AUTHOR'S NOTES: I know this chapter is kinda slow, but I think it's needed. Hope it's not too boring for y'all.

CHAPTER 5

We sat at the little dining table, eating our lunch. Well, I was trying anyway. Sam was shoveling down his salad as he stared at his computer screen, while I just pushed the pieces of cow heart around the inside of the plastic container with my fork. How could I possibly eat when my Omega was at home without me to protect her while a sex-crazed Alpha Werewolf was on a rampage, ripping people to shreds?! The longer I sat there staring at my food, the more agitated I got. And the fact that Sam seemed so calm just made it worse. Finally I shoved the plastic container away from me with a growl.

"That's it! I can't take this anymore!" I jumped to my feet and fled to the other side of the room to find my phone. It was tucked into the pocket of my jacket that laid on the bed. "I gotta talk to Lydia!" I dialed the number of the phone I had bought her and listened to it ring. With each ring, I got more and more agitated. After 5 rings her voice mail picked up and I growled and hung up. "WHAT THE HELL, LYDIA!" I tried again, and on the third ring she finally picked up.

"Hello? Dean?", she panted like she'd been running.

"Lydia! Thank God!", I snarled. "Why the Hell didn't you pick up?! I was about to drive all the way back home just to make sure you were ok!"

"I'm sorry, Alpha! Bess and I were making lunch and I left my phone on the nightstand up stairs!" There was a pause and I could tell that she was beating herself up for forgetting what I told her about keeping her phone on her at all times while I was gone. "I didn't mean to scare you, Alpha. I... I just... forgot." I heaved a giant sigh, that was more relieved than frustrated.

"It's ok, Babe. I'm not mad at you", I groaned, running my hand through my hair. "It's just this case has me kinda spun out."

"Are you alright? Did you find the monster that's killing people?" Just hearing that word coming from her mouth made me realize that Lydia didn't consider herself or the rest of her pack as even being remotely similar to the beast that butchered those people.

"Not yet, Sweetheart." What I was about to say next had my Alpha spitting nails. But I wasn't going to leave my mate unprotected. "Which is why I need you to tell Bess that her father needs to get over there as soon as he can."

"But I thought you wanted him to stay away while you were gone", Lydia whined. "You said that he..."

"I KNOW WHAT I SAID, LYDIA! JUST DO IT!", I snarled angrily, regretting it as soon as it came out of my mouth. Sam turned around in his chair and shot me a dirty look and shook his head at me.

"Yes, Alpha", Lydia whispered in a small, broken voice. The fear I heard in that voice made me feel like I was 3 inches tall. A good Alpha doesn't lash out in anger at his mate like that. Reverend Jim had to berate me more than once for that over the last few weeks. I should be ashamed of myself and I was.

"Lydia, forgive me."

"No, Alpha you don't need to..." I put my hand out to stop her like she could see me.

"Yes, I do, Babe. I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that." There was a very uncomfortable pause before I continued. "It's just that this killer, he... he's not... not..."

"He's not what?", Lydia whispered fearfully and this time it wasn't fear of me.

"He's not just a werewolf."

"What does that mean?" Lydia's voice started to tremble and I was starting to regret telling her.

"He's an Alpha." There was another long pause and was beginning to think the she had hung up. "Hello? You still there?"

"Y-yes... I'm still here." I could hear her swallow hard and let out a shuddering sigh. "I'll tell Bess to get Reverend Jim over hear right away."

"Thank you."

"Alpha?"

"Yeah."

"Please be careful."

"Yeah. Of course. You know I will." I could hear her breathing hard and I started to worry. "Baby, you OK?"

"Uh... yeah... It's just that I know how dangerous Alphas can be. Lucius? The Alpha that killed my pack? He was vicious... savage! He..."

"I know, Baby. I know", I whispered trying to calm her. If I had been there with her, I would be holding her in my arms and send calming pheromones at her, but that wasn't possible, so I had to use my words. "Don't worry, OK? Me and Sam? We've been doing this since we were kids. Right, Sammy?!" I held the phone out towards my brother as he turned in his seat again.

"Right!", Sam yelled around a mouthful of rabbit food.

"See?", I said, smiling. "This is no big deal. We got this."

"Are you sure? Maybe Reverend Jim could help you?" She was talking excitedly like it was the best idea in the world.

"No, Babe. I want him there with you." Just thinking about another Alpha there with her made my blood boil, but I had no other choice. This was gonna be the hardest test so far. Could I do it? Could I stay knowing another Alpha was there with my mate? Protecting her instead of me? "He... uh... he'll protect you while I'm gone, OK?"

"OK, Alpha. I love you."

"I love you too, Omega." I could almost hear the smile spread cross her face, the one that she always got when I called her that. For some reason, that smile made a great swell of emotion rise up in my throat and I had to hang up quickly before my breathing hitched. But Sam heard it and, once again, he turned around in his chair to stare up at me with a look of concern on his face.

"Everything alright on the home front?"

"Yeah, Sammy. Aces." He gave me that look that I knew all too well. That look that said "you're full of shit and you know it". "Look, I just had my mate send for another Alpha because I can't protect her myself. How do you think that makes me feel!"

"Like someone just kicked you in the balls?" I thought Sam was joking, but when I looked back at him, he was deadly serious. He didn't know just how close he was to the truth.

"More like cut them off." Sam sighed and turned back around in his chair to face his computer.

"Come back over here and eat. You need you're strength." He turned his head and looked at me out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "Or do you want me to call a certain She-wolf back and tell her you're being a bad boy and not cleaning your plate?" I rolled my eyes and stalked back over to the table, grabbed the container with the diced heart and started shoveling it down.

"Yes mother", I said between bites.