Chapter 37 Chapter 37
"...It's so glad to finally see your face and speak to you again. The pack house has been very different without you around and to worsen it, Kim isn't here anymore." Chloe said and heaved a sigh.
Hearing about Kim's death made memories of her murder flash in my head and weighed my livened mood down.
"It's fine, it's fine. None of this is your fault." She probably noticed the gloominess in my look since it was a video call.
"I can't help-"
"Let's change the topic of discussion." She cut me off. "Concerning seducing your Alpha, how is that turning out?"
"I won't continue with that. There's no point anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm no longer undergoing any punishments. Alpha Keegan has freed me from all my punishments."
"That's great! My seduction tips definitely worked on him. There's no way you're stopping it now." A proud grin spread her lips apart.
I couldn't tell her it wasn't because of her seduction tips but because the mate bond was affecting him. Telling her could cause issues. "Not exactly..." I rolled my eyes at her.
"It's definitely because of me. What else have you been able to achieve by seducing him?" Interest popped in her eyes as she leaned forward to the camera lens.
"Well... I was able to convince him to come to
Scarlett's parents' wedding anniversary by using one of the tips in the book of seduction tips you slipped into my bag." I shrugged.
"What the hell is Scarlett? And most importantly, I'm so damn good!"
"Scarlett is the beta of our pack." I chuckled. "Your tips worked, but I can't use them to my advantage anymore. It would be pointless and can place me into trouble. I don't need any more favors from the Alpha. I want to be as far away from him as possible."
"You must've lost your mind. You need his favor more than you need to breathe. By the way, I still have a whole lot of tips to give. Grab a pen and book."
"Fine, I'll write them down, though they're not going to be useful to me." I rolled my eyes and rose up to check for a book or pen. "I'm in Alpha Keegan's room. I can't take his pen. I'll grab a pen and book then call you back."
"Wait.... why are you in his bedroom?" she drew her eyes on askance.
"Uh... can't hear you. Bye." I ended the call and dropped my phone on the bed, smiling to myself as I left the room for the library. It felt so amazing to speak with Chloe again.
While searching for a book on one of the library shelves, hoping to find one with enough empty spaces, something creaked behind the shelf. I froze, trying to figure out if it was nothing to worry about.
A hand pushed the books away and grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to the shelf. I immediately started screaming, my screams felt useless in the large library I had expected to be empty.
KEEGAN -
"Mason, what's the report for the week?" I dried my face with a face towel and received the file he passed to me. "Are there more stronger werewolves?"
"Yes. Twenty new werewolves were born today and passed the tests of strong wolves. Today's training session, more than fifty new werewolves graduated to the class one ability Werewolves."
"Okay, that's great. The pack's growing and getting better" I nodded, going through the file.
"Alpha," Scarlett said as she walked into my office, " the pack is on full guard now, but two guards said they observed suspicious moves last night. The security had been tightened and I as well as a few guards went to inspect it this morning and we found this note." She slipped out a familiar card with a black heart behind it.
I snatched it from her and tore it open. There was a note in it, the only thing on the note was a red dot, the red was very dark and looked like blood stains on the paper.
"What the heck is this?" I hollered and rose to my feet.
"I have no idea what it is, Alpha, that's just what I found." She maintained her bold appearance.
"Can I take a look at it?" Mason asked and took the note from me, scanning it like he could come up with an answer to the madness.
"This isn't the first time a note like this is being sent to the pack. The omega had received-" I was interrupted by someo rudely getting my head.
'EMERGENCY MEETING IN THE PACK MEETING ROOM, NOW!' Luna announced. What the hell did she want?
I caught the equally confused glance of Mason and Scarlett before taking my leave from the office and headed to the meeting room with both of them behind me.
Mom was already in, pacing around in front of the meeting desk. She only did that when she was overly worried, as far as I remember.
"What's the emergency?" I asked, still pissed off by the note and her rude interruption.
She glanced at me and continued pacing around. " We'll wait till others arrive."
A frown crossed my face. Didn't she know how impatient I could be? Nevertheless, I had a seat, tapping my feet against the floor multiple times to avoid yelling at her to speak up and not waste my time.
Shortly after, Mrs. Bea arrived then Shane followed.
Were these the 'others' we were waiting for? Why would Mrs. Bea be in a pack meeting if it was so important? She had no other importance than watching over the pack house's order and she was also one of the longest members of the pack as well as Shane and everyone else in the room.
"We're all here." She had her seat and let out a deep breath. "There's a big problem."
"Don't beat around the bush and speak up." I snapped.
"The Ardolfs are back." She said with her forehead creased in worry.
"What?!" Everyone in the room except me and Mom exclaimed.
"What the hell?" I asked, frowning even harder. " How'd you know?"
"How's that possible?" Scarlett asked.
"Why'd they ever return?" Mrs. Bea asked in panic.
