Chereads / SHADOWS WITHIN / Chapter 3 - CHAPTER THREE

Chapter 3 - CHAPTER THREE

I asked "Who is he?" Looking from Mesa to Aiden, I questioned although not in a big way, the name did sound familiar. Why do you guys want me to woo him, exactly?

Aiden said, stepping back so he could lean his back against the refrigerator. "He has something I want," he added.

"Who is he?" I posed the query once more.

Mesa responded, "The Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack," and my eyes widened in a mixture of amazement and confusion. I rose from the patterned table.

I concluded, "You guys are clowns," and prepared to leave this shitshow.

Blue Moon Pack's alpha dog the pack of Blue Moon? I'm not sure if either of these two are mentally sane at this point; are they crazy or just high? I couldn't previously testify for it, but I can now say with certainty that these hoodlums are indeed insane. Psychos!

The question, "Mesa, are you on crack?" I made a serious inquiry since I couldn't control my thoughts.

She softly implored, "Hear us out," and I could tell that even she was aware of how ridiculous she sounded. "You were unable to entice Axel. You made that mistake, and that's the only reason I didn't fulfill my promise to release you. Two very strong men are now pursuing you, along with the rest of your pack. You just cannot hide here indefinitely, and you are aware of this. You cannot live with Aiden and me forever."

She was accurate. Simply put, I wasn't into this pack. It was by no means opulent, and it reminded me of the little towns that encircled some of my pack. I simply could not tolerate the uninteresting lifestyle that this pack offered. I wanted to go out and have a good time, get drunk and high, hook up with random people, go shopping, do some adventure sports, get a manicure, and spend a lot of money on shoes I don't need. I just want to live, but shifting, cooking, and training are how they see life in this pack and every other fucking small-sized pack I've had the misfortune to visit.

Although training is enjoyable, what am I gaining by kicking this individual in the posterior? A rousing "job well done" and a pat on the back? What complete nonsense! I need my endless cocktail service and shopping spree. Additionally, I detest how everyone in these Small Packs is connected through someone else. In essence, everyone is acquainted. If I don't know someone, you can bet your bottom dollar that one of my friends does. This makes it extremely difficult to commit murder and have one-night stands.

According to the pack system, packs were categorized into three groups primarily on the basis of population density and landmass. We had large-sized packs, Middle-Sized Packs, and Small-Sized Packs based on these requirements. There were a total of fifteen packs (or, at least, there were until Aiden over here pulled a fast one with the aid of this witch Mesa and made a new pack right in front of everyone's eyes). There are now a total of sixteen packs, and each has its own alphabet and way of life.

I cherish my pack. Although my Alpha, Max, is a jerk, the success of my pack, the Shadow Night pack, is undoubtedly due to his family. The only larger pack after Alpha Maddox's Goldstone pack was this one, which was a Large-Sized pack.

So what are the connections between what you just mentioned and Alpha Storm? Mesa looked at Aiden as I inquired.

Mesa said, "You want your freedom; Ava and Aiden desire a certain heirloom, if you will.

As I looked at her, I squinted. The question, "And what do you want?"

She remained silent for some time. My brain starts to spin when she says it.

She crosses her arms over her chest emphatically as she states, "For you to seduce Storm in order for Aiden to get the heirloom," and Aiden just stands there and looks at us blankly.

I slapped my forehead. She is insane. Even I am unable to get close to this Alpha Storm, or whoever he may be. He is from the group that the moon touched. Everyone in my pack basically makes fun of the Blue Moon pack. It's the pack that none of us would choose to enter, even for a moment. That group is crazy. They are powered by a special type of mooncoke. Their use of codes makes them seem so alien to me that I feel asphyxiated just thinking about them.

They raise the bar for romantic relationships and that silly bond. They thrive on morality, and I've heard that in that pack, you may get whipped for as little as baring your ankles. To begin with, mate ties are stupid. In my whole life, I've only known a small percentage of people who genuinely found their soul mates, and even fewer of those same people stayed with them once the sex got dull. I assumed it became dull because if it hadn't, they wouldn't have left their supposedly gifted partner.

My parents were lovers, but they quarreled constantly, so how can a pack expect to feed me, Ava, nonsense about a soul partner you were given by the moon? I say, off this life! Come into a relationship with someone who is more satisfying than just a manipulative connection. We reject this mate link, which is perhaps another quality of my pack that I admire. In my pack, some individuals even go so far as to wear unique ornaments that witches have cursed in order to keep them from finding their partner.

My ring, the gold one on my second finger with my initial "R" etched on it, is one of those pieces of jewelry that I wear. However, I don't wear it because I'm particularly concerned about a partner; rather, I do it because it is against the rules for an assassin to ever remove the ring, which we call the Assassin's ring. Even one of our five commitments includes it. The fifth pledge is made. They certainly can't take the chance of one of us discovering our partners while they are trying to lure someone else, can they?

