~James' POV~
"He did that to you?" I asked the man after the shock had settled. He nodded his head and never removed his eyes from mine. I felt as though he was waiting for something. Like he was waiting for me to believe him.
"What's your name?" I asked him and his right eye twitched. All eyes in the room were at him and you could tell he knew that. He was uncomfortable but didn't want it to show. Amber gave me a quick look, showing she noticed the same thing as I did.
"Well?" I asked him again with a raised brow. So many red flags.
"My name is Carlson." He said.
Blade, what do you think?
'I don't trust him'
Good. Neither do I
'Let's play along and see where it leads'
"Well, Carlson, you wanted to speak to me. It was urgent you said. Yet here we are and I have to pull the words out of your mouth." I leaned forward and met his gaze with my own. Who was this man? And what the fuck was he doing in my pack?
"I understand that you have reservations when it comes to new people. But I can assure you Alpha, I mean no harm," Carlson said. That was the longest he had spoken since his arrival.
"Than why don't you cut to the chase and tell us why you're here." Alex said, impatiently.
Carlson turned his head, slowly towards my brother, eyeing him before turning back to me.
"I am here because I've heard that you are looking for Crow, and I believe I can help you find him."
"I don't know what you've heard, but we aren't looking for him," I smirked and looked at Carlson.
"We're waiting for him." I said, waiting too see a reaction. But It didn't come.
Instead it looked as if he got determined. Not the emotion I was expecting. Reading Carlson wouldn't be easy.
"Than I want too wait with you. I want to fight him, I can help." He said. His facial expression and eyes showed nothing but the truth in his words.
"Why? If he did that to you, why would you want to meet him again?" Amber asked.
"Because of what did to me. This wasn't all he did. Before he fought me," Carlson looked at Amber, and clenched his jaw.
"He slaughtered my whole family." Carlson's eyes were now black. He was raging, and I couldn't blame him. Anybody would want revenge on the person who hurt their family. The problem remained. I wasn't sure that I trusted him or any of the words that came out of his mouth.
"I'm sorry for your loss. But I'm not sure that this is the place for you to wait." I said honestly. Because it wasn't. I didn't trust him, and I couldn't allow a person I didn't trust to roam among my pack.
Carlson's eyes started to soften up. His showed another side. Now all I could see in his eyes was his pain. Perhaps that's all this really was, he's upset, angry, that his family was murdered by the one person we all wanted to kill.
"I understand," Carlson said as he lowered his head. Regardless of how I felt about him, I guess he desereved the benefit of the doubt. At least if he was here, I could keep an eye on him. And he had seen Crow, he knew what the wizard looked like, which could be useful seeing as neither of us had any idea.
I looked at Carlson and thought over my decision. My brother looked down on me from where he was standing and I could tell that he too was in conflict with his opinions.
I knew loss, I knew pain and I knew grief. This man seemed to hold all of those emotions and recognizable traits in his eyes.
"On second thought. Why don't you follow Jackson and he'll show you to a room where you can stay for the time being? I need to talk this over with my Beta and then I'll call you to let you know my decision." Carlson's head flew up and his eyes met mine. He smiled curtiesley before standing to his feat and bowing his head.
"Thank you Alpha," He said. I gave Jackson a nod and he too stood up and escorted Carlson to one of the guest rooms.
When the door had closed I leaned back in my chair.
"So, what do you guys think?" I asked the remaining members in the room. Alex, Amber, and Sebastian looked at each other. It seemed as though we were all on the same page. Meaning none of us knew wether or not he could be trusted. None of us knew wether or not he was telling us the truth. And non of us knew what to do with him. I locked eyes with Sebastian who seemed tempted to speak. What was holding him back? Sebastian was wearing a long grey coat and clothing he borrowed from one of the warriors.
"Yes?" I asked him seeing as he didn't speak up on his own. Sebastian faltered with his words for a bit before managing to put together a sentence.
"Alpha, I'm not sure whether or not he can be trusted. As I'm sure you've already guessed. However I do know what it is like to lose your family to that son of a bitch. If anything he said is true, he deserves revenge," Sebastian said. Not very confidently but I'm guessing my authority was showing seeing as the others were fumbling too.
"I see. And you, Amber?"
"I honestly don't know. Either he is a mourning husband and father, or he's one hell of a liar."
"All we know is that he's a werewolf. The rest, if we want to know, we have to wait and see." Alex spoke. I turned my head to look at him.
"And to do so, he must stay." I stated. I guess that's it then. Carlson was staying here.
'Tell Carlson that he's welcome to stay until we get this all sorted out. Make him comfortable and bring him spare clothes. Meet me in my office when you're done'
"Jackson is tending to our guest. You may all leave," I said before continuing, having one other precaution to put in place.
"Keep an eye on him at all times. If anybody asks, you say he's a guest and nothing more, nothing less. If he is to speak to any of the packs members, one of you must be present. Understood?"
"Yes Alpha."
As the others were exiting my office, Jackson showed up.
"Alpha," I gestured for him to have a seat and handed him a water bottle.
"I need you to look around for something. Without anyone noticing, I need you to find out as much as you can concerning our new guest. And as I told the others, keep a very close eye on him." Jackson bowed his head indicating he understood.
"So, of the book," Jackson said with a grin. I rolled my eyes and took my seat.
"How are you man? You seem to be holding up a lot better than before, but I can imagine it still being challenging." I released a breath and turned around on my chair, facing the window.
"She's out there alone. I won't be able to rest until she's back home, safe, where she belongs. Until then, I will do everything in my power to speed up the process." I told him and spun back around. Jackson nodded his head and raised his water bottle in a toast.
I chuckled but nevertheless I followed his gesture and raised my bottle.
"To the future," he said and we both drank. I needed to make sure to protect my family, as Avery was protecting me.