"No way." Mason added.
"I thought it ended." Shane completed.
"Didn't you see any note?" Luna asked. "Yes, why?" I wondered.
"Shit!" She ran a hand through her black hair.
"What's the problem, Luna?" Scarlett asked and glanced at me, worry shimmering in her eyes.
"I was out with a handmaid. For some reason, my handmaid was silent and I was concerned because she's a tattletale. When I turned around, she was nowhere to be found but Cara Ardolf was standing right in front of me." Her chest was rising and falling faster than normal.
"How's that possible? Aren't they supposed to be dead or something?" Mason asked, sounding equally worried for probably the first time.
"No, I knew they weren't dead." Shane replied, obviously trying to maintain his composure. "What did she say to you?"
"She was quiet at first and when I tried to run, I couldn't, it felt like a force was holding me back. Then she said she's back and they are back for good. She also said that they have a main goal and this time, they won't stop till they achieve it. From our tiniest concerns to what we treasure the most, we should watch out because trouble is befalling each and everything that has to do with our pack."
"Why didn't you mind link Shane for help?!" I spat.
"I couldn't."
We all stared at her with a frown, indirectly letting her know how stupid she sounded.
"I don't know if I was in shock or whatever it was, but she I just couldn't, I had no control of my mind. After spoke, she turned around and in a twinkle of an eye, she was out of sight. Now my handmaid is missing and crazy Cara is still present in our lives after all these years."
"Oh no, this is terrible. I can't face the terror of the Ardolf's again." Mrs. Bea's voice croaked on every word like she was about to cry.
"This makes no sense. I thought they had been gotten rid of forever" Scarlett glanced at me again. "This is a big issue and terrible news. I can't deal with this at this time..." Mason trailed off. "How's this even possible?" Shane rose to his feet, his eyes were a bit widened like he was lost in deep thoughts. "We sealed the border of pack ground to prevent them from ever entering into pack ground. How could she have come in?"
"That's true! I almost forgot." Scarlett exclaimed. " That means we're in big danger."
"Actually... they still can't enter pack ground with the seal. I wasn't in pack ground. I had to fetch something out of town." She clarified, obviously avoiding my gaze.
They all heaved a sigh in unison.
"Alpha Keegan, won't you say anything? How aren't you bothered?" Mrs. Bea asked.
"Exactly!" Scarlett frowned. "We all know-"
"Silence." I cut her off, maintaining silence for a while to think straight. "There'll be no need to be extremely worried." I rose to my feet. "Make sure no one outside this room hears about this information." I instructed and they all nodded in understanding." The security should be tightened and every pack member that needs to leave the pack ground for any reason should be watched over by a guard. We shouldn't be scared over their ordinary threats. Were the Dark Stone pack, the most powerful pack that has ever existed." I reminded them of that.
"Keegan," Luna held my hand, "we can't be overly confident."
A frown burned on my face, her touch felt like acid against my skin; she understood my expression, quickly withdrawing her hand from me with a silent apology.
"This meeting is dismissed. Let me know of anything else that happens and any news about the Ardolfs. I'll definitely look into this, but I'm certain the Ardolfs are no match for us. I was dumb and younger back then when they were a threat to us, and I was under someone's control." I made it obvious that I was referring to Luna's control. "Mrs. Bea especially, ensure you keep your mouth shut about this." I instructed and she nodded. "I'll leave now, no one should act stupid, okay?" I glanced at everyone's worried expression and strutted out of the meeting room.
"How wouldn't he be bothered?" I heard Scarlett ask.
"Exactly! Keegan is so grumpy and doesn't know when the right time is to be arrogant. He's supposed to be panicking." Luna added.
"He's the Alpha. His emotions are as mighty as his strength. I'll also take my leave." Mason said and I heard the sound of his chair against the floor before I stopped my ears from listening to their conversation. Little did they know that I was also bothered. How could the Ardolfs return?
'What do we do now?' Drex asked, his voice also expressed a hint of worry.
'It'll be fine.'
'Yes, I know that. I'm the most powerful wolf, they won't have any power over us this time. My main issue is when the luna mentioned that Cara said they'll destroy or harm anything from our little concerns to our most treasured things, it makes me think about our mate. What if Car was referring to our mate? She's the omega and would be considered as our tiniest concerns by others outside our pack. What if our mate is in danger? What if she's out now and is under a particular attack? I knew I'd been feeling weird when I missed the omega strangely since this morning."
His words kicked fear in me and I only realized I hadn't seen the omega today. When I woke up, she wasn't in my room and neither was she in hers. I had used a stroll as an excuse to search for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Pack training had interrupted me from looking for her. What if she was in danger? What if the Ardolf's had done something bad to my omega?
I quickly ran around in search of her. After a few minutes and I still hadn't found the omega anywhere, for the first time in a long time, fear clouded my head. What if the red blood on the paper was my omega's?