Chapter 9

DARIUS POV

A rat. A fucking rat. How could this happen? Why was this happening now? My pack members seem happy. Nobody complains, but then again, if people were unhappy with me, would they truly bring it that complaint to me- probably not. It felt like a knife was being driven into my back. I guess, metaphorically, I am being stabbed in the back. But by whom? Who amongst my pack members would stoop so low to associate with rogues and offer my head to them? And on top of that, endanger the rest of our pack. Rogues are unpredictable wolves. Not having a pack to call their own can make them become wild and feral. We have been lucky that we haven’t lost any pack members this last year during the rogue attacks, but many have been injured. Several of our warriors were close to losing their lives. And a few of the females were targeted as well- it’s common for rogue wolves to kidnap young and unmated she-wolves to force mark them and rape them. This ties the she-wolf to that rogue under the chosen mate bond. And the only way to break a chosen bond is to have one of the mates die, or to find your fated mate, but fated mates no longer exist. Many she-wolves have taken their own lives to avoid being taken as a lifelong prisoner of a rogue wolf. Yes, the she-wolf could reject the rogue, but that only works if you know the person’s full name to say during the rejection, and the rogue would still have to accept the rejection. It’s horrible. We have been fortunate to not have had that happen in a long time, not since I was newly appointed to alpha. Forced marking and rape is disgusting and done by the lowest and most vile of wolves. Tobias finally cleared his throat and pulled me from my thoughts. I realized that my wolf was coming forward to the point where my claws were digging into the table.

            “Alpha, how would you like us to proceed with this information?” Tobias asked calmly to try and help me calm down. This dude is built like a fucking tank but is the best at staying calm and keeping things light when needed. I’m lucky to have him by my side. Is he on my side though? Who can I trust anymore?

            “This sickens me. I know I am not the perfect alpha. I try to lead this pack fairly and with kindness for all members. A part of me wants to put all the pack under alpha command and ask them if they have been betraying us.” I said with so much anger laced in my voice. My hands were still planted firmly on the table, though my claws have retracted. I noticed at this suggestion everyone’s eyes went wide. Putting my pack members under alpha command requires me to push out my aura and force them to obey me and answer truthfully- it takes away their free will and can cause physical pain for some. Though it would get me answers quickly, I would risk losing the trust that I have built over the last decade. “I think we all need to work together to identify potential insider threats and question them.” I provided this suggestion hoping to see everyone relax and agree.

            “Emmy and I discussed that as a strategy as well, Alpha.” Lucas replied. I almost forgot Emerald prefers to be called Emmy. Daya mentioned that Emmy would be too respectful to not correct me. “We think that whoever the insider threat is, it’s best if we don’t disclose that we know about them. That could lead to them panicking and doing something that endangers the pack even more. The most obvious groups to look at first would be your warriors.” The moment he said that, Justin stiffened and went to speak.

            “If you think any of my guys are to blame for these rogue attacks, you got some serious balls, Gamma, with all due respect.” Justin began. I wanted to cut him off, but I’m curious to see why he’s so sure it’s none of the warriors. “Each of those men have fought and defended this pack over the years. Their blood and sweat are proof of how seriously they take defending this pack. Who else is on your list?” Justin crossed his arms over his chest. His tattooed arms were on full display. I straightened my posture and gestured to Justin with my hand.

            “Calm down, Justin. I get why Lucas’ suggestion is pissing you off. But you get why we have to explore all possibilities. The warriors make sense as the first group to look at since they know the patrol schedules for the guards and where they are supposed to be located. The average pack members don’t know those specific details. I would say we add to the list any mates of the warriors. They may know this information as well.” I had to check Justin. I will not allow him to disrespect Lucas when 1) Lucas outranks Justin and 2) Lucas is doing his job as a defensive strategist. We are going to need Justin to cooperate to ensure we properly sift through all the warriors.

            “Let’s not forget all the new female warriors.” Daya cut into the conversation. I was surprised to hear her suggest that. But it makes sense. Could some of the women be eager to become warriors in an attempt to get access to our patrol schedules and routes, and feed this information to a rogue wolf? I hate not being able to trust my pack members and having to question everyone.

            “That’s actually a great suggestion Miss Diamond…” Lucas began.

            “Daya, please call me Daya.” And like the whip cracker she is, this girl has no problem correcting people. I respect that and dare I say I find that confidence attractive? Most she-wolves lack that level of confidence. “I know I’m not a member of this pack, and your hospitality is most appreciated. Let me know what I can do to help eliminate any of the newer female warriors as threats. I have yet to get any nefarious vibes from them, but again, I’m still finding my footing here.” Confident and humble when it matters? I wish I had seen this side of her during our first meeting. I was so blinded by her initial comment about our pack that I wouldn’t allow myself to see this side of her.

