Chapter 4 - The Invitation

Reed’s pov.

"Alpha, she is right here. Always on time." Asher spoke from behind. I pulled one T-shirt from the wardrobe and nodded at him. Last night, I checked on the borders; it had been ages since I patrolled the boundaries. It was not before morning when I returned to the castle.

I was very tired and exhausted, so I slept without taking a shower. Today is the full moon, which means my pack could be seen by the enemies under the broad moonlight. My pack could be cloaked and almost impossible to track, but once a month, when the moon is at its best, my pack could be seen under the moonlight.

"Just give me a sec, Asher." With that, I pulled on the trousers, and we started walking downstairs.

"Did you talk to their families?" I asked, not looking at his face. He did not look at me well. I was told to be true, and I was feeling ashamed. This was the reason why I kept isolating myself under the four walls of this pathetic castle. I couldn’t face the families of the warriors who died in Esma’s pack last month.

We returned the same night when she asked me to go, and the bodies returned for three days. Thanks to heaven, the veins were removed from their bodies, and their heads were joined with their necks; otherwise, God knows what would have happened then.

"Yes, I have already delivered your message: a fixed one-million-dollar annuity for each family whose member died." He said he was still looking ahead. I sighed.

"But they keep asking the reason behind their deaths." He trailed off, and I groaned internally. Since the day I returned, there has not been a single day when chaos hasn’t tried to break into my pack. People keep coming here, asking about the people who died; some needed closure, some were angry, and some just wanted to rant. Most of them just wanted to let me know how I am the biggest disappointment as the alpha of their pack.

"Are they here?" I stopped dead in my tracks; I don’t want to face them. I don’t know what to say.

"No, they are not. Not for now." Asher said assuringly, and we started walking downstairs again till we reached the main hall.

"Here you are." Diana squealed before she pulled me into her tight hug. I returned the hug willingly. I missed her; she was like a sister to me, and after she left the castle, it was like a big haunted place for me.

"I missed you." She pulled herself away from me. Her eyes glistened with the unshed tears, and I smiled lightly. She kissed my cheek.

"I missed you too." That was the most absolute truth I'd said in the last 30 days.

"I will tell the maid to set the table," Asher said from behind as he sprinted into the kitchen.

"So, everything is on track," I concluded after Diana gave a detailed summary of all the things that happened in their pack. Diana was the opposite of me; I never talked to anyone, and she never stopped. Maybe this is the reason we get along so quickly and well.

"Pretty much." She started to drink her juice. She made sure not to eat anything, which I observed. She was nervous.

"What happened? You didn’t eat anything. Don’t tell me your alpha ordered you not to eat anything at my house." I said the last sentence with much more hatred and anger than I meant. Diana looked taken aback by my sudden outburst but tried to remain calm.

"She misses you like hell." she whispered dead in the silence, and I turned so quickly that my neck almost broke by the sudden movement.

"She won’t confess it. She is stubborn like you." Diana smiled in my direction, trying to cheer up the mood. I turned my attention to the empty plate; everything seemed empty.

"Tonight, there is a blood-bonding ceremony in her pack," she said, looking out of the corner of her eye.

"Tying me with August for ever, me as her mate, their pack’s beta-female." She completed. I hummed, showing her I was listening.

"I need you to be present there, from my side." she said. Too low, and I thought I hallucinated. I didn’t say anything.

"You are the only thing I have in the name of family. And on the upside, I think I have a lead on who killed your warriors." She said. This got my attention. I stood from my seat and walked towards her until we were face-to-face.

"Just tell me already, Diana. I will slaughter whoever killed them. Just give me the name." I growled, my anger returning with full force.

"Only if you promise you will come tonight." I rubbed my head in annoyance.

"I will think about it, but first give me the name," I said, half annoyed and half angry.

"No." She checked the time on her watch and stood from her chair. "Time is up; I have to cloak your pack and change its position before the moon comes in full force." She started walking towards the main door.

I watched her silently. I knew Diana well enough that if she didn’t want to tell me something, even if I was dying, she wouldn’t utter a single word. I am always fighting a losing battle against her. She already knew what I would say and what my reaction could be, and still, she acted like everything was normal.

"Are you coming or not?" she asked once she sensed I was not there. I started walking immediately in her direction.

***

We walked in the forest until we reached the middle of nowhere. My pack was still here. It was the same place where I brought Esma when she needed to run in her wolf form. How much had changed since then?

Diana looked once in my direction before sitting on the ground. She started saying something in a foreign language, and within seconds, a small ball formed in his hands. Even though it was quite early in the morning, the ball was glowing and illuminating the whole place.

She didn’t stop and kept chanting until the blue ball of fire was finally extinguished and swallowed by her hands.

"Bring me your hand." she ordered, and I stretched my right hand into hers. She picked up the knife from the ground and sliced my hand without any warning. Blood started dripping from the cut, but she was quick to put her hands below it. The blood dripped on her hands, and I felt something inside me. It was for a very brief second. I always felt it, whenever she did magic on me. It was strange.

Diana stood and started rubbing her dress; the blood on her hands was nowhere to be found. On the other hand, my wound was healing with human speed. She pulled my hand away and wrapped a cloth around it to stop the bleeding.

"Here, all done." she chirped.

"What did you do? It was not like what you did last time." I said, and she smiled proudly.

"I cloaked your pack, but there is also a protection spell. If something happens, you will be the first one to know." she said and winked.

"Now, as I told you earlier, I have a blood ceremony to attend." she said and started walking back to where we came from. She turned once again.

"I hope you will come, Reed."

With that, she vanished into thin air.

I hated my life.