46 - Chances Set Ablaze
HADEN
In the dimly lit confines of my office, I stared intently at the map spread across the desk. With the word of the Rogue King attacking Mount Luna, he was gaining ground and it won't be long now before he thinks he can challenge this pack again.
My pack.
We were at war, and I was fully aware of the stakes. This constant battle with rogues was relentless. Strategizing had consumed my days and nights, but I would not let this madman conquer this pack. If I died protecting this pack, then I would die. That was my job as the Alpha, and it was one that I will not fail.
The Rogue King will meet his end. Soon.
Determined to gather crucial information from the current operation, I reached for the phone and dialed Hunter's number.
"Miss me already?" James answered instead of Hunter, making me roll my eyes. "I mean, if you missed me this much, my dear, you could always mind-link me. I'm sure you're missing my voice in your head."
I couldn't help but chuckle.
"I see all the ice has gotten to your head. Tell me, have your balls frozen over yet?"
"Aww, look at you, all interested in my junk. Don't worry, I'll bring them back nice and warm for you," he continued.
"How's it going up there? Status update," I shifted the conversation.
"We just got settled on the outskirts of the Saros Shadows pack," he answered, his tone shifting to seriousness, "right on top of the hills so we have a good vantage point of the entire land. Who builds a pack in a valley?"
I glanced down at the map, eyeing the area of the Saros Shadows and knew exactly what he meant. The pack itself was surrounded by hilly terrain and had a stream of water flooding in from the eastern area across to the west.
"Any sign of the Rogue King?" I inquired.
"No, nothing on him yet, but there is something weird going on – a gold line shimmering around their pack border. I don't know, it's like it's some sort of protection or something. Stings like a bitch when I touched it – almost like holding your hand over the fire. Ever seen anything like that?"
A furrow creased my brow as I thought of our own glowing border. I had never heard of anything like this, not since two days ago, and if it was also around the Saros Shadows pack then it wasn't a coincidence.
"A few days ago, we noticed a blue glowing line around our pack's border," I informed James. "It hasn't disappeared since. Abigale's looking into it, along with the markings Hunter sent from the Mount Luna pack attack."
James whistled appreciatively, finding the connection intriguing. "Abigale's tales of the Sun God and the Moon Goddess might look a bit more convincing to Cannon now."
"Let's just hope that they disappear for good. All this uncertainty is annoying the hell out of me."
"You and me both, Alpha."
I ran a hand down my face. "Just be careful. I'm not interested in having a replacement Beta right now."
"Aww, look at you, caring for little old me. Not to worry, Hunter will be here to protect me,"
"No, he won't!" I heard Hunter shout and I chuckled.
"That doesn't sound very –" I was about to say when my office door busted open revealing an angry Zara and a depressed Natalia. "Uh, James, I've got to go. Keep me posted if anything happens."
I ended the call, looking at the two suspiciously. "What's going on?"
Zara leaned down on the desk, palms pressed against the surface and her eyes narrowed.
"The bastard marked her without consent," she growled.
My eyes shifted between Zara and Natalia, looking purposefully at her neck and noticing the fresh mark. Then my eyes met Natalia's and I recognized the disappointment and shame etched across her face.
Fuck.
A heavy sigh escaped me as I looked back at Zara, who was seething.
"Zara," I began, my voice calm but tinged with resignation, "it's not a tradition for Alphas to seek permission before marking their mates. It happens on sight, an instinctual connection. I can't change that."
Zara opened her mouth to protest but I cut her off.
"And Natalia knows that. She's his mate and his wolf must have been on overdrive, especially after running across the country from the Rogue King. Whatever happens between them is... between them."
Zara gave me one hell of a death glare after that, challenging the very essence of Alpha traditions. "What the fuck does that have to do with human decency?! She didn't even get her name out before he sank his fangs in her throat, and to make matters worse, once he did what he wanted to do, he left her standing there. Which heartless bastard does that?"
