Chapter 36 ~A road leading to Nightfang~
(Xander's POV)
The moving truck arrived thirty minutes late. This meant we were working under crunch time.
We had to get the pack members, alongside some property, from Silvereign to Nightfang, which was a two-hour drive.
Yara and Calvin were very helpful in organizing everyone, making the move less burdensome.
“That goes in the car trunk, not there.” Yara's voice was heard in the corner, giving instructions to the movers.
Calvin and I were on the balcony of the main house, putting the supplies and packing boxes together.
My father drove the Bentley to Nightfang, to prepare our pack’s new space. He went alongside Elder Julius, Calvin's father.
“How many trips will the trucks take?” I asked Calvin.
Yara walked in on the conversation. “Three trips should do it. You know we have a massive crowd here.”
Calvin nodded in agreement. “The she-wolves and pups will go first. Then, the men would follow… even if we don't make it today, tomorrow would work.”
Yara must have spotted something wrong, because she was walking towards the truck… actually, more like limping.
Calvin must have noticed this as well, because he called her back.
He held her hands. “Babe, I think you should go with them. You're clearly hurt. We can handle it.”
She shook her head adamantly. “I have to be here.”
"No, you don't." I added dryly.
“What of Fiona?” She pressed.
“I'll drop by school and pick her up. We’ll drive there in my car.”
“Fine!” she finally obliged, taking her bags. “By the way, I've packed for her, so she's good. I'll get going.”
They kissed… deeply. “See you, babe.”
I almost rolled my eyes.
It was just us in the main house. We were shoveling up some dirt from the battle ruins.
I was whistling softly while Calvin worked in silence. Whenever Calvin went quiet, he was definitely deep in thought.
He spoke abruptly, confirming my earlier suspicion. “Do you think Nova will be at Nightfang?”
Urgh!
I’d rather not talk about Nova right now.
“Did you hear me?”
“What does it matter?” I snapped, annoyed at the situation. “I'll ignore her, anyway.”
“She has an apartment here in Vermont, so she might not even be there.” Calvin continued.
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
Who I was really concerned about was Loki.
“I worry for my brother.” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
“Loki?” Calvin queried.
I nodded. “Losing a mate is never easy. And I feel super guilty, man. Loki has never been a fan of me… this would make things worse.”
Calvin paused his shoveling. “What's done is done. I'm sure he'll get over it.”
“Besides,” he continued. “I never really liked Vivienne with her awfully made-up face… no offense to the dead, of course.”
I snickered. Trust Calvin to make a comment like this during a serious conversation.
“What matters most, at this moment, is Fiona. The talk of her going to Ashridge as bait for Beckett is just… Do you approve of it?”
I laughed dryly. “There's no way I'm letting Fiona go there, except if I was with her… but even then. No.”
“If he can work with rogues to cause a war, then he can do anything. He could kill Fiona.” Calvin said.
“I wonder why they think because he once dated Fiona, that means she's safe with him.”
“They probably don't care. They never wanted you with Fiona in the first place.”
I nodded. He was right.
Calvin chuckled lightly. “I wonder why Loki was so distressed about Vivienne's death when he was cheating on her.”
I froze.
“What!”
Calvin arched his brow. “You're not aware? Everyone knows Loki has a harem in this city.”
I knew how oblivious I was to things, but… seriously? How did I not know this?
“That's crazy.” “But, you know how these things are… he probably still loved her.”
“That's fucked up.”
Elder Apollo walked up to us. By now it was just the men that were left.
“Alpha Xander.” He called out discreetly to me. “I'm still not settled about the plan to attack Ashridge.”
“Why?”
“We are not sure it's them who are responsible… attacking because of some threat is unreasonable.”
Calvin interjected. “How were they even able to get in?”
Elder Apollo lowered his voice. “I think we should meet the shaman. He might know what to do.”
How did I not think of that? “That's brilliant! Is he still here?”
“Yes, he's not gone to Nightfang. He's in his quarters.”
The shaman was meditating when we got to his quarters. His eyes were closed, his palms together, and he sat cross-legged in a circle of protection.
There was a foul smell in the air that hit our nose immediately we entered.
“I came because of the war…” I spoke immediately after we greeted the Shaman. “The prophecy you gave was right after all.”
His eyes were still closed when he spoke. “Who says the prophecy has come to pass?”
I looked at Calvin, confused. “Rogues attacked-”
“That's not the war I spoke about.” He interrupted. “It's yet to come, and when it does, it'll be worse than anything you could ever think.”
I was unsettled. “And the other prophecy?”
I didn't mention what it was about… that he said I might die, because Elder Apollo was here.
The shaman didn't respond.
By now, the rotting smell was choking.
“What's that smell?” I asked the shaman.
With his eyes still closed, he pointed to a distance.
We followed his hand, and my mouth fell open at what I saw.
The carcass of a wolf.
A rogue wolf.
“What's that doing here?” “Why?” Calvin and I spoke at the same time.
“Because of the reason you're here. You want to clarify who caused the war?”
I tried to control my surprise. “Y-yes.”
Elder Apollo spoke. “We want to know how Alpha Beckett of Ashridge was able to break into our pack.”
The Shaman finally opened his eyes. “It wasn't Alpha Beckett that sent the rogues.”
His eyes were eerily piercing directly into mine.
I've never been so confused. How was that even possible? Did Silvereign pack have another enemy?
“Then who did?”
The shaman stood up and walked towards the carcass of the rogue wolf.
I followed him, holding my breath.
“If you want to find out, place your hands here.” He placed his hand on the body of the dead wolf.
I did as he instructed and was instantly sucked into a trance.