HUNTER

 

The summer sun didn’t care for anybody in Dirge. Whether you were an Alpha, Beta, or Omega, the heat was something everybody had to deal with.

I didn’t mind. I’d lived in Dirge all my life and the coming seasons were something I’d gotten used to ever since I was young.

But today, the sun was making its presence known more than any other day.

Sweat dripped from every inch of my skin. I had my shirt off, the same as the men around me, but it didn’t offer much relief.

Stay focused… Stay focused…

I swung my sledgehammer repeatedly against the concrete wall in front of me. Chunks of it crumbled down to the ground with every swing. I’d lost track of how long I’d been swinging at it with everybody else. Despite all the rubble surrounding us, there seemed to be no end to the work we needed to do.

The city was undergoing rapid change. Construction work in Dirge was plentiful. If you had no other skills, there was always somebody who needed you for some hard labor. With so much going on in the city, there was always a new building going up or being torn down.

“Take a break, boys! Lunchtime!”

The construction foreman shouted. A collective sigh rose into the air from me and all my coworkers. Hammers down, we all lumbered away from the building we were trying to take down to take a moment to relax.

Most of the other men spent time around one another while they enjoyed their lunch. I could hear their conversations but never cared too much about it. They talked about what they did to entertain themselves. They talked about their families. They talked about what they were going to do with the money they made from this latest job.

Not me. I didn’t care to keep company with them. The last thing I wanted to do was waste my energy conversing when I knew there were still hours left in the day.

We were a few stories up on the building we were demolishing. I sat on the ledge as I looked out into the city. I reached into my paper bag and pulled out a sandwich I’d made for myself.

“Peanut butter and jelly…”

The scent of it made my mouth water. Just as I was about to take a bite, I smelled something else.

I shifted my eyes and saw the man standing next to me. Betas always had a unique smell. It was subtle but it was there.

I turned toward the man and saw the sheepish look on his face. His brown eyes were wide and he had a friendly smile. He combed a hand through his messy brown hair as his grin grew wider. The man looked to be in his 20s.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hey,” I responded.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

I narrowed my eyes. The friendly smile on his face forced a chuckle out of me.

“You need some help?” I asked.

“No,” he said with a shrug. “I was just curious.”

“Curious?”

“Sure…”

He took a seat on the ledge a few feet away from me and we both looked out into the city.

“You don’t have lunch with everybody else,” he said. “You’re always out here on your own.”

“Does it bother you?” I asked.

“It doesn’t bother me. Like I said, just curious.”

I took a bite of my sandwich, chewing on it while I wondered what this man was up to.

“Brady,” he said.

“What?”

“Brady. My name’s Brady.”

I glanced at him, that friendly smile tattooed on his lips.

“Hunter,” I said, snickering again.

“It’s good to meet you, Hunter. You know, you can have lunch with everybody else. Just because you’re—”

“Because I’m what?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. The smile disappeared off of his face. His throat shifted with a gulp. The sudden fear in his eyes made me laugh considering I wasn’t interested in getting into it with the younger man.

“Because you’re an Alpha and we’re all a bunch of Betas,” he said. “It’s not like that around here.”

“I know,” I sighed. “I just… I like to get away. I like to relax. Enjoy my lunchtime.”

“I get it. You don’t mind the company though, do you?”

I looked over at Brady. He said he was curious about me but now I was the one curious.

“Listen, Brady. I don’t know if you’re looking for something—”

“Hold on,” he said, his hands in the air. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just looking for a bit of friendly conversation. It’s gonna take a few months to tear this building down. I figure if we’re gonna be around each other, we might as well get along.”

“…Right,” I said with a nod.

“Say, Hunter, what are you eating?”

The curious look on his face lightened my mood.

“Peanut butter and jelly,” I said.

“Smells good.”

“It’s my favorite.”

“Yeah…”

He eyeballed my sandwich. He licked his lips like he was hypnotized by it.

“Listen, Brady. If you I give you some, will you stop staring at me like that?”

“Sure!”

I tossed my paper lunch sack at him. He hungrily dived into the bag and pulled out the other sandwich I had for myself. He didn’t waste a second as he took a massive bite out of it.

“Thank you,” he sighed, his mouth half-full. “Management was late with the last payment, so I didn’t plan on having lunch today.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s all right. Life out here in Dirge… It can be rough…”

We both looked out into the city as we ate. Even though it was still hot, the shade provided us some peaceful relief before we had to return to the labor that was waiting for us.

“I’m just doing this for my husband,” he said. “He’s not working right now because he’s pregnant. But once the baby is born, he’ll be back on his feet. Hopefully, he can get his old job back in Azure.”

“A job in Azure. That sounds nice.”

“Doesn’t it? A cushy job in an office building. Air-conditioning. Working with those rich jaguar Alphas. That’s the life.”

