38

EASTON
“You have guests. Alpha Zane of the Blood Moon pack and his Beta, Mark, are here to see you,” Alice informed me, and my brows furrowed in confusion. It wasn’t exactly a usual occurrence, nor was it a good one, for Zane to visit my pack or any pack for that matter, unless it was with malicious intent.
Of course, maybe he was thinking of adding it to his long list of potential packs to infiltrate and was here to try and collect vital information. Well, if that was the case, then I had every reason to thank the moon goddess because he would be giving me more than enough reasons to wage a war against him.
“We’re going to have to adjourn this meeting for now, Black. You can leave through the emergency door, ” I said, and Black smiled before slowly getting up from where he was sitting, dusting invincible dirt off his clothes.
“Guess that’s my cue to leave. I would have loved to sit and watch the drama unfold, but we can’t risk getting exposed. You can contact me whenever you need my help, and Easton, don’t forget to fill me in on whatever is about to go down today. I will be waiting for your call,” Black finishes, and I nod in agreement. That seems to please him a lot because he smiles and does a mock salute with two fingers before being escorted by one of my sentinels toward the emergency door.
With Black out of sight, I waited a few more minutes before taking a long drag of the air in the room. I had to make sure not a trace of him was left, not even his pheromones, and I was glad to perceive nothing. He was good at his job, and it turned out he had already masked his pheromones. I had no idea when he did that, but I was glad he did, because rash and immature as he was, Zane was meticulous and it would be a shame if he started to suspect anything before our plans were even set in motion.
“Send him in, Alice. Just Zane and his Beta, anybody else has to wait outside,” I ordered, and she nodded, swiftly walking out of the room. A few seconds later, the door swings open to reveal Zane, the very bane of my existence.
“Alpha Zane Mackane, to what do I owe this unwelcome visit?” I snarked the moment he got close enough.
“Not even going to offer me a seat? Is this how you welcome your guests?” he questions, feigning disbelief, and I scoff.
“Last time I checked, I don’t remember getting a notice of your visit. You are here uninvited, and that doesn’t make you a guest in any of my books,” I answered immediately.
“Oh, this isn’t a planned visit. If I had known I would be coming I would have sent you a note at the very least, I am not that lacking in manners,” Zane answered lightheartedly, and I couldn’t help a scoff at the tone. I didn’t have the time or patience for this.
“State your purpose, Zane Mackane,” I demanded, having had enough of this pointless front and back. I didn’t want to spend another second with him before me, and I could feel the groans of discomfort in my head too. I’m glad I wasn’t the one who couldn’t stand his presence.
“Fine then… Much as I would have loved for us to become acquaintances, it seems my presence is making you uneasy. I will go ahead and state my purpose then, since it is your wish. I am here on behalf of the alpha king,” he announced, finding a seat for himself as my features twisted in confusion.
“The alpha king?” I repeated, and he nodded.
“Yes, the alpha king. I’m here to deliver his answers to the question you asked. I never knew you were this interested in my personal affairs and businesses. Although I must say, it does hurt my feelings just a tinge that you did not come directly to me, I wouldn’t have minded giving you your answers, but nevertheless” he finishes, a corner of his lips raised into a smirk.
“Why would you have the answers I seek, and why would the alpha king send you of all people to deliver the message to me?” I asked. I could already feel the anger begin to brew in me, and I clenched my fists beneath the table.
“It isn’t a crime to deliver a message from the alpha king. When it comes to the alpha king, no one can stand against him, and what’s wrong with the Alpha king choosing me? Do you think you’re that special and that he can not have someone else in his corner?” He chuckles at the end of his words, and I release a heavy breath. I knew exactly what he was trying to do. He was trying to get a rise out of me, provoking me to get me to make the first move, to attack unreasonably. I wasn’t going to strike first. Even if I would, he had to give me a reason, a viable one. I shook my head, letting a condescending smile grace my features.
“I see… with the way you speak, one would think you have become the alpha king’s loyal disciple and his favourite,” I commented leisurely, and he clapped his hands together in excitement.
