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CHAPTER 4
Bang!
The man seated in the hotel room jolted on his feet and lowered his head as a man marched in, his brows furrowed deeply.
"He's alive."
"My apologies Gamma Ryland. You gave the room number and a spare keycard as planned but the Alpha never showed. We never saw a single body. Is it possible that we might have had the wrong room?
Ryland's pacing stopped, he snapped his head to the side and he glared at the man.
"Use your head Black Arrow. Alpha Storm never showed up because he had the wrong room. Now what the hell of an explanation am I going to give to the Alpha? His death was to be the news for this conference and not have the union signed."
He threw his hands in the air and resumed his pacing only to halt some seconds later. "Wait, where's that dimwit that was to ensure they had the right room number?"
"Tyler? He had an emergency. His wife…"
A rasp came on the hotel door, making both men shut their mouths and whip their heads in the direction of the door.
"Enter," Ryland approved a few seconds later but when he realised he jammed the lock, he gestured for Black Arrow to open the door.
"He's here," Geri, Ryland's wolf, grumbled inwardly. "I say teach him a lesson for this misbehaviour."
"No. We cannot do that in the city. The laws binding us prevent it. Be chill, Geri," Ryland coerced his wolf.
Quickly, the black-haired man walked over there, opened the door and stepped to the side. "Speak of the devil."
Ryland lifted his head, lowered the hand tapping on his chin and dropped the hand on his waist.
"Tyler." His mood changed drastically. It was because of this Tyler guy they were in this mess.
"Yes, Gamma Ryland." Tyler greeted with a bow.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't disconnect your head from your body?" Ryland gritted.
"I…"
Ryland lifted his hand, stopping whatever words were to come out from Tyler's mouth. "You had one job. Just one — drug Target S and take him to the designated room. How hard was that?"
"In my defence…" Tyler started, only to clamp his lips shut when Ryland shot him an icy glare.
"He was powerless given that the drug used was laced with a bit of wolfsbane to render him weak when the assassination happened."
Ryland's chest rose and fell. After lashing out, he permitted Tyler to speak. "My apologies but, I gave him the keycard when we got out of the elevator."
"You what?!"
Ryland blinked. He looked at Black Arrow, making sure he wasn't the only one listening to this rubbish.
"Excuse me?"
"In my defence, I took him to the floor, told him the room to go and handed him the key," Tyler rushed out in one breath.
GBISH!
The punch had already landed on his face when Ryland held his hand. His anger bubbled to the surface. "You did what?!"
Black Arrow took a step back, not wanting to get too involved in the crisis.
"You couldn't just wait to reach the designated room before dashing off?" Ryland growled as he felt Geri's rage simmer at the surface.
It took all he could to force his wolf back in and control his anger but given the kind of Alpha they served, and his greedy agenda to rise in power before his Alpha, he knew they'd messed up big time.
Tyler dropped to his knees, lowering his head as he fumbled with the words. "I… M-My wife…she h-had an accident and… was taken to surgery."
"Should I care?"
Tyler blinked when he heard that.
"I asked, should I care? Did your presence there save her from the accident or are you the doctor facilitating the speed of the surgery that you could not finish one fucking job?!"
Ryland's eyes changed from their dark brown to amber instantly, his wolf threatening to take over.
The aura surrounding Ryland was suffocating enough for Tyler as cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Before things could get out of hand, Ryland froze as a familiar presence seemed to overshadow the room and he turned.
The door pushed open slowly. Standing at the doorway was a blonde-haired young man. His broad shoulders filled the space around him as he lifted his head and took a step into the room.
Ryland almost choked on sight and immediately lowered his head.
Feeling the pressure from Ryland disappear, Tyler looked up only to lock eyes with those perfect deep blue eyes that held everyone's breath.
"B-Beta."
"Beta Dark," Ryland muttered. "You're here." He lifted his head and smiled but Dark's eyes swept across the room, taking in the scene.
"He's alive."
Ryland felt his heart beat skyrocket. He hoped to deal with the situation first before reporting it to his Alpha or Beta but now, one of them came before he thought of the right excuse.
"I am sor…"
Dark's aura erupted like a volcanic explosion, radiating an intense, suffocating energy that seemed to crush the air around him. His eyes blazed with a fierce, golden light, as if his wolf, Kurt, was clawing his way out of his skin.
Tyler and Black Arrow trembled, their faces pale and sweaty, as they felt the weight of Dark's anger and disappointment. They felt like small prey under the gaze of a predator, frozen in terror.
"Get out." Both men exchanged glances then returned their eyes to the Beta. "Get out!"
Quickly Tyler scrambled to his feet and rushed out the open door as B.A. followed.
"You failed." The air seemed to vibrate with Dark's contained rage, his wolf's energy seeping into the space like a chilling mist.
"It was the man we hired."
"You were confident. Now that we missed this golden opportunity, do you think Storm wouldn't be more vigilant?"
Ryland gulped. "Please give me another chance."
"That's not up for debate. No." Dark's phone buzzed at that moment. Without looking when he retrieved the phone, he knew who was on the other end of the call. "Alpha, it's a mess."
"Hmm. Fix things. No trace," the baritone voice commanded from the other line.
All Dark said was one word and he ended the call. Glancing at Ryland, he dished out his order, "Dispose of any weak link and return to the pack to await punishment."