Anthology of the Realms, The Werewolf King

The Meeting...

•~⚜️~•

No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected.
---Julius Caesar---

A harsh clearing of a throat silenced the low murmurs stirring around the old-fashioned room, it was apparent Alpha Maûrott was ready to proceed.

Slipping behind the throne and in between a gap in the heavy draped fabric wall, a gaunt grey haired man, all scraggly and hunched, left his hushed conversation with Maûrott silently, not bothering to glance a look at the hierarchy in the room behind him.

Two things simultaneously occurred to Théoner....

1)  He had not noticed the fabric wall until now, and he's been in this room many times before.

And 2)  He never saw the old man talking to the Alpha until Maûrott cleared his throat?

Théoner was just glaring at the Pack leader not two seconds ago. Théoner's eyebrows drew together in frustration as his forehead coated itself in lines, something was not right here.

To be quite honest, the unknown man who was whispering in the Grand Master's ear, annoyed the hell out of Théoner whose questions lay silently behind indignant eyes.

"Who was he?"

"What did he want?"

"What purpose does he serve here at this, the councillor's meeting?"

"Does he have something to do with the Human?"

Far too many questions for Théoner's liking.   

His frown grew deeper.

To Théoner's eyes, the man appeared to have risen from the dead. The sheath of skin that hung loosely over his bones was a ghostly grey colour, marred by a tapestry of ruby-red stained age spots. The feint veil of pale blue veins completed the decaying look.

The man was either a very old wolf or a badly treated servant from another Realm, for that would explain the stooped demeanour he procured but neither would explain the closeness he had with Maûrott. No one gets close to the Alpha, not even Brinn, and he as second in command, was not awarded the privilege.

Théoner found it curious.

He was also angry with himself, frustrated with the lack of observation in not detecting the heavily clad curtained wall at the back of the room when he had entered.

The distraction of the Human has influenced Théoner's concentration, his attention to detail....his responsibilities as an Alpha.

This was completely unacceptable, this was not who Théoner was.

For he was Alpha Théoner of The Reythyra Pack, not some young uneducated pup!

The low growl of his annoyance vibrating in his throat. It did not go unnoticed.

Good.

It wasn't meant to, Théoner had nothing to hide.

He was becoming more and more agitated as time went by, there was more to this meeting than he had already bargained for.

Alpha Théoner did not like surprises and he didn't like to be made to feel inferior or to be made a fool of, whether it be from his own misdoings or that of someone else's.