CHAPTER SEVEN

RYLAN'S POV

Soon after they'd discarded the dead body, we got into the zone of business. I stepped briefly into the bathroom to wash my bloody hand. Under the water gushing from the tap, I watched the water turn red as they flowed down to my fingers and through the drain in the basin. Soon, I was done. I reentered the office again, to meet the presence of older wolves.

Zadik then proceeded to notify me of the arrival of a few notable personalities sent by Commander Vladimir, who was the Alpha of the Bloodtrail pack.

"Bloodtrail pack?" I echoed after him, surprised at such peculiar name. Never heard of them. "Is it a new pack that just got birthed or have they been existing for ages?"

"Your majesty, I would have you know that while you were making plans to make Venn your... Luna," I could tell how he fought the urge to whack me upside the head with the laptop in his grip. "I'd been making my own findings and turned out they've been around for plenty centuries. Just not into public exposure like other packs."

Someone cleared his throat on the other side of the table, a bit to my left and near the door. He was an elderly wolf. "That's a very peculiar pack if you ask me but what do I know? Pack names should be the least of our issues now. We already have a partner to pull in when the going gets tough."

"I think that's worth sharing a mug of wolf ale for." Another elderly wolf added with a smirk, sharing an amused look with the first one who'd spoken earlier.

Two of them were men who'd served my father well, diligently offering their advise and wisdom, eventually leading the war alongside my father which have resulted in countless victories.

I'd be crazy to retire them at a time like this and although they no longer served in the council as head warriors, I needed their seasoned experience as my father was already on the brink of death. Who else was better suited for the positions than the very men who'd faced death before and conquered?

My train of thought was cut short when a hand waved in my face.

"Earth to the soon coming Alpha." It was Zadik. I wanted to grab a hold of his arm and twist it until it broke.

"What?" I snapped at him.

His eyes gleamed a faint yellow before he dropped his gaze, not wanting his beast to challenge mine.

Of course. I didn't want to turn the room into a pool of blood. His blood. That'd be the most unfair reward for someone who was loyal to the pack. So I tightened the rein on my monster.

He was in a very irritable mood and just wanted a bloodbath.

"The visitors are here awaiting your acknowledgement." Zadik tried a more polite approach this time. He appeared to be vexed about something. That would be a discussion for another time.

My eyes left Zadik's face and I brought them to settle upon our new guests. The wolves from the Bloodtrail pack. Quite a strange name but I would come into terms with it.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Straightening my spine and pulling myself to my full height, I ambled towards them, trying to let their appearance sink in and my monster get to work by doing a mental character analysis.

"Clear." He reported in a gruff voice in my head. Not less than a second later, he added in a low tone even as he retreated, "But strange."

That seemed to get my attention but it could come later as well. For now, we focused our attention on our allies. Greater enemies lied ahead.

"Your majesty." The first man stepped forward, his head bowed in greetings. He smelled like any regular wolf would, the regular earthly musk and the heady scent of manliness except that it was accompanied by the faint stench of rot. The others also did the same, bending over from the waist.

Have they also been burying their dead like we have? If their reply was in the affirmative, then I understood why they wanted the alliance done as soon as possible.

He raised his head and so did the others. By now, I'd figured out he was the one appointed to be their spokesman. It reminded me a lot of Zadik everytime we had a conference for all Alphas.

Less than a century ago since my father's disposition, I'd let my monster get the best of me, snarling and growling at whoever. The council of ministers didn't trust me to be sane during those meetings, so we pushed Zadik forward. As much as he hated it, he was the most rational wolf I'd ever met.

Despite being built like a wall with a mind of steel, he had a long thread of patience. But be mindful, he could turn on you faster than you can blink.

"I'm sure you might've fleshed out why we're here so early. The evil has nearly taken over your lands, so we heard, and we cannot be seated idle to watch this happen. We've made contact with our grand command unit, spoken to General Vlad our Alpha and a few other valiant warriors to come to your aid."

"Alright. I'll cut straight to it." My tone clipped and curt. "There'd been rumours of sightings of strange deaths down in the woods where our wolves, especially pups usually have their leisure run. Despite our efforts to curtail the evil to avoid a repetition and not give the people a reason to panic, we always fall back to level zero. That's a slap on the face of any reputable alpha if you know what I mean. This matter can no longer be treated with a pup's glove. I want us to go all out with this."

The spokesman pinned me with a look, before dropping it to observe the map, his fingers reaching to grab a few files that had gruesome photos of each victim that the evil had befallen.

"The pattern of their deaths though peculiar," He started, "each telling same struggle, hadn't been studied yet. It should still be a mystery to keep under wraps until the path to truth would be formed.  Until then, revealing it could cause incessant panic from the kingdom."

He was right and I was impressed, highly. Yet no other expression cut through my blank façade.

I looked quite the opposite as I ushered them into another space that looked like a well furnished conference room but was otherwise a war room. It didn't look the part in their eyes but that was a revelation for another time.

These people, despite trying to show us unwavering support, were still not to be trusted. We weren't stupid enough to let down our guard only to be infiltrated by the enemy and have them gaining access into our power house.

After agreeing on a few conditions, we sealed the deal with a blood pact as was tradition with them. Usually, we'd shake hands on it but since we were the ones in need of more soldiers fighting on our side, we did it on their terms.

We were now joined officially, hence encouraging the merging and earning the unwavering support of Venn's father. The pack needed all the manpower we could get, either through alliances or connections.