"An intruder in the pack…Is the Blackmoon pack becoming weak?" The Elder said nothing about Markkus's changes, even though he was also surprised. Instead, he chose to attack the Alpha. "If the Lord Vlad knows this, a replacement will surely– "
"How dare you," The Alpha growled, his jaw clenched in anger. As his face darkened, he continued, "I am still the Alpha of this pack and ruler of this city, and I will not be questioned by anyone."
The Elder's expression remained calm, but a hint of mockery danced in his eyes. "I am not questioning your authority, Alpha," he said smoothly. "I am merely pointing out that an intruder was able to breach our pack's defenses and kill over 150 of our pack members," he sighed deeply and continued;
"...even though there are 7 packs in this kingdom, Lord Vlad chose Blackmoon city as his home, further enhancing the strength and prestige of the Blackmoon pack, yet, the pack was breached…" shaking his head, he added, "Are you not worried of losing the Lord's face? Perhaps it is time for a change in leadership."
The Alpha's face turned red with rage, and he took a step forward as a blue light slowly danced around him, conveying his fury. "You dare to question my leadership and imply that I am embarrassing the Lord?"
The Elder's expression remained calm as ever, not afraid that the Alpha might kill him. "I speak the truth, Alpha," he said, "And the truth is, you have grown complacent and weak. You rely too heavily on your son to do your bidding. But what happens when he returns to the Academy? Would the pack then fall?"
The Alpha's face turned purple with rage. His claws elongated, ready to tear the Elder apart, but before he could do what, his beta held him back, and another Elder spoke up;
"Enough, Elijah! You don't talk to the Alpha in that manner."
Elijah shrugged and said nothing more. Without waiting to be dismissed, he turned around and walked away calmly with his hands behind him.
This blatant disrespect angered the Alpha so much that his liver burned with fury. A ball of ice appeared on his palm. Unable to control his rage, shot the ball towards Elder Elijah, but before the ball could hit the oblivious Elder who was still walking away, the Alpha's beta sent a ball of flame, colliding with ice and produced a loud bang as it dropped to the ground and melted into water.
Even with the corrosion, Elder Elijah didn't turn to look. He continued on his way, his lips curled in a sneer.
Before the Alpha could direct his anger at his beta for disrupting his attack, the man quickly knelt on one knee. "Alpha, please be calm. If you kill him, your intentions might be questioned, and your enemies might twist the truth," looking up and seeing that his Alpha was slowly starting to regain his sanity, he sighed with relief.
His beta was right, but the Alpha can't let Elder Elijah keep living after disrespecting so much in public, and the beta knew this.
Since the Lycan wasn't back yet, they would find a way to deal with Elijah secretly. Otherwise, if they dealt with him in the open, it might be interpreted as the Alpha trying to get rid of the Lycan's people.
This was one of the reasons the Alpha wanted Vlad dead. With him around, he would continue to be disrespected by those so-called loyal subjects of his.
…
Maria staggered into Miranda's courtyard, leaning to one side. Although her bleeding had stopped, she looked extremely pale like a white sheet and her eyes had sunken deep into her skull, giving her a hauntingly fragile appearance.
Agnes, who had been pacing back and forth, waiting for her good news, was horrified at the sight of her sister. Seeing Maria was about to collapse, she rushed over and supported her by the arm.
"Maria, what happened?" she exclaimed. This was her only sister. They'd been by Miranda's side right from when they were little. Seeing her little sister in this condition traumatized her.
"S– she's a monster," she whispered and then passed out.
"Maria!... My Lady! Help!" Agnes shouted, her voice carrying across the courtyard.
The warriors, who escorted them to the Blackmoon pack poured out and surrounded them. One of the healers who also came with them, rushed forward to take a look at Maria.
Although Maria and her sister stayed by Miranda's side as servants, they actually weren't servants. They were powerful warriors, disguised as servants to spy on the Blackmoon pack, and protect Miranda from potential threats, reason they were so shocked to see Maria this badly wounded.
The healer's eyes widened as she examined Maria, "We need to get her to the infirmary, now."
One of the warriors quickly carried Maria towards the pack's infirmary. Agnes followed closely behind, her eyes blazing with anger and worry.
"Whoever did this to you, I promise I'll kill them!"
While Agnes was in distress, Miranda was having her beauty sleep. She wasn't worried that her plan would fail. She didn't believe that a wolfless servant like Evelyn could thwart her plans.
…
Markkus and his team got to the battle area and his eyes grew cold at the sight of dead bodies littering the scene. At intervals, he bent over to check if there were survivors but no single one of them escaped death.
Just then, he realized where they were. He looked in the direction of the cabin. Seeing the door was destroyed, he hurried over, and to his dismay, the whole place was colored with the blood of his cousin and his friends.
Markkus clenched his fist. This was his territory, where he banned anyone except Evelyn from coming. He built this place to have sex with Evelyn, since he couldn't take her to his quarters, because his mother wouldn't allow it.
Because this place was his and Evelyn, no one else would recklessly come here, so what exactly happened?
Lost in thought, he caught sight of a broken pair of sandals scattered on the floor, and his eyes narrowed as he recognized them. They belonged to the servants.
Just as he went over to pick them up, his eyes fell on an earring on the bed. Picking it up, his eyes shook… It was Evelyn's!