Brady’s story wasn’t much different from most of the people living in Dirge. Everybody was just trying to make ends meet. Despite enough labor to go around, there were plenty of people out in the city living on the streets.

As I looked out into the city, I could see the parts of Dirge where the less fortunate people were.

“What about you?” Brady asked.

“What about me?”

“Do you got anybody in your life? You’re an Alpha. There are plenty of Omegas out there for you to choose from.”

“I’m sure there are,” I said. “Right now I’m not worried about being with an Omega. I’m having a hard enough time just trying to take care of myself.”

“Life in Dirge, it ain’t easy… I feel for all those poor people in Pandora…”

In the distance, I could see Pandora. I didn’t know how the slums got that name but that’s what they were. It was the poorest part of Dirge, where the most unfortunate citizens of the city had to live.

“Have you ever been to Pandora?” he asked.

“I’ve been there a few times. Never had any reason to spend too much time there.”

“Lucky you. They call ‘em the slums for a reason. So many Omegas out on the streets. Alphas running rampant without a care in the world. The cops don’t even bother policing it too much unless something really crazy happens.”

Brady’s story was a reality I was well aware of. Life in Dirge was tough but for the people in the slums, it was even worse.

I took another bite of my sandwich, smacking my lips to the peanut butter and jelly. Brady was eating with a feverishness that continued to put a smile on my lips.

“Say, listen… I heard something about Pandora.”

“You heard something?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“They’ve got this thing going on down there. They have fights.”

“Fights?”

“Street fights. Underground, or something. They pit one man against another.”

“Wolves?”

“Wolves. Foxes. Bears. Just one on one. People gather around and place bets on it. I heard there are some happening around Fifth Street. But nothing’s official, you know?”

I didn’t think much of what Brady was telling me. When it came to Pandora, I knew anything was possible.

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked as I looked out into the distance.

“Because I figured you might be interested. You’re a big, strong man. I think you know how to handle yourself in a fight.”

“Just because I’m an Alpha doesn’t mean I’m interested in fighting. This isn’t like the old days when we all lived in packs.”

“But that’s the thing. I know you don’t have too much money because you’re doing construction work. Hard labor… If you do this too long, you’re gonna be paying for it when you’re older.”

“I still don’t see what your point is.”

“My point is maybe you should check it out. See if you can get a fight. Maybe make yourself some good money. An Alpha like you who knows how to handle himself should do well.”

I wasn’t paying much attention to Brady. The idea sounded ludicrous. But the idea of more silver pieces in my pocket was tempting.

“This isn’t some kind of trap now, is it?” I asked.

“No, sir,” he said as he put his hands up. “It’s an honest truth. There are plenty of rumors going around. Frankly, I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to go to Pandora. But I figure it’s a good opportunity for an Alpha like you to make some extra silvers.”

He devoured the rest of his sandwich by stuffing it into his mouth.

“And I’ll probably be needing a few extra silvers since I’ll be making lunch for two from now on,” I said.

“Just for today,” he said with a smile. “I promise I’ll get you back next time…”

He smacked his lips. I laughed at the satisfied grin on his face. Then I shook my head as I took another bite of my sandwich. The peanut butter and jelly wasn’t enough to make me forget about everything he said.

“Just something to consider,” he said. “You’re good at your job. With those muscles of yours, you’re perfect for this kind of physical labor. But even the best of us get tired.”

“Yeah… Thanks for the tip, Brady.”

“No problem. I owe you that much for the sandwich.”

Brady got back up to his feet and dusted his hands off.

“It was nice meeting you.”

He bowed his head and gave me a polite smile as he walked back to his Beta brethren.

I kept looking out into the city and chewed on the last few bites of my sandwich.

Construction work wasn’t glamorous. Toiling underneath the sun while I swung a sledgehammer constantly was more mind-numbingly boring than anything else. I’d been doing it for years now. It had gone on so long that I didn’t stop to think about doing something else.

Still, Brady’s suggestion wasn’t so obvious. Heading down to Pandora was one thing. Getting involved in fights was another. Just because I was an Alpha didn’t mean there were other Alphas just as capable as I was.

I finished the rest of my sandwich while I contemplated what I would do next. Pandora sat in the distance. The slums seemed so close I could reach out and grab them.

A strange feeling came over me as I stared out into the city. It almost felt like there was something out there, staring back at me. I couldn’t describe it. It was just a feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I sighed a deep breath and shook my head to regain my senses.

I turned around and saw Brady in the distance with the other men I worked with. Brady noticed me looking at him and gave me a friendly nod.

There was no reason I couldn’t trust the Beta. But that didn’t mean I had to follow his advice.

Whatever I planned on doing, it would have to wait for later tonight, long after my shift was over.

“Fifth Street…”