I saw Natalia visibly shrink, holding her head down and clenching her fists. I knew Natalia well enough to know that she only clenched her fists like that to drive her nails into her palms, one of her damn coping mechanisms for pain.
"Natalia, look at me," I demanded, and when she didn't I sighed, "dammit Nat, look at me."
Her eyes were swimming in tears when she did, but she had a shaky smile on her face.
"Don't, I'm fine, everything's fine," she breathed out.
"Stop doing that," I ordered her, pointedly looking down at her hands. When her hands unclenched, I looked at Zara. "Princess, I understand your frustration, but there's nothing I can do. Maybe Natalia could try talking to him and –"
Zara growled.
"Well, you better do something," her glare intensified, "or I will."
"Zara –"
Unable to sway her perspective, Zara grabbed Natalia's wrist and pulled her through the door. Silently, I cursed and mind-linked Conner.
Where the fuck is Greyson? I asked him.
I haven't seen him lately, but last I checked he was with Alex. Why, what's going on? he asked.
Because he's messing with my mate and Natalia, and that needs to stop before I rip him apart, I snapped.
What's going on?
He marked Natalia last night, I told him, no words, just action, the minute he saw her.
That's... not necessarily uncommon for Alphas, Conner replied.
Thank you! Zara doesn't seem to understand that, I grumbled as I sat down in my chair, leaning back and propping my feet on my desk. She's upset that Greyson did that shit, and I tried to tell her that but she wouldn't hear it.
Ah, so the mate fights the battles of the ex-girlfriend, Conner teased and I rolled my eyes.
Let's not go –
The shrill of my phone buzzing broke my concentration. Glancing down, I saw Stephan's name flashing across the screen and immediately answered.
"Stephan," I greeted, my voice resonating with a mixture of formality and familiarity.
"Haden," he responded, "Mount Luna was attacked a few hours ago."
"Yes, Hunter mentioned that Bryon checked in on you. You should've called," I added.
He chuckled lightly sounded through the phone. "I didn't need to. The rogues ran away in fright before they even came close to the borders."
His nonchalant tone contradicted the wave of danger the situation carried, and I chose to be grateful for the rogues' retreat. "You're lucky that they chose caution over confrontation," I remarked, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a strong defensive front.
"Hmm, I suppose. I have my wolves on patrol so let's not worry about such trivial matters. We will discuss this all at the next Alphas meeting, though I've been hearing two new Alphas have made their way into your territory."
I rolled my eyes, "Oh, don't remind me. Zara's angry at one of them and the other one is a pain in my fucking ass and she just got here."
"Why is Zara angry at one of them?" he inquired, his tone concerned.
I groaned. "You all have me gossiping like a damn girl. Greyson, one of the new Alphas marked Natalia without consent. Yet another argument in the Zara-Haden show."
"Ah, I see," Stephan chuckled, "So how is she doing? She seemed a bit out of sorts the last time I saw her."
My brows furrowed at his question, his curiosity catching me off guard.
"I... no, besides from this Alpha thing, she's fine," I answered vaguely.
"And that mess with her brother?" he continued to press. "Is she comfortable with her brother? He's another Alpha now, isn't he? Recognized by the Crown."
"Luca is lucky the Crown was nice enough to let him live," I muttered, already picturing Luca's arrogant face.
"Another key thing for the meeting then," he simply said, "You should bring him to the meeting. This... Luca."
I scoffed. "Yeah, like that'll go over well."
"Inviting a rogue to the meeting might not go over well with Cannon," Stephan pointed out, and a tiny smirk came to my lips.
"Cannon will have to adapt," I responded firmly. "Now it may not be a bad idea, especially with all the attacks. It'll be better for us all to be informed. Then there's my mate," I added, grabbing the pen and looking down at the map as I continued, "Luca is Zara's family, and should anything happen to him, Cannon will be dealing with more than just my anger. Let's just say my mate's temper can be worse than mine."
"Oh, I can imagine," Stephan stated with a chuckle.
