The Traitor Panther

Chapter Twenty

Nate was right in saying his alpha wasn't like any other alpha. Because he definitely wasn't.

Right when Nate opened the door, the smell of weed smacked me in the face. I could hear a machine gun and male voices yelling.

"Look who it is!" As soon as we walk into the living room a blonde haired man is crashing into Nate and pulling him away from me and towards him. Remember last time a male was too close with our mate? Don't add that to my list of things I have to be paranoid about.

"About damn time." Nate and the man shove each other around for a moment, both grinning the entire time. "We've all been waiting." I tear my eyes away from the pair and look to the rest of the room.

Across one side of the room was a large sectional that took up most of the living room. It was dark brown and looked comfortable and well used. There were three other men sitting on it, two were entirely focused on whatever game they were playing, eyes glued to the giant flat screen TV and thumbs flying over their controllers.

My eyes shift to the screen. I have no idea what they're playing. I wish I did. It would've been a good conversation starter.

"So is this the new meat?" I look back to the blond man, taking in his appearance a bit more. He was probably just under six foot, pretty skinny and lanky looking. He had ruffly blonde hair that poked out everywhere, and muddy green eyes. I could see tattoos decorating his knuckles.

"Hello." I finally say, smiling a little. I felt uncomfortable. I didn't know what I was supposed to say. "I'm Cleo." I hold my hand out for him to shake for a lack of anything better to do. I'm surprised when he bursts out laughing and grabs me by the shoulders, pulling me in for a tight side hug.

"Do you have to touch her?" Nate grumbles as the blonde guy drags me with him towards the couch. He pulls me down and I look back at Nate once I'm sitting. I hope he can see the "help me" expression I'm trying to give him. He shakes his head, smiling a little and backs up to sit on a stool in front of the kitchen island. I narrowed my eyes at him. He knows what he's doing.

"I guess I should introduce everyone." Says my kidnapper from beside me. "I'm Alex, the mean looking fucker over there is Leo." I look at Leo, and sure enough he is mean looking. That only encourages me though, because I put the most straight face on that I can and make eye contact with him. He has short brown hair, bushy eyebrows, and enough scars to play connect the dots with. Whoever he was, he had been in a lot of altercations.

That doesn't stop me from staring him down though. Finally, he cracks a smile and looks away.

"Not too shabby." He says as he refocuses on watching the other two play their video game. I nod, feeling satisfied with myself.

"Great, she's just like the rest of you." I snort and look over to Alex, who is glaring at Leo, who does nothing but flip him off, eyes never leaving the TV.

"Are you gonna leave us out of the introductions?" My eyes flick to the second man now. He looks shorter, with a bald shaven head and dark skin. He was extremely muscular, a little too much for my liking. His eyes were completely focused on the screen and he was biting his lip in concentration. It just looked like they were shooting people to me. Who knew it required so much focus?

"Yeah, yeah. That's Caleb. He doesn't just look like a dick, he actually is one."

"Fuck you." I title my head a little at his harsh words towards Alex. He did seem like a little bit of a douche. But I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Damn it!" Caleb suddenly exclaims. He leaps up quickly as he throws the controller on the ground, making all the men in the room boo him in response. "Fuck this. I'm going home." I stifle a laugh as he stomps out, slamming the front door behind him like an angry child.

"Sorry about him." I finally meet eyes with the last man, and I can tell just by looking at him that I've finally met the Alpha. He stands up from the couch, extending his hand out towards me. I quickly jumped up, shaking it firmly and smiling a little at him.

He's as tall as Nate but looks a little less muscular. But not too skinny either. He has a messy collection of long dreads piled on top of his head, some with rings on the end. His skin was dark and unlike most of his other pack members I'd met so far, free of tattoos or scars. He has dark black eyes surrounded by long lashes. He had two hoops in his right nostril and big plugs in his ears. He was kind of hot, but I reminded myself of my mate that was sitting right behind me and quickly shoved that thought away.

He crashes back down on the couch, tossing the controller to Thomas and bringing a blunt up to his mouth.

"I'm Zane." He says, slowly blowing smoke out and making eye contact with me. "You're his mate?" He gestures towards Nate with his blunt.

"It would appear that way." I say flatly. He chuckles a little, and his eyes drift towards Nate.

"I need to talk to you." I hear Nate standing up behind me, and I look over my shoulder at him. "We'll be right back." He shoots me a lopsided grin before sliding out the door with Nate following close behind.