Page 32 of The Alpha's Lunar Crown

I rub my forehead lightly as my eyes wander outside. The sun is up now, signaling the start of a new day. A small yawn escapes from me, a testament to my sleepless night.My hand finds its way back to the glass, pouring the rest of its content down my throat. The liquor burns its way down, blurring any traces of sleep.I reach for the bottle, refilling my glass with steady hands. My mind is a maze of thoughts. The last few weeks have been about keeping the peace, or what is left of it.

At our last meeting, the elders highlighted their concerns about my ability to rule them, especially at a time like this.While I cannot blame them for having concerns, I can do with a bit of faith at this point. Losing my wolf is something that has been weighing on me.

My mind wanders to Aurora, and I play with the idea of calling her. I stare at my phone, my mind deciding against it at the last moment.The timely buzz of my phone alarm forces my head back up, and as I reach for the device, my face contorts into a light frown.It's almost time for the strategy meeting. With the growing threat from Silver Pack and their reckless brutality to smaller packs, a strong wave of restlessness has blown across the pack and left everyone anxious and constantly looking over their shoulders.A meeting like this will give them the confidence that the leaders are doing something about the situation and ease the panic in their hearts while enabling us to come up with the best way to deal with the situation.A promise I made to myself while I was in training was to never let bloodshed be my first line of action. I put preserving the lives of those entrusted under me over mindless ego battles and dick-swinging contests, but I never back down from unleashing anarchy when necessary. Silver Pack has had the absence of my wolf to thank for the air in their lungs for the longest time. It's getting to the point where I have to remind them why Blackwood possesses the power it does.With one final look at the desk, I pick up my phone and head towards the door, tucking the device away as I pull the door open and almost bumping into a distressed-looking Liam."Good, you're headed out already. So, I assume you've heard?"

My chest tightens with dread, especially because of the sense of urgency radiating off of him, "What terrible news have you brought?"

A rough sound emanates from the back of his throat. I feel my shoulders instantly grow tense.

There was an attack at the east border earlier with no casualties. I think it was merely a ploy to rattle the people or distract us from something bigger, but the elders are not having it. They've already gathered in the courtroom, and most of them are very agitated.I run my fingers through my hair, tugging the strands in frustration. The fears of the women and children I can understand, but these grown men, most of whom are retired warriors and hold crucial pack positions, are nauseating. Everyone who has ever brushed past combat knows that creating distress in the enemy camp is one of the easiest ways to instill disunity and destabilize them, giving you the edge to launch an unsuspected attack. Yet they allow these things to get to them."Let's go." I hurry off in the direction of the courtroom with Liam in tow.I arrive to a chaotic environment of elders screaming at each other. A few of them still had some brain cells left and urged the others to stay calm while the goons amongst them spread lies and tears like confetti.At the sight of me, some of them begin to lower their voices and return to their seats. Fucking cowards. "Good afternoon, gentlemen," I greet, moving to my position at the head of the table and lowering myself into my seat. Liam sits at my right.

"Alpha," they greet in return.

"The news of the attack has gotten to me," I say, letting my eyes sweep across their faces. There are a few older men and some younger ones representing their fathers. "While we can clearly witness the growing audacity of Silver Pack, I believe we've not become too shortsighted to see through their childish games."

A transient noise of scattered murmurs and shuffling feet sweeps through the room. Some of them look away while others swallow thickly. I continue.

"What I'll not tolerate at a time like this is my best heads bickering about nonsense and unable to hold their emotions in and do what needs to be done. This is supposed to be an important strategizing meeting, and you let a ruckus destabilize you so fast? Where do you expect the kids and women to draw their strength?"

I give a minute for the words to settle and let anyone speak their mind. When nothing happens, I gesture for Liam to pull out the maps.

"There's a pattern to the attacks from Silver Pack," Liam starts, pointing at one of the spots marked 'x'. "This is the last point of attack, and by my prediction, their next point should not be very far from the perimeter."

"If you pay attention, you'll see there's been no direct hit to us, but they're forming a slow circle around our borders, taking over the smaller packs around us." He pauses, letting his words sink before drawing a line connecting all the points of attack. "They're encircling us."

I stare at the semicircle formed by Liam's line, filtering out the murmurs around me. I had my suspicions about their attack. Take over the areas surrounding Blackwood, then close in on us."I say we unite the warriors of the smaller packs that are yet to be affected and strike back." A young warrior says, the vein in his forehead dangerously close to popping, the classic displace of youthful bloodlust.

"I would assume they'll be expecting something similar from us and are prepared for that. I propose we take a more surprising line of action." The older man beside him replies.

"Like what?"The question raises a cacophony of voices airing their opinions at the same time.

My phone chooses this moment to ring, almost startling me. The caller has me more concerned. I move to the corner of the room to keep the noise from interfering.

"Rora?" I ask the moment I answer, my voice mirroring my emotions. It's more than a surprise she's calling, especially this early.

The voice that greets me from the other end of the line is far from what I am expecting. It's her, but I have this strange feeling that something is wrong.

"I'm being followed. Please, please help me," she says, her voice a distorted whisper. I was right. I hate to be right about things like this.

