Chapter 22

Chapter 22
Tyler POV

I'm dragged out of the room and ushered into the meeting room, the elder by my side. I let out a groan, but only in my head. How dare they interrupt my private time with Lola for some pack meeting? I couldn't have been any more offended, but they didn't seem to be letting me off the hook anytime soon.

"Why can't Diego handle the meetings?" I think to myself. I know that I've given Diego jobs to do to find out the humans that are in charge of the weapon creation, but surely Diego isn't busy. He should have been the one in charge of the meeting.

I know for sure that I don't have to be present every time, but they seem to think of things quite differently than I do, because all the elders are lined up around the large secular table awaiting my appearance. Diego is by the side next to an empty chair that is supposed to be for me.

I don't forget to glance at him—he should have saved me from this—but he doesn't look in my direction. That's when I notice that all their faces are grave and serious. I stiffen, realizing that I might want to take this seriously, and I don't like that. Not one bit.

All of the men rose and bowed as I approached the seat. I waved my hand, declining the formalities. "Let's get down to it and make it quick," I said, sitting down and crossing my arms across my chest. Okay, maybe I was being a bit of a whiny teenager, but that was my moment that they ruined. Didn't expect me to take it lying down.

Diego stood up and pushed a laptop to the middle of the table. He operated the device, opening a document. "We've received a series of threatening messages from the rogues," he said. "It seems like they are getting out of hand."

"Forward the messages to me," I say, reaching for my phone that is in my pocket. The laptop's a hassle to read from.

My eyes widened with each message. The rest of the elders stand by, watching me carefully, gauging my reaction. I can tell that they have all seen it before. That would explain their tense shoulders and pin-drop silence that is in the room.

"Well, it seems like someone wants to play," I say, a dark look flashing across my eyes, and that was an extremely lightweight way to put it.

"These rogues, rumors have it that they have their hands on a dangerous weapon," Diego begins. I nod, still finding the messages from the document troubling. The leader of the rogues, Sniper, wanted an audience with me, and now there was no suspicion greater than that.

"It's obvious that they are up to something," another of the elders supplied, rubbing his chin in deep contemplation.

Well, obviously. I would give it to him—it was pretty certain for a fact that they had a plan. They had it all figured out, and they were expecting me to just play into their trap.

"I thought the Blue Ray pack was in charge of the rogues," I asked in annoyance. It made no sense that I should be in the middle of all this. Why did I have to clean up after all the Alphas that just wouldn't stay put doing their pack duties?

No other Alpha and had to meddle in matters that didn't concern him, striking a deal with the rogues, and now it's come to backfire on me. Like, how does it even relate to me? And yet I find myself dealing with their own problems.

I recall Alpha Livian's visit from earlier when he came to beg for my assistance. I should have read between the lines, I mutter under my breath, clicking my tongue in distaste. He no longer had power over the rogues—he couldn't control them, and so they were attacking his pack. Back then, when he was striking a deal with them, I bet he didn't think that he was giving them full leverage to infiltrate his pack.

The elders look between themselves and lock eyes with each other like they are passing some hidden message. Then their eyes fall back to me. I realize that they are waiting for my orders, some kind of reaction from me.

I clear my throat nervously. I was so preoccupied in my head and imagining several ways that I could make Alpha Livian and his loser son pay for the trouble that they are causing me that I didn't realize I also had them to pacify.

"Well, this would be a tough one, and it could easily morph into something else if we don't pay careful attention to it," I began, masking the uncertainty I felt in profound words. I couldn't let them see just how clueless I was.

"How about we send Diego with some guards and see what these rogues want?" an elder supplied.

I frowned a bit, considering his words. The best course of action would be to confront them before they started doing anything that would cause me greater trouble, like attacking us from our loose ends.

While I wouldn't say that I was the best Alpha the pack ever had, I did make sure that I led the pack well. However, I couldn't be all-around perfect. There are still some sides that didn't have security as tight as it was supposed to be—those ends, as I call them. They could be hijacked and opened up by our enemies, especially ones with seemingly dangerous weapons.

Again, I have reason to believe that I already know what it is since we're blowing up faster than I thought. I rub my temples, knowing that I have to give the men an answer.

Months ago, I would have gone to face the leader of the rogues immediately. Months ago, I had power that could make me single-handedly defeat a legion of soldiers. I was Alpha King, filled with power by the moon goddess. I was next to immortality.

I look down, my shoulders slumping. And then I lost that power. No one knew yet—they all expected me to face death with my head held up high, knowing that there was no way it could end in victory. But they didn't know what was really happening, that I was no better than an ordinary fighter now.

"Damn it," I curse under my breath. "Fine, I'll take a few guards and see what they're up to. But rally the men," I say, standing up, knowing that I don't want to keep this meeting on for longer than necessary. "Make sure that backups are standing in place to step in no matter how the tides change."

"Well said, Alpha. Well said," Elder Proteus nods and rises up. As the oldest of the elders, the very one that stands at my final courtyard, soon the rest of the men stand on their feet. The meeting was automatically pulled to an end.

I let out a sigh and make my way out of the meeting, my head filled with scenarios of how terribly bad things can go from now. It could have been worse, I wish part of myself. Lola could have been dead—there was a reality when I didn't have my Luna by my side. So it could have been worse, and frankly speaking, that is the only thing that seems to keep me in my element right now, to keep me from blowing up completely.

Diego is beside me, walking silently as we both walk down the corridor. "You're following me," I note, not bothering to look at him.

"You're bothered," Diego says, equally stating his observations.

"Surprise, surprise," I mutter, my tongue taking a sarcastic edge to it. "That is what happens when you figure out that your pack is going to be under attack in a few days' time if you don't play your cards right."

His hand on my shoulder stops me, and I turn to face him. "You're not scared of going out to face them, are you?" he asks, his eyes widening.

I shake my head. "Of course not. I think you should wipe those half-baked thoughts out of your head immediately," I say with a frown. I know that I lack this much, but I don't expect him to catch on this easily. Surely I still had some time before people realized that I wasn't their Alpha anymore—that I didn't have the powers I was supposed to possess.

"Leave me alone for a while," I say, stepping back from him. "I have to go through things in my head and figure out the best way to make this meeting a success."

He looks skeptical but nods in understanding. It's not like he can refuse a direct order from me anyway, and I thank the goddess for that.

I turn around and step out of the manor, making my way to the garden—the one place that could calm me down when I was like this.