            “Yes, Daya. Even the female warriors should be looked at as potential threats. The fact that so many of them pushed for a female squad can be interpreted as a means to gain access to information.” Emmy agreed with her friend’s suggestion.

            “After we clear the warriors, we should look at pack staff- people who work in key places like the packhouse, the school, and all the shop and business owners within the pack.” Lucas finally added. That is a long list. Our pack is not as big as it once was, but we have close to 400 members now. We have close to 50 warriors, now 70 if we include the female squad. And the pack staff and business owners make up and additional 50 members. That’s almost a third of the pack that we need to investigate.

            “What are they key attributes, or red flags we should look for to helps us identify threats quickly and easily?” I asked Lucas and Emmy. Lucas nodded to Emmy, signaling that she should answer this question. In the short time she has been here, her and Lucas have developed a good rapport and working relationship.

            “Um, for starters, we need to note any changes in behavior. Obviously, Daya and I will be less helpful here since we don’t know your pack members. But if anyone seems off from how they typically behave, maybe distracted, or forgetful, or maybe they seem extra eager for responsibility when they are typically lazy. Obviously, if anyone is openly talking about wanting to overthrow Alpha Darius, or voices a lot of frustration with pack leadership, that could indicate they may be willing to help rogues overthrow you, Alpha.” Emmy said.

            “Anything else?” I asked, hoping she and Lucas could provide any extra details to help us narrow our search more quickly.

            “If anyone seems uncomfortable around you, Alpha.” Lucas added. This made me arch an eyebrow at him and he could read the confusion on my face. “If someone is plotting against you, they may be on edge around you because they do not want to be found out. So, make you presence more known during training sessions and see what you can pick up from the warriors. Visit the local shops in the town and see how the pack members respond to you visiting them. You should be able to sense when something is off.” Lucas said. This made sense and would probably be the best way to uncover the rat- back them into a corner and see how they respond. I nodded in agreement and started to feel myself relax a little, or as much as I could in this current situation. I surveyed everyone in the room. These were the people I had to put all my trust into over the next few weeks.

            As I shifted my gaze around the room, my eyes locked with Daya’s very briefly. She didn’t look away. Instead, she held my gaze and gave me a slight nod. Almost to say, ‘we got this.’ I gave a quick nod back to her and turned my attention back to the rest of the group.

            “Okay. We know what to do. I want daily reports from you two.” I pointed to Justin and Daya. “Tobias and I will join the morning training sessions to assist with this process. Did you two mention that the women and men would start training together soon?” I asked Justin.

            “Yes, Daya and I were planning on starting that in the near-future, but I don’t think the she-wolves are anywhere near ready to spar with the warriors.” Justin replied. “They could get seriously hurt.” He added.

            “How else do you expect them to learn?” Daya interrupted him. “The women obviously have less experience compared to the men, but perhaps mixing them sooner will help them all get more acquainted and will get the women used to fighting opponents bigger than them. If you are worried about the women getting hurt, then I suggest you ask your warriors if they will go easy on true female opponents in a real battle. If so, that is weakness they need to overcome as well.” She said while crossing her arms, which pushed her breasts up slightly, but not in a flirtatious way. No. This girl was showing that she believed in our she-wolves and we should as well.

            “Then it’s settled, the women and men will start training together tomorrow morning.” I said, slapping my hand on top of the table as if it was a gavel. I could see the smile spreading across Daya’s face. I have yet to see her truly smile. She has a great smile. And I couldn’t help but smirk knowing I was the one who caused her to smile.

            “One last thing, Alpha.” Lucas chimed in, almost raising his hand as if asking for permission to speak. He knows he doesn’t have to do that but being that he is a couple years younger than I am, he is more formal with me compared to Tobias. “The full moon is in two days. This usually means more pack members will go for runs in the evening under the full moon. We should suspend nighttime runs until we have effectively dealt with this rogue-informant situation.” He said with a serious tone. Full moons used to be a time for people to find their fated mates. But since the Fated Plague, most wolves just go for joy runs under the full moon or claim their chosen mates. Lucas makes a good point about imposing a curfew to ensure heightened protection of our pack members.

            “That’s an excellent suggestion, Lucas. Let’s announce tomorrow that there will be an 8 o’clock curfew every night for the foreseeable future until these rogue attacks are under control.” Everyone nodded at me, satisfied with the decisions made during this meeting. I dismissed them all and stayed back in the conference after they all left. I don’t have a good feeling. My gut tells me something bad is going to happen soon.