at all. He
didn't care what this woman did. She was an adult, and the choices she
made in life were hers alone. He just hated that she had to come onto Pack
land to do it.
"Come on, I'll walk you back to your car."
She sighed but didn't bother trying to flirt with him again. She knew
there was no reason to. She wasn't the first groupie—a term the men and women came up with themselves—and she wouldn't be the last. Hunter just wanted no part in it.
By the time he silently got her to her car, which she'd parked in a
makeshift lot on the edge of their territory, he was running late for the end
of his shift and just wanted to go home and not think about stupid people
making stupid decisions. Hence why he really wasn't in the mood for the
other car pulling into the dirt parking lot. And, because of that, he was
probably going to be more of an asshole than usual.
"You're going to want to drive back. You're on the edge of Halo land,
and there's no going forward from here."
The man with the recorder in his hand shook, but he didn't back away.
"I only want a story. To tell the world the truth about all of you. I know
you're good people. I just want to make sure the world sees that."
Hunter held back a sigh. He knew this could be a trick and would log
it in, but he was tired and over all of this shit. The humans didn't get to hear
the truth. They weren't allowed to know everything. It was for their safety
and that of the Pack.
"You know what, man? I'm tired. You know there are avenues if you
want to talk to the Pack's publicity team." Yes, they had one now. Like they
were some sideshow for the public. He hated it, but he had to play along
like a good puppy.
"But—"
"No buts. You're not encroaching on Pack land yet. But you're close.
Go home and get in contact the right way. You're not going to get any
answers stalking around the forest, hoping you come across a wolf." The
fact that the guy had was because Hunter was having a shitty night. But it
wasn't as if this human reporter or truther or whatever the fuck he called
himself was going to get any real answers.
There was a script for a reason.
"I want to tell the world who you are."
Hunter let his wolf into his eyes, the gold rim around his irises
glowing. The human male didn't back away, but he swallowed hard.
"The world saw who we are. We aren't here for your amusement. You
know the laws. Get away from Pack land before you find out what you
should be scared of."
Fuck. He hadn't meant to say that, and if this human told anyone,
Hunter would be fucked. But he watched as the man drove away, raising
a cloud of dust behind him, and Hunter knew he had a problem on his
hands.
But first, he needed to clean the leftover blood from earlier off them and
get to his family dinner.