Chapter Five

It took Damon over an hour to get his account in order. No one knew the documentation that comes with war. He had to make sure his people at home didn’t starve as his men got all they needed to fight in battle.

Most of what he did should be run by his Luna. But he was a madman begrudged by the idea of love and commitment.

During his parents' time, his father ran the field and his mother ran the records. They worked so well in sync and made it seem so easy. Too easy.

But according to those who found their mates, it was always easy with the one made for you. Well, in the end, it wasn’t all that easy for his parents, was it?

He scoffed. His sudden craving for a drink told him he was at his wit's end. Ralph would burst into his doors soon.

His beta was a big worrier. While him, he believed in things happening as they should, as long as they were on his terms.

This chaos was brought by his father’s legacy and his too. Not every alpha can testify to being one of few. He wasn’t a shallow man. But he knew of his reputation.

He didn’t have to be told how terrified other packs were of him. It was a reputation he built out of intense rage and a desire to seek some sort of vengeance against the world.

His pack knew him to be angry all the time. His men went silent when he graced their midst. And his enemies ran miles away from his shadow.

He knew very well what, and who, he was to all of them. For fuck sake they called him the mad alpha. And they spawned horror stories about his reign. Some were true.

Okay, most.

But he couldn’t give a single damn.

They didn’t know how much steel he had burned into his shoulders so he could carry this weight. They thought he was mad. Well, for that one thing, he’d agree.

Slowly, like he had all the time in the world, he stood from his desk toward the bottle of scotch that awaited him.

He wasn’t much of a drinker. But Ralph wasn’t a good influence when it came to alcohol. He believed the only way to solve a problem was to drink it away.

That was utter bullshit of cou—

“Alpha!” The door to his study collapsed open as he poured his drink.

With enough irritation, he burnt a glare at the panting delta before him. “Somewhere better be on fire.”

“They are here.” She sounded out of breath and terrified.

He knew Skyler. Noting fazed her.

“Who?” He forgot his drink and bolted out the door.

His every intention to meet the enemy head-on and cause them great hurt.

“The omega sensed them. They’re coming from every corner and they are many.”

Suddenly he paused. What the hell did she mean by the omega?

“Explain yourself.”

He was sparingly patient for her to move from behind him to his line of sight. Her eyes remained low as she spoke.

“Y-your rejected, she sensed enemies coming from the woods. Even my wolf couldn’t sense them at that distance but she knows something’s wrong. The slave seemed to see them even and she says they’re moving from the —”

“You come running with your feet behind your head because an omega tells you to.” His teeth grind in disgust.

What exactly was happening in his pack?

First, the goddess gives him dirt for a mate. Now one of his best deltas was panicking because an omega of all things said so.

He needed that drink now.

“Alpha, I swear to you on my house and that of my father. The omega does not lie. She heard them and she has no reason to raise a false alarm. We are at a time that is crucial and vulnerable. The pack should be safer than sorry.”

Nothing about what she said was untrue. Every warning had to be taken seriously. He knew they’d start coming the moment his name appeared on that list.

But never would he run in panic on a slave’s word.

“Find Ralph. He should use the secret routes and watch out for intruders. Word should be sent back the moment the air smells funny.”

Skyler bowed. “Yes, Alpha.” Then turned to obey.

“Skyler.”

She stopped dead in her tracks. “Yes, alpha?”

“Say no word of the slave’s warning.”

Skyler frowned but nodded. “Of course.”

She ran off as soon as he turned his back to return to his study.

He matched straight to his abandoned glass. Downing every drop as he unmasked the motion going on in his mind.

Two days ago his men came from one of the longest battles they’d ever fought. They came victorious but there was great casualty. No one, outside of his pack, knew of his return.

He made sure of that. For his men to heal, and time for him and Ralph to prep their new defense.

If Skyler’s words were true, then these intruders knew the right time to strike was now. They knew of his return and that their defense was weak at the moment.

Yet, they choose a surprise attack. Why not come barging in if you know your enemy was weak and crawling?

That was what he would do. Although he’d always barged in the front regardless of his enemy’s strength.

That way why they choose to sneak into his pack and begin the war. They knew he would come at them with all he had and that would only mean death. For them.

“Damon.”

It was Ralph. He, and the elders, were the only ones who had a direct mind link to the alpha.

“Ralph. How many?”

“I think we should estimate over a hundred. They are divided into groups and positioned strategically around our parameter.”

“Leave a delta behind and return to the pack. I’ll meet you in the battle room. Bring every available delta you find.”

“Okay.”

Just like that. The air turned cold and pruned. He stormed out of his study and headed down the passage. The battle room was secluded from the house and well hidden.

By the time he got there, Rosalind was seated. She rose and bowed as he walked to his seat at the head of the large, oval table.

“You heard.”

“Ralph called. How bad do you think it is?”

He shook his head, dismissing her worry immediately. The first rule of being an alpha. Fear was for the weak.

“We’ll be okay. Make sure you get everyone inside their homes but raise no alarm. Ralph said they were in groups. I don’t want anyone in the pack running into them.”

“Alright.” She stood and headed for the door.

As she left, Ralph and Skyler came in. Three male enforcers and two female deltas followed.

They bowed to the Alpha and stood ready for instructions.

“How do we look?” Damon questioned Ralph.

“Other deltas and enforcers are on their way here. They are told to be quiet with their movement not to alarm the pack. Two guards are keeping watch of the secret route. Once the others arrive we’ll attack.”

“No.” Damon moved from his chair.

“No?” Ralph frowned. “You want us to wait. We’ll be sitting in a trap. They might not wait till nightfall. I say we go wait for them at the entrance and fight them head-on.

Damon nodded. He understood his beta’s plan. It was his initial intention as well. But it wasn’t his way and right now, he had a sense of rage in him.

There were intruders in his territory. And someway, somehow, they were delusional enough to think his home would be an easy target. And he wanted to destroy them but in the most brutal, subtle way.

“We won’t wait. And we don’t go with many.”

Ralph stepped forward. “What do you mean?”

“Get all the deltas and enforcers back to their post. Only the people in this room come with me. They think they have the element of surprise but now so do we.”

“We know they’re coming but they don’t know we are too.”

“Yes Skyler. The table has turned and I plan to make sure none of them step a foot closer to my pack.”

They nodded. The rage in their alpha boiled in their veins as well. Just like him, they let their wolves loose. Eyes glowed and fangs showed.

“We move in quiet. We attack loud. And we lay them all to waste.” Damon’s blue eyes were gone. The deep red in his eyes glowed in the sun.

His primal rage was to destroy and it bared grit in his sharp, bared fangs. And his deathly claws that could tear through metal.

On his command, they advanced, as light as a feather, out of the room. They knew the mission at hand and it would hold no prisoners.

“Skyler,” Damon called as the others left

She was the last to move out. “Yes, Alpha?”

“Get the slave. Bring her with you.”

She frowned. An omega was useless in battle. Except this was about something else. “Will she be punished?”

“It depends.”

“If I might ask Alpha,” Skyler muttered. “On what?”

His eyes deepened into a chilling void, brimming with ominous threat. “Her ability to tell a lie.”

This sent a shiver down Skylar’s bones. Today might be Aurora’s last.