“Nothing in particular. There is always some drama going on in a pack.” She sighs. “Then there is the whole issue with Marius.”
I didn’t expect to hear his name now. I honestly was so engulfed in this whole incident with Val and her friends that, for a split second, I’d forgotten about him.
Elden suddenly shifts his attention back to us. “Marius?” he asks with a frown. “What did my son do now?”
Annie looks at him with a smile. “Nothing. He and Liam had a little argument, nothing major.”
Elden raises his brows. “You are a terrible liar, dear.”
She sighs. “Okay,” she gives in. “Maybe it’s not nothing. But Liam wants to handle the situation on his own. He says it’s his pack, and Mari is a part of it.”
“Goodness,” Elden groans. “My wife is right. I wish we had at least one child with beta or omega blood. Nothing but troubles.”
“I’m always right,” Flora pops up at our side and smiles brightly.
“We have more pressing issues now, though,” Annie points out. “Let’s not worry about my health or Liam’s brother.”
I beg to differ. Her health is important, and the issues with Marius sound troubling too, but there was a certain finality to her voice that none of us wants to argue with for fear of upsetting her.
Vincent interrupts us. “They’re back. Aurelia managed to capture all four guys. Their alpha is here too.” He grins. “He’s not happy. We expected him to argue with us on their behalf, but he didn’t. Seems to be pretty pissed at his pack members.”
“Let’s get this over with,” Elden orders.
Harmony, Annie, and I follow him to his office, but Flora stays behind. There is an adjacent meeting room which he leads us into. Aurelia is already there waiting with Midnight River’s young alpha. I know him, it’s Lucas—we did a couple of our Alpha training sessions together. He’s only eighteen and took over his pack two months ago. I’ve always thought of him as being a rather decent and respectful guy.
Vincent was right, though. He looks completely pissed. “I just can’t believe it,” he mutters. “I deeply apologize for my pack members, Alpha Elden. To you too, Celine.”
Elden blinks, surprised by his politeness. He probably expected more sass, especially considering he’s such a young alpha. “Well, I appreciate that you reacted so fast,” he tells him.
Lucas nods. “The guys in question are between eighteen and twenty-two,” he tells us. “Something like this has never happened before, to my knowledge.” He frowns deeply. “However, I did hear some other concerning rumors.”
“I’m not surprised,” I tell him with a frown. “Everyone knows that omegas are treated like crap in Midnight River pack.”
“Is that true?” Elden asks me.
“Yes,” Lucas admits. “Unfortunately, it is true.”
I nod. “It’s the reason my father never allied with their retired alpha.”
Lucas sighs. “I can’t change everything in just a few weeks,” he says.
“That’s true,” Elden nods. “But this here, this is a very serious crime. You need to put your foot down.”
“I will,” Lucas says grimly. “My mate is an omega she-wolf. I had to hide her until I became alpha, or she might have been killed.”
Elden shakes his head in disbelief. “So, where are the guys?”
“Before you bring them in, you should call Val in here,” Annie says.
We all look at her in surprise. “Excuse me?” Elden blinks. “What?”
“She needs to be here,” she tells us.
“But she’s already experienced the trauma of—” Harmony starts.
“Yes,” Annie interrupts her. “What she experienced will haunt her for a while, but she needs to see that these four boys are nothing. That they are weak and pathetic and that they are going to act like cowards in front of us. Valerie is a very smart and rational kid. She needs to see it with her own eyes. Make her see how they will whimper and beg for their lives.”
“Honestly,” I tilt my head. “I can see why every pack should have a luna.”