[ALPHA DOMINIC’s Point of View]
My brain kept convincing me that I had to stay and solve this.
But my heart and feet wanted to go to where my car was parked, drive back to the Pack Manor, and stay with my mate and the twins.
I studied all the damage that happened at the eastern borders of my turf. I stood atop the concrete wall protecting this part of my territory from the wild beasts of the forest and felt the soft wind blow on my exhausted face. My hands slipped into the pocket of my black pants as I assessed everything that needed to be fixed and let Liam take care of all of this so I could go back to Samantha as fast as I could.
This poison infected twenty of my elite patrolmen and guards, causing them to go berserk and attack those around them. The healers were still working on it, and Liam told me they should report by this day while I still had time to attend to what happened in this place.
“Alpha,” Liam immediately approached me the second my feet landed on the ground. “The rest of the elite guards and patrolmen are already waiting for your orders. Most of them are convinced that the culprits who did this to their friends are still in the forest and they wanted to raid the place to get rid of those bastards.”
“We are not sure what these devils have in their minds, Liam. Gather our men and wait until I decide to deploy them. We can’t go into that forest and fight when we are not sure yet what kind of poison our soldiers got from that fog. We need to wait for the healers until they generate an effective antidote. That’s when we attack.”
Liam nodded. I understood how upset he was. Those men had been with him since he became the Beta of the pack and seeing them suffer from that f*cking poison makes him enraged. I turned to him and hesitated to go straight to the healer’s tent when I noticed the pain and perturbation in Liam’s eyes.
“Liam,” I said with a firm voice and looked at him with grim eyes.
“Yes.” His jaw tightened and he wasn’t able to look me in the eyes. As his Alpha, I felt his strong desire to avenge his men. “I know how badly you want to go out there. But you are the only person I trust here, Liam. I can’t lose you as well. I need you to stay here and let our soldiers do the raid. Have faith that they can do it. They are trained very well and we have the strongest soldiers on this continent. They can do this.”
Those words somehow eased the tension on Liam’s shoulders until his face relaxed and he looked at me apologetically but with resolve, “I will never forgive these bastards, Dominic. They will pay for what they did.”
“We will make them pay.” I patted Liam on the shoulder and nodded at him reassuringly. “However, we have to be cautious so there will be no casualty on our side. We will wait for the healers.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Liam answered, taking back his composure with his back straight. “I just can’t wait to get rid of those bastards.”
“Me too, Liam. Me too...” I snarled breathily as we headed to the tent of the healers who studied the poison.
*****
“Alpha!”
All the healers and the laboratory workers lined up and bowed their heads the second I stepped inside the tent. The other council members examined me with concern, wondering about my assessment at the eastern gates of the wall.
Everyone was scared and bothered by what was happening. The sudden attacks, the news about the notorious group called Black Claws residing in the forest of our territory. It was the day I feared the most. They think they are not safe anymore in Silver Crescent.
“What did you find, healer? Can this poison be cured?” I asked as I approached them with a grave expression. “We can’t let these enemies kill our men and weaken our defenses. You have to find something that will make our soldiers immune to this fog of poison before I deploy them to attack in the forest.”
“About that,” said one of the councils, uncertain of how he would deliver the information to me. “Me and the healers are convinced that it is not the first time we have encountered this poison, Alpha.”
My brows furrowed, perplexed by what I learned. “What do you mean this is not the first time? What’s going on here?”
One of the lab workers, the head of their operations, stepped forward with both his hands in the pockets of his laboratory coat. “I am afraid the substance is the same toxin we found on those wild rogues who attacked the Luna and the Alpha of the Moonstone Pack, Alpha Dominic,” he explained nervously as he tried to look me straight in the eyes.
The rogues... does that mean—
“They had been targeting Miss Samantha since then.” Liam must have read the shock on my face as I looked at him. “It’s not a coincidence, Alpha. It’s not the first time Miss Samantha was attacked by rogues and her life was put in danger.”
I bit my lower lip and then looked down—my head full of thoughts. This is what Ethan had talked about—a huge conspiracy that dragged Samantha and my twins into danger. The Black Claws were desperate enough to kill everyone who was connected to the Werewolf King and I had to make sure Samantha and the kids were well-protected before they made their next move.
“I have to go back,” I murmured and Liam gave me a puzzled look.
“I have to go back to Samantha, Liam. I need you to stay here and wait until the healers find a way to immunize our soldiers from this poison fog. Make sure the gates are closed! Report to me right away if something strange happens outside the walls and wait for my orders.” I snarled at Liam with a dark look on my face. “I have to go and check on Samantha and the kids.”
“Copy, Alpha,” Liam answered. “You can leave everything to me.”
“Thank you, Liam,” I murmured and then I walked out to the tent, worried for Samantha and my twins.