CHAPTER SIX

                                           

"Some elders are here to see you" Lucian informed Zephyr on entering his study. 

"What do they want now?" Zephyr groaned in frustration. He had a lot on him mind and talking to these nagging elders wasn't one of it. He knew that whenever they came, they came with trouble.

"I have no idea" Lucian rolled his eyes as if to say that he did not possess the ability of reading minds.

"Let them in" Zephyr said. It was better to deal with them once and for all and get over with it than to continue stretching the meeting.

Lucian nodded and left the study. Shortly after, he came back with few elders.

Two elders, seemingly the oldest, sat in front of Zephyr's table while the rest took the couch and Lucian stood beside his Alpha.

"To what do I owe this visit" Zephyr asked with an expression on his face the looked like he wanted them out of his office the next minute.

"We're glad that you were able to resolve the issue. You really showed off your greatness" Harold, the eldest of them all spoke.

"And?" Zephyr asked. He knew that they didn't come all the way here just to tell him of how happy they are and how good of an Alpha he was.

"We've come with a very important suggestion" Celestine, the other elder said

"Which is?" Zephyr said. His words, sounding as though he was interested in what they were saying but his expression said otherwise.

"We think that the reason why the pack was easily accessible to the enemies is because you don't have a mate." Harold finally revealed the reason they came in the first place.

Zephyr chuckled. These elders were delirious.

"How so?" He asked, wanting to know what more rubbish they could come up with.

"Well, if the pack had a Luna, there would have been a good chance that she would have been with the children, hence protecting them"

Zephyr hummed and asked, still faking interest "what's your plan?" 

He needed to know what these elders had in mind so he'd know how to tackle them. If it was in his power, he would have gotten rid of them a long time ago but no, the moon goddess put them by his side to monitor and 'advice' him.

Harold was taken aback by his question, they didn't expect that Zephyr would let them him talk more of hearing them out. This was a new development. If it were before, once they brought up the topic of a mate, he'd tell them to leave but now, he was interested. It seemed like loneliness had finally caught up with him.

"We could organize a mate ball" Harold suggested.

"A mate ball?" Zephyr questioned.

"Yes" Harold said "we'll invite notable Alpha's from different packs with their daughters, maybe your mate could be one of them. Who knows?"

Zephyr pondered on what he had just heard. He wasn't interested in getting a mate but if he agreed to this, these elders would finally let him be.

Even if his mate was to be in the ball, he'd just reject her without anyone finding out and he'll claim that his mate wasn't in the ball. That way, the elders would just give up on him finding a mate.

Excellent idea!

"Okay, do as you please" Zephyr said after making up his mind.

Lucian turned to Zephyr in shock. This was new. The Alpha finally agreed to meet potential ladies that may turn out to be his mate 

Harold and the other elders gasped. They were excited. Finally the pack would have a Luna. This calls for a celebration.

"Thank you Alpha" They thanked him and exited the study, leaving him alone with Lucian.

"What was that about?" Lucian asked immediately the elders left. He was still surprised with this sudden development.

"How do you mean?" Zephyr feigned ignorance.

"You know what I mean, Zephyr" Lucian called him by his name. Even though they were Alpha and beta, they were still best of friends.

Lucian was the rational one while Zephyr acted without a care. That was one of the main reasons why Zephyr chose him as his beta; so he could be that little voice of reason.

Zephyr sighed, he didn't want to tell anyone about his plan especially Lucian because he knew that Lucian would definitely be against it. 

"What's your plan, Zephyr" Lucian asked, he knew that look on Zephyr's face. It was the look of deviousness "what wickedness are you planning now"

Zephyr chuckled, Lucian knew him too well.

"Since the elders quorum want to organize a mate ball for me, then so be it"

"But?" Lucian added. He knew that wasn't all.

"But, if I eventually find my so called mate, I'd simply reject her."

"Why?'' Lucian asked. Many mateless wolves including him were dying to be with their mates because the feeling was ecstatic and here he was, planning on how to reject his mate when he sees her.

"Because having a mate equals to weakness. A mate is a liability" Zephyr deadpanned.

He never wanted to have a mate, it made people weak. His father was a perfect example. He was strong and brave but when he met his mate ~ Zephyr's mom, he lost concentration, leading to their death.

Lucian knew why Zephyr didn't want a mate and he understood. Infact, he had previously made up his mind that he wouldn't force him, when love comes, he'd succumb.

"Get ready, we'll be heading to the company" Zephyr changed the topic, he didn't want to keep talking about the mate stuff and he also had a lot on his table since he had abandoned his work for a few days.

Even if he left his work for a month, no one would ever question him, he was the boss after all. Most of his employees were wolves from his pack, only a few were humans who were oblivious to the fact that they were treading with wolves.

Lucian left the study to get ready. After a while, he got down and met Zephyr in the car garage.

They chose one of Zephyr's luxurious cars and Lucian sat in the driver's seat while Zephyr sat behind. They were heading to the company so it'd be unusual for the humans to see the boss driving his secretary.

When they arrive at the office, the executives waited at the entrance to greet him as usual and then all of them headed to the conference room.

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In the conference room, silence prevailed. No one had the guts to speak and it seemed as though the boss was in a very bad mood.

Zephyr sat at the head of the table, twirling a pen. Lucian wondered what caused the sudden change of mood, his Alpha was really unpredictable.

"One of you has been stealing from me" Zephyr finally broke the silence, his voice deep and deadly making the executives gulp in fear.

Zephyr waited for a while to see if the culprit would come clean and beg for mercy ~ not like he had plans of forgiving him, anyway, he just loved to see people beg.

"Simon, you stole from me" Zephyr said. He didn't want to give the man the opportunity to deny the allegations by asking so he just went straight to the point. 

Simon was the chief accountant. Zephyr knew that the man was cunning but he chose to ignore him. He figured out ages ago that Simon was stealing from him but he wasn't ready to confront him.

Zephyr actually waited for when he knew Simon would be in a dire need of money so he could fire him. Now his wife was about to put to bed and his mother was seriously ill, it was the perfect opportunity.

"B-b boss" He stammered "that's a lie. It's a false accusation. A set up!"

Zephyr chuckled. Humans were always fond of pushing the blames to others that was one of the reasons he hated them with his guts.

Zephyr didn't comment on Simon's excuse, rather he pressed a button on a remote and a slideshow appeared on the projector.

The slideshow showed all of the company's and Simon's statement of account. How and when the transactions were made.

By now, Simon was a mess. He was sweating and shivering at the same time.

Seeing that there was no way to deny, he profusely apologized "I'm sorry sir, it was the devil's handwork"

"All the money you took has been transferred back to the company's account" Zephyr said "and for stealing from me, I'll make sure no one in the whole of London hires you. I'll make your life miserable so much so that you'd wish for death"

"Please don't do this. My wife is almost due for delivery and my mom is seriously ill" Simon cried out.

Zephyr wanted more than anything to tear this man apart with his claws and fangs but he chose not to. The man was human after all. If it were a wolf, he would have been long dead.

Zephyr picked up his phone and made a quick call, shortly after, some men barged in and took away the begging Simon.

Silence reigned over the conference room.

Everyone was scared out of their wits ~except Lucian. He was used to Zephyr's cruelness. Infact he even expected him to do more than he did.