Still Alpha Romero's POV
From the raised stage, I stare over the pack that has responded in large numbers to my father's call for this meeting. There is much speculation about Louise’s disappearance, her parents sit in the front row. Their eyes are red-rimmed, it is clear they are grieving for their daughter.
The meeting hasn't started yet, so I head down the stairs to Head Warrior Henry, his mate and their son. Mykel is my best friend and when his father retires, he will succeed him.
As I approach them, I can almost feel their aura turning hostile, but they suppress it. Humiliating the future Alpha will not work in their favor.
"Head Warrior, auntie. I am so sorry for what happened," I apologize. "I did not behave like a gentleman, I should have taken Louise home. And then we would know where she was now". The regret in my voice is genuine, I have known these people all my life. It is definitely embarrassing to admit that I had casual sex with their daughter.
"Is she your fated mate?" the man before me asks now, somewhat reproachfully. I can understand his reaction, Louise is his only daughter and of course, protecting her image is his top priority.
"I don't know that, uncle. You know it's not until I'm 21 that I can find out who my mate is," I remind him. "But we had a connection and planned to continue our relationship. This whole issue embarrasses me". I feel the couple relaxing now, I have shifted the blame of their dissolute daughter on myself. Everyone in the pack knows that Louise isn't choosy about whom she sleeps with and therefore tends to ignore my part in her disappearance.
When I get back to the stage, my parents are just arriving with Beta Eric in their wake. My father's face is expressionless as I read the usual adoration in my mother's eyes. Dad immediately takes the microphone and does the usual pleasantries.
"Eclipse Howl, I only have one son and although I'd like him to present me with his Luna in three years, things haven't really been working out with his love life recently," Alpha Thoseo, my father, starts hilariously, obviously to ease the tension in the room. "Every she-wolf he approaches for a date so far either moves out of the pack or avoids him. And that brings me to Louise, the daughter of our head warrior.
All eyes fall on me now, many full of pity, a few judgmental. At the back of the room, there is a group of unmated she-wolves eagerly gazing at me. All wish to be my Luna when the time comes, but shy away from having anything to do with me for now. It is my father's authority that keeps the pack from coming up with a nickname for me because of my failures.
Just now, Jace rush in and sits next to me, richly late for the meeting. Taking a sniff, I know exactly the reason for his late arrival. Shaking my head along, this Beta just can't seem to stay away from the she-wolves. Now that I'm out of reach, they focus fully on Jace, who is enjoying all the attention and making sure he's getting good at it.
"I think I have a candidate. She's great to put on the act for us," he whispers to me enthusiastically. I roll my eyes.
"Did you still find time for that in the middle of your busy schedule?" I dryly remark. " "Is she your latest flavor of the month?" He chuckles and leans back.
"No, I don’t stay that long. And she would only cause more problems for us. Never mix business with pleasure, it always ends badly. But this one I’m telling you about is reliable and definitely talented. And you know her".
"Will you finally tell me her name, Beta?" I ask skeptically. He knows I'm terribly curious about this plan and obviously wants to keep the suspense going for me.
"Meg. Megan Smith, the Principal's daughter!" He sounds reproachful as if he expected me to have guessed long ago. Frowning, I turn to him, my Beta really thinks I can read minds.
"Look, she's sitting in the third row wearing a deep pink blouse. Loriann is sitting next to her, you know her too, that perpetually silent girl," he chuckles, beckoning with his eyes.
I turned in the direction he is pointing and indeed I see Meg sitting there, listening intently to my father. And when I look next to her, I see Lori there relaxed as always. My breath stills the longer my eyes stay on her. There is something mysterious about this girl, but I can't put my finger on it. She is low-key, is always in Meg's company and has never risen to prominence. She goes about her business quietly in the pack, I'm sure few really know her.
A sigh of alarm spills through the room, I tear my gaze from Lori and look at my father. I missed his last comment, but I'm sure he'll repeat it if it's that important enough.
"Beta Eric, the Head Warrior and I have come to the conclusion that a spell must be active here. We have studied all the collected material from the investigation. Someone may have hired a witch to make my son's life miserable, probably out of jealousy," I hear Dad explain hard. "But we are going to get to the bottom of it. We'll get Xanna, the white witch, to come here and expose the person."
He pauses his speech for a moment to let his words sink into the audience.
“Whomever it may be doing this, come to me yourself and confess. You have until tomorrow afternoon to do so. After that, the consequences are your responsibility”, he adds venomously.
I blink a few times, never having thought of this option.
"Jace!" I whisper disconcertedly. But when I look beside me, I see him staring at the Alpha with his jaw on the floor….
