Chapter 56 ANOTHER ONE DOWN
VANCE'S POV
In the dead of the night, another pain hit both Sianna and me. This one was searing but ended quickly. Another one had died seconds ago, his death swift. I scanned through the pack link to see if I could find anyone who could be a suspect in the recent murder, but nothing. Their thoughts were clean. No doubt that the killer had military instincts.
Sianna groaned, but thankfully she wouldn't have to endure much of the painful loss. I looked down at her and kissed her forehead. She threw her hands around me and slept. This was her way of telling me to stay in bed with her.
I let the allure of her scent vaporize into my nostrils to appease me. I brushed my lips over her neck, wanting to feel the mark I gave her. She smiled and positioned her leg over mine. I was genuinely content, though I had to deal with the pack's main issue. Cleopatra's memory was clean, she was not guilty. Nonetheless, it didn't mean that her rogues were innocent. It was conceivable that one or a few of them at the camping site could be attacking my warriors.
A swifter decision would be to annihilate them all immediately, but with Cleopatra's position, it would affect my Gamma as well. And so the investigations continue.
Three of my best elites were monitoring Sianna daily. They reported nothing out of the ordinary. I was hoping that Miriam could have more insight to help me find the perpetrator. However, she reported nothing.
I grew up knowing that the werewolf society was fundamentally about territory, power, and frequent wars. As the High Alpha, revamping the system would take time. Rogues were the first step toward the purging.
The danger of the shadow remained unknown to Sianna because she would stress out a lot about the truth. I carried that burden for her.
"Blayne, what's the status report?" I sent through the mind-link.
"It's Lincoln, another one of our warriors. He was found dead within proximity of the last incident. I just took his body to the morgue." Blayne heaved a long sigh.
"Were the secret elites in their positions at the camping site of the mountain rogues?"
"Yes, Vance. They remain in place."
"So it's safe to say that this is not the actions of the rogues. Someone is simply using the opportunity to strike our warriors." An outsider would be easily detected and apprehended, but an insider was elusive, using connections to slip in and out of places.
"I agree. This attacker is one of ours." Blayne hissed in anger. "What we need is a web to draw this criminal out."
A web was an attack strategy where we have warriors in that formation across the entire territory. They maintained illiberal with consistent communication to ensure that surveillance was tight.
Any suspicious movement throughout the night is detected and easily monitored. Since my warriors were targeted. Each patrolling officer was going to have another one secretly watching over him but without their knowledge. If another pack member died under this strategy, we would narrow it down to one of the elites being the culprit.
"Make the arrangements. Luna will deal with Lincoln's family tomorrow. Let's meet in the office at sunrise."
I closed the mind-link, snuggled closer to my wife, and tried to force myself back to sleep.
I left home at 5 am exactly to start the early morning. On my way to the pack house, I spotted a familiar female jogging in front of me on the sidewalk. It was strange that she was doing her run in the neighborhood instead of the forest or at the training grounds.
I slowed my GMC Hummer and rolled down my window. She had Bluetooth earphones in her ears but when she glanced at the vehicle from her side view, she stopped to talk to me.
"Good morning, Alpha," She said seductively and unblocked her ears. There was a time when her sexual gestures would work but I was taken and devoted to my wife. Her large breast rose and fell as she breathed heavily. Her brown hair caught up in one to the top of her head.
"Is this a new trend?" She knew that I was referring to her jogging in the neighborhood.
"I do this once in a while. It's no big deal to change scenes." She said with the widest smile, licking her lips and folding them under.
"Are you training hard to make it into the Elites for the next selection?" The poor girl made it to the top fifteen and was cut. She was devastated but I encouraged her to not give up.
"Certainly, I will make you proud of me." She pulled a rag from her shorts pocket and dabbed along her cleavage area, pulling her yellow sports bra downward to reveal areas of her soft breast. I do not give attention to her provocative act as I feel no temptation or lust whatsoever.
I smiled. "You will do better as long as you train harder."
"Yes, Alpha. Maybe you could give me a few lessons when you pass through the training ground?" She bit her lips so that my eyes went to them. "Or some pointers."
