Chapter two

Still screaming, I dashed madly out of the suite to the only place or the only person I could go to at this point. Perhaps, he could still save my soon to be husband. He looked as if he was already dead but I really did not want him to die. We weren't even married, for God's sake. What was going to happen now?

I was still screaming ad I ran down the hallways of the pack house until I arrived at a door. I banged on the door hysterically as I screamed. 

"Let me in! It's the Alpha! Let me in!"

In the flash of a moment, someone opened the door and appeared by the doorway, peering out at me in puzzlement. 

"It's... it's... " I stuttered, unable to get a coherent sentence out now that the doctor was finally in front of me. What then was I waiting for that I couldn't speak. Didn't I want my husband to live? Well, I had to do something now and I had to do it really fast. 

"It's the Alpha," I said weekly, already close to sobbing. "I saw him lying on his bed lifelessly and he was also foaming at the mouth." My voice was shaky but I still managed to get the point across to the doctor standing in front of me. 

His face paled as soon as he was able to comprehend what I meant and he struggled to get all of his words out in a rush unlike me who had stuttered the first time in an attempt to convey the urgency of the situation to him. 

"Let me quickly grab the bag with my tools. I will be out in a second," he said.

As soon as he said that, he dashed back into the apartment and emerged a few seconds later carrying a heavy black bag which I am very sure was full of medical equipments. As soon as I saw him with the bag, I didn't even wait for him again. I just started to run back in the direction of the Alpha's suite with him following quickly behind me, close to my heels, in fact. 

We were soon in front of the door to the Alpha's room and this time, I pushed the door open without any shred of hesitation on my part. The issue on ground was far more at stake than to put that into consideration. 

When we got to the bedroom, the doctor put his head to the Alpha's chest which was what I should have done at first but I hadn't. I had been too petrified to do that. The doctor shook his head after listening to the Alpha's heartbeat and my heart sank to the bottom of my feet. He took his hand and felt for a pulse and when he shook his head for the second time, my heart sank further down if it was even possible. 

He opened his mouth to speak but before he even said anything, I already knew what he was going to say. My head was pounding and there was roaring in my ears but in spite of all that, I was still able to hear what the doctor said even though I didn't want to.

"I am so sorry to have to say this, but unfortunately, the Alpha is dead."

I blocked my ears with my fingers because I didn't want to hear anything from him anymore even when I knew that he had stopped talking. He bent down to retrieve his bag from the floor and hefted it into a table in the spacious bedroom. Then he began to rummage in it and he soon brought out a number of tools. 

He went over to the Alpha and began to examine him with some of the equipments. He also took the spilled cup of tea which I had even forgotten about, and he used it for something. 

My eyes were fixed on his every move and I so badly wanted to look away because watching it sent shards of pain to my heart but I didn't. I couldn't just bear to turn away from my late husband to be in this moment. 

Finally, the doctor finished up and cleared all his tools away, putting them into his black bag. Then he turned to face me and dread began to pool in the pit of my stomach because I feared what he would say next. 

"I regret saying this but I just have to. The Alpha's tea was poisoned. It was laced with balban, a deadly herb which is common in the pack and used for pests. It would as well have been anybody responsible since they used something as common as balban." He paused, gauging me for any signs of my reaction towards the news he just dropped into my lap. 

After having a few seconds to myself, I spoke. "Thank you, doctor. You may leave now." I said this in a strict tone so he had no choice but to obey. I could tell he wanted to stay with me whose fiancee had just died, in other to comfort me or send someone over but I didn't give him that privilege. I needed some time alone to myself. 

I continued. "I will see you off now," I said.

He got the hint completely now so he quickly hefted up his bag and turned to leave the bedroom. I followed him at the heels just as he too had followed me here only this time, there wasn't a sense of urgency in our steps. He went out of the door and immediately after, I closed and locked it.

Then my legs gave away from under me and I slid to the floor, resting my back against the thick wood of the door and burying my face in my knees. 

Then I started to cry. Thick, choking sobs came out of me as the pain and despair of losing Alpha Cullum Thaxson, my fiance and my husband to be, clouded my heart. I cried for the man I had lost and the marriage that I didn't get to experience. Why did something like this happen to me? I was sad, so sad. 

I didn't even know for how long I stayed in that position, crying on and on. And I didn't know whether I had slept off during the course of my cries or not. But what I knew was that I came to with a jerk and I started hearing something surprising coming from outside the doors. It sounded like a pandemonium and I was concerned. What was going on with them? 

I knew I wasn't their leader now again since the marriage between me and their Alpha didn't take place anymore but still, I was concerned. It was as if they were my own people.  

I rushed off to the bathroom to wash the traces of dried tears off my face. I was determined to see the cause of the screams and pandemonium outside. I washed my face and dried it with a face towel. 

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and I winced. My skin was pale and it looked like I had been crying. I needed make up but that was the least of my concerns right now. What was happening outside mattered more than my appearance. I patted my hair down and rushed out of the late Alpha's suite and what I saw happening in the hallways made my heart skip in shock. 

People were running all around the place. The hallways that had been quiet some minutes ago when when I had walked it with the doctor had turned into a cacophony of chaos now. It was as if something bad had happened and the people were hit with the shock of it. 

Since I was eager to have some information on what was going on, I grabbed a passing woman who was crying hysterically by the arm and questioned her. She almost resisted, but when she saw my face, she became meek immediately.

"What is going on? Why are people running all around? What happened?" I asked all this in a rush. I really wanted to know what was happening, what had gone on in my absence. 

"The Alpha is dead and the news has spread to all the people of the pack, hence the pandemonium."

