Ch 4 - Must Never Know Peace

He hurried back so that he could meet with his Alpha and deliver the news much sooner. He’d only stayed long enough to see the little boy get the note, and once that was done, he left. He couldn’t afford to get caught.

Especially since he knew that the note was bound to start trouble.

He’d been sent on multiple errands, and with the note being the second to last one, he made his final pit stop on the way back. The door creaked as he stepped in, and his senses immediately picked up the smell of jasmine and oak in the air.

It was a strange combination, but he’d learnt not to question anything.

Instead, he made his way in, following the sounds of the chimes. He wasn’t sure what it is that he’d come to fetch since he hadn’t been told. All he’d been told was that she’d be expecting him.

He didn’t even know who the she spoken about was.

There was an eerie silence in the store, but he knew that the humming surrounding him was energy from the different artefacts. He was in a powerful space, and he needed to be careful how he handled everything around him.

“Come young wolf. I’ve been expecting you.”

The voice was cracked, only adding to the creepiness of the place. He walked on, walking towards the woman who was at the back of the store. Her back was to him, so he couldn’t see her face, nor could he see what she was working on.

“Have a seat. I’ll be right with you.”

She still hadn’t turned to speak to him, and he took a seat as instructed. Unlike the front of the store, the back had less artefacts and more books. He wondered how old the store and everything around him was.

The woman started humming, and with her humming came a low sound around the store. He wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t nervous about what was happening, but he trusted that he’d make it out of there alive simply because he’d been sent to fetch something.

And fetching something meant he needed to deliver it.

Or so he hoped.

“Calm down young wolf. You won’t be dying by my hand today.”

That only calmed him a little. “Who are you?”

“I’ve gone by many names over the years,” was her vague response.

“How old are you?” he tried another approach.

He didn’t expect the deep cackle that left her. “Old enough.”

He knew then not to ask any questions and simply wait for her to be done with whatever she was doing. Instead he opted for looking around at the books around him. None of the words on the spines made sense to him since they weren’t in English.

He’d taken in most of the bookshelf by the time the woman moved. She made sure to still hide her face as she went over to the next room. He continued to scope the room, and with her having moved, he finally had a look at the table she was working on.

He had no clue what she was doing since the things on the table weren’t things he knew. He couldn’t tell if what she was doing was good or bad, though the energy in the store didn’t suggest any positive vibes.

He knew to continue sitting where he was, despite whatever curiosity was running through him. He didn’t want to upset the woman or his Alpha. He just wanted to lay low and do what was instructed of him.

The woman returned, face still shielded as she walked back to the table. This time, he could see the big box she had with her, and he watched as she put something in it. She chanted a couple of words in a language he couldn’t understand, before she finally turned.

He wouldn’t be able to tell if his face reflected the horror he felt upon seeing her face, but he hoped it didn’t. She grinned, expecting the response as she glided over to him. He gulped, waiting for her to say something.

“Be afraid young wolf. Always be afraid when you see me.”

“Y-yes,” he stammered.

She handed over the box. “He will know what to do with it. Be a good wolf and don’t open it. I will know if you do.”

He knew that she wasn’t bluffing in any kind of way. “I won’t.”

She sneered. “That’s a good wolf.”

He took the box from her, his hands instantly chilled by it, before heading out. He was surprised to find that hours had passed since he’d entered the store since it was dark out. He wondered how that worked as he made his way back.

The journey was an hour long, and when he arrived, a few people were lingering, busy with their own things. He passed by them, greeting a few on the way as he made his way to the office.

When he arrived, the two were there, speaking. “You’re back?”

He nodded, handing over the box. “Apparently you’ll know what to do with this.”

His Alpha took the box. “What about the note?”

The question came from the second in command. “I delivered it. I only stayed long enough to watch the little boy give it to some man.”

“What man?” his Alpha asked.

He frowned. “I don’t know him. He didn’t come up on any of the information you gave me.”

That intrigued the second in command. “Was he around the boys?”