"I only train elites," I stopped it there. "But how have you been?"
"Missing you," she said quickly with eyes that were supposed to flirt with me. "I know that you have your mate now but I miss our times. Nobody compares to you."
She was yet another person who fell in love when there was only a no-strings-attached sex, and I shrugged in disgust as I realized this. "It was good for things to come to an end, seeing that you might have developed feelings, that would have been problematic."
She frowned and said slowly, "You are the best man so don't blame me. Can't you give us one last night together? We never ended things."
"Finding a mate automatically ends things. Nothing else needs to be said. We were friends with benefits and I am aware that you rejected your mate. That was sad."
That took her by surprise and her frown grew. "H-how did you k-know that?"
"I hope you find a second chance mate soon. I wish you happiness, Chloe." Rolling up my window, I said lastly with a hint of provocation. "Don't dwell on things that will get your heart broken."
Her feelings were hurt but I warned her just like I warned the rest. Never fall in love with a man who downright tells you that he can't love you and not to expect it.
Looking through the rearview mirror, she was sitting on the ground in disbelief and despair, probably crying. I shook my head and drove on. Women like her could easily find comfort in the arms of another man. It's what they do and that's why it was hard to love them.
I never cared about what they felt for me. It was mindless fun and now I have all types of fun with my only woman. I drove on to the pack house with many things on my mind.
Blayne awaited my arrival at the front. My eyes narrowed in wonder because it specified that something disagreeable was on his mind.
"Can we release Cleo? The cells are cold at night, there's mildew and Zoe misses her." Blayne pleaded as we stepped into my
office.
Duke was already there and while observing our conversation, he poured us tea. The pack house was quiet and only a few omegas were up and about. I took my seat in my chair as usual.
"Our cells are terrible. They smell metallic and are very dark. She must be having a hard time in there for so long. Vance, there are bags under her eyes." He pressed for an answer, pleading with droopy eyes that I have never seen before on my Gamma.
My Gamma was totally whipped. He was a complete goner. This was the first prisoner that he didn't want to rip apart. Instead, here he was, begging like a little boy who desperately wants his toy.
Duke sat across from me but Blayne stood with his forlorn puppy look awaiting my approval.
"Have you both made progress?" I inquired as I put away my laptop case.
His frowning face brightened up into a huge grin. "Yea. I visit her every day. We eat together too. She asked me to tell Zoe that she went to take care of business for a few days to have her calm down." It was now that he took a seat, sipping his coffee.
"My wolf is calmer and isn't trying to kill me anymore, now that he's getting a date with his mate.” Blayne bragged. “A date with the playboy?” Duke mocked him. “This must be the end of the world.”
"Give me a break, man. I am settling down like the two of you. Now we can have date nights and picnics together." He cheered, " I won't be the third wheel anymore."
I thought to myself that I don't know who this man was anymore. He was on a leash now, and at the mercy of love. "You were never a third wheel, not when you were sleeping around as if you were trying to break a record." Duke teased. "That was the old Blayne. Change with the times, Duke." He lashed out. "Stop dwelling on the past."
"Only because your mate will kick your ass." I pointed out while taking sides with my Beta.
"All of our mates can kick our asses." He nodded in victory. "But wait, that's not a good thing, is it?"
"Eh," was all Duke said because Blayne was probably right.
My laptop booted and I got busy responding to emails from the Alphas at other packs. Usually, this would take half an hour. Blayne and Duke still chatted until I was ready for our morning discussion.
"Blayne, has the web strategy been implemented?" I sought confirmation.
"Yes, we have the regular patrol team and our elites to overshadow them tonight. Elites are also positioned at all cardinal
points."
"Our warriors will be overworked with this formation. Let's hope that the criminal strikes soon." Duke gave me a hard look before continuing. "This attacker is getting away too easily. Let's make her regret attacking her own people."
"None of us are getting any sleep, or having fun." Blayne lamented as he adjusted his body in the chair. "And poor Cleo is in that hell hole of ours."
He got up from his seat and began pacing the study to and fro. All of us felt uneasy. I wanted to deliver a painful blow to the assailant. The anger in their voices was clear, and I was fuming deep inside.
