Romeo.
I set the pencil down and exhaled, a sense of relief washing over me. "Finally," I said, stretching my back to relieve the tension from over an hour of focused work at my desk. After packing the last of the documents, I stood up, went to the bar in the corner of my office, and poured myself a drink. A knock echoed from my door as I rubbed my temples to shake off the lingering stress.
"Alpha, may I enter?"
"Yes, Blake, come in," I replied, returning to my chair.
Blake stepped in, an apprehensive look on his face.
"I apologize for interrupting, Alpha, but I need to discuss something important," he said with a hint of hesitation.
"What's on your mind?" I asked, anticipating the topic.
"The elders are eager to know your decision about the offer from Luna Star," Blake stated, clearly reluctant to bring it up.
A growl of annoyance escaped me at hearing the mention of that name again.
"I thought I was clear when I told the elders I would not accept Luna Star's offer. Not now, not ever!" I growled as I heard my wolf huff in annoyance inside my head. Zeus didn't like her either.
"I'm sorry to have to bring it up again; I know you are unhappy with the case, but the elders are.."
"Damn the elders! They don't know what is going on, Blake, even you know Luna Star better than they do. All they do is sit in expensive suits drinking herbal tea, or Goddess knows what's up in their penthouses. At the same time, I have to deal with this kind of shit, not even to talk about the attack from last month, which remains unsolved because of lack of the right resources, so you go back and tell them to shove it where the sun don't shine, got it?" I gritted out in frustration.
"I will talk to them, but what if they still want you to go meet her? Then what?" My Beta asked with his hands up.
"Go first and text me if they are having difficulty again, okay?"
"Sure, will you attend the annual Northern Lights ball this weekend?" He asked with his hand on the door handle. I rubbed my stubble and thought for a moment. Should I go or bury myself in the work still left to do? I contemplated.
"If you want, I can ask around for a nice lady to accompany you so you don't have to go alone if that is the problem," he stated.
As fast as the wind, I snapped my head up and gave him a look that made him quickly bow and scurry out of my office. "The audacity!" I muttered as I turned my attention to my email box, which contained a new message.
Thirty minutes later, I closed my laptop, walked out into the hallway, and went to the kitchen, where I bumped into Misha, the cook.
"Afternoon, Alpha. Can I get you something to drink or to eat, perhaps?" she asked with a warm smile.
"No, thank you. Can I ask how the preparations for the ball are coming along?" I asked while taking a seat at the kitchen table.
"Good. I only feel we might run out of supplies, but my mother can fix that, so no worries, Alpha. You can enjoy the festivities this weekend!" Misha mushed.
"Hmm, that is good, but why do you think we might run out?"
"Well, I don't want to stir up things, but…."
"But what, Misha? Come on. I am your Alpha. Tell me!" I used some Alpha power to convince her to speak up.
"I know, Alpha and I don't want to keep things from you, truly, but I am just not sure of what I saw, so how can I tell you if I am not even certain myself?" she whispered while her eyes scanned the room.
I stood before her, gently, gently putting her shoulders. "Just tell me the truth, Misha. Just what you saw or heard is all. That of you, alright?" the young, reluctant omega. She sighed and took a deep breath before speaking up.
"Strange things are happening in our pack, Alpha, Alpha. Sometimes, it's a feeling in my gut, another. Other times, I notice I have put in certain places that have moved or are missing. I just don't know who or why these are happening back. It puts me on edge." She finally spills the beans to me.
I scratch the back of my head thinking.
Thanks for telling me the truth, Misha; now go finish up for lunch, and I will see you tonight at dinner, alright?"
"Yes, Alpha, and thank you!" she softly says, to which I nod before standing up.
All these problems seemed to smother me little by little, so I wanted to let go of everything and let Zeus take over. I went to my room, changed into something comfortable, went back downstairs, and left the pack house through the back entrance, away from prying eyes. Once far from the main building, I quickly let Zeus take over and run into the woods with the wind in my fur.
"Finally, it was about time!" Zeus scolded in my head as we ran towards the hills.
"I know, but my time is minimal this day, as you know, so this will have to do for now, buddy!" I replied.
"I, we have our mate; you would not work yourself to death!" Zeus said firmly, making my eyes roll inwardly at him.
"Well, we don't have one now, do we? So take it easy and enjoy this moment, will you? "I bite back, annoyed at my wolf, who can be pretty pushy sometimes.
With a huff, he shut his mouth and kept quiet for the rest of our run through the woods, which I was thankful for since I thought this would be the last time before the ball that I had time to relax a bit. An hour or so later, I returned, changed, and put my clothes back on while standing between the trees. From my position, I got a nice view of the main pack house, the small hospital we had, and the school.
When I was about to depart the treeline, I slotted an unknown car driving from behind the school, making me frown. Wondering who was driving that car, I walked to the back of the school to see if there was somebody I could ask. Unfortunately, the only one I came across was a young pup, the son of our healer, so I just cuddled the pup for a moment and continued to the main entrance.
Inside, I went straight to the teachers' break room and was about to enter when I heard a soft whisper coming from the adjacent door. I paused, removed my hand from the door handle, and listened.
"Does he know?" I heard the voice of our kindergarten teacher ask.
"I don't think so, and I think it is better if he doesn't!" Another unknown woman replied.
"But if he starts to ask questions, what then?" Nancy spoke again.
The other woman sighed and did not reply for a moment. "If that happens, let me know, and I will tell you what to do, okay?" the woman replied to Nancy.
"Fine, but if I get into trouble for this, you will go down with me!" Nancy stated firmly.
"Whatever, just remember that this is bigger than you and me, Nancy!" The woman spoke last, and then I heard one of the windows being opened and then closed again. Quickly, I walked out of the school and back to the pack house, where I went straight up to the shower. I needed a long, hot shower to help me organize my scrambled thoughts. Something was happening in my pack, and I had to find out what it was because I suddenly felt it was something big and terrible.
I quickly removed my sweaty clothes, went under my rain shower, which I had installed a month ago, and sighed in relief as the water soaked my tired body. For a brief moment, I wondered if having a mate would indeed solve my problems, but then I pushed it away again because having a mate would also mean keeping my mate safe, and right now, I could not make that promise, not even to my pack members. I closed my eyes and let the water fall over my face. I needed somebody's help, but who could I trust? I trusted Beta, but he seemed to struggle sometimes with power control, which was not helpful at the moment. So who then? In my head, I started making a list of people I would write down later after I finished my shower, and then I would make some phone calls.
If someone were sabotaging my pack, I would like to find out before the ball.