"Where are you?" I ask, listening closely for any sound in the background that can hint at her location, anything that can help.There's nothing, only silence from her end, and I take that to mean that she's off the street, probably hiding somewhere. It's a terrible thing to do, but I cannot fault her, not right now.She pauses as if trying to decide, "I…I don't know exactly, but I took two wrong turns on my way to work in a bid to lose them."I draw a mental map, trying to see where I can place her. "Aurora, try…." I am still speaking when I hear a loud thud, followed swiftly by the shuffling of feet.

"Aurora? Aurora?" I repeat, feeling my heart sink to my stomach when I'm met with no response.

I dial her number, but this time, it doesn't go through.

I try again, pacing back and forth, and this time it rings, but no answer comes. I end the call, tucking the device away.I hurry to the table to find them still arguing and Liam trying to get his point across. The problem with a gathering of male wolves who have both strength and social standing is to get them to calm down and listen to one another. Everyone thinks their opinion is superior, but that is the least of my problems. I grab my car keys from the table, turning every head in my direction."Is everything alright?" Liam asks. The room quiets down, and all eyes are on me. The meeting is of great importance, and if anything, the attack earlier signifies just how important it is that we come up with something. Liam and I have also put a lot of work into gathering the details and marking out the maps."There's an urgent situation I need to attend to," I reply, tucking the key into my pocket. "Liam will remain here in my absence to guide you through the meetings and strategies we've put together."Is this about the pack? Is there another attack?" the younger warrior from earlier asks, visibly gearing for a fight. My fingers curl into a fist. Aurora's scared voice has been on a loop in my head since the call ended, and I have neither liberty nor time to explain myself to anyone.All eyes turn to me following his question. Not that I blame them. What could be more important than pack business? What could possibly make an alpha leave a war strategizing meeting when his pack is practically on fire?

"This is not about the pack, but it holds as much importance. Like I said, Liam will guide you through the rest of the meeting in my absence, and I'll try to be back as soon as I can."

"It's hardly ideal to leave a meeting as important as this, alpha, especially for something that has nothing to do with the pack.""I think the elders are right," Selene says, her voice marginally softer than the male brawls. "Can't the situation wait? We're almost at a point of emergency."

My gaze shifts to the clock on the wall. Three minutes. That's how long I've been going back and forth with them. Liam doesn't say anything, but I don't miss the questions in his eyes."They have you and Liam, and I trust you both to come up with an exquisite plan. This particular emergency, however, requires my presence."

"More than your pack requires your presence?" Selene asks, and I suck in a deep breath, toying with the idea of just walking away without an explanation. It's not like they'll stop me.I turn to Liam. "Take care of everything," I say before hurrying out of the room, pulling out my phone from my pocket. Aurora is in Phoenix, and that is at least forty-five minutes away from Blackwood. I'll never get to her on time, but the PI I hired to look into everything about her can.

"It's Aurora," I say immediately the line connects. "She's in danger, and I have no idea where she is. I need you to find her right now and keep her safe."I hear the fast taps of fingers on the keyboard, and he requests the details of her movement and where she was last seen.

"She said something about being followed and taking two wrong turns on her way to work. Find the people after her and how they found her, and get back to me immediately, whatever it takes."My heart is beating at an impossible speed, and I can almost hear the heavy thuds in my ears as I turn on the ignition, pulling my car out of the lot and blasting my horn all the way till I get to the main road.On a normal day, I'd be very conscious of the speed I drive, but right now, my safety is the last thing on my mind. I check my phone to see if the PI has reached out. I try calling Aurora again, but this time, the phone is switched off.Fear tightens my throat, and I squeeze the gears, stepping on the gas to accelerate my speed."Shit!" I step on the brake, jerking the car to a stop and observing the scene ahead of me. A roadblock. There's a truck in the middle of the road and another next to it. It appears to have been an accident, and a few bystanders have gathered at the scene."Fuck." I let out a long line of curses. I restart the car, trying to find a way around the accident, but everywhere seems to be blocked, and the road back will add an extra hour to my journey.I don't have the time for that.I fling the door open and bolt onto the street, breaking into a sprint the moment my feet hit the pavement. I weave through the wreckage, hoping to find a taxi in record time. Thankfully, my phone pings with details of Aurora's location. I push my limbs into a full-blown run. I don't see the man coming for me till he tackles me, a sharp pain cutting into my thigh.An uninhibited growl escapes me, and I quickly flip us over, snatching the blade from him and driving it into his heart. The trees lining the sides of the road shield us from public view. I glance around to find another two others heading towards me, and I hurriedly pull myself from the corner of the road.They're both werewolves, and if my guess is correct, they're from Silver Pack. With my bleeding thigh and very absent wolf, I'll be no match for the two men heading toward me, but if I'm in the open, they can't engage. They'd be breaking the very laws binding the supernatural world and risking exposure.There's a taxi on the other side of the road, and I waste no time flagging it down and crapping out the address. The taxi driver gives me a weird look but seals his lips when I pull out a few wads of cash, unlocking the door and letting me in. The pain in my thigh grows more insistent, drawing a sharp hiss from me as I move to adjust my posture in the car.I carefully inspect the injury. It's a deep one with rough edges. It's not bad enough to require a surgical intervention, but it's not healing. There's not even a mere contraction of the skin. It has managed to stop bleeding profusely, but the injury remains fresh."How far are we?""Not more than ten minutes away," he replies, and I curse underneath my breath."Can you drive faster?" The man gives me a weird look through the mirror, and I return with a straight face. "Can I buy the car then?"

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