Looking through the files of Lincoln's deceased body, his pictures were mortifying and grotesque. My troops being struck was now a trend that needed to be stopped in its tracks.
"Blayne, I need you to devise ways to motivate the warriors so that they don't slack off during this critical time. Duke, you must ensure that Blayne is provided with all that he needs for that assignment." They were all ears and nodding.
Thinking back to what Miriam had told me. Curtis had received assistance. Was that the woman the first warrior, Jeffery, alluded to before he passed away? Was the attacker in question the shadow?
"Vance, what about Cleo?" Blayne got me out of my thoughts.
My Gamma was so annoying today. He gave me that pitiful expression that didn't compliment his robust physique.
I put on my Alpha face and tone, "Cleo is a prisoner to make the real culprit think that we have pinned the crime on the mountain rogues."
His face twitched in disappointment. I decided to offer an alternative that he would have to work on to achieve with no screw-
ups.
"Unless you can guarantee that she stays in your custody until this mess is completely over, she stays put." He didn't really understand what I was saying, so I elaborated. "She would have to stay at your apartment, no going out or coming in." On his lips, a wide grin of satisfaction appeared. "She cannot be sighted and if you break my command........"
I pointed my index finger at him trailing off my words because the warning of that statement could be simply interpreted. "I won't disappoint you." He replied excitedly, almost jumping out of his seat.
"Doesn't she have to agree first?" Duke had a smug grin knowing the challenge Blayne would embark on with extending this option to Cleo. Getting her to agree would be another barrier to overcome.
At the Beta's playful remark, he grunted through his teeth. "I'll make her agree." He rose to his feet to leave the office. "I'm going to do my rounds now."
"Don't you mean that you are going to the cells to tell Cleo that she's moving in with you today?" Duke called out his act to shine the light on the truth.
He mumbled and grumbled words that neither I nor Duke could understand before angrily storming out of my office. Slamming the door shut and my Beta laughing at getting under his skin.
"I don't want another death, Blayne!" I shouted after him as his footsteps disappeared.
Duke took out the folder on the mountain rogues and was preparing individual sub files. Having them out in the open campsite could make them an easy target for other unhinged rogues. Postponing the ceremony was not something that I desired. I'm sure that both Cleo and Blayne's anticipation was past their limit.
The faster I could make the enemy attack, the more likely she would let down her guard and slip up. I reached in my pocket for my phone and dialed a number. It rang several times before she answered.
"Hello?"
"Could you put your grandmother on the phone?"
"Yes Alpha, just a sec...."
She had me holding longer than a second. Why do people say that when the reality is that it takes more than a second to do
anything?
"Hey, Ma!" Her shouting voice could be heard as she called the elder woman to the phone. "I have a call for you!"
"I'm in my garden, dear."
In the background, I listened to the wind hitting the receiver and her soft footsteps.
"I was expecting your call, my child." She spoke gently. "Another innocent blood taints our land."
"Miriam, I need you to awaken Curtis from his coma."
Duke's head snapped at me, he was questioning my decision inwardly. He paused and listened to the rest that was being said.
"Okay. Marlena and I will start the ritual tonight and he should be up in two to three days depending on the severity of his
injuries."
"Great!" I wanted answers.
"Before you go, who did you talk to this morning?"
I listed the person's names for her. "Sianna, Duke, Blayne and ......Chloe."
"Humph, was she one of those bedside entertainments for you?"
"Yes, but you know that I'm done with all of that." This witch was like my second mom. She knows I'm family oriented so
what's with that question?
"Are they done with you?"
"They have no choice, Miriam."
"Sometimes the past can come back to bite us."
"She's docile and weak. She's not the one that I'm worried about." Esme would be the defiant and persistent one out of the two.
But I am not letting anyone of them get near Sianna. The elite guards already understood to keep my ex-acquaintances away
from their Luna. "Didn't the tortoise beat the hare because of the same misconceptions?"
Miriam was going into her riddle mode. I palmed my face and dragged it down in exasperation. I didn't need this right now.
"Sianna is guarded," I said in finality and I guess that's what she needed to hear.
"Protect her well, Vance."
The call ended.