Chapter 265: If I Don't Come Back, Avery Will Take Over My Position As Alpha King

Chapter 265: If I Don't Come Back, Avery Will Take Over My Position As Alpha King

Dominic

What the hell have we been living on top of all these years?

That question has been eating at me ever since I learned there was some kind of mysterious creature living in those caves.

And Lyra's account of what she witnessed has only made it more urgent. Something ancient and powerful lurks beneath our territory, something that could easily take down a creature like Orion.

I mean, without me there, we'd need several pack members working together just to handle that vicious bastard.

This changes everything, Luca's voice echoed in my mind, his concern mirroring my own.

Tell me about it. We thought we knew our territory, but apparently we've been sleeping above something that could wipe us all out.

What do you think it wants? Why spare Lyra but kill Orion?

I don't know, but we need to find out. Fast.

After finishing my internal conversation with Luca, I shifted my attention to Lyra, who was lying on the couch in the main hall.

The others were scattered around—some standing, some sitting—all gathered for this impromptu meeting about what she'd seen.

"Tell me again what you saw down there," I said to Lyra. "Describe the creature."

Her face was pale, and her body trembled slightly.

"Well, it's hard to describe because it didn't have a similar shape, you know," she said, her voice steady despite the obvious difficulty of recounting the experience.

"It was massive. Bigger than any werewolf I've ever seen, including Orion. But what was terrifying wasn't just its size—it was its age. I could smell centuries on it, maybe even longer."

Centuries.

The word sent a chill down my spine. Most werewolves live longer than humans, but we're not immortal. Something that's lived for centuries is either extremely powerful or something else entirely.

"Did it seem intelligent?" Rachel asked from beside me. "Or was it just acting on instinct?"

Lyra considered this carefully before answering.

"Intelligent," she said without hesitation. "When it looked at me, I could see awareness in its eyes. It was choosing to spare me, not just acting on some animal impulse."

Great. So we have an ancient, intelligent, extremely powerful creature living beneath our territory. This keeps getting better.

"There's something else," Ethan said from his position near the window. "When Dominic told me about their cave exploration, I noticed some carvings on the walls. They weren't random—they looked like writing, or some kind of map."

I turned my attention to him. "I don't know what language that was. We couldn't recognize any of it. But they seemed to point deeper into the cave system, like they were directing toward something important."

Of course they were.

I stood up and began pacing, my mind racing through the implications. An ancient creature, mysterious carvings, a cave system that exists partly on our territory and partly... where? Why had the entrance been blocked for so long, only to be mysteriously cleared recently?

"We need to go back," I finally said. "With a full team, proper equipment, and every contingency plan we can think of."

"Dominic," Rachel's voice carried a note of warning. "Is this really wise? This thing, whatever it is, killed Orion without breaking a sweat. What makes you think we'll fare any better?"

"Because it spared Lyra," I pointed out. "For some reason, it chose not to kill her. That suggests it might not be automatically hostile to our pack."

Or it was just full after tearing Orion apart.

That thought wasn't particularly comforting, but I pushed it aside. As Alpha, I had a responsibility to understand what threats existed on my territory, even if investigating those threats was dangerous.

"I volunteer to go with you," Julian said quietly. It was the first time he'd spoken since entering my office, and everyone turned to look at him.

Damn. He was still processing Clara's death. The last thing he needed was to face another monster.

"Julian," I started, but he cut me off.

"I need this," he said, his voice carrying a certainty that surprised me. "I need to do something useful, something that matters. Sitting around grieving isn't helping anyone."

I studied my brother's face carefully, looking for signs of recklessness or self-destruction. But what I saw was determination, purpose—the first sign of healing I'd witnessed since Clara's death.

Maybe he was right. Maybe what he needed now was action.

"Alright," I finally said. "But we do this smart. Full team, heavy weapons, and we retreat at the first sign of serious danger."

"What about the pack?" Rachel asked. "If something goes wrong, if this creature decides we're a threat..."

Good point.

"We double the patrols," I decided. "Triple the guards around the pack housing, make sure everyone knows to stick together. If we're not back in six hours, Avery takes over as Alpha and evacuates everyone to allied territory."