Still Alpha Romero's POV "A witch? Is that even possible?" Bewildered, I look at my Beta. We are now sitting on the private balcony of my apartment. He shrugs nonchalantly. "What's the harm if our parents go that way with their research? We'll just do our thing and get on with our plan," he points out laconically. "But whatever is going on, Louise is not dead. We would definitely have felt the break with the pack link if that was the case". "No, I didn't feel anything and my father didn't indicate he noticed anything either," I indicate certainly. "She's alive, that's for sure. She might just reappear one of these days after all. But we can't just sit back and wait. She could be in danger and need help. We have to take action". Jace nods in agreement. "Yes, I think more of the latter is the case here. I will ask Meg today itself if she is willing to cooperate. We will also offer her an upfront fee and if we find out who or
Loriann's POV "Lori, I have a date with Alpha Romero." A wide smiling Meg dribbles onto the chair opposite me. Her blue eyes are bright and her long black hair moves with the shake of her head as she looks at me. It is clear that she is thrilled with this opportunity that many long for but were too fearful of the consequences. Right now, I am sitting in the school cafeteria at our regular place. I had been concentrating on reading a science website on my iPad while waiting for Meg to finish with the teacher. Her exclamation is like a sword slicing through my body. 'Goddess, not my only friend. Not Meg,' I pray to myself. I would hate myself if I had to get rid of her too. Like Louise, I would have to kill her, since her parents would most definitely not move out of Eclipse Howl. They are high ranking, maybe not of the highest level but still important enough for the pack. With widened eyes, I stare at her while frantically trying to cont
Several miles from the border of Eclipse Howl... "Please stop. Please let this stop. Have mercy on me, this is too much". A young woman groans from the pain inflicted on her by her assailants. Exhausted as she is, she cannot even feel her legs, her body is completely numb. But the men keep ramming into her, relentlessly and insatiably without caring about her screams. And this has been going on for several hours now, the woman is on the verge of passing out. A few days ago, she fell half dead into the hands of a group of lecherous rogues, always prowling at the pack's borders in search of defenseless prey. They dragged her to an abandoned cave where they holed up, removed the arrows from her arm and shoulder and smeared the injuries with some herbal herbs. Patiently, they waited for her wolf to heal her completely and then threw themselves at her without pity. No matter how much the woman begged them, they were merciless. It is not every
Her scent fills my nostrils, tantalizing me and drawing me irresistibly to her. My eyes are glued to her face as I carry her to Rachel's cave, I try to imprint her beauty in my memory. Her head has fallen against my chest, leaving her neck open and exposed, and I can't stop my lips from curling and my canines from stretching. They itch to be buried in that alluringly fair neck, my wolf trash in my head, demanding that I mark her. 'Mate! Mine!" Xander bursts in my head, almost giving me a headache. 'Mark her, human. She is ours!' He does not want to know that the woman in my arms is now unconscious and must also give us permission to claim her. For the moment, even her wolf is disabled, especially after the men's assault. I have yet to deal with them, all those who attacked her I will finish off as soon as I coordinate with the Alpha. Alpha Alvarez hates it when his orders are disobeyed. These men under him are like unguided missiles, they refuse to l
Still Beta Zalev Never before have I enjoyed killing wolves so much. The rage I felt gave these rascals no chance of survival. When I freed them, they thought they had regained their freedom. The look of surprise on their faces was worth its weight in gold when I told them what the actual case was. They all knew they were dead when they saw my face. The destructive energy emanating from me was palpable to everyone standing around us. The men all tried to attack me at first, their only hope of hurting me. How wrong they were! Cries of pain and the thudding sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed around us. A few soon gave up and began to beg for their lives. But I was too far away, vengeance was coursing through my blood. Xander clawed to take over, but then it would be over too soon. I wanted to see these assailants of my mate suffer before they closed their eyes forever. They didn't feel sorry for her then so they needn't expect that no
Louise's POV The bright light seems to want to blind me. After blinking a few times I get used to it and can keep my eyes open longer. And now I realize that the light is coming from an old lamp hanging from the ceiling. But otherwise, it was dark all around me. I try to raise a hand to feel my face, it is heavy, but I manage to lift it anyway. "You're awake." I am startled by the voice next to me. And when I see the person who has just spoken, I am shocked. A witch. Have I been lying here unconscious with a witch around, I ask myself in horror. She sees my reaction and smiles. "Don't worry, you are safe with me. I am not a black witch and will not harm you". Of course, I know that witches are anything but trustworthy, but if this one has kept me alive I do think I owe her the benefit of the doubt. I continue to stare at her as she looks back kindly. "What's your name? I'm Rachel,
Again Louise's POV Zalev is the perfect mate. Every day he comes to the cave and has lunch with me. We talk about all kinds of things, except the future. He told me he is originally from Blue Moon, a pack near Georgia. The Alpha of the rogues, whose name I now know is Alvarez, was the Alpha's second son. His brother, the first son, was such a weak leader. To save the pack from ruin, Alvarez wanted to succeed his father, but the latter refused. Alpha Alvarez then challenged his father but lost the fight. Normally the Winner should kill his opponent, but the man could not find it in his heart to kill his own blood. So he banished Alvarez, who chose to go rogue. Being Alvarez's best friend, he decided to go along and leave his parents safely behind in Blue Blood. Despite this sad story, Zalev is relaxed. He has a great sense of humor, often teasing me and putting a smile on my face. Then I can relax and t
Loriann's POV And here I sit, high on a rock above a ravine overlooking the access road from Human Town to Eclipse Howl. But at the same time, I can also keep an eye on the path through the jungle near the pack border. Xanna, the white witch arrives by my reckoning today. She has been invited by Alpha Thoseo to inquire about his son's allegedly failing romance. “Come, Alpha. Tell your son to keep his promises,” I whisper acidly into the wind. I scan the area for the umpteenth time and still see no sign of Xanna. If the situation were not so serious, and if it were not just a matter of consolidating my position, I would laugh at this whole affair. What could be more ridiculous than the Alpha thinking that someone has cast a worthless spell on his son and Meg revealing Romero and his Beta's secret plan to me of all people? No, now is not the time for me to be amused by this whole episode. I have to stay alert until Romero t