113

113

BRADLEY

I stared at Diana, the anger in my chest burning. I wished then that they had caught Damon, I would have torn him apart if I had found him.

I turned to Jonathan whose duty it had been to protect her. “Why did you leave her unguarded? Even for a minute?" I asked.

He looked away, his head bowed.

“It's not his-" Diana began.

I stopped her, “I'm addressing him," I said, I turned back to Jonathan.

“I'm sorry, Alpha, she outran me," he answered.

“You couldn't keep up with her? Why should I let you keep this job then?" I asked.

A silly excuse that he had given me. What did he mean by she was too fast really?

“I'm sorry, Alpha," he apologized, still not meeting my eyes.

I released a breath that I had been holding in anger and turned around to go back inside, signaling enough for them to follow behind.

Soon we were in my office, and the other pack members had dispersed.

I turned to Jonathan and Diana who stood by side. Diana, still looking defiant, her support for Jonathan seemed to be unwavering.

“Why did you go further than a walk?" I asked Diana.

Couldn't she see the danger she had put herself in? What if Damon had been successful in taking her, although this action of his was enough to start the war officially? The council would agree that I hadn't just initiated it for no reason.

She released a sigh before replying, “I needed to release the thoughts in my head"

I gave her a scathing look, “It was only carelessness, do you know what would have happened had he taken you?" I asked.

She shrugged almost carelessly.

I turned to Jonathan then, "I will tolerate this carelessness only this once, the next time it happens, the results will differ.” It was a subtle threat, but he understood clearly.

He bowed his head in submission, “Yes Alpha"

I nodded, “You may leave"

The door shut behind him and I turned back to Diana. “You know not to be so careless,” I said sternly.

My anger had reduced, Damon would feel the brunt of it now. I was done trying to play peacemaker.

I turned to Elias, "Prepare for war”

He shook his head, he had seen it coming and left the room.

Diana, on the other hand, hadn't seen it coming. She stared at me, mouth gaping wide open.

"What?” She asked.

"I'm done playing the games, Diana. This was a clear breach of the peace contract between the packs. He's only getting what's coming for him” I shrugged.

She shook her head, "I'm going to take a shower and change,” she said, walking out the door.

I sat back down, looking up at the ceiling of my office. War was coming, and I had to be prepared. Elias would be preparing all we needed, but then this experiment that Damon had a part in funding.

What if it had something more deadly than we could imagine? We wouldn't be ready.

I shook those thoughts away, I was Bradley Blackwood and I would win by whatever means available.

I turned to my laptop to check what had been sent recently.

Elias had told me of the security breach, and since then, it had been upped.

I had personally updated the systems, and I had no idea who could have done or tried what they had; I didn't care. We had issues of security breaches before, except for the current issues we have.

Liam walked into my office with his laptop in hand.

“Alpha, here's the decrypted file, it took me a long time because it was coded very smoothly” he handed the laptop to me.

Finally, I would see what this file contained. What had been so well hidden?

I began to scan through.

SUPPORTING MEMBERS

This is the list of the top supporting members of the experiment.

The Cross Pack
Underwood Pack
Whitemore pack
On and on it continued but these first three names caught my attention fully.

There were two important packs here already, the Underwood that had been leading had dropped.

I looked down at the date, just a few months before my parents' deaths. So not too long ago, which meant the list might not have changed a lot.

I already knew why Damon would be involved. He was a shady and strange man. He would do anything for more power; his involvement here might be strategic or not at all, but it was expected.

Now, the other two I couldn't say. There were two packs I hadn't expected to see.

The Whitemore at number three was shocking. The alpha before Loras, his father, had been conservative but strong-willed. He had built such an empire that it competed with mine on several fronts.

They were a powerful financial source, their involvement here was strange and unwise.

The Cross pack was one I couldn't even fathom. At this time, his parents were still alphas. Maybe it was time to finally find out more about these parents. It seemed they had built the foundation of their involvement.

I put the task aside in my head and read on.

The Cross pack has taken the lead. The directions move as commanded.

They want the experiment to move along much faster. They want us to meet the blackwoods and get them in, more resources if they agree

The outcome of the meeting determines the reaction of the group.

I continued, there wasn't much here anyway.

The next heading read, “EXPERIMENT E; WHAT IT ENTAILS"

Just what I needed.

I continued.

Many years ago, our predecessors began this experiment, on a much smaller scale, the creation and enhancement of our species.

The first ever wolf to be used was Subject L, a total failure, and for many years after that, progress has been slow but steady, continuous, and we didn't give up.

Many years have gone by since then and we haven't made too much progress. We have decided to recruit the help of other packs, those who we know can help move this experiment forward.

The Blackwoods are a vital point, and the Carters as well.

I, Drake Crest, have been given the task to turn them to our cause.

Any opposition will be dealt with, though not by me.

Experiment E was created to make our soldiers, in case of war, much stronger than the average wolf. It also aimed to create clones.

These clones would differ from the originals in terms of bloodline, their belonging to the gamma group didn't matter.

Their power would equate to that of a beta at least. They would be superwolf; they wouldn't sustain any injuries unless they were very deadly.

They would lose their heart, no emotional thinking but not their brains, they would be only rational, the best war planners.

These plans have been mildly successful so far. There was no complete success.

They possess one flaw or the other, sometimes they didn't clone, sometimes the loss of their heart was the end.

We believe that with the help of Mr Jason Blackwood, the experiment will move much further and faster with his genius mind.

Inside the encrypted file are the details of all the work the packs have added to this experiment. In case of any threat to my life, whoever has this file is given full permission to release these details.

These details made everything more interesting, this experiment E, the details I had now.

I scrolled almost impatiently.

The Cross pack has donated the most money so far, and they have recruited the most subjects.

They seem to be the head of this experiment, but I have confirmed it is not so; there is an anonymous sponsor.

The son of Underwood Alpha has agreed to the deal, against the wishes of his father who has adamantly fought against this.

The task of ridding the pack of the nuisance has been given to his son. Whatever happens next, should be obvious.

The Whitemore package, which was agreed to, was given to me as well.

They succumbed to the deal because of the pressure mounted on them, threats, issues, and a near economic bankruptcy.

They have been the second most significant financial source for the experiment. Their help has been profoundly appreciated by the group.

I had read enough, so I shut the laptop. For now.

It was time to digest the information that I had found. The people and packs involved in it.

I had seen more names and I couldn't help but feel that I had struck a gold mine. This discovery would put all those involved in my palms.

I wasn't any alpha they could threaten but I couldn't make enemies out of them yet, especially if they had success now. I would start with Damon, the weakest of them all.

I might have caught that in the write-up, the coincidence of their deaths and Damon's joining their group. It had to be related, in a way I knew he wouldn't like getting out.

Had I just hit the lottery that would be put above all?

I looked up at Liam.

I couldn't help the smile that broke out on my face. “This is a great job, Liam," I told him.

“Send this to me immediately," I told him as I handed the laptop back to him.

He leaned over his laptop, sending it to both my emails. I nodded in approval.

This news would be very useful, Elias, Diana and I would go to
Through it carefully. It would be a vital point in our war plans.

I had been content for too long. Oblivious of all the schemes beneath the surface. It was time to take over it all