Chapter 9 - Investigation

As dawn broke over the horizon, casting a soft golden light over the forest, the members of the Order gathered in the conference room on the third floor of the Bloodmoon Pack House. They were eager to begin their investigation into the Nightshade Pack, determined to uncover the truth behind their shady activities.

Althea greeted them with a warm smile as they gathered, offering them cups of steaming coffee and freshly baked pastries to fuel their morning discussions. Despite the gravity of their task, there was an air of excitement among the group, a sense of purpose that drove them forward.

"Good morning, everyone," Althea said, her voice bright and cheerful. "I hope you all had a restful night."

"Amazing" said Kira, "My bed was so comfortable!" All of the members agreed - best night of sleep they’d had in a while.

Each of them had been happily surprised to enter their rooms to find the large four poster king beds with kitchenettes and sitting rooms.

“Glad to hear it! If you all want to join us later for lunch and dinner then please do - you should be able to meet Kiyiya today as well.”

“Great! We’d love to thank her as well for the hospitality.”

As Althea exited, Mikhail turned around towards the group. “Now, let's get down to business."

The group gathered around the large oak table at the center of the room, their laptops and breakfasts spread out before them. Mikhail took his seat at the head of the table, his expression serious as he prepared to brief them on everything he knew and everything Marcus and him had discovered while the rest of the group slept.

"As you know, our primary objective is to gather information on the Nightshade Pack and their activities," Mikhail began, his voice low and steady. "We need to find out what they're up to and how best to infiltrate the pack.”

He glanced around the table, meeting each member's gaze with a determined look of his own. "We’ll need to set up our standard surveillance, figure out infiltration, maybe even a little bit of subterfuge. Our goal is to gather as much intel as possible without alerting the Nightshades to our presence."

Maya nodded in agreement, her expression focused and intense. "I've already begun hacking into their network to see what I can find," she said, her fingers flying across the keyboard of her laptop. "Their security protocols are pretty tight, but I'll see what I can break through unnoticed.”

Alpha, I also think we need to take a look around and determine whether they currently pose a threat to our host pack and the surrounding area as well." Aurora offered thinking back to the feelings she had as they walked into the area yesterday.

"I felt something.. evil when we entered the region and it just go stronger the deeper we got into the Bloodmoon's pack lands." Aurora starts to explain

The other members all had different reactions to her statement. Rylan, sitting back with his arms crossed and looking doubtful, while Marcus leans forward looking intrigued. Both Kira and Maya exclaimed "SAME!" at the same time.

Aurora looked at them surprised. "So it wasn't just me?"

Maya responded first. "Nope. I felt it too. As soon as we entered the territory and shifted to our human forms."

"Yep, that tracks." Kira agrees.

Aurora looks around the room at the others. "And no one else felt anything odd?"

All of the men shook their heads, looking confused.

Mikhail steps in, "can you describe what you all felt?"

Aurora started, "I felt like evil fingers were trying to scratch at my skin. Like I was constantly being proded at."

"Yeah, there's really no other way to describe it. It felt a little slimey and smokey at the same time - like it was trying to catch hold of us and cover our bodies." Maya chipped in.

"It was a rather irritating feeling actually" Kira finished.

So all three women had felt the same thing, but none of the men knew what they were talking about.

"That sounds like it could track with what Alpha Damien's pack members have been experiencing" suggested Marcus. "Purhaps we tell the Alpha what you all experienced when we talk to him next."

The group agreed. This was definitely odd, but sounded very much like what those families living on the outskirts of the pack lands could be experiencing. Something that only affected their younger females and none of the males.

Aurora looked at Maya and Kira, "Did either of you notice how as soon as we entered the pack house that the feeling stopped?"

"Yes, it was like the evil couldn't enter the house," Kira confirmed "but I think I know why. There are runes all over this pack house." Kira explained. "From my experience these runes are often generational knowledge passed down from elders. With how old Bloodmoon Pack is, I assume they have a strong history in beliefs and maybe even magic."

This made everyone's eyebrows raise. "Magic?" Leo asked.

"Yep. I recognized some of the runes along the outside of the pack house doors and the railings going up the main stairs that are meant to ward off powerful evil and protect those within it's boundaries. I think we should inquire about them with the Alpha as well. He may be able to give us a history on them."

Everyone agreed. The list of topics to discuss with Alpha was already increasing.

As the meeting stretched on, the members of the Order began discussing what they had learned about their adversary to see if any of it would lead them to the truth about the Nightshade Pack's actions.

Maya leaned forward, her brow furrowed in concentration as she studied the data on her screen. "I've managed to penetrate their outer security measures," she said, her voice low and intense. "But there are still a few layers of encryption that I can't crack. We'll need to find another way in."

Marcus nodded thoughtfully, his mind already racing with possible solutions. "We could try to gain access through one of their lower-ranking members," he suggested. "Someone who might not be as well guarded as their higher-ups."

"I don't like that," stated Aurora. "with how closed off the pack has been, they are bound to notice an outsider or any outside influence much quicker."

Marcus agreed, "We can use our connections in the supernatural community to gather information from other packs," Marcus suggested, his voice thoughtful. "If the Nightshades are up to no good, someone is bound to know about it."

“And we can send in a few of our own undercover agents to gather intel from the inside," he added, Leo’s voice low and serious. "We'll need to be careful, though – the Nightshades are a dangerous bunch, and we don't want to put anyone in unnecessary danger."

“I also want to discuss Bloodmoon’s current security measures” Mikhail interjected, “I don’t like how this feeling is effecting the women in our group.”

Marcus, who had just started taking a sip of coffee when Mikhail interjected, spun in his seat ever so slightly to give Aurora an “I told you” look when no one was looking.

Aurora - choosing to ignore it - added the topic to their whiteboard and continued looking at their brief sheets and talking to Maya and Kira about what they felt.