Chapter 51

DANTE

Dante's days were getting longer and each day that passed. He was barely able to have a good night's sleep before waking up in sweats and horror, unconscious of his surroundings. He was getting tired of it and taking Maria's advice suddenly didn't seem like a very bad idea.

He was at the pack meeting, but he was barely concentrating on what the pack's committee was saying because of his lack of sleep in him. He caught himself dozing off a few times since the meeting started, which confused both his Beta and the rest of the committee because they knew Alpha Dante never showed a weak side.

Even when he was sick, he would rather stay back in the palace than come down to the meeting and show a sign of weakness like sleep.

"Alpha Brain," Beta Louis, who was closest to him touched his arm which jerked him up from his reverie. He brought his hand up to his forehead and massaged it before he turned to look at him.

"What is it, Louis?" He asked.

Beta Louis looked at him in shock. Ever since he was titled the Beta, he had never called him that in front of the committee, only a few times when they were alone. That convinced him that was something wrong with their Alpha and he was going to take the chance if need be to destroy him because of it.

"We were just discussing, we are to go on the annual hunt next week." Beta Louis gave him a little smile.

Alpha Dante scoffed before he shook his head. He had to come up with an excuse, or else he would get himself killed at the hunting ground because his mind was nowhere close to him and the usually hunted bigger animals that

"I would like to cancel this year's hunt. The pack is going modern after all, it is high time we let go of this dangerous behavior." He blurted out of the blue, earning murmurs from the crowd.

One of the committee members stood up angrily, but also with implicit respect because he knew better than to make the Alpha angry, "Don't do this to us, Alpha Dante, this has been our longest pack tradition and if we lose it we may not find something worth showing to our kids in the nearby future." He complained with his eyes casted low.

Alpha Dante didn't take a moment to think before he replied, "I said we are not doing it, at least not this year. This meeting is over." He got up from his seat and headed towards the door.

Beta Louis looked at the dissatisfied looks on their faces and smirked. Even though they were not living in a democratic setting, he knew if he was to put to a vote who the committee wanted at the moment to lead them, it would be someone far from Alpha Dante. If he didn't use this chance to get the throne from him, the chance might never come.

He stood up and followed Alpha Dante, who was already halfway to the palace with his bodyguards strolling firmly behind him. Beta Louis increased his pace to catch up on them and before he could, there were already at the palace and Alpha Dante was going in.

"Alpha Brain," Beta Louis called out. "What is up with you?" He panted as he proceeded to the fridge and brought out a bottle of water which he gulped down in a single swig.

"Pass me one of those too Louis." He ignored his question. Beta Louis did as he was told before he sat down on the sofa opposite the Alphas.

"Tell me what that was about?"

He raised a brow, "I told you, they are dangerous practices and shouldn't be practiced anymore." He sighed. If he didn't trust his sanity when he was in human form, he was far away from trusting it when he was in his wolf form.

"The people are already criticizing us for attempting to humanize them," he shook his head. "Then tell me, why were you dozing off during the pack meeting?" He leaned back as he crossed his hands over his chair after keeping the water bottle on the black center table that was in the middle of them.

Alpha Dante looked everywhere but his Beta's face in restlessness, but when he realized he had to let it out because he wasn't leaving without the answer, he opened his mouth to speak.

"I am not feeling very well Louis.' He sighed again, leaning back in his chair. He wanted a drink so bad but he promised to have a healthy three-week break before he had a drink again because of safety reasons, which was what all the preceding leaders had to go through.

"What is wrong with you? You can discuss anything with me." He mustered up a supportive look.

"I have been having this feeling of restlessness around me. I can't sleep or even concentrate, my life has been feeling incomplete ever since it started." Alpha Dante explained, even though that wasn't what he did on a normal basis. He liked to keep a lot of himself.

Beta Louis gave him a knowing look, "You know what that means B. You need to release all that pent-up stress, you didn't promise anyone celibacy, did you?"

He held himself back from rolling his eyes and scoffed, "I have tried that just recently, came back to me like a painful boomerang."

"Shit." Beta Louis shook his head sympathetically.

"But I do think I have a solution, Maria actually advised me to do it."

"You will do whatever it goddamn takes to escape this turmoil B."

He sighed, "She wants me to leave the pack in a quest for my mate since I haven't found one here." He explained, in a tone that clearly showed how unconvinced he was about the idea.

Louis almost jumped from the sentence. His heart filled with so much happiness that he resisted the urge to squeal like a little girl, but he kept his cool to avoid looking suspicious.

"I support that idea too, Alpha Dante." He mumbled.

"I don't want to leave my pack because of personal selfish reasons Louis. It would be unfair if father was in my position he would never do so to his pack."

"Your father has never been in this situation, and you are just doing the best trying to do what is best for the pack because you cannot continue making your pack as successful as it is without being in the right headspace."

"Really Louis? Who would I leave the pack to then?"

Beta Louis rose a brow in response to the question. The answer was rhetorical, if the Alpha ever needed to leave the pack for any reason, the Beta is supposed to step in his shoes and take over.

"You think I can't handle it B?"

He shook his head, "I am not saying that, just that you are not ready for this. You've just been new to the whole thing and from what I have seen, you make a lot of impulsive decisions."

He stood up angrily, "How dare you?"

Alpha Dante shook his head, because he just proved him right a second after he just made the statement.

"This is exactly it Louis. We are done with this talk, I would rather give Uncle Charles this than to give you honestly."

Beta Louis felt his mind ease. If he was going to give it to Charles, then he might as well have just given it to him because his father would hand off the title to him as soon as they assassinate him. An idea suddenly popped into his head, and he knew he had to share it with his father.

"Alright then. Do what you please Alpha Dante." He stood up and left.

~

Beta Louis met his father in his chambers taking a drink. The sitting was dirty and required a lot of cleaning, but that wasn't the thing that was in his head at the moment. He just found out how to get rid of the Alpha for good, which he was sure his father would be very happy to hear.

"Father!" He called out as he ambled into the room, dodging all the furniture that were scattered all over the place.

"What is it son?" He rose his head up, his eyes red from too much booze.

"I think I might have just found a way to make our little idea happen, Alpha Dante is travelling and leaving the pack for you. I want us to kill him on his way there."

He shook his head, "Are you crazy? He is probably going with an army of Omegas for safety."

"Dante always wanted a relationship that wasn't induced by his power father, I am sure he would not want to go with his bodyguards."

Charles thought about it for a while, before he smiled realizing his son was right. He leaned forward and grabbed a clean cup, then poured his whiskey into it and handed it to his son.

"To assassinate Alpha Dante." He rose his cup up for a toast.

Beta Louis grinned before he toasted too, "To assassinating Alpha Dante."