Nicolas POV
It was well past noon, and I rubbed my eyes, exhausted from not getting a single minute of sleep.
I crinkled my nose in disgust. Everywhere I went, I could still smell the stench of rogues, as if it followed me everywhere.
I was so exhausted, both mentally and physically, and I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I needed some desperate sleep after last night.
Yet, every time I closed my eyes, even for a moment, the awful assault continued to flash behind my eyes.
With a sigh, I dashed to my office, not having the patience to wait for the elevator to arrive. Ray helped me accelerate to the top floor in no time. He, too, wanted to get some rest.
Ronan sat in the lobby, waiting patiently. He knew me all too well. He knew I would come here first before returning to my quarters to get some sleep.
Ronan gave me a tired nod, which I returned, and he stood up to follow me silently to my office.
After pausing at my office door and letting out a long breath, I exhaustedly extended my hand to the door handle.
I came only to write a report about last night’s rogue attack. The council anticipates receiving the report by tomorrow morning.
Shaking my head, I pushed open the office door. I still found it hard to comprehend how a wonderful evening with Zara could turn into such a horrifying bloodbath.
I balled my fists and snarled inwardly. Even though I was still furious about ending my date so early with Zara, I had to protect my pack. The attack on my pack was planned. Everything was planned to the finest detail!
Rogues were spotted on the east side of the pack territory last night. The warriors were already on their way there, but a few minutes later, another group of rogues was seen coming in from the north and then the west.
I was running up and down with a group of warriors defending the pack. We did not know where they were going to cross the borders next.
“Are all the members of the pack accounted for?” I asked as I grabbed a clean shirt from a hanger and pulled my bloody one over my head. One warrior handed me a shirt as soon as he saw me entering the building.
“Yes,” Ronan replied, yawning as he did so. He was very busy counting the pack members.
“Are there any casualties?” I inquired as I walked over to the alcohol cabinet. Perhaps a stiff drink will make the horrifying scenes go away.
“No, Alpha,” Ronan answered, and I looked at him wearily.
“Are you certain?” I glanced over my shoulder and asked. “I recall innumerable body parts strewn throughout the territory.”
“That is true, Alpha,” he said, a teasing smile on his lips. “However, the body parts that you observed belonged to our rogue friends. The warriors honorably defended our pack, leaving no survivors behind. They are collecting the body parts as we speak and will have them disposed of.”
I nodded, poured the drink, raised the glass to my lips, and gulped down the golden liquid. The brutality of my warriors was my fault. I was the one who trained them that way. I ensured that they understood the importance of not taking prisoners.
“How many suffered injuries?” I inquired.
“We only had two pack members seriously injured, aside from scrapes and bruises,” Ronan replied. “One has a broken leg, and the other has a broken wrist. These pack members were taken to the hospital. The doctor is attending to them as we speak.”
I nodded slowly, gazing out of the office window. It could have ended worse. We came dangerously close to losing a pack member!
My knuckles turned white around the glass, and I had to concentrate on not breaking it in my hands.
I was amazed at how stupid people could be!
My thoughts turned to Terra, the one pack member who nearly lost her life.
The only thing seriously damaged during the attack was her ego, but at least she survived.
I sighed.
It was unbelievable to me that she would go out and look for me after being told to stay inside the safe house.
I muttered a growl as I recalled having to drag the rabid red-eye mutt away from her and toss him to the warriors to kill.
Terra was fortunate to only sustain scrapes and cuts. If I had not located her in time, things might have ended deadly.
“You ought to have allowed that rogue to tear her to shreds,” Ray growled. “It would have avoided many problems in the future.”
“Really?” His sour remarks startled me, and I snapped. “And how the hell do you expect me to explain that in my report?”
“That part could have been omitted from the report,” Ray said obstinately. “It would have gone unnoticed.”
“You are not serious,” I snarled. “You wanted me to lie in the report? I am not capable of doing that!”
“Why not?” he asked. “She has been stalking you like you are prey. The rogue would have taken care of your problem. It is not as though you had them arranged. Besides, she ignored your command.”
“I will not argue with you about Terra,” I yelled. “You know I would never-”
“Crap!” With a start, Ronan said and leaped to his feet. “I forgot! What time is it?”
“What is wrong?” Seeing Ronan holding his phone, I inquired. He seemed startled by something.
“Beta Levi called earlier,” he clarified. “Luna left the contract in the car last night.”
“Yeah, and?” I asked, observing him scrolling through his phone.
“I sent them a copy via email and assured them that I would forward the original contract with the driver later,” Ronan replied.
“Then what is the problem?” I asked while looking for my phone.
“I did not remember, and…”
Ronan let his thoughts drift, and I felt a chill go through me.
“Ronan? What’s going on?” I asked, realizing that my phone was in the charging port and switched off.
“You gave your phone to Ronan last night before you shifted,” Ray said, answering my silent thoughts.
“I cannot remember switching it off,” I said, squinting. I never switch the stupid device off.
“Perhaps the battery died on his way back, and he put it on charge for you,” Ray explained.
“Could be,” I replied. “However, Ronan knows the password and…”
“The pack was under attack,” Ray stated. “There was not enough time to wait and enter pin codes to switch the phone on again.”
“Maybe,” I said and redirected my focus to Ronan. “However, Ronan would have informed me that the phone had died.”
“Beta Levi tried to get hold of me numerous times,” Rona said, his body language shifting to worry.
“Then call him back and explain to him the situation,” I said, attempting to ignore the icy sensation that was starting to develop in the pit of my stomach.
Ronan nodded, and I saw him dial Levi’s number, but what we discovered next drove me over the edge.
****