"There isn't –" I started but my door busted open for the second time this afternoon. Why does no one knock in this house?
"Brother," Alex greeted me with a grin as he strolled in, my eyes narrowing at the two Alphas who followed him in.
"Stephen, I'll talk to you later," I said before ending the call while glaring at Alex, "Do you ever knock?"
"No, but I'll take your comment under advisement," he cheekily replied, his grin never faltering. Harley found her place seated beside him while Greyson stood with his arms folded behind his back and a blank look on his face. The atmosphere grew tense, an unspoken understanding passing between us.
Greyson wasted no time in addressing the issue at hand. "You seem to know my mate quite well."
The weight of his words settled in the room, and I leaned back in my chair, a stony expression masking my inner turmoil. "Before meeting Zara, she would have been the Luna of this pack. You can interpret that however you like."
"Don't toy with me, pup," he growled warningly and I raised a brow at him.
"Funny words coming from the man who just got refuge in my lands," I pointed out, "Natalia and I were in a relationship where the safety and security of this pack was our number one priority. No, before that vein pops in your head, we did not sleep together."
If he was surprised at that revelation, he didn't show it.
"I care about her and her well-being, now and then, which is saying a lot more than you right now,"
He growled lowly and I jumped out of my chair growling right back.
"Okay, easy boys," Alex stepped in between us. "What's done is done now both of you squash it. Besides, we have more important things to discuss. I just spoke with the King and he mentioned the Crown will be stepping in."
I didn't break my glare from Greyson until Alex shifted to the left, blocking out view of each other.
"Can you focus?" Alex growled.
"Can you fuck off?" I snapped back, grumbling to myself as I sat again. "What do you mean the Crown will be stepping in?"
"I mean the Crown will be monitoring the situation of the Saros Shadows very closely. The attack on Mount Luna was unexpected, especially the fact that it's one of the oldest packs in time. A few friends of the Queen were killed in that attack," Alex informed, "They'll be in mourning for a few weeks before heading to Saros to see what they know."
"That'll mess up the plan, Alex,"
"It won't," he immediately protested, "didn't you say this fact-finding mission would take two weeks tops?"
"Estimating!" I exclaimed, "I didn't tell you that information so the Crown can fuck me over. My Beta is out there and so is Bryon's. This entire mission relies on the discretion of all the packs allied right now, and the last thing we need is the Crown fucking it up."
"No one's going to mess with this plan of yours," Alex objected, "All we're saying is that the situation will be monitored closely now given the attack on Mount Luna. If things spiral out of control, they won't hesitate to intervene."
I sighed, acknowledging the gravity of the situation. "We have two weeks. The Crown wants all the information before they commit to any action, right? Let us work on that before you all barge in."
Harley, ever the provocateur, interjected with a smirk, "Funny how they suddenly want to help after years of silence."
Alex shot her a warning look, the tension palpable. "We'll return to London tonight. I need to get Elizabeth back and Dad will want to need the rest. Keep us updated, Haden."
With that he stood and walked to the door, opening it for Harley who shot me a wink before she went through it and Greyson who didn't even look in my direction.
"And Haden," Alex said as he looked back, "this plan of yours better work. We need something good."
As they left my office, I was left alone with the weight of impending decisions and the uncertainty of the path ahead. The clock was ticking, and the pressure to succeed loomed over us like a gathering storm. There was no room for error right now, and the Rogue King was getting stronger and stronger. It wouldn't be long before an attack – I could feel it.
The last thing we needed was a distraction, and yet one found us anyway.
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As if things weren't bad enough 🙄
Heeey everyone! I hope you're all having a fantastic weekend
What did you think about this chapter?
Is Greyson wrong for even thinking about doing this to Natalia? I mean, honestly, who does that? He really needs to learn people skills
And what distraction do you think found its way to our favorite Alpha this time? Comment who (or what) you think it is - first person to get it right gets a sneak peek into the spicy-hot, mindblowing, heart-racing chapter that's coming next week 🥵
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