Anger quickly consumed him, and his hands gripped the edge of the paper tightly, nearly ripping it off with his fingers, which were piercing and creating a hole in it.
“I believe you should allow us to read the content of the letter, Alpha.” Beta Frank proposed, gently rising from his seat and approaching Alpha Damian, who was already quivering, fury coursing through his veins.
When Beta Frank arrived at Alpha Damian’s side, he arched his knees and gently pulled the paper from Alpha Damian’s grip. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the contents.
” War declared. Brace yourself up.” He read aloud, uncontrollable laughter escaping his lips, his eyes glancing over the paper in perplexity.
” What type of notice is this? Are they kidding us?” Beta Frank muttered, holding up the paper for everyone to see.
The room’s tension and heavy breathing had been broken up by laughter.
“They also pinned something with the paper, but we took it off because no one understood what it was all about,” Lucas, the young warrior mumbled, reaching into his back pocket and forcefully pulling out a short arrow, taped at the end with a blue feather.
Mavana’s eyes widened in surprise, her breathing became ragged and unexpectedly slow; even in the darkest of nights, she would recognize it.
” Azani,” she muttered, gesturing for the warrior to come forward. She sprung up on her feet and snatched the short arrow from his hand.
Her gaze was fixed on the blue feathers; it was not a common message sent to everyone, as this means war, a war that no one is allowed to settle.
“This is not good. She blurted out, motioning for Lucas to excuse them.
“What exactly do you mean? Is it not just an arrow? Maybe it is for decoration; who knows.” The Civil Elder scoffed and glared at Luna Mavana.
“Sending Azani is the most covert way to signal a major war; no one would suspect, and no one is allowed to intervene. They are planning something bad,” she said, her thoughts disorganized with various problems racing through her mind.
“Sending Azani is the most disguised way to send a signal, blah blah blah.” The Agricultural and Tilling Elder, who had been suspiciously silent, rose to his feet and strode toward the window.
“Let’s be realistic, How certain are we that there is no spy among us? I mean, the Crest Pack would not simply want to fight us; something must have happened.” He carried on, folding his arms with no idea.
” Carlos is a cunny human; even if our kingdom is at peace and harmony, he will undoubtedly find a way to cause trouble, and do not forget that nominations for the Alpha King position will begin soon. He is looking for an easy way,” Gamma Loan said, diverting attention to himself.
The taunting elders’ sneers quickly filled the room, particularly the relation elder, whose insides were boiling with rage and fury. ” Azani this, Azani that; war this, nominations that. How do we fight and defeat the outsiders if we are divided, I mean betrayals are more than the truthful ones?” He smirked.
His eyes shifted to Gamma Loan, and their gazes locked. Gamma Loan realized that the elder’s words were directed at him.
He swallowed hard, his heart racing with anxiety as he looked into Alpha Damian’s soul, praying in his mind that he did not suspect anything.
“If I have to deal with betrayals first, it will undoubtedly start with you,” Alpha Damian responded, his expression remaining neutral.
The air in the room changed instantly.
Beta Frank, concerned with his furrowed brow, looked over at the nervous Gamma, trying to figure out why he was so nervous.
The Civil Elder only scowled at them, disappointed, and crossed his arms, wondering why the relation elder deviated from their original plan.
Luna Mavana cleared her throat, feeling tense and concerned.
“If I may ask, why are you staring at Gamma Loan? You can insinuate your betrayals without pointing fingers at innocent people.” Beta Frank smiled nervously, hoping it was not what he expected.
The room became tense as murmurs and whispers broke out among the elders, both taunting and neutral.
“I think you should quit trying to cause an issue where there is none,” Gamma Loan muttered, attempting to brush his emotions under the carpet.
“I knew you would deny it; I was teasing you.” The Relation Elder scoffed and rested his back against the chair.
“I believe Relation Elder has gone rogue because this was not part of the plan.” Civil Elder whispered, and the two elders beside him nodded their agreement.
” I do not think it is a good idea to escalate a vanity issue; we have serious issues on the ground, and the only thing you could do was sow doubt in everyone’s minds. After all of this childish behavior, you, Elders, will start complaining about the Alpha not discussing things with… ” Her speech was cut short by sudden screams that filled the pack house, followed by stomping footsteps in and out of it.
“Fire, activate the fire alarm, alert everyone.” A voice yelled from the outside.
The fire alarm sounded, and the pack members dashed out of the multi-purpose hall, adrenaline coursing through their veins as they all sprinted home.
Panic set in as the meeting room devolved into chaos. Alpha Damian jumped up and dashed out to investigate the fire, his heart racing.
“Azani, Carlos!” Luna Mavana mumbled and followed Beta Frank and Gamma Loan as they rushed out with the Alpha, her mind preoccupied with the pack’s safety. She suddenly froze in her tracks, the blaring noise oozing from the meeting room making her twist her face in anger.
Her fist clenched as she ground her teeth in fury, and the disgusting thoughts of the elders flooded in. “How could they be so careless and inconsiderate?” She mumbled, pulling herself away from their disgusting thoughts. She turned her head backward and glared at them, particularly the Civil Elder.
“Karna is real.” She mouthed and walked away, her soul filled with rage toward him.
“Assemble all warriors; we are under attack!” Gamma Loan yelled, his voice echoing throughout the packhouse.
The warriors of the pack sprung into action almost immediately. They marched out of the pack house with a quick, determined demeanor, ready to defend their pack.
Just then, a voice from a megaphone broke through.
” Hello, everyone. This is Alpha Carlos. “We are waiting at the pack’s field,” he exclaimed.
Alpha Damian’s eyes darkened as he rushed into the weapon room and pulled out his sword, which bore his name imprinted on it.
He felt his hair stand up, anxiety washed over him, and his mind was disturbed as if something bad would happen today, but he pushed it aside to focus on the war ahead of them.
He grabbed his warrior outfit and marched out of the weapon room.
“Luna Mavana, let the royal guards know that the underground railroad is the only way in. They should keep a close eye on it because the rest of the pack will be coming in droves.” In a hurry, he gave the order and marched out of the pack house.
Luna Mavana let out a quiet sigh, her thoughts racing as she kept her eyes fixed on the doorway until Alpha Damian was nowhere to be seen.
She mouthed the words, “I feel strange,” and yelled for the royal guards to believe her.
“I am going out there, give me your sword.” One of the royal guards widened his eyes in shock as she spoke to him.
He muttered, arching his neck, “I can not do that, Luna. It is against the tradition for a Luna to hold the sword assigned to a royal guard.”
She hurried to the weapon room, ripped off the bottom of her gown, and turned it into a shirt. “I will get one myself then, lock all the gates immediately, I will go through the underground railroad,” she replied.
She picked up a sword and trousers and got ready for combat.
After putting her hair in a ponytail, she left the room, sneaking toward the prison room where the Royal doctor was segregated as she caught a glimpse of the Civil and the Relation Elder.
She dismissed it and asked a guard to lead her to the underground railroad entrance, which was the document room of the pack.
Headstrong, she entered the entrance and made her way into the underground railroad.