Chapter 53 Raging Headache
ELIJAH
I had a raging headache that was about to burst through my skull, a sharp, pulsing pain that throbbed behind my eyes with every breath I took.
I’d been in this seat for almost ten hours, from one meeting to another, the stiff leather pressing into my back, and I’d been talking and talking until my throat felt dry and raw. The air in the room had grown heavy, stale with tension and the faint scent of coffee that had long gone cold, and it felt like it would never end.
With the recent actions of the Antil Cult, I had no other choice but to start thinking of ways to protect my wolves, to keep the people who depended on me safe from a threat we barely understood.
“So what are we going to do if we can’t fight them with weapons?”
The question hung in the air, thick with unease.
“We have to ask for help from the witches, Alpha. We can’t do this on our own.”
That was something I didn’t want to hear, not now, not ever.
“Don’t even bring that up. Why can’t we do it on our own? They’re just men, aren’t they?”
I knew they weren’t just men, not with the things we had seen, the unnatural abilities they possessed, but then I didn’t want to ask for help from those people, from the very ones I had spent years distrusting.
“I know you have reservations when it comes to the witches but you have to think about how they could help us. I mean, we can’t fight them on our own. What better way to fight people who have powers than with their kind?”
I knew they were making sense, every word of it logical and grounded in reality, but I didn’t want to hear it. Logic had nothing on pride and memory.
“Whatever it may be, I’m sure we will sort it out. Until then, let’s talk about other possible options.”
I needed allies and friends I could trust at this time, people whose loyalty I wouldn’t have to question in the middle of a fight. Being friends with those witches would be the smartest thing I could do right now because it would be an advantage to have them on my side, but my conscience wouldn’t let me.
What had happened those years ago was still playing in my mind, like a memory stuck on repeat, and I couldn’t forget even if I wanted to.
I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I asked for help from the enemies, the same people I had hated for years, the same people tied to a past I wished I could bury.
After that meeting, I had more Alphas I wanted to ask for help. Right now, anyone who offered their help was going to be considered, no matter how unlikely or uncomfortable the alliance might be.
I knew Donald would report me to them that very day I went to his house because he was a coward, the kind of man who would choose self-preservation over loyalty every single time. I watched from a distance as he drove out of his house when he thought we had left, his car speeding down the quiet road lined with tall trees swaying gently in the wind.
“Let’s go after him,” Hazel prompted, her voice low but urgent.
“No, if he knows we’re following him, he may go elsewhere and that would just ruin everything.”
“And if we don’t follow him, then we’d never find out about where they hold their meetings.”
I looked at her as the car disappeared from the road, swallowed by the bend ahead and the growing shadows of the evening.
“Do you think they won’t sense us when we’re close? These men are wizards, they know everything. Besides, even if we follow him, what would we do when we get there? Attack them?”
We wouldn’t be able to do anything then so I didn’t see the use of following him. We couldn’t fight them even if we tried, not like this, not without a plan.
“So we’ll just go home and sit back while they plan against us?”
“No, we go home and prepare.”
Speaking of Hazel, she walked in at the moment when the last Alpha walked out of my office, the door closing behind him with a soft click that echoed in the suddenly quiet room.
I stood up to stretch my body, my muscles stiff and aching from sitting too long, my shoulders tense with the weight of responsibility.
“How did it go?”
I smiled, though it didn’t quite reach my eyes.
“We can expect their support too.”
“That’s wonderful. That’s six packs right?”
I nodded. I had managed to gain support from these Alphas and they promised to help, their agreements offering a small sense of relief in the middle of growing chaos.
“I need to go have lunch. I’m starving.”
“Wait a moment. When was the last time you spoke to Adriana?”
Adriana? Why was she asking about Adriana now, of all times?
“What’s going on? Why are you asking me that?”
She shook her head, her expression unreadable.
“Just answer the question.”
“Um, I don’t know. It’s been a while. I’ve been very busy and I’ve barely had time to even see Leo. Why? Why do you ask?”
She sat down and sighed, the sound heavy with concern.
“I don’t know, I saw Adriana earlier today and she wasn’t looking good.”
I sat back down hearing this, the fatigue in my body momentarily forgotten.
“What do you mean? Did she say anything?”
“Not exactly, but I could see she wasn’t happy. She feels like everything that’s going on is her fault.”
I frowned, confusion and irritation mixing in my chest.
“Why would she think that? Did anyone say anything?”
“No, no one said anything but she saw the pictures, Elijah. She saw everything.”
“I thought I told you not to show them to her. I knew things would be like this, that’s why I asked you not to show them to her.”
“Well she took them out of my hand and she saw them and she felt bad. She’s been in her room all day and she hasn’t eaten.”
What the hell was this?
“What the hell is going on? I didn’t plan it this way.”
“Well, you’re going to have to sort it out because she’s not looking so good.”
I left the office immediately to go and look for her, my steps quick and urgent as I moved through the familiar halls. I knew she would be in her room. She always locked herself in there when she got upset, shutting the world out as if it couldn’t touch her behind closed doors.
I knocked on the door twice, the sound echoing in the quiet hallway.
“Adriana. Adriana, please open up.”