ROWAN
“Of course, it is fucking Dominic again,” Viktor mutters as he paces away from Alpha Donald. Andre had to leave. Apparently, something urgent had also come up.
“It is always him. Why can’t the guy just take a fucking chill pill?!” he continues to rant.
I snort a little laugh at that.
Dominic?
Chill?
That is ridiculous.
“You think this is funny?” He asks as he turns towards me with an incredulous look on his face. “The man knows about him!” He says pointing at the man on the bed, who is staring at him with wide scared eyes.
How can a wolf be so… ugh.
“No,” I say as I approach him. “It is not funny. It’s Just… you saying Dominic should take a chill pill is like saying a snake howls. Impossible. He is always so uptight and unbearable.”
“Well, you have got that part right,” he mutters.
“But,” I continue. “I don’t think he knew about this, at least when he was here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, if he had an alpha in his hands why didn’t he mention it?” I ask before turning to Alpha Donald. “How long did the wolf have you?”
“A few weeks,” he answers
“Did you ever see him contact his alpha? I mean, the mind link wouldn’t work from that distance.”
“No, he never did.”
“So,” I say, turning back to Viktor. “If there is any chance of Dominic finding out…”
“It would have to be within these two days,” Viktor finishes. “When they were in close proximity to the pack.”
“Exactly.”
“In that case, he must be in pins and needles now, with him missing.”
“He might act recklessly,” I add.
“We could use this to our advantage,” he whispers.
“Yeah,” I say in the same volume. “We just have to play our cards right.”
“Wha- what are you two discussing over there?” the man calls and both of us turn as one to look at him.
His eyes are wide and fearful, and I am once again struck by how weak and unassuming he appears.
“Are you sure, he is an alpha?” I mutter to Viktor.
“Unbelievably so,” he responds.
“That is just sad,” I say before moving to the man. “Allow me to introduce myself,” I tell him as I stand above his bed. “I am Rowan Blaze, leader of the Winter Wolf Coalition.”
“Wh… wha… what?!” He exclaims. “You… you are…”
“Yeah,” I say. “I am the one you were coming to ambush. Without any just reason.”
“I… I …I didn’t… we… I didn’t want to!” He exclaims. “They told me it was the right thing to do. That… joining them would lift my pack to a higher prestige… I-”
“So, you were aware of what was going on?” Viktor demands with a growl. “Were you also aware that I was lied to? Did they force you to do that too?”
“I didn’t know they were planning to attack you!” He shouts, panic clear in his face. “I only found out about that when you got angry and tried to leave. I had no idea why they were planning!”
“And now?* he demands. “Do you still have the desire to attack the Coalition?”
“No! Goddess, no! I just want to go home. I am tired.”
I and Viktor exchange a glance at that before looking back at him.
“I will send a message to you pack about your being alive,” he tells the man. “In the meantime, you take your rest. No harm will come to you here.”
“Thank you,” he says with obvious relief as he settles down.
Like, I can literally see as the tension bleeds out of him and he closes his eyes
Really?
You are going to be comfortable in the pack if the man you tried to kill?
How did this man survive this long as an alpha?
Did no one have the guts to challenge him?
Or are all of them weak like him?
We both make our way to the door only stopping when he calls out to Viktor.
“Alpha Thorn?”
“Yes?” Viktor answers as he turns to look at him.
I… I am sorry,” he says with a contrite look. “For the attack and the… ambush. And thank you. For everything.”
“Hmm, don’t mention it.”
With that, we make our way out of the room.
“How long has he been an Alpha?” I ask as we make our way out.
“Almost two decades. Why do you ask?”
“How has he not been challenged?”
“His mate.”
“Huh?”
“His mate is the direct opposite of him. Dominant, smart, ruthless… she is the one keeping him safe.”
“Really? Then why didn’t she do that and prevent him from going along with the ambush?”
“You heard him, didn’t you? Glory for his pack. Even weak men have an ego problem.”
“Hmm, I suppose you have a point. So, what now?”
“I don’t know,” he answers. “I am going to have to inform the others about this new development and if we can ensure that Donald doesn’t change his mind, then we won’t have anything to worry about. In fact, we can use this to even bury Dominic the more.”
“Hmm, an alpha trying to improve another alpha,” I mutter. “They would all freak out.”
“Exactly,” he says. “Hell, they might even turn against him and try to take him out.”
“You mean an assassination?”
“No, I mean a duel. We can call him out and make him face trial by combat.”
“What if he wins?”
“He can’t beat all of us, Rowan. That would be ridiculous.”
“All of you? Why?”
“His actions or the actions of his wolf would be seen as a threat and an insult to all alphas, and as such, he will have to defend himself from all of us.”
“In that case,” I say. ” There is absolutely no way he would win. He will die.”
“Exactly. And if lady luck is on our side, that is what will happen. Now, I just need to-”
“Alpha,” Andre calls and we both look to see him walking towards us.
“Andre? What is it?”
“We found the wolf. The one who tried to kidnap the other alpha. He is in the dungeons.”