LARA’S POV
“Oh my God, you said what?” I gasped with my eyes wide open as I listened to Scarlet.
Is she finally going crazy or has she been drunk from the stupidity of power? Going into a war against the three brother Packs? No, she must be joking, there is no way that I am hearing her correctly.
“You heard me, Lara” she replied as a matter of fact.
“Okay, you are thinking of joining forces with Dark Age, right? But we know that Dark Age is Lucifer itself and should not be trusted” Rich asked.
We all gathered around her, listening to what she had to say.
“But then, the Chamlar has suffered a great deal in the hands of the brother Packs. Alpha Ray, her family, and alpha Jake. It might not be easy to stand with them” Landon said.
Kendra and Mia are yet to recover from their shock. They looked on at Scarlet without as much as a word.
“Not Dark Age” Rich shook his head in disapproval.
“It is a hard choice” Landon lamented.
I wanted to scream out a big no. Even if we camp with Dark Age, it still does not guarantee victory. What if the brother Packs win this war against Dark Age, which is most likely to happen, what then would become our fate? The brother Packs would come against us in full rage especially if they should discover that Scarlet is behind this.
And then what would become of us, what will become of all we have struggled to build?
“You may have to think this through, Chamlar,” I said softly.
“I am decided, Lara. I am going to the rogues” she revealed.
In shock, I moved back a little, with my lower lips gripped by my teeth. I wanted to scream but could not. Every other person was surprised too, all of us wondering what has gone wrong with Scarlet.
“Now I think you are joking, right?” Landon asked. Obviously, he was now in an even greater shock himself.
We have not come out from the first wave of shock, and now this. I wanted to grab Scarlet and scream some sense into her, but then, we still have to give her the benefit of doubt and listen to her first. Maybe she might have a considerable reason.
“I have thought about this through and through” she replied calmly.
“My Chamlar, we know how difficult it is to lead and take decisions. But you might still have to give this another thought” Landon appealed.
“I want you all to believe in me. please trust me on this” she looked into each of our eyes, begging us to see reasons with her.
“You might have to explain better to us, Chamlar” I requested.
She inhaled in relief. “At least I am not all alone. Diamond Cut Pack did not come to request or beg. They don’t even want to know what we feel about all of this. They came to tell us what to do, and they pledge war if we refuse. We are not weak, and there is no way we would allow ourselves to be used as their pawn. I want to show them what mere words fail to say” she paused.
“And the rogues, why them?” Landon asked.
She continued. “You all agree that a pact with Dark Age is a bad choice. So I will be going to the rogues instead”
“Okay…” Rich took a deep breath. “You will send words to the rogues about your intention, right?” Rich eyes. His eyes flickered as he waited for her response.
We all waited for the response with our hearts in our mouths. We knew Scarlet, she is not one to mince words. If she says that she was going to the rogues, then she was literally speaking, going to the rogues.
But deep down, we hoped that this has a different meaning this time. It would be a death wish to ever consider going down north to the rogues.
“No, Rich, I will be going to the rogues myself” she revealed.
“Wha…” I screamed and covered my mouth almost immediately. What else is she waiting to release? She had filled us with so many terrible plans just this morning.
She took a glance at me before continuing. “Please you all should listen to me first. I will need every one of your supports on this” she requested.
We all nodded in agreement, but deep within us, we have agreed not to give our support to anything that would cost her life.
She smiled faintly. “I will be going in disguise. I still doubt what the intention of the rogues is so I will be heading up to the north to find out more about them and their intent. If it turns out that they have any hidden agenda, I will not spare even a single one of them” she said.
“Okay, that seems fair enough. So when do we leave?” Rich asked.
She glanced at Rich and then at me as if she wanted to say something that neither of us was expecting to hear. “I won’t be going with you. I will have Landon and Chamlee join me and maybe a few slaves. I will need you to remain here with the ladies and keep them safe”
Rich was enraged, and he made it obvious that he was not going to succumb to such an arrangement. He dragged his shirt off his body with so much force that it left some marks on his body, and stamped his feet hard on the ground in revolt.
“You are not leaving my sight for even a second, Scarlet” he yelled.
Scarlet growled, she shot him a look, at first, it was of fury, but suddenly it subsided to that of care. She inhaled and closed her eyes for a second as she tried to steady her nerves.
“I will let that slide, Rich,” she said.
“And I will die before a hurt comes to you” he retorted fearlessly.
It was as though the rogues were already before Scarlet, and Rich was eager to fight them with the last drop of his blood. He roared, his eyes bloodshot and blood dropped from the side of his lips. Apparently, he had bitten too hard on his lips in the bid to curtail his temper before the Chamlar.
Scarlet stood. Overtaken by Rich’s outburst, her hands clenched into a fist. “Look at you, Rich, what do you think? That I would act without thinking”
We all watched the scene in front of us in fear. Scarlet might not want to admit it, but she has always respected Rich. She has never been angry at him but now it looks like it is about to get… bloody.
Scarlet took some dangerous steps closer to Rich, but he did not withdraw or react to her. Nevertheless, the fact of his disapproval was evident all over him.