Lucas seemed to be in a good mood, skipping stairs on the way to the town hall entrance. He wore a light beige suit - assuming Augustus wouldn't be willing to immediately pick up a fight with him in the presence of the council - and even got a new white shirt in the morning. A few werewolves from his pack followed him inside. They were slightly concerned about his groundless cheerful behavior but didn't voice it - it usually meant things were going exactly as planned. Though understanding his master plans was getting increasingly harder these days.
The town hall building has recently been renovated and many interior design choices were inspired by the 1920s trends - around the time it was built. The central part was oval-shaped and had two curved grand staircases leading to a ledge on the first floor. The walls with skirting boards were coated in a light gray varnish - matching the color of the marble mosaic floor that had a floral motif with a dark gray design. Sunbeams reflected off the large crystal chandelier in the middle of the ceiling, creating fancy patterns on the dark staircases.
The alphas of the West Coast packs were gathering inside - they had to extend their stay for the brawl. The heads of vampire and spellcaster diasporas were there too. Werewolves made up a fifth of the local population and it was important to announce brawl results and introduce new leaders of major packs to the community. Even though both Augustus and Lucas were already well-known in their circles, they were never introduced to the public under such circumstances: Augustus was appointed by the council directly and Lucas became an alpha before his pack got the prime status.
Almost everyone present knew the results already and seemed more interested in observing their interactions. Lucas and Augustus stood by opposite sides of the hall, occasionally catching each others' glances. Ashley couldn't help but lock eyes with Lucas who looked as if he wanted to approach her but she deliberately stayed close to Augustus. She blocked his number and all socials and didn't see the point of talking to him.
Augustus, on the other hand, showed an unusual amount of interest in Lucas, at least by his standards. Lucas however only noticed his intent stare once they were called to the ledge for the results announcement.
'Shouldn't have worn the new shirt,' he thought, approaching the stairs from the opposite side.
They were met by a middle-aged woman - the alpha of one of the four major South-West packs - who happened to be one of the three werewolves who showed up to break their fight on the night of the Red Moon ritual. She greeted them and asked them to stay on the first floor while they made sure all the main guests were present.
Lucas decided not to provoke Augustus at least this once and stay a reasonable distance away, but he seemed to have a different idea.
"I want to offer you a deal," he said, stopping an arm's length away from Lucas.
"Looking sharp as usual," Lucas replied with a smile. "Black waistcoat suit, very appropriate for dealmaking."
"I'll help you find your mother but I want to know everything about you and your powers in return," Augustus stepped closer and almost whispered the last part.
"No time to waste, I see. Did you finally decide to believe me?"
"I don't, but I can pretend like I do for that occasion."
"Then let's pretend like you said you do. I don't think the deal is secure though - what if I told you everything you wanted to know before we find her?"
"I always keep my side of the deal."
"As much as I want to think highly of my 'fated mate', I'd rather take extra precautions. Speaking of fate, why don't you accept me then? Once we're done, I'm sure my mother - being an allegedly powerful dark witch - can help us break the connection."
"The mating season is over, we couldn't have done it even if I agreed."
"But the alphas are still here. There must be a way, or is everyone supposed to fall in love for the rest of their lives immediately? Didn't work on you," Lucas smirked, whispering into Augustus's ear.
"Did it work on you?"
"Let it be a part of the information you'd never learn without the deal."
"I'm sorry to interrupt you but we have to start soon," the woman approached them before Augustus could reply. She gave them an incredulous look and turned away. Lucas wondered if she has overheard their conversation.
All three of them moved to the ledge again, Augustus and Lucas standing a step behind the woman. She was rather tall and had long black hair tied in a tight bun with a small barrette made of white gold that complimented her dark green midi dress. Her name was Anna if Lucas remembered correctly.
She greeted the guests and invited the two men behind her to come closer. Lucas looked around. He knew most of the people there quite well already: there were a few small groups of vampires and a bigger group of witches. He was on good terms with most of them - curiously, the leaders of non-werewolf clans were keen on him as they saw him as a person who finally brought order to younger rebellious wolves.
As most of the attendants already knew, the alpha brawl ended with a draw. Anna announced the result and officially introduced Lucas and Augustus to the leaders of local diasporas and the council members - though unnecessary, it was still a tradition. Shortly after that, the guests started to disperse - a few people left but most stayed and enjoyed food, drinks, and less formal conversations as the sun went down.
The two alphas soon joined their subordinates downstairs. Lucas kept on glancing at Ashley every once in a while - he felt uneasy about the situation and wanted to tell her he was sorry, though it was not very apparent behind his usual mask of arrogance and pride. In fact, he wanted to apologize way earlier but didn't have enough time in between preparations for his little trick during the brawl.
Just when he wanted to approach her, a small group of werewolves from Augustus's pack obscured the view.
"Can I help you?"
"Aurelius," one of them said boldly and took a short pause as if he was deciding whether to speak or not. "We were impressed by your performance…"
"Thank you," Lucas nodded and tried to unnoticeably look past them.
"You've shown yourself to be a strong and trustworthy leader," the other one of them continued.
"Thank you," he repeated again, not paying much attention to their compliments.
"So we decided to abandon our pack to join yours."
Lucas immediately froze and looked at them dubiously. As tempting as it was, he couldn't take their words as genuine - those who actually believed him to be a better alpha already left Augustus months ago.
"Ashley's gone, right?"
Lucas sighed as the group dissolved in front of him. Indeed, both Ashley and Augustus were nowhere to be seen.
***
Meanwhile, the two entered the archive room on the ground floor. Augustus turned on the light and closed the door behind them. It was a long storage room filled with old files - mostly newsletters and accounting reports - that no one really used anymore. Most articles in that room had digital copies and there was no use for the originals. They were also sorted by date - except for a couple of boxes that stood at the farther end of the room. That was where Augustus led Ashley - so no one could eavesdrop.
"I need another favor," he said after a moment of silence.
"I knew you'd say that," she sighed. "Is it about Lucas again?"