“Exactly!” He points, clicking his fingers together, “How did you know about that? It hasn’t even been up to thirty minutes since he had said it… damn news does travel fast,” he exclaims, and that effectively deepens my confusion.
“What do you mean?” I asked, keeping my collected front up.
“Oh my!! I thought you knew… wait hold on… was that statement meant to be a shot at sarcasm? Oh my, my bad and here I was, thinking you had the fastest of spies and informants,” he seemed to be having the absolute time of his life, as all of his words were tinged with laughter.
“I’m going to ask you again, Zane. What do you mean by that?'”
“Exactly as you have said. I, Zane Mackane, have become the favourite of the alpha king, which means I have his protection and permission to do whatever the hell it is I deem right,” he relaxes even deeper into his seat, crossing one leg over the other, it was like every second with him worked to get on every single one of my nerves.
“You are bluffing, there is no way the Alpha King would choose someone like you” I resorted to saying, even though that confidence and his unchanging stance were already telltale signs of his words being true.
“You know I don’t bluff when words come out of my mouth. Besides, what do you mean by ‘someone like me’? If you were fitted for the position, then I am too, or are you scared that soon everything you love and hold dear to you, would soon be mine…… especially your beloved pack,” The venom in his last words were ill-concealed and the growl that was ripped from my throat came uncontrolled and before I could think, I was springing out of my chair and taking long steps toward him.
“Don’t piss me off, Zane. You won’t like where it will lead to, and you know already when it comes to my pack, I don’t entertain such distasteful jokes. That is considered a threat and believe me, I could have your head on a spike for that,” I spat in his face and he let out something that sounded like a held-back cackle before raising his hands in surrender.
“Jeez, calm down, Easton. I’m not threatening your pack. I just wanted to see your reaction. And it pleases me. Exactly that, how you just reacted to the idea of something of yours being taken away is how I would do mine too.” He smirks before bringing his face even closer,
“I believe I don’t have to warn you to keep your distance from my slave, Easton. Pretty, isn’t she? And she belongs to me. I did not appreciate you hovering around her last time, and I highly doubt I would in the future. I tend to get aggressive when people ignore my warnings, Easton, and you know that.”
He breaks into a smile afterwards “With that out of the way, the alpha king would like you to grace him with your presence tomorrow. That is his message to you. I will take my leave now, thank you for the warm welcome,” he gets to his feet and bows slightly before heading toward the door, only to stop before grabbing the knob.
“Oh and Easton, my hands are still wide open if you change your mind about becoming acquaintances. Having you as an ally would be better than having you as my enemy.” And with that, he leaves.
As soon as the door clicked shut, I threw the table over in annoyance. I was yelling at nothing in particular as I needed a way to release all my pent-up anger. Everything he had said was all to test me, to check if I was plotting against him. Everything at some point was false except Eleanor. I could see the threat in his eyes, that sick look of deranged possessiveness.
They were mates too, but she was mine, and I’d be damned if I let some stupid threat keep me away. I wouldn’t hesitate even if it meant a war breaking out.
“Easton, what are you going to do?” Laycon’s voice brought me out of my reverie, “He has been chosen by the alpha king as his favourite, which means what you said was right. They are obviously working together, and the alpha king would continue to turn a blind eye to any and all of his vices. I wonder what deal they must have signed.” Laycon ended in thought, slowly starting to pace in front of me.
“What is the next line of action, Easton? What are you going to do? We can’t hurt him now, or the alpha king will be pissed,” Laycon said almost in a yell, and I smiled widely, even though my jaw was still ticking in anger.
“We will go according to our plans.”
“Which is?”
“Destroying Zane Mackane.”
“And the alpha king?” he asked.
“It’s a war between his favourites. And, Laycon, do you have someone we can trust on the inside? I need some dirt on the alpha king, I need to know more about whatever their agreement is. You can handle that, right, buddy?” I asked, and he nodded, albeit hesitant, “Do be careful.” I added, and he huffed.
“You know I will… what about the troops?” he asked.
“Kill them all, make sure they are all killed except one. I need to find out everything about Zane. I can already feel the thrill of war, Laycon, it’s coming, and I will be sure to end it with the world at peace and my mate by my side.”