Aiden
Willow was already gone the next morning.
Whether by design or circumstance he wasn’t sure, but Aiden didn’t let that dull his day. He’d gotten a good amount of sleep and was feeling rested, energetic, and ready to get on with his mission. The how of it was still escaping him, but he’d been working on the shipping floor long enough now to have noticed several things.
First, twice a week they would get deliveries from a truck that would be offloaded only by Flint, or if he was unavailable, Orren, the pack Third. Nobody else would touch it. That had been noticeable right away. He’d not been there long enough to confirm it was twice a week, but one of the others had spoken too casually at one point about the delivery.
Second, was that the items weren’t turned around and sent back out with Stephen’s fleet of contracted shifter drivers. They were promptly wheeled into a side chamber and never seen again. This could mean that they were being stockpiled, or that they were maybe reboxed and he had just never noticed them coming out. Or something else entirely, he really wasn’t sure.
But whatever it was, he most certainly wasn’t allowed to know about it. Nobody had made any comment about it to him, and so far Aiden had kept his mouth shut. So now he was stuck with trying to figure out just what was going on with those deliveries, without alerting anyone to the fact that he was interested in them more than any normal pack member should be.
Off to his right there was a crash and boxes started spilling everywhere. Stopping what he was doing, Aiden leaned against a pile of skids and watched yet another fight break out. Discipline among most packs was rather lax, but Stephen’s brought it to a whole new level. There were fights almost daily.
He doesn’t allow them out enough to blow off steam. It just builds up until the smallest things have them snapping at each other.
Deckard, to whom he’d still mentally tagged the name Tweedle-Dee, was going at it with Rokk, the werewolf that had broken Aiden’s ribs his first day. He was somewhat irritated at the fact that Deckard was challenging two ranks above himself. Technically Aiden was ranked above Deckard, because he’d beaten him on the first day. That was how pack rules went. So, if Deckard wanted to move up, he should have challenged Aiden.
But apparently his ranking was just smoke and mirrors, not anything actually tangible.
Thankfully Aiden wanted exactly zero to do with fighting just about anybody besides Stephen, or Flint, who was an even bigger asshole than Stephen, and made zero qualms about rubbing that fact in Aiden’s face. Oh how he couldn’t wait until the day that douchebag got what was coming his way. But the challenges would test his temper, and he needed to ensure he wasn’t a thorn in anyone’s side. The less attention on Aiden, the better.
Listen to myself. Don’t fight? Don’t attract any attention? Avoid rank challenges? Who the fuck have I become? I’m some sort of pansy-footed bitch.
A huge part of his core being urged Aiden to go get involved. To drop Deckard and drop him hard for having the audacity to ignore him. Hell, he could go after Rokk too, and put the big fucker square on his back while he was at it. Then the others would have to give him the respect that he was due.
If he did that though, Langdon would have to get involved as the next ranking werewolf, and at that point, Aiden wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop himself. He could take Langdon one on one; he wasn’t scared of him. Only Flint and Stephen would pose a threat in this pack. But after dealing with both Deckard and Rokk, it could be difficult, depending on how much trouble the other two were.
All in all, it just wasn’t worth it.
While he watched, Deckard went for an early kill shot, looking to end the fight early. Rokk was ready for him though, and the ranking shifter didn’t miss. Deckard went down, and Rokk made sure he stayed there, doing a number on the other shifter. Rokk wouldn’t be getting any more challenges for a day or two, that was for sure.
Aiden turned back to his own work as the pair resumed human form. Patrice, the other shifter Aiden had bested on his first day, came forward and helped Deckard off the floor before returning to clean up the blood. There was a lot.
What a waste.
As he was about to find out, however, the fight had just made his life a whole lot more interesting.
Stephen came barging through the doors with Flint at his side.
“Orren, Langdon, Rokk, Deckard. Get in my office!” he snapped, barking out the names like rifle fire, never breaking stride as he walked across the plant floor.
Langdon walked calmly over to him and spoke into his ear as he followed him. Stephen became visibly agitated while Aiden watched, appearing to curse silently for several long seconds. Then he turned and pointed at Aiden, reluctance written all over his face.
Recognizing a cue when he saw one, Aiden stopped what he was doing and hurried over to Stephen’s office. The Alpha was already speaking when he got there.
“Flint, take Orren, Langdon and Rokk with you. I need the three of you there.”
“What about the pickup?” That was Orren.
“I was going to send you or Langdon with Willow to deal with that. But, since Deckard here isn’t along to help out, and we all know Patrice isn’t intimidating enough, I have no choice but to send him with Willow to handle that.”
Orren nodded. “Okay, boss.”
Flint motioned and the others all filed out, each one staring daggers at him as they went past.
“What the fuck did I do?” he snarled angrily at their backs.
“Shut up.”
Aiden bit down on his tongue to forestall a hot retort and simply nodded instead.
“You and Willow are going to take one of the trucks and go retrieve some supplies. You are manual labor, nothing more. She is in charge. If I hear that you did or said anything less than professional, I will tear your dick off and shove it down your throat so far you’ll be pissing out your asshole. Got it?”
“Absolutely.” I’d like to see you try.
“Willow will be here momentarily. Now get out of my office.”
Aiden hadn’t gone more than a step before Willow came through the doors.
“Ready?”
“You bet,” he responded.
Willow didn’t wait for a response, heading straight out the back. Aiden hurried to keep up with her. She walked over to a white truck, one of the small cargo ones that places often rented out to students and families when they moved.
Aiden’s long strides allowed him to catch up as they walked around the side.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
He frowned. “Getting in the truck?”
“Passenger side is over there,” she said, pointing up and over the cab.
“Ah, right. Of course.”
Willow snorted in amusement behind him as he hurried around to the far side.
At least she couldn’t see his cheeks burning from there.