CHAPTER NINE

As the sun went down, I stood in front of my mirror, thinking about how I looked for the pack's yearly festival. I took a deep breath and came out of my room. The place was full of energy, with the smell of food and the sounds of people having fun. I looked around and saw Troy with some pack members. He noticed me looking at him, smiled, and walked toward me. Even though I was annoyed with him, I still felt nervous and happy.

"Blue, you look stunning," he said

"Thanks," I replied, my tone guarded.

“Shall we?" he asked, extending his arm for me to take.

I placed my hand on his arm as he guided me around the venue, showing me the different attractions.

Suddenly, a young boy around six years old rushed toward us, excitedly exclaiming, "Alpha Troy, look at what I made!"

“Look, I drew a picture of you because you are my favorite person in the whole wide world,” he announced proudly.

He proudly displayed a crudely drawn picture of Troy, which was barely recognizable. I struggled to suppress my laughter, not wanting to hurt the child's feelings. Troy seemed taken aback by the drawing but managed to conceal his thoughts.

"Wow, it's quite something. You are going to be a great artist one day," Troy encouraged, patting the boy's head.

“ Thank you Alpha Troy” he answered, feeling very pleased and proud of himself. “ I'm going to draw more of you”

“Oh dear, you don't have to, this is more than enough. Thank you” he assured him.

“Okay Alpha, you can keep that drawing,” he said as Heran off to go play with his friends.

Troy turned to me, surprised by the drawing. "This looks nothing like me."

"If you squint and tilt your head, you might see a resemblance," I teased.

Troy placed his hand on his head, seemingly baffled by my comment. "That is so not true."

"Sure it is. Big head, tiny eyes, exactly like you," I said.

"I am too handsome for this." Troy grinned.

"You and that drawing are practically twins," I continued “ Besides who's kid is that?”

“ They are all mine,” he said, pointing at some children playing together.

I opened my mouth in disbelief, He is such a flirt, no wonder he has so many children, They Probably have different Mothers too, I thought to myself. I wondered how many of them he had deceived with his stupid charm.

"No, no, no. It's not what you're thinking," he quickly clarified.

"Really," I replied, raising an eyebrow.

"They are my adopted children. Their pack was attacked, and they lost their parents. I took them in as my own," he explained.

"I find that hard to believe," I responded. "Redmoon packs are known to be heartless."

"Sure, there is some truth in that stereotype. But one thing is certain, I love these children with all my heart and I have made a vow to protect them as if they were my own," Troy stated firmly.

This was not how I expected things to play out, what’s going on here, is this one of his tactics, his Troy saying and doing all those things to distract me, whatever it is I am not falling for this facade.

"I am sorry about earlier," Troy finally said, breaking the silence.

"Which part?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"All of it," he admitted with a shrug. "I can be... difficult."

"Difficult is an understatement." I smirked.

Troy's smile widened. “Can't argue with that”

"Let me go get us some drinks," Troy offered before leaving my side.

Xena approached me with a pointed question, "What are you up to?"

"Huh?" I stammered, taken aback by his sudden inquiry.

"Do not play stupid with me, Blue. I know you are up to something," Xena stated firmly.

"I genuinely have no idea what you are talking about," I replied.

"You do not fool me at all. You might have managed to somehow gain our alpha's trust, but I see right through you,” Xena declared.

I swallowed nervously, struggling to find the right words.

Troy walked back over to us and handed me a drink. "What's going on here?"

"We were just discussing the stars," Xena quickly explained, glancing at the sky.

"Okay then, no problem," Troy nodded.

Troy then turned to Xena and asked, "Can I have Blue back?"

"Of course," Xena agreed, giving me one last look before he walked away.

Once alone with me, Troy inquired, "So, what's going on?"

"I have got a bit of a headache, and I think I would like to head home," I said to him.

"Can you wait a little while? I need to give a brief speech, and then we can go home together," Troy proposed.

"It's alright, I can manage to walk home on my own," I assured him.

"No problem, go get some rest,"

As I was going home a thought struck me, this was the perfect time to go check out that office and try to gather as much information as possible.

I looked everywhere to see if anybody was following me before I changed my lane and headed to Troy's main office.

My main goal was to uncover how their pack operated, understand where they were strong or weak, and obtain their blueprint, basically, a map of Redmoon's territory showing guard positions and potential vulnerabilities.

The night was silent as a graveyard as I neared Troy's office building, my heart was pounding against my ribs like a warning.

I knew I had to be careful and avoid any attention. I scanned the area for security guards, making sure I was not walking into a trap. Seeing none, I found an unlocked side entrance and slipped inside. The corridor was dimly lit and I barely found my way to Troy's office.

I cautiously tested the doorknob of his main office, my pulse quickening. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. I slipped inside and gently shut the door behind me with care. My senses are on full alert.

The office was tidy, with moonlight filtering through the curtains. I spotted the massive shelf holding an array of files and handwritten documents and I went to it. I began to filter through the files and read documents.

Just as I was lost in search, a sudden crack cut through the silence like a dagger,The door swung open with a loud groan, and I held my breath as I looked at the figure standing right in front of me. In my startled reaction, the files slipped from my grasp and fell to the ground.