CHAPTER THREE
Marlowe
"They are what?" I snarled.
My right-hand man stepped forward. "Epsilon werewolves, Alpha. And they've gone rogue!"
I stepped away from the table and walked around the open field. Epsilon wolves were often made for war which meant that they were naturally violent. I couldn't let those sorts of wolves run free around my valley. To get more resources and to form an ally, I'd agreed to marry the daughter of the Ambrose Household. If my calculations were correct, Lady Cara Ambrose should be at my home.
But back to the matter at hand. I turned back to Cedric and shook my head. He looked behind my shoulders at a group of werewolves setting up camp tents.
"There are rumors," Cedric said to me.
I walked up to him and glared at him. "What rumors?"
"That…you made the orders to turn those werewolves into Epsilons. People are talking. They say you turned them to be your hunting machines!"
"Show me all those talking, Cedric. I won't hesitate to snap their tongues out, trust me!"
"I know you can," he said with a low chuckle that bubbled from deep inside him. It sounded like a growl.
I stomped my foot on the grass and raked a hand through my hair. This was getting difficult to control. Rumors like these were always hard to find the source and what would I do to them anyway? My job as the Alpha of this pack was to control the wolves underneath me but it was getting incredibly difficult, especially with rogue Epsilons on the run.
"Get me, Omar!" I said and moved away from him.
I walked back into the tent and brought out the map of the Valley.
Ten minutes later, Omar walked in along with Cedric. I trusted these two but I'd since learned that trusting people too much always led to a disaster. As a Zeta Wolf, Omar was seriously good at strategizing which was why he was usually who I called for serious businesses like this.
"Heard about the rogue Epsilons?" I asked him from the large table in the center of the tent where I was bent over looking at the map.
"Yes, Alpha," he called.
Omar hardly called me by my name as with most of the werewolves under my command in my pack. I hated people who slacked behind but both Omar and Cedric were good at their jobs.
"I want to find the root of the rumors," I said and glanced at the two men with me in the room.
Omar nodded. Cedric shuffled his feet.
"What do you suggest?" I asked.
Omar stepped over to the table and looked at the map. Then he tapped on a spot where I'd marked X.
"That's the campground of the Omegas," he said, distraught.
"I'm not about to pretend to accommodate them," I snarled. "If finding out where and how the Epsilons were created means snifling through their den, then so be it!"
"Very well!" Omar said and bowed slightly before exiting the tent.
I groaned and sat down on the edge of the table. Cedric moved to where I sat and stared at me. It didn't matter that I was the Alpha. We were close friends.
"It's going to lead to a full-out war if we aren't careful," he said to me.
I nodded but said nothing.
"I'm sure Omar and the others will be able to find out where they are hiding," he said again.
"I'm not going to be laying about, am I?" I growled at him.
He raised both hands and backed down. "You should head out to the estate. Your bride should have arrived."
I groaned just thinking about that. Lady Cara was not someone that caught my fancy. And getting married now was not something I wanted to do. But I would for my pack. For the overall strength of the Valley.
"If anyone comes up, let me know," I said as I hurried out of the tent. My car sat in the far corner. I walked to it and slid in. When I was named the one true Alpha, I'd been under a lot of watchful eyes; people who wanted to see what I was made of. And they tested me continuously. It was probably why I'd chosen the first full moon for my attack. I'd gone on what Cedric likes to call a rampage and get everyone under my Pack to not underestimate me. If someone had intentionally turned werewolves into Epsilions, I sure as hell would get to them and tear them limb from limb.
The Estate gates opened the moment my car reached the entrance. I guided the car in and rolled it to a stop in front of the main building. I climbed out just as my driver whom I'd sent to pick up Cara Ambrose came to take my keys.
"Didn't you go to pick her up?" I asked him.
"I did," he replied without looking at me. Most people avoided my chilling gaze so it wasn't exactly new to me now. "But she arrived yesterday."
"A change of plans, I see," I growled. I hated when plans changed and most of all, this. "Where is she now?"
"In the garden at the back," he said. "But…"
The large doors opened and the housekeeper, Betty appeared. I could tell that the driver wanted to say something else to me, something that seemed to revolve around my new bride, but at the moment it didn't seem like what I'd been interested in. I walked to meet Betty as she bowed slightly and opened the large doors wider for me to enter.
