I stare at Roman, unable to move, watching him break down right on the floor of my room. His son, Craig, was basically my godson, and it is completely devastating for me to hear that that poor child is gone. I do not even know what to say to Roman.
"Oh my, I am so sorry, Roman." Kiara says and walks up to where he is. Roman bursts into more tears and tears start to fall down my face.
What kind of misfortune is this? Just last night, we were all in a happy and jolly mood and this is happening?
"Alpha Kalista, Sheila is pregnant with our second child…." Roman sniffs. "….please, do something about these sudden deaths before this scourge wipes my whole family." He pleads.
I walk up to him and pull him up. I grab his face and look into his eyes, picking my words carefully. "Roman, I promise you that I will do everything in my power to put an end to all of this." I say with determination.
Roman nods slowly. "I trust you, Alpha Kalista." He says and leaves my room.
After he leaves, I turn to Kiara. "We must do something about this before things get much worse. Craig was a beautiful and innocent child and he never deserved to die."
Kiara nods in agreement. "I was going to ask Dr. Rhodes if the disease is contagious. Maybe that is why the death toll is rising." She says.
I shake my head. "It is not. Remember that it is this same disease that killed my father." I tell her.
"That's true. If it was contagious, all of us who had close contact with the late Alpha would have died from the disease, especially you." She says, looking at me with sad eyes.
"Yeah." I say and the room becomes quiet. After a while, I come up with an idea. "I think I know what we should do next." I tell Kiara.
"Really?" Her face lights up immediately. "What is that?"
"We have to make inquiries. We need to find out if the other packs around us are also experiencing this same thing. All of us were together and no one died throughout the Festival. We need to know if it is an internal problem or not." I say.
"So, how exactly are we going to go about this?" Kiara asks. "Should we summon the other Alphas to a meeting?"
I think long and hard and then shake my head in the negative. "No, I want this to be a secret within the pack for now. I don't want it spreading around. If we let it spread, we will become a laughing stock, and it will be very bad publicity for us. We have to find another way." I tell her.
"Okay?" Kiara prompts.
"We'll pick our most trusted soldiers and ask them to go and spy on the other packs. This way, they will be able to get intel from the Lichen Pack and the Black Fur Pack without rousing any suspicion." I tell her.
Kiara is obviously happy with my suggestion. That is a very good idea, Alpha Kalista." She says.
"Thank you. We will send them as soon as possible tomorrow night." I tell her.
"Alpha Kalista, this is a very urgent matter. Why don't we let the spies go very early tomorrow?" Kiara asks.
"Spying is better done at night, Kiara." I tell her.
"True. What do you need me to do?" She asks me.
"I need you to hand-pick the best soldiers for this mission. I need soldiers who are well trained to spot traps and ambushes from a mile away. They must be very careful and meticulous." I spell it all out to Kiara.
"As you wish, Alpha." She says and gets up to leave the room. "Is there anything else you need me to do for you?" She asks.
"Yes. I need you to organize a general meeting. I want to see all the members if the pack so I can address them and allay their fears." I tell Kiara.
"Alright. I'll ask the guards to come call you when the whole pack is assembled at the meeting ground." She says and I nod.
Twenty minutes later, one of the guards comes to inform me that the pack members are ready for me. With a heavy sigh, I wear my winter robe and walk out of my room, out of my house building and into the meeting hall.
As I step in, I look at my people and feel their pain. I can see that they are very unhappy about what is going on and it breaks my heart to see them this way. I clear my throat and talk to them from the bottom of my heart, assuring them that I am going to do my best to stop the deaths.
They cheer me on and the meeting ends.
Back in my room, I sit in front of the fireplace and wonder why all of this is happening. I really hope that the spies do all that is needed of them. At least, if we know that we are not alone, we will be able to work with the affected pack or packs in finding a cure to this disease.
I watch as the fire burns the sticks of wood placed on it, and it is synonymous to the fire raging within me, threatening to burn up the last shreds of hope I have.
I watch the fire until my eyelids start to close, and I know that it is time for me to sleep. I however turn to look at my bed and suddenly don't feel like sleeping in it. I don't even have the strength to undress tonight, so I lay on the warm carpet of my room and let sleep take me away.
My sleep is however plagued by a very weird dream. In the dream, I am waking down a lonely road, and it reminds me of the road that leads to the border of my pack. As I walk, I see a figure coming ahead, and it looks like it is coming for me. As I turn to run, I see another figure coming towards me, and they both grab me, pulling me in opposite directions.
I wake up with a start.
What could this mean?