Chapter 28 Chapter Twenty eight
"You can stay,” I whispered. “Stay as long as you want. I could use the company.”
The cat’s purr deepened, and I could have sworn--just for a split second though--but those green eyes glinted with something that looked like amusement.
“You’re a strange, cat, aren’t you, kitty?” I picked the animal up and buried my face in the soft fur, letting the warmth and the purring lull me towards a state of almost drug-induced bliss as I lay back down and my eyes lulled shut.
I don’t know how, but sleep crept in again and not long after, my soft breathing alongside the purring were the only sounds to fill the room.
ASHER
“A weretiger? In our territory? That’s impossible.” Hector. A grunge older wolf scoffed incredulously, like what I just said was in fact a joke and not something to be taken seriously.
The older wolf leaned back in his chair with both arms folded over his chest. Grey streaked through his beard, and arrogance marred every line of his weathered face. It was the type of expression that would have made a man quake in the presence of the old wolf, but not me.
My expression remained ever set in stone as I watched them keenly from the head of the oak table, my elbows resting on the table as I rested my chin balanced on steepled fingers.
I hated this part about being Alpha of the Inglewoods pack. Older wolves were such a bother.
Especially this one.
“It’s not impossible,” said Ad evenly.
A low murmur moved through the room.
Six elders sat present, all men save one woman near the end of the table who wisely said little and observed everything.
“Nonsense.” Hector snorted.
Aquila who was leaning quietly against the wall to my right gave a theatrical sigh. I could count a hundred other things he could be doing right now, but instead, he was stuck in here.
“No, old man,” he drawled. “It’s common sense.” his smile was with all the warmth of a knife when they turned their attentions towards him.
Even dressed plainly in dark leathers, he drew attention the way flame did in a dark room, one book hooked casually behind the other. He hadn’t bothered to tie or comb his red hair that stopped past his shoulder.
Hector bristled. “Why is it even in this meeting?”
Aquila placed a hand to his chest, the way he did when he wanted to mock you for hurting his feelings. Except, Aquila had very little conscience and only a few things got to him. “It? Hector, after all these years you still think so little of me? Well, the feeling is mutual.” he finished with a low chuckle.
“Why you--”
“Enough,” I said, and the room fell silent again. Their eyes were glued to me as I slid a folded parchment across the table. Or rather, the hide of the venison I’d procured on my way back from my patrol. Aquila placed another one beside it and folded it open.
“There have been four attacks in twelve days,” I began. “All on the eastern boundary. Prey and livestock have been confirmed dead, and a wolf who went patrolling near there was attacked. He’s alive, but barely.”
I paused, carefully reading each of their expressions but nobody spoke up, so, I continued.
“I--we, have reasons to believe that a weretiger has found its way into our territory.”
Hector barely glanced at the parchment that was being passed around which gave a detailed account of my findings when he scoffed. “A weretiger? Pa! That could be any predator.”
“It could,” I said. “But the tracks say otherwise.”
Aquila uncrossed his arms and stepped forward again, tossing something onto the table. It was a broken claw.
Curved, yellowed, and longer than any wolves.
“See that? That’s not something you see every day, old man. “Aquila said seriously, his green eyes darkened as he spoke. “That’s not a wolf. Not a bear. Nor a dragon. And unless one of you has grown stripes in your old age, you need to understand that we’re facing a serious threat and we need to act fast.”
One of the elders muttered a prayer under his breath, but Hector? He remained unmoved as he pushed the claw away with two fingers.
“How can we be certain it is not a rival pack playing…tricks? And the wolf who was attacked, what did he say?”
I took a long deep breath, then exhaled. “He’s still unconscious from the blood loss.”
“Ah-ha--”
“However!” I interrupted his taunt. “I assure you it's not a rival pack.” My gaze swept the table once, then I continued. “Wolves don’t act alone.”
“Plus, which pack in their right mind would provoke The Faceless Alpha?” Aquila grinned.
A few hums of approval and nods filled the room before dying quickly under Hector’s glare. He stood, planting both palms on the table, and leaned forward.
“Still, you ask us to gamble the lives of our own chasing bedtime stories?”
Aquila growled softly. I could tell he was about to lose it, but he held out for my sake.
“I ask you,” I said, “to acknowledge what is already hunting ours.”
The room fell into another round of uncomfortable silence again before the only woman in the group finally spoke.
Omira.
She wasn’t as old as Hector was, but there was a certain kind of ancient wisdom that lined her feminine features. “I believe the Alpha is right.”
We all turned our attention to her now and she spoke.
“A couple of nights ago, my son swore he saw something move through the tree lines. If indeed this is a weretiger, then I’m afraid it's stalking us and sooner or later, it's going to strike. And I’m not just talking about the livestock. Weretigers were known to be aggressive..”
“But this is preposterous. Weretigers have gone extinct! Their kind was unstable, even within their tribe. No one had seen one in nearly fifty years.” Hector argued.
Before he launched an argument, I brought their attention back to me.
“If I’m wrong, then we lose a day’s labor and bruise our pride.” My voice remained calm.
“If I am right, however, then more wolves die
While we debate, monsters that should have been extinct but have suddenly come back to life.”