76

CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX.

AUTHOR'S POV.

The sharp, painful sound had torn through the pack's territory, and everyone, the aged and pups, all felt it. It was unlike anything the wolves had ever experienced.

It was shrill and piercing, a noise that seemed to bang directly into their skulls and pierced into their ears. It was an unspoken and unexpected pain for them all.

For the lower-ranked wolves, especially the Omegas, it was another story entirely for them. All of them clutched their ears in agony, and when their eardrums couldn't hold it all in, it bled.

"Ah!"

"Arg!"

"Argh!"

"Alpha!"

Different cries of pain echoed across the pack as the weaker members collapsed on the ground, bleeding through their ears. Even some of the mid-ranked wolves struggled to stay upright, their faces pale as they fought to withstand the pain.

They all forgot about the moon goddess at that moment, and cried to Jacqueline, "Alpha, help us!"

Jacqueline, who was on his way to the throne room when the incident happened was not so much different from the other members. His was even worse since his members were shouting his name in their agony.

The sound "Ooooo", combined with the pack's call for his help, hit him hard, but his Alpha blood allowed him to endure it better than everyone else.

He gritted his teeth, his hand instinctively reaching for the wall to steady himself. His heightened senses picked up the chaos around him, the cries, the panic, the scent of blood in the air.

*What's that?* He questioned Jack since he was the one who should have sensed the occurrence even before it ever happened.

*I don't know, I'm trying to detect what's going on.* Jack replied to him.

Jacqueline got irritated by Jack's words. He was expecting an immediate answer, not one that Jack would just be looking for. *Why are you just trying to know what's going on? You're not weak enough to be attacked without sensing it coming.*

He spoke angrily like he was not Jack and Jack was not him. He was just trying to pour his anger on anyone, and Jack had to be the unlucky.

That was why he changed his direction in the first place, he didn't want to yell at Carl, so he decided to go and trash the elders instead, but the sudden occurrence stopped everything.

*I was distracted, okay? I just found out that we have pups and they are out there without a father. Were you expecting me to sing and be happy after knowing that?* Jack snapped back at him.

Jacqueline sighed and let Jack be, to concentrate.

The voices of his people intensified in his ears, and he growled low in his throat with his instincts screaming at him to take control, to protect his ears and his pack.

Yet, despite the urgency of the situation, his thoughts drifted back to Rosalie.

He had intended to visit Carl before heading to the throne room, but the conversation with Rosalie had left him shaken. Even the good news she had shared felt like a double-edged sword in his heart, cutting him in ways he wasn't prepared for.

'My pups. Mine.' He thought sadly.

The weight of that revelation pressed heavily on his chest, almost hindering his breathing, and the pain of his people pressed his shoulders.

He should have been overjoyed by the news he heard from Rosalie, but instead, he felt conflicted and burdened by the implications.

How could he bring them to the pack house now? More lives to protect, more vulnerabilities for his enemies to exploit. The very thought made his intestines tangled.

And then there was the matter of their relationship or lack of relationship. His pups didn't know him. They wouldn't see him as their father.

Would they even recognize his authority as an Alpha and they, princess and princes of a kingdom of werewolves? Or worse, would they call him "uncle" when they met him for the first time? He thought on and on, temporarily blocking his ears away from the sounds around him.

The pain which Rosalie caused him was unbearable enough for him, it was like a dagger twisting in his gut. He clenched his fists, his nails cutting into his palms as a fresh wave of self-hate surged through him.

He couldn't hate Rosalie, rather, he hated himself.

He hated the idea that the pups might see him as a stranger, someone unworthy of their trust and love. It was a possibility he couldn't shake, and the mere thought made him feel powerless, which was like a feeling he detested above all else.

He was on that spot thinking and even with everything that happened with Rosalie, he couldn't shake off his worries from her.

He woke up from his thought, already rendering himself temporarily deaf. He headed straight to Carl's room, which was where Rosalie's scent led him. He barged in and saw his mate there on the floor, coiled up with her hands holding onto her ears.

He felt her pain and squished down there to hold her shoulders so that she could turn her face to him.

She did and he read the word she said by her lips, "J.... Jacqueline." She stammered.

His eyes lingered on her wet face and without a word, he pulled her hands away from her ears and replaced them with his. He blocked her ears with his palms and leaned into her face to kiss away her tears.

Rosalie, whose eardrums were almost tearing apart, suddenly felt at ease after Jacqueline took over, and her heart swelled with his love when he kissed away her tears, not caring about her misdeeds.

"Are you okay?" He mouthed to her after he had blocked her hearing, and pulled away from her face.

She nodded and immediately took the opportunity and hugged him. *I'm sorry.* She told him through the mind link.

Jacqueline disengaged from the hug and nodded to her, wiping the tears which was appearing in her eyes.

He stood up from the floor and helped her up, "I'll just help Carl first." He mouthed to her again and she nodded.

Jacqueline turned to help Carl, just to see him gasping for breath, and his hands dropped on the bed. He had managed to help himself by blocking his hearing like Jacqueline did, though he used all the strength he had gathered.

Jacqueline rushed to him and sat him up, holding his shoulders, "Hey!" He shook him and Carl focused on Jacqueline.

"I'm fine." Carl mouthed to him, and Jacqueline nodded, and slowly, he strengthened Carl, healing him completely of his weaknesses.

Carl was overjoyed

He jumped into Jacqueline's arms, raining 'thank you' on Jacqueline, which Jacqueline couldn't hear, though he knew he was grateful.

*Someone is cutting through the pack's territory.* Jack detected finally and told Jacqueline, who immediately took himself away from Carl.

*Someone is cutting through the pack's territory.* He informed Carl, and Carl, who knew he was indirectly telling him to tag along to the territory, got out of bed to grab a shirt to wear.

Jacqueline turned to Rosalie, "Stay indoors til everything is calm." He mouthed to her and she nodded.

When Carl was ready, they saw Rosalie off to Jacqueline's chamber, which they were sure was safe, before they left, ready to face whoever was disturbing their territory.