ROWAN.
He isn’t here.
Right now, I am standing close to the entrance of the living room, watching as all the alphas mingle with each other.
With one notable figure missing
Dominic.
“What is he playing at?” I mutter.
“Probably his way of disrespecting Viktor,” a familiar voice responds
I look over and see Rina walking towards me.
“Disrespect? If that is his plan, to not show up just to spite Viktor, then he just created a mess for himself. But I doubt it.”
“Hmm? Why?”
“Dominic wants this war,” I tell her. “For as long as I have known him, he has always been obsessed about glory. About putting Viktor in his supposed place. This council is meant to disrupt that plan, why would he not show up? He will have to if he wants to move forward with it.”
“So, what isn’t he here?” She asks as she leans against the wall.
“I don’t know. And Franky, I don’t like it.”
“Are you that eager to see him again?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoff at her. “I may not see him for the rest of my life and it still won’t be enough. No, I am not eager to see him, but I would rather have him in a place where I can watch him, than him in the shadows, planning god knows what.”
“Hmm, fair point.”
I look over and see her watching the wolves with a slightly distracted look, her mind definitely far away from them.
“What is up with you anyway?” I ask. “Why aren’t you with Lisa?”
She scoffs at that
“Lisa. I don’t even know where to start with her.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know! I don’t know what the fuck happened but she has been acting all strange and all that. It is upsetting.
Right.
Lisa is still avoiding her
“And you know what?” She continues.
“What?”
“This weird behavior started when we got into this pack. Something spooked her. Someone.”
“Why would you think that?” I ask. “Have you ever had dealings with the Vale pack before?”
“What?! No. Why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know. You are the one who said something spooked her. If you two have never come in contact with this pack, what could possibly have spooked her?”
“That is the thing! I don’t know!”
“Have you tried talking to her?”
“I saw her earlier but the moment she sighted me, she turned the other way. She is avoiding me.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“See what?”
“She clearly has something in her mind. Why don’t you give her some space to think it through? She will definitely talk to you about it once she is ready.”
“Ugh. I know. Of course, I know that. It’s just… it has been a while, a long while since any of us engraved this way.”
“What way?”
“Cagey. The last time she leaves like this, I found out that she was been wooed by our old as fuck alpha. And well… you know how that ended.”
“With you killing him and becoming rogues?”
“Shhh. Not so loud. And I want the one that likes him. It was his Luna.”
“With your help.”
“She was the one that dealt the killing blow.”
“And you helped stage his body-”
‘Okay! Why don’t we end this conversation here? Viktor is heading this way,” she mutters before leaving.
I let out a breath of air as she leaves.
“That was close,” I mutter.
“What was close?” He asks as he reaches me.
“Rina was asking about Lisa and I had to distract her with something else.”
“Hmm. I wish those two will just get over themselves and just talk.”
“Yeah, me and you both. What do you say about trapping them both in a room for a whole day?”
“That is a great plan,” he answers. “The only problem is, that the only place with doors to hold back a wolf like Andre is the dungeon. And I am not about to lock my beta up there.”
“Yeah… that is a no from me too.”
“I guess we will just have to let them figure it out themselves,” he says with a sigh.
“I guess,” I respond with a smile before looking towards the gathered wolves. “What is the vibe in there?”
“Tense,” he responds. “You have become quite famous and Dominic’s faction is really unnerved about how the others are relaxed with your presence. Or at least accepting of it. But don’t worry, it is just a small faction.”
“Speaking of Dominic,” I say. “He isn’t here.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“Do you have any idea what he is playing at?” I ask.
“No. No clue. And there is no point worrying about it, worry won’t help us. Instead, we can use his absence to our advantage.”
“What do you mean? How can we use it to our advantage.”
“You.”
“Me? Viktor, please. Speak plainly.”
“It is time for you to mix with the others. Show everyone who you are and how uninterested in a war you are.”
“Would it help?”
“It certainly wouldn’t hurt, would it?”
I give a small nod before allowing him to lead me into the room where we are immediately cut off by an alpha.
“You must be Rowan,” the man says. “The acclaimed Winter Wolf.”
“Alpha Black,” I greet, immensely grateful for Viktor’s crash course on the who is who in our world. “I have heard much about you.”
“You have?” He asks in surprise. “Like what?”
And then I get into the intricacies of the gossip of our world.
It goes on like that for a while.
Some of the wolves, after seeing the easy flow of conversation with the man, also come up to strike up a conversation and it lasts a while.
I see Viktor about to give a signal for lunch when a commotion outside catches everyone’s attention and the little fucker walks in.
Dominic.
“My apologies, everyone,” he crows as she swaggers in. “I had some important business to attend to.”
“More important than a meeting that was scheduled a week ago?” Sven calls from his position across the other room. “That is tacky even for you or is it that you don’t know how to manage your time?”
“That is not what I meant. I- watch as Dominic’s gaze flicks across the room at the statement before cutting off as his gaze comes to rest on me.
Game time.