I was shocked. So this was the reason for the chaos in the pack? These people really loved their late Alpha, then.

The woman continued even though I had already gotten the gist. "Everyone is scared of their lives because since the Alpha -the leader of the pack- can be poisoned, then it can happen to anybody too," she explained. 

I was short of words and then my mind drifted off to another line of thought. Since Alpha Callum didn't have a child, who then was going to be chosen to lead the pack in the wake of his demise? 

Hardly had I thought about this than a bell began ringing throughout the pack house. I knew the reason for the ringing of the bell as well as any member of the pack. The ringing of the bell signified that an emergency meeting was being called. And as if to confirm my thoughts, a voice came over the public address system. 

"All the members of the pack should move immediately to the great hall for a meeting which has been called by the elders. Treat this as urgent."

That was it. That was the message. The voice went as soon as it had come and in doing that, it restored some semblance of calm to the already hysterical pack members. As if they were in possession of something, they began to move in the direction of the great hall and I too, followed suit. 

I just kept walking there, the people around me oblivious to me. I just wanted to know the course of action on the mind of the elders in the face of this tragedy. 

Very soon, I was there and as soon as I stepped inside, I was pulled to the side by a guard and immediately whisked me off to a group of chairs overlooking the stage and the auditorium where the rest of the pack members had begun to sit. 

The guard indicated for me to have a sit and I did so without any questions. I really didn't have the energy to argue. I just wanted the answers to my burning questions. 

I looked to my left and I saw two elderly men sitting there. I also looked to my right and it was the same thing. Two more elders were sitting there too. Well, it looked like I had been invited to sit with the royalty of the pack. It was all for the best because these four men could provide me with the answers to the questions I so badly wanted. 

And these four men weren't just elders of the pack. They also doubled as the closest friends of Alpha Callum. These were the friends that had been waiting for him earlier this evening for his bachelor's party. 

The most senior elder looked at me and said, "I know how all of this must be affecting you, Davina. I am so sorry about all of that but you must be strong in the face of this disaster that has happened. You must be strong for the pack and the people in it. You have to be."

I was confused by th elder's words. When had I ever not been strong? What did they expect of me when my fiance had just died?

Just as I was about to open my mouth to speak, the elder who had spoken to me rose and walked to the podium so I couldn't say anything again. 

Apparently, all the pack members who could be present had already arrived and it was time for the elders to tell everyone why they had called this meeting. 

The elder started to speak. "People of the great pack of Antarti, it is with deep pain that we, the elders of the pack have called this emergency meeting. By this time, all of us must have known of the death of our leader, Alpha Callum Thaxson. I know that we have all been greatly devasted by the news. But in spite of that, we have to be brave in the face of all these. We can't be vulnerable at this time or else our enemies might attack us."

There were rumblings of assent and approval from people all around the auditorium and the elder nodded in approval too, pleased that his words had had such effect on the people of the pack who were hysterical only moments ago. 

The elder continued with his speech. "People of the great Antarti pack, I know we are brave and we have to keep being brave. That being said, I will like to invite someone to this podium to speak. Let us all welcome Davina Harrison, the fiance of the late Alpha Callum Thaxson and the daughter of the Alpha of the Juno Pack."

I sat rooted to my seat in shock after the elder's speech calling me to the podium. What did he want me to say now? Well, since he had called me up there, there was no other course of action for me to take except to go up there and give a speech, lifting up the spirits of the pack members just like he too had done. 

The elder next to me gave me a smile, probably for confidence but I really didn't need it. I was already prepared. I stood up from my seat and began to walk up to the podium with confidence. When I got there, the elder smiled at me and left the place for me.

I cleared my throat before I began to speak. "People of the great Antarti pack, I have come here to speak to you all. As you all must know, the late Alpha Callum Thaxson was my fiance and to say I am devastated about his death is an understatement. Our wedding ceremony was supposed to hold tomorrow and now he isn't here anymore. But still, even though we are devasted and mourning him, we have to be brave in the face of his death. I will make a vow now. I vow to protect the people of this pack. Something like this will never happen to anyone again. I will protect you all with the last drop of my blood. And I also vow to find the killer of my late fiance, Alpha Callum Thaxson. He will be found and brought to book!"

The air was heated as I finished with my speech and I could tell that the pack members were in this thing with me. Just as I was about to return to my seat so that another elder could take over and make another speech, a clear voice rang throughout the whole auditorium, stopping me from leaving.  

"Well, well, well," the person said, clapping his hands and we all looked towards that direction but apparently, the person who had spoken was in the shadows of one of the corners in the auditorium. Everyone in here just kept looking, eager to catch the face of the person who had dared to speak without being asked to. 

He stepped out of the shadows before he spoke again. "Are my ears deceiving me or is the great pack of Antarti letting a mere woman tell them how to conduct their affairs? Wow, how the mighty have fallen."

With the last sentence he stepped further into the light so that everyone could catch a glimpse of him and almost immediately, gasps which were almost rhythmic spread throughout the gathering.

"The mere woman whom you have so callously spoken to is the fiancee of the late Alpha Cullum Thaxson and the daughter of the Alpha of Juno Pack. Who are you besides an over grown child full of testosterones?" I said all these hotly because I could not believe that there was a man who still thought women shouldn't be given equal rights as men. 

Who gave this man the right to speak that way without even being asked to? Was he a caveman of the old times to even think like that? He must have been if not, no normal man would have said what he said. Who was this man even?

But before I could even think of opening my mouth to ask him the question that was in my mind, he spoke, beating me to it and answering the question. 

"I am the heir to the late Alpha Callum Thaxson,  Lucifer," he said boldly.