Ridian.
I tried to understand where Cilla was coming from but I did not like it when she asked to me relinquish the moonstone pack. There was no way I was going to do that. The moonstone pack was already under my control and I was not about to lose it right after getting it. If Cilla didn’t want to control it, I would do it myself.
I immersed my body into the cold water and swam towards the upper part of the river which had a long flowing waterfall. The water was colder than usual and it was making thinking and concentration harder. I decided to get out of the water and sit on one of the large rocks at the river banks. The sun was dull but it came with some warmth. Being nude by the river felt freeing. It had been a while since I was outside alone.
I began to think of how was going to run two packs. I realised that I had not thought enough about it. The additional responsibility was enormous. Conquering a pack also comes with resentment from the members who were not happy to be under another pack. Controlling that resentment and making sure a rebellion did not occur was hard but I had not factored it in. I had been blinded by a desire to make my wife happy. The fact that she didn’t appreciate it was very disappointing.
After getting out of the water, I changed into wolf form and ran through the forest, my paws pounding against the soft earth covered by a blanket of leaves. As I ran further from the river, I began to catch the smell of another wolf. I ran towards the scent and soon saw another wolf running away. I could sense that it was a foreigner so I ran faster, hoping to catch it and find out what it wanted in my pack. Right before I caught it, I heard my voice via mind link, prompting me to stop and transform to my human shape.
The voice of my beta David sounded urgent.
“What is it?” I asked via mind link.
“There has been an attack,” he said. “Three miners were killed near the pack boundary.
“Have you caught the killers?” I asked.
“No.”
“I’ll be there soon,” I said, before running towards the direction the other wolf had taken. I ran deeper into the woods but it was already gone. When I reached the boundary of the Lakeside pack, the person was gone, making me wonder if he or she belonged there. We never had a problem with lakeside pack but its beta and I had had an altercation with me two weeks prior because one of my she-wolves had fought with two of his.
I gave up on the pursuit of the random wolf and returned to my pack. I went to one of the cabins in the woods put on some decent clothes.
Walking through the dark and damp corridors of the salt mines, I could feel that something was not right. Dim light from the small lanterns bounced off the rough walls and the ground was hard. When I reached the area where the miners should have been working, I saw the three bodies lying on the ground, motionless. A stake had been rammed into each of their chests. David and two other miners were standing near the bodies waiting for me.
“What happened?”
“We have no idea,” David said. “During the break, most of the others were hanging out inside the new mines. Jake, Peter and Alphonse were finishing up with the filling up of this mine and they planned to join the others soon.”
“We waited for them in vain,” one of the miners, a man with an overgrown beard said. “So, we decided to come and check on them. This is what we found.”
I stared at all of them, trying to spot any signs of lying. After a while, I was convinced that they were telling the truth.
“Do you have any idea who could have done this?” I asked.
The three shook their heads.
“David, come with me,” I said, before turning to leave. David started to follow me out.
“I really don’t know who it could be,” David said. “The scent of the perpetrator was masked. I have sent for Jamila so she can see how I was cloaked and if it’s possible to uncloak it and find out where it came from.”
“This is really bad,” I said. “I wonder if it’s Aragon.”
“I don’t think so. Aragon wouldn’t dare to try something like this right now. He may be a conceited fellow but he is no fool. He never goes for his enemies immediately. I suspect Lakeside pack. John wasn’t impressed when you defended Aria after the fight she started.”
“Would he fight me just because of that?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s a bit unlikely since he is one of the most level headed alphas around here. But then again, he could be capable of much more than we think. The quiet ones are always hiding something.”
“Alright, try to investigate as much as you can and get back to me when you have any findings,” I told him. “I’m going to study the documents we brought from Moonshine pack to see what we’re dealing with.”
David nodded. “Okay. Did the luna come around? Did she finally accept the pack?”
“Unfortunately not, but I’ll not back down. Moonshine will be under me until I say otherwise. I love Cilla but she can be a little bit too stubborn some times.”
“That, I know.”
After parting with David, I walked past the main entrance to the pack, spoke to the head of security about improving on security before proceeding to the pack house. He informed me that Jane had left the pack and not returned.
“Don’t allow her in next time,” I told him. I was tired of Jane Willow’s antics and didn’t want her in my pack any more. Enough was enough. If she wanted to leave, it was better for her to go for once and for all.
After getting affirmation that he would do as told, I decided to go and check on my beautiful wife. Hopefully, she had changed her mind.