Alpha Damian hurriedly approached the garden, stepped inside, and took a deep breath. His eyes were fixed on the blue lily buoyant flowers in front of him.
He began pacing back and forth, unable to get his head around the particular ambiguous thought.
With a deep breath, he drew his lower lips into his mouth, trying to find out why he was being disturbed.
He slowly tilted his head backward, losing himself in thought.
The silence around him became thicker, with the only sounds being the rhythmic beating of his heart and the slow wind blowing the flowers.
A gentle nudge on his shoulder drew him out of his thoughts.
He then batted his eyelashes and exhaled the breath he had not realized he was holding.
“Mother!” He called, perplexed; his mother had never stepped foot in the garden, even after his father died.
He was astounded to see her standing there, her gaze fixed on him.
“What exactly are you doing here?” She inquired, brushing aside his curious expression.
“I came to clear my thoughts,” he muttered, tearing his gaze from her face.
“Clear your thoughts… Is everything okay? ” She queries, her voice laced with concern.
He hesitated, not wanting to disturb his mother. “I was just lost in thoughts,” he insists, concealing his disturbed expression.
“Your father used to love this garden, even though I never stepped foot in it until today.” She spoke softly, almost as if she were whispering.
“Uhm” He moaned as he examined the garden more closely. His eyes were drawn to a strange-looking flower; it was a wolfsbane plant, which he recognized but found strange due to its cup-shaped petals.
“Mother, Have you ever come into contact with wolfsbane before?” He questioned, not taking his gaze away from the flower. Fear was creeping into his mind, even though he is an Alpha, and Alphas are supposed to be brave.
An iota of fear remained in his heart. He knew how many flower species were in the garden and had never come across a wolfsbane.
“How do you expect me not to have encountered Wolfsbane? It was discovered on your father’s pillow, where he passed away.” She replied, a sorrowful smile spreading across her lips. Her thoughts drifted to when he died.
***********
“Your husband has requested to see you.” Her eyes widened as she rushed towards the room where he was being treated.
She was earlier escorted out of the room by the current elders and the royal doctor, who stated that she had no right to see her husband on the sick bed because it demonstrated weakness. She pushed open the door and barged in.
When she saw how weak and pale her husband was, she burst into tears.
” Don’t…” Her voice became stuck in her throat, and all she could utter was a whimper, which drew the attention of the royal doctor, who glared at her. His eyes were full of disgust and hostility.
She did not mind the stare because she was used to it; she gave a silent scoff and moved closer to her husband, The Alpha, taking a seat beside him and taking his hands into hers.
“You requested my presence,” she said, barely above a whisper.
His quivering lips parted slightly; he was trying desperately to make a statement, but his voice kept fading. He tried to raise his head, but his strength failed.
Seeing how much pain her husband was going through, she raised his hands to herself and looked around for a pillow to help him balance when she noticed the withered petals on the pillow.
Fear crept into her chest, causing her regular breathing to become shallow. She fixed her gaze on the petals, trying to convince herself that this was not what she had in mind. Her head snapped in recognition.
” A Wolfsbane!”
“Mother,” Alpha Damian called, noticing how lost his mother was.
“Huh?” She blinked rapidly and paused in her statement, attempting to collect her thoughts.
“I do not believe this wolfsbane means anything because it is still fresh.” The Alpha’s mother stated that even if she was not sure what she was saying, she had to keep things under control by not exaggerating the problems that a single petal of wolfsbane can cause.
Alpha Damian’s expression changed to a curious one, heaved a sigh, and folded his hands behind his back. His eyes squinted as he sensed danger approaching, prompting him to raise his head, only to be taken aback by a minor piercing on his shoulder. An arrow flew past him.
He squeezed his eyes in disbelief, not caring about himself, and rushed towards his mother to help her out of the garden as arrows flew in from all directions.
“Guards,” he yelled, hitting the door with his body before pushing his mother inside.
As the guards rushed into the garden, he drew his sword, bent down, and crawled toward the bell alert, which was scattered throughout the pack.
Without waiting, he hit his fist on the bell. A loud alarm rang throughout the pack. After ensuring that the alarm was heard everywhere, he slowly raised himself, as if by voodoo, as the raining arrows came to a halt, which amazed him.
He looked around, puzzled, and was about to take a step when he sighed and saw a bullet coming towards him, which flew past him before he could react.
The searing heat tore through his flesh, causing him to let out a low, mournful growl. His eyes caught a glimpse of the piercing skin.
Fortunately for him, the bullet did not pierce his skin, allowing him to heal quickly as the skin around it began to knit together.
An Alpha, Beta, Gamma, or any high-ranking wolf can heal more easily.
His guards with shields rushed to his side and helped him up, and the remaining ones followed behind, keeping an eye out for any attacks before rushing into the pack house and slamming the entrance door shut.
“Alpha Carlos has arrived,” a maid announced, her voice steady despite the fear emanating from her tone. “He is sitting in the visitor’s quarters in the meeting room.”
Involuntarily, His brow furrowed as he wriggled free of the guards’ grip. ” Carlos?! What is he doing here?” He inquired, and the maid bowed her head and wiggled her hands to demonstrate her unawareness.
“That sneaky bastard” He sneered, “Inform Gamma Loan about the attack; we need to prepare,” and stormed towards the meeting room.