Chapter 42

Chapter 42
It was only a short time later that we were standing in at the perimeter of the pack lands with the head of Patrols and some of the others that were on duty. Panic was floating in the air; most of the wolves were gossiping, discussing possible attacks that could be inbound on the territory. Basically, they were fearmongering.  

There were no signs of any future battles. There was not even any evidence of trespassers; the only indication that someone was here without permission was the fact that a wolf was missing. They left no footprints, not even a leaf was disturbed, causing hysteria to start within the ranks.  

Dread was pitting in my stomach watching Reid and the others becoming concerned over the idea of this being the start of something potentially deadly. Reid, Dane and the Head were talking in hushed whispers, as though no-one here had wolf hearing and could not hear a word that they said. 

“What’s going on? Why was I called all the way out here in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere? I was busy with some lovely lady companionship.”  

Oh great, Corbin the cunt had turned up. I rolled my eyes, not impressed that I now had to deal with his creepy shit. 

“Olivia darling! What are you doing out here with the men? Aren't you bored with this politic malarky?” A shiver ran up my spine as the creep had taken notice of me. 

I dipped my head in respect as he rounded to the front of me, “Hello there Alpha. I was down in the prison with the boys when they were informed of what had happened. They rushed here and had me follow instead of taking me back to the bedroom. I guess time was of the essence, so I had to tag along this time.” Without any enthusiasm, I spoke flatly, hoping to not encourage him any more than absolutely necessary. 

“True, true. I suppose they did get here promptly.” He nodded his head in agreement with me, but I know that he was clueless, he had already said so himself. This man was certainly a perfected politician with plenty of practice in the art of bullshit.        

“Dad. One of the patrolmen was taken from the edge of the territory whilst they were on watch. I’ve told you so many times before that the patrols need to be revised.” Reid was fuming. He was not holding back from confronting his Dad, never mind what he might do to return the favour. 

“I’m the one that constructed the patrol plans; there is nothing wrong with them.” He was starting to resemble a tomato; his face was going red and his chest puffed up, he was about to blow a gasket. His wolf was feeling threatened with his authority being questioned, even though it was his son. 

“If there’s nothing wrong with them, then why the fuck are we all standing around here with our thumbs up our arses because of a missing soldier?” His jaw was set, so Reid growled through his teeth, infuriated at everything that was happening. 

The father-son duo started to argue, both were getting worked up and spitting fire at each other as they got louder.  

My mind kept wondering; all I could think about whilst they droned on was the unkempt stranger that I saw in the prison.  

Who was he?  

Beaux seemed to think that he felt like he was part of my family somehow, but as far as I knew, I had no-one left or they would have come for me years ago. 

“She saw him.” Dane decided to cut in with the arguing idiots, trying to distract them both from destroying each other. Although, I am pretty sure that Reid would win in a physical fight against that overweight, womanising wankstain. 

“Who is him? What in the name of the goddess do you mean?” Corbin was puzzled; frustration tinged his voice and his face. His head tipped to the side, baffled at the abrupt change of conversation.  

Suddenly, it dawned on Corbin just who Dane was speaking of and a hint of panic washed over all his features. When he looked at me, I noticed the slight tremble to his hands and how his eyes flitted around as he tried to gather his thoughts and figure out what to do or say next. He ran his hands through his somewhat overgrown, messy grey hair nervously, pacing and muttering incoherently to himself. 

Corbin ‘s erratic and sketchy behaviour came to a pause as he focused on me. He just stood there staring at me, as though he was trying to commit the image of me to his memories for the rest of time. 

“Who is he?” Whilst I held his sole attention, I took the opportunity to ask the question that had been burning inside of me since we had left the prison, glaring right back at Corbin as I took the initiative to step closer.  

Reid and Dane stood side-by-side, just watching the exchange between me and the Alpha that was currently freaking out about some matter that should have been bottom of the list for now. He had more concerning things to be anxious about, like his packmember that had gone missing. Instead, he was distracted more with the fact that I got a glimpse of a decaying man in a prison, making me ponder the idea of his true importance. 

Corbin huffed heavily and defeatedly before answering me, “Fuck it.” He quietly spoke, as if resigning to giving me information that he was reluctant to share. “I wasn’t going to tell you any of this yet, but there’s no time like the present.” 

He shoved his hands into his pockets, readying himself for an unavoidable conversation. 

“It’s quite the bit of gossip really.” He was dancing around spilling the beans, as if he was still contemplating actually telling me the truth.  

“Eighteen years ago, there was this pack of sympathisers to the crown that needed to be taught a lesson. So, one night when they were all asleep, we snuck onto the territory and killed everyone; every man, woman and child bar a few.” 

Corbin paused talking, he had this twinkle in his eyes as he reminisced of the past and a slight smile as he remembered the brutality of that fight. Being so long ago, he was probably involved in the battle.  

I was mortified that this sorry excuse for a wolf had been doing things such as destroying packs for so long and no-one had stopped him.  

“The blood smelt so sweet that I could taste it on the tip of my tongue. The fires that burned down buildings reminded me of the fiery passion when having sex.” A shiver rocked his body ever-so slightly as he spoke so casually of the atrocities that he had done. 

“The few that we had chosen to keep alive and bring back here with us were positional members. Wait, Neil! What was the name of that pack again? I can’t bloody remember.” 

I had not noticed Neil hanging back from us all as we clustered together, with Corbin being the focus as he told us his bedtime story. 

“Now you’re asking. Umm... wasn’t it The Midnight Pack, or something like that?”  

“That’s it! Does it ring any bells, Olivia?” 

“No, should it?” After having a quick think of the name, nothing jingled any bells for me, so I grumbled in response to him, not wanting to be the centre of any attention that he was giving me. But the smirk that he gave me made me feel sick and nervous for whatever else he had to say. 

“Well, that pack is where you came from.”