I took my jacket and passed it to her and then I moved to the corner and poured whisky into a glass.
"How is she?" I asked, without turning to look at Betty.
"Your bride?"
"Who else?!" I snapped.
She paused and I could sense her hesitation.
But before she could respond, I heard a loud sound like a broken glass and then a shriek. I turned around quickly and dashed out through the side doors, heading for the garden. When I reached the garden, I saw that Cara was on the floor. My heightened senses perceived blood. I snarled as my primal instincts kicked in. Quickly, I walked to where she still sat and noticed that one of the most prized pot plants had broken on the floor. I was already annoyed by the werewolf issues and was not about to add hers to the table.
"Cara—"
She got up and turned around to look at me. Her brown eyes met mine and for a moment, I couldn't breathe. My inner wolf kept whispering to me that she was someone important to me but I stuffed it away. There was no way in hell this was happening.
"You are not Cara," I said to her.
She nodded slowly and hid her hands behind her back.
"I'm…I…Cara is my sister," she stuttered, looking at me. "I was told to come here to be your bride."
"Who told you that?!" I growled.
She winced and took a step backward. "My father."
In a split second, I was so close to her. I pushed her against the wall and held her gaze. She shivered beneath me but kept her eyes glued to mine. I could sense her heart beating really fast. I could sense her fear.
"I was told I was getting married to Cara Ambrose," I said. I'd seen her picture with her blonde hair and pointed nose and even though she didn't interest me, that had been the deal. Was the Ambrose household trying to underestimate me? Because I swear they are in for one hell of a fight. "So where is Cara and why was she swapped?"
"I…I…"
"Stop stuttering or I'm going to throw you out of my estate!"
She sighed deeply. "She had an accident and is in a coma. My father asked me to come. He said you already knew. I thought you knew. I'm sorry…"
I released my hold on her and heard her gasp. I shouldn't care but I stood there, watching her keenly. This was new. Was this what the driver and Betty had wanted to say to me? Had they wanted to tell me I was being deceived by the Ambrose Household?
"What is your name?" I asked.
"Eliora," she replied quickly. "Eliora Ambrose."
I frowned and thought about it. I'd heard the name before. Yes! She was the illegitimate daughter.
"The illegitimate daughter is who the Ambrose Household saw fit to send my way?" I yelled.
She said nothing.
I raked a hand through my hair. Just today, I'd been packed full of crazy news. First, about rogue werewolves under my rule, and then, this—this outrageous trickery.
"Nice try," I growled. "There is no way I'm accepting someone as low and insubordinate to become my wife and the Luna of my Pack."
She looked into my eyes again and I could see tears shimmering in her eyes.
"Betty!" I yelled.
Betty came in through the door and bowed slightly. "Get me the driver. I'm heading out to the Ambrose Household. This…monstrosity better be out of my damn house before I get back!"
"Marlowe—" she began.
I pushed her back against the wall and circled her neck with my hands. She was slender and pale beneath me. "You dare call me by my name?!"
"I'm sorry," she corrected, limply. "Alpha Flynn, I understand how this might look but I can assure you that my father had no intention of deceiving you."
"Your father?" I huffed, even more angry by her words and her presence here. "You are known even to the Valley as the illegitimate daughter yet you still call him father?"
"Please don't say that," she pleaded as tears fell from her eyes.
Of course, I couldn't care.
I continued, "And you trust them not to deceive me yet they've deceived you into coming here in the pretense that I know of the change in plans. You don't see it, do you? You are worthless!"
I left her there and walked out of the garden. Betty followed me out to the door just as the driver brought out my keys. Betty handed me my jacket.
"Don't bother," I snarled. "I wouldn't want to stain it with blood when I rip Ambrose's neck open."
She nodded and stepped back. Everyone knew I could make do with my threats when I said them which was why she stepped back.
"And I want her out of the main house until I get back!" I growled as I hurried to my car.
As I drove out of my estate, I called Cedric. He took the call almost immediately.
I said, "Find out all you can about Eliora Ambrose, the illegitimate daughter of the Ambrose household."
"That should be your bride's sister, right?" he said.
"Don't ask me any fucking questions," I snarled as I made a bend in the road. "And find out everything about her fast!"