Regardless, why the fuck would their leader even look at me, much less allow me to get close enough to him to really seduce him, given how dedicated the blue moon pack is to the mate connection, the moon, justice, and living moral lives in the wait of their mate? Even the best, and there isn't one with this Alpha Storm, knows when to give up. I may be the best, but even the best know when to throw in the towel.

He leads the Blue Moon pack as the Alpha. I debated. The more I considered this, the more certain I became that this was not just a terrible idea but a truly awful one. Since I loved life so much, the only thing I could successfully seduce would be my own death. Even though it can be annoying at times, I would still rather be battling and alive than forgotten and dead.

Mesa said, "He's a man, Ava. My braid flipped to the side as I giggled.

Someone once said, "A man who has received the moon's blessing and purification." If the rumors were accurate, Alpha Storm wasn't your typical man or wolf.

Mesa insisted, her lips clenching as her gaze grew agitated. "A male, no less," she said.

"If your intention is to kill me, then just go ahead and do it. Don't leave it up to an Alpha, who, for all I know, might even be merciless in the name of the moon, to decide how my life will turn out. I mean, his pack members are so engrossed in weird customs that I wouldn't be surprised if this Storm ruled with an iron fist like Max!" I became enraged when Aiden suddenly started laughing. When I gave him an enraged stare, my eyes felt like the blade I had stashed at the side of my underwear. Aiden, no. I will not consent to being sold off to different Alphas in order to carry out your final intentions. Storm came next after Axel. Who will follow me in defense of my freedom? Max? Maddox? Is Max Axel's brother? I'm sorry, but I have to withdraw from this.

Mesa grinned after Aiden kept laughing. Aiden's cheeks were crimson from laughing as hard as he spoke.

"You dumb girl, you obviously don't know Storm! Like a child, he is how is it even fair to compare him to Max? If Storm were the day and Max the night, they are such stark opposites that they are beyond comparison.

When asked, "And what would you be?" I replied in a sarcastic manner.

I shook my head in confusion as he remarked, "The dark Ness that befalls them during a never-ending storm called Ava," grinning at Mesa. Aiden has honestly lost it at this point. I just regretted being associated with these folks in the first place. Life was at least somewhat manageable and predictable when I was an assassin, but these days it seems as though everything is continually spiraling out of control.

"What Aiden is trying to say is," Mesa glared at Aiden. "We agree to work with you on one more deal. Your liberation for Storm's relic"

What is this heirloom, and why do you even desire it? I inquired in an effort to establish the truth first.

It was Aiden who responded, his lips curving upward and his eyes gleaming with desire. "It's a moonstone," he said. It's a stunning blue moonstone with incredible abilities, baby girl. Once more, this sounds like witchcraft. Witchcraft is not something I enjoy. Witchcraft is very messy and seldom turns out well.

Why don't you just ask Mesa to use her strange magic to summon this stone from somewhere else? Why do you feel the need to involve me in this? I provide a more practical answer.

Mesa responded, "I can't do that." That stone is the only one in existence. Legend has it that it was given to the first Alpha of that pack some hundred years ago as a gift from the moon and has since only ever belonged to that Alpha family, namely the Alpha and any Alpha who has come after him. The abilities that have brainwashed every Alpha wolf since the beginning of time are also claimed to be contained in that stone. Although I'm not sure if it's genuine, I do believe the legend.

Why do you desire it, then? Unable to accept this outlandish tale, I inquire.

Mesa says, "It is said to have powers," and something other than avarice may be seen glittering in her gray eyes.

"What kinds of powers?" I continue.

Aiden says, "Immortality," before opening the refrigerator and removing a can of beer.

I raise my fingers to my lips and laugh. "That isn't real. The gold of idiots I genuinely believed you were wiser than this.

"You have your beliefs, and I have mine," he repeats, his tone cruel. "All I need is for you to bring me that stone. When I hold the stone in my hands, we may debate who is right."

So you two really want me to put my life in danger by luring an Alpha in order to grab a stone that you two think would grant you immortality?

"Exactly bingo!" Cheerfully, Aiden held the beer in the air before lowering it to his lips. "You shouldn't have too much trouble doing that."

What will occur after that, then? Not just one Alpha will follow me. Let me have two. I scream. I guess these individuals like to play poker with my life a lot.

Aiden said, "No one will come after you, Ava," and I slumped against the marble.

Also, why is that? I queried.

My eyebrows furrow as I gaze from Aiden to Mesa and back to Aiden. "Because once you do your job properly, there won't be any more Alphas," I say. I do, however, rely on Mesa to make things plain.

"What does he mean?" I inquired about her.

When she continues, "Once you deliver us the blue moonstone, we will harvest its power to immortalize Aiden, and once that is done, we will destroy the stone, thereby destroying every Alpha in existence," her eyes turn silver and gleam forever.