He nodded. “He was taking them out for ice-cream.”

“So, he’s someone from their inner circle,” the second in command noted.

“Which means our intel is missing information if we don’t have any record of him. We need to find a way in,” the Alpha added.

“It can’t be through any of us since they know us. We need to send in an unknown face,” the second in command stated.

The Alpha agreed. “I’ll look into it because we need to be careful. If we send in the wrong person, they’ll know. They’re annoyingly good at sniffing out bullshit, so we need to send in someone with experience.”

They listened to their man give back the full report, before dismissing him. “We need to kick things up with the rumours surrounding Nathaniel’s ascension to the throne.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. We need to stay focused on what is expected of us. He’s going to ascend the throne whether or not we like it. Our job is to make his life as impossible as we can until the next phase of plans kick in,” the Alpha countered.

“And when exactly is the next phase kicking in?” the second in command questioned.

The Alpha smirked. “Trust me. You’ll know when it happens.”

The second in command had no choice but to trust in his elusive Alpha’s plans. It’s all he’d ever had to do since he still wasn’t being let in the whole way. He knew though that he’d been let in more than anyone else.

And that would have to be enough to appease him.

He left the Alpha’s office and headed out to check on their operations. Things had been running smoothly, especially since they’d decided to align operations. They knew that they were building up a reputation on the heroes’ radar.

And it was exactly what they wanted.

They needed the heroes distracted from what they were truly working on. They had to cause as much chaos as possible, but also being careful about where the attention was falling to.

He walked into the dungeon and was immediately met by the foul stench that irritated his nose. Coming here wasn’t his most favourite thing in the world to do, but there was a prisoner that he’d been personally made responsible for.

He walked down the hallways, passing by the guards and different prisoners in place. He nodded to the guards, ignoring the different reactions from the prisoners. Some pleaded to be let go, some cried and whimpered amongst themselves, while some showed that fighting spirit he was yearning to break down.

Those were his favourite types of prisoners.

He finally reached her cell after entering the vault. Unlike the other cells, which had bars where the prisoners could be seen, hers was completely blocked out. He wondered if there was anyone besides the Alpha who knew what she looked like since not even he knew.

His only job was to make sure that she was alive.

It was a strange request, that much he knew, but he complied nonetheless. However, she didn’t make the task an easy one since she sometimes refused to eat. He always found her in the same position, facing away from the little opening he could see her through.

She looked deathly skinny, and yet she wasn’t giving out. It had him extremely curious, particularly since he couldn’t feel her aura, or scent her out, so he didn’t even know what kind of creature she was. The only thing that would alert him to her being alive was her heartbeat and heartrate.

If it was too low, then he knew she was weak and would be eating again soon.

It was how she kept going. She’d eat, and then let that one meal sustain her for a couple of days before the next time she’d eat again. He was thoroughly fascinated by her, and despite knowing that he’d never get the answers even if he asked, he wondered about her.

About why she was the most valuable prisoner in this place.

Everything about her imprisonment was different from the other prisoners. From the metal used to make her prison, to the amount of locks on the doors. No one but the Alpha had access to the keys to let her out of that place, and the fact that her cell was in a vault spoke to her importance.

She also had the most amount of guards stationed outside the vault containing her cell.

He’d tried to ask her about her imprisonment before, but nothing he ever said or did got a reaction out of her. She simply stared at the wall before her, with her back turned to him. He respected her dedication to keeping to herself, even if it meant him getting to know nothing about her.

Confirming that she was indeed still alive, he left the dungeon, heading out to his room. Things had settled down for the evening, so he was ready to call it a night. His mate was waiting for him when he arrived.

“How did everything go?” she asked.

“The note was delivered, so we’ll know in a couple of days just how much it rattled them,” he replied.

She sighed, watching him get ready to take a shower. “And are we sure that this is the right approach?”

He looked her straight in the eyes. “I trust in the plan. This is the only way to ensure that we keep the chaos going. Nathaniel and his little crew must never know peace.”