It was a day like every other day in Cinder Pack with people dancing and celebrating in every corner.
Just like it had been for the past ten years, the ruthless alpha of the Pack, Alpha Axton, once again conquered another pack with none of his warriors missing.
While everyone jubilated, two teenage girls no less than 17 covered in dust, sat behind a shed in the market square playing rock-paper-scissors.
"Darn you, Aurelia! If you keep mirroring every move I make, we won't have anything for dinner!" The taller of the girls groaned after a minute.
Aurelia giggled softly, her free hand subconsciously feeling the shawl over her head to see if it was still in place.
In this brief moment, the taller girl suddenly pulled out a higher number of fingers before she could react.
Her face instantly fell, but her friend pulled her closer, eyes darting around to see if anyone was coming as she said, "Listen closely, on my way here, i overheard some drunks saying the Alpha, his warriors and some councilmen are at the motel three streets away."
"Those darn drunks boasted of how they filled their bellies with drums of rum. So I'm sure we'll have plenty to eat if you go there."
Aurelia's opal eyes trembled slightly, "But Lydia…"
Lydia, however, immediately cut her off with a snort, "What? I won fair and square, so don't even think about complaining!"
Sighing with resignation, Aurelia Night nodded and walked off towards the direction her friend pointed at.
She held her shawl tighter and lowered her eyes to the floor, looking up just enough to see where she was headed until the clamoring of drunken men reached her ears.
Lydia was right. There really were an abundance of drunken men here.
This was one of the many nights the Alpha and his warriors went all out, drinking until they someone dropped unconscious.
The food on their plates meant nothing to them and would surely be thrown out tomorrow morning when they went bad.
Catching her breath, she hurriedly strutted around looking for something to pack the foods with until she walked into the shed at the back of the motel.
"Do you think you have a choice in this?"
"Councilman, I know I don't have a choice, but the old lady's situation is going from bad to worse."
"If I keep giving her the potion, it'll only be a matter of time before she goes bonkers and he will surely know there's something going on with her medications."
Aurelia immediately halted and hid behind the empty gallons stacked ontop each other, curiously peering through the hole in one of them.
There were five men. A man who seemed to be in his 40s dressed in an expensive blue robe and three muscular men wearing a familiar uniform.
A councilman and pack warriors?
Her eyes then trailed to the fifth man who was helplessly pinned against the wall by the councilman.
This white robe… only one type of people wore it.
What was a councilman, three warriors and the royal physician doing whispering to each other in a place like this instead of being with their alpha?
She nervously bit down on her lower lip, eyes scouring tbe place for someone else.
She didn't need to hear any more to know whatever was going on here was trouble and certainly not the kind she wanted to be involved in.
But if she left now, the warriors could see her. If they saw her…
She quickly shook away the thought of sneaking out, making up her mind to stay until these men were done with whatever it was they had going on.
With that, she hid properly behind the gallons and continued watching and listening.
The councilman placed both hands on the physician's shoulder and scoffed, "What are you so scared of? It's no news that she's bound to lose her mind any moment from now."
"Keep giving her the potion. She's still the only one her grandson listens to. Have I made myself clear?"
The physician couldn't contain his panic as he bit his right thumb nervously.
"You don't understand. If…"
The councilman instantly cut him off with a sneer, "Of course, you can always refuse to do this."
"I'll just have to bring it up to the alpha one of these days that his grandmother's health seems to be getting worse."
"You know our leader. Even if he's in an important meeting, he'd run right out to make certain she is fine. If he hears something like that and investigates it only to find out it's true…"
The words were yet out of his mouth when the physician nodded vigorously.
"Fine! Alright! I'll do it!"
The councilman was silent for a while before he slightly leaned forward, toward the physician.
At this, the physician backed away until his back was pressed tightly against the wall behind him.
The councilman ignored the fearful look in his eyes and spoke into his face.
"The Alpha is turning 23 this year and as an early bloomer who not only got his wolf at the young age of 12, he also has the biggest wolf in our Cinder pack."
"Yet, he hasn't had a mate yet. He's smart. So it's only a matter of time before he realizes there's something wrong somewhere."
The physician exhaled shakily, "You told me that last night."
"So you made the potion?"
"I already mixed it with the alpha's drinks and watched him drink it."
A wide grin instantly broke out on the councilman's and he reached forward to dust off the dirt on the physician's robe.
"Don't you just like how well this conversation is going? Next time, lead with that."
He then leaned backward and exhaled in satisfaction.
"By tomorrow, our Alpha should have a Luna from a well-respected family by his side. We both agree with that, don't we?"
Relieved he wouldn't be harmed, the physician's throbbing heart gradually returned to its normal beating pace before he bobbed his head in agreement.
With nothing else to talk about, the two parties then turned around, attempting to leave in different direction.
Seeing the councilman head toward her direction, Aurelia hurriedly got on her feet. But in the process, her elbow pushed down one of the gallons and the rest of the empty ones went with it.
A few seconds later, she was staring into the blood-streaked eyes of the councilman.
At this moment, he didn't care who she was. All he cared about was how much she had heard.
So when he saw her running out, he barked at the warriors, "What are you still waiting for? Bring me her head!"