VIKTOR
“Alpha!”
I turn towards the sound to see one of my wolves running to me, as well as the strange looks the humans give him at his shout.
“Alpha,” he gasps as he reaches me.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I snap at him, even as I bring Jhenelle’s swing to a standstill. “Don’t you realise there are humans around us? Why are you shouting like that?”
“My apologies, alpha. It is just…”
“Just what?” I demand.
“One of the alphas… the missing ones, the ones that you went with to the coalition…”
“What about them?”
“One of them has been found. He was being chased and he crossed into our territory.”
“Where is he now?”
“At the pack clinic. He was in bad shape.”
“I see. Thank you, Smith. You may return.”
“What is wrong, Louis?” Jhenelle asks as he walks away, her intelligent eyes fixed on me.
“It is…”
“Adult business?” She asks with a pout. “I am not stupid you know. You can tell me things.”
“Of course, you are not,” I say with a smile. “You are an intelligent girl, mature for her own age. Which is why I hope you can understand that we need to go back to the pack. Some issues have come up and we need to handle them. Can you understand that?”
“Hmm, I can. As long as you promise we can come out another time,” she says.
“Of course. You have my word.”
“Okay, then.”
I give her a smile as I lift her into my hands and head back to the picnic blanket where Rowan and Rina are sitting.
From the corner of my eyes, I see Andre, Lisa, and Alden hurrying back from different directions.
“What is going on, Viktor?” Rowan asks as soon as I reach them. “I heard something about missing alphas?”
“One of the alphas that had planned to ambush the settlement has been found,” I tell her. “Apparently, someone was chasing him and he ran into my pack.”
“Oh,” she murmurs. “Is this going to be a problem?” She asks
“I don’t know. I guess we will have to see him to know for sure. I, for one, am curious as to how he survived that madness.”
“All right, then. Come on, let’s pack up.”
The ride back to the pack is quiet and contemplative.
I try thinking of the worst scenario that could happen with this arrival.
It will be one missing alpha against mine.
For anyone who would want to cause problems *cough cough, Dominic* this would be an opportunity.
But I don’t see how that would happen.
He would have to accuse her of attacking them, and he would need proof, thanks to the support she has.
It is going to be hard.
Of course, they could play it off as if she got rid of the evidence but…
Oh, all this is complicated.
“Don’t think too much,” she whispers from my side as she places her hand in mine. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Okay?”
“Hmm.”
We arrive at the pack not too long after and I, Rowan, and Alden head towards the pack clinic.
“Where is he?” I demand from the head healer as soon as I walk in.
“I will take you to him,” she says as we begin walking through the hallways.
We arrive at a door where two wolves are standing by the door, guarding the entrance
“Alpha,” they greet as they make way for us to walk in.
The room is a simple, minimalist space with the walls painted a light yellow colour, while the floor appears dull in grey. A single window allows natural light to filter in, casting a warm glow throughout the room. Dominating the centre of the space is a hospital bed, surrounded by beeping and whirring machines.
In it is Alpha Donald, lying in the bed, heavily bruised and bandaged, with a swollen face littered with cuts and scrapes. His eyes are closed, and his breathing is laboured as his chest rises and falls.
One of his wrists is secured to the bed railing with silver metal handcuffs while he is covered by a thin blanket with a hospital gown peeping over it. Tubes and wires connect him to the monitoring machines, which keep track of his vital signs and administer medication. The air is filled with the scent of antiseptic and disinfectant, and the only sounds are the steady beeping of the machines and the man’s strained breaths. A bedside table holds a water pitcher and a call button within easy reach. In the corner, there is a worn and faded plastic chair.
The healers had really not gone out of their way to make him comfortable.
“Do you recognize him?” Rowan asks as we look over him.
“Hmm, alpha Donald. Weak, passive, goes with the crowd kind of guy. He was an easy target to draw into their mess.”
“Hmm, how did he survive then?”
“No idea. Let’s ask him.”
“Wait what? He is asleep- Viktor!”
I reach over and slap the man across his face.
“What are you doing?!” She exclaims. “He is unconscious.”
“I know, that is why I am trying to wake him up.”
“By slapping him? The man is clearly hurt!”
“You do realise that if their plan had worked out, he would have had no qualms in killing all of you, right?”
“That is beside the point. The man is already down and unconscious, you can’t hurt him”
“Not unconscious,” Andre says.
“What?” She asks as we both turn to him.
He nudges his head towards the bed. “He is awake,” he says.
We both turn towards him and see that his eyes are in fact wide open and staring at us in fear.
The moment our eyes connect, his heartbeat starts racing and he tries to get away from us, only to be stopped by the silver cuffs on his wrist.
That doesn’t help him in calming down in any way.
“Please…” he begins hyperventilating. “Please .. don’t hurt me. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t do anything. I am sorry!”
“What is it?” I ask in a bored tone. “You dint6nean to do what exactly? Or what didn’t you do? Or what exactly are you sorry about?”
“Viktor!” Rowan snaps at me. “Stop antagonising him!”
“I didn’t do anything!”
“Still,* she growls at me before turning to him. “How do you feel, alpha Donald?”
“I… I…”
“You were found unconscious at the border of the Vale pack,” she tells him. “Do you remember how you got there?”
“I… I was being chased. By a wolf.”
“Do you remember who it was?”
“No.”
“Can you tell us how you survived the…”
“Attack you lot started,” I finish with a growl
Donald winces at the reminder and turns away to avoid my gaze.
“I… I am sorry about that,” he whispers. “I didn’t know they were going to attack you. It was supposed to be an ambush in the coalition, I-”
“That… really doesn’t put you in anyone’s good books,” I tell him. “Just tell us how you survived,” I demand.
“I fell. Into a ditch. I don’t know how long I was there, but when I came to, almost everyone was dead. I managed to pull myself out and head into the town before I passed out. The next time I woke up, I was in the home of some humans.”
“Are they the ones that bruised you up like that?”
“No,” he responds. “I was unconscious for a long time and they helped as much as they could. When I was strong enough to move, I thanked them for their help and left.”
“How long were you unconscious?” Rowan asks
“Weeks.”
“We- weeks?!” She exclaims with surprise before sending me a glance.
Told you he was a weak one.
“What happened next?” I ask.
I began making my way towards my pack,” he says. “I had managed to cover good ground before… before I was attacked. A wolf recognized me and came after me. Knocked me unconscious. When I came to, I was being dragged towards another destination.”
“And then what?”
“I broke away, or at least I tried to. We fought, he wounded me, I wounded him, I managed to get away. But he has been chasing me ever since. I don’t know what his plan was, he didn’t talk much. He was just certain that his alpha was going to be pleased with him for funding me.”
“His Alpha?” I ask in surprise. “It wasn’t a rogue?”
“No, definitely not a rogue,” he responds with a wince. “He was a pack wolf. I managed to break away and escape once he stopped for a break along the river.”
A sneaking suspicion starts to make its way into my head as I begin to connect the dots.
“How long from where you broke away did it take you to get here?” I ask.
“Uh… I am not sure. It wasn’t more than thirty minutes.”
“Right. One more question,” I say. “Do you happen to know where this wolf was taking you to?”
“Yes. It was the Obsidian pack. Lead by Dominic Valor.”