Chapter 22

Asher's POV...

There was a knock on the door. "May I come in, Alpha?" the person asked.

The voice sounded familiar, and I easily sensed that it was Smith. "Please come in. I have been waiting for you," I said to him.

Smith came in monotonously, and I could feel that something was wrong.

"What happened, Smith?" I asked.

As expected, Smith moved closer to me and sat down in front of me, looking tired.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Alpha. We searched all through the packs and the neighboring packs, but we couldn't find any clue regarding her. The only person who could help us was the maid who went missing, but we found her dead body lying on the ground," Smith explained.

I became thoughtful and wondered what to do next. In fact, I knew that Smith was not to blame for what had just happened. The girl was clever, and she had fooled us all. I thanked him and ordered him to go rest with the other soldiers.

I became desperate and lost in thought, thinking about how to get out of this mess I had put myself in. I was lost in confusion and had no idea or suggestions of where the girl could be hidden. I took a deep breath, thinking about who could help me out of this sad incident, which had become a burden to me. The only person my mind could draw me to was Malachi. Malachi was the best tracker I knew. He traveled all through the packs, both home and abroad. He had informants everywhere who gave him information about everything that was going on in every pack.

My mind drew me to Malachi, and I couldn't stand it anymore. I stood up immediately, took out my horse, and walked out of my chamber with two guards. I walked out dressed like a noble instead of being an alpha, and I was riding my horse slowly, heading to Malachi's house.

As I was on the way, I saw a small crowd gathered and chanting words in front of a small restaurant. I stopped immediately and ordered my guards to do the same, freeing themselves to do what they liked but to stay alert, as there might be new orders soon.

I moved closer to the small crowd and joined them, listening to them. I was lucky to see the crowd surrounding a historian. I moved closer to them and waited patiently for the story he intended to narrate.

The historian took a deep breath and said to the listeners, "Hmm, the alpha is a rugal and powerless. Everyone shares equal rights about something in the pack, both nobles and the poor. Do you know what that could be?" The historian asked.

I felt lost at the question and wondered what right the alpha shared with people. Others felt lost too and wondered what right the alpha shared with people.

"The right to kill any members of the pack, because without the members of the pack, there wouldn't be an alpha, and without the alpha, there wouldn't be the members of the pack. Everything is like running or no ruling," the man explained.

I found the explanation interesting and thought I could learn a lesson from him. I stayed concentrated where I was seated and listened to other people's comments.

"No, that's not it. The alpha can kill anyone at any time, but the alpha has no right against only other alphas, maybe from other packs," he commented.

Everyone brought their ideas, but nobody seemed right as the historian looked puzzled.

"None of you is right!" The historian said, then continued. "If you want to know the true answer, then pay 10 coins each, and I'll tell you the answer," he concluded.

Everyone became happy and relieved to know the full story. They all dropped some money, and the historian continued. Everyone gathered and stood expectantly, waiting for his response. The historian bowed his head and whispered into their ears.

"The alpha has no power over selecting their mate," the historian explained. I became thoughtful and started to get curious about the historian. I stood up from where I was seated and shouted angrily. My voice echoed through the whole scene, and everything went silent immediately.

"Do you by any chance know why the alpha can't choose their mate?" I asked, putting the historian with no other choice than to respond.

The historian was a bit surprised by the question and didn't know what to say.

"No, not really," he responded.

The whole crowd laughed at him, and everyone was so angry that they wanted to collect their money. The scene turned to chaos immediately as everything scattered, and people struggled to get their money back.

The crowd was disorganized a few minutes later, and everyone went back to their business. The historian moved closer to me angrily and questioned, "Who are you? Why do you have to spoil my business?" asked the historian.

I looked at the historian suspiciously and then responded, "If you knew who I was, would you actually be okay with it?" I responded.

The historian felt a bit confused, wondering who I was, and started guessing.

"Could you by any chance be a royal or close with the alpha?" asked the historian.

I looked tired and then said slowly to the historian, "Can you please come closer to me?" I asked.

The historian moved closer to me, and I said to him, "What if I'm the alpha?" I responded.

The historian broke down into laughter and acted unbelievably about what I had just said.

"How could you be the alpha? How could the alpha be in such a horrible place?" he responded.

I brought out a small royal seal immediately, which I had kept all along.

"Check this out," I threw the seal to him, and he grabbed it at once. His ego went away, and he became submissive.

"Please kill me, Alpha. I have committed a great crime," the historian said emotionally.

I held his hand and looked at him thoughtfully. "Indeed, you have committed a great crime by causing great damage to my people and breaking their hearts," I explained thoughtfully.

"Please kill me, Alpha. I admit to my sins," he responded.

My mind went back to the story, and I remembered the comments of a listener who mentioned that the alpha shares equal rights with the members of the pack by protecting them. I thought about the idea and decided to let him go.

"I'll let you go if you can do me a favor," I explained.

The historian was excited and thanked me, asking for what I wanted in return.

"I want you to quit telling stories and work as my spy instead. I want you to walk around the pack and inform me of everything that is happening in all the packs," I explained.

The historian felt excited and promised to fulfill my wish. He thanked me gratefully, and I stood up to continue my journey to Malachi's house. My guards joined me, and the journey to Malachi's house continued.