Chapter 4 - Until we Know

* * * Alpha Charles’s POV * * *

“Alpha, the Luna isn’t going to be pleased with us bringing in waifs and strays,” my Beta Ralph tells me.

“I don’t give a flying fuck if she’s pleased or not. My Luna will do as she’s told. She isn’t my fated mate and so her thoughts and feelings mean very little to me. She has served her purpose by providing me with an heir with strong bloodlines.”

“The financial impact on the pack for feeding and clothing these bastards over the years will be significant,” he says.

“If one of them are the wolf of the prophecy, the financial reward will be greater,” I tell him.

“Why don’t you see if you recognise any of them, sir,” he suggests.

I know what he’s thinking, if there’s any we can rule them out now, we should just kill them and save ourselves the hassle they will bring during the years to come. He has a point. “It’s worth a try,” I agree.

I follow Ralph to the van he’s stored the brats in and analyse the features of each of the girls. None of them seem even remotely familiar, and none look like Alpha Luke or Luna Lillian. “None of them look familiar, we’ll just have to take them all,” I tell Ralph. It’s odd, as I look at them, their faces appear to blur into non distinctive features. It’s been a long night, maybe after I’ve rested they’ll appear more familiar to me.

“You! What’s your name?” Ralph barks at one of the girls while pointing.

“Em… Emily,” the young girl stammers.

“How old are you?”

“Ten, Sir.”

“Do you see your Alpha’s daughter here?” He barks at her.

Emily looks around the van at the other girls, her nose scrunched as looks hard beyond the dirt on their faces. “There are no Alpha’s daughter’s here. I don’t think. My mind feels funny, but I think they are all Omegas of the Coral Lake pack and the Mystic Moon pack, Sir,” she tells us with a nod of her head.

“And you, what’s your name and how old are you?” Ralph asks.

“I’m Hallie and I’m 12, Sir,” the girl answers.

“Do you see the Alpha’s daughter here?“ I ask her.

“No, sir,” she says with a shake of her head.

I wave her away and look around the back of the van again, there’s a small girl sat in the back corner mumbling to herself while rocking. I call David forward so that I can use his ears and hear what she’s saying.

“My name is Eve. I’m six years old. I’m an orphan, my mother was an Omega,” she says quietly, over and over again.

“EVE!” I bark, almost making her jump out of her skin.

She looks at me with wide green doe eyes and doesn’t say a word.

“I’m fucking talking to you, brat. You do NOT want to find out what will happen if I’m forced to open the door and come in there. Now fucking answer me,” I snap at her, my Alpha aura pushing towards her.

Her eyes continue to stare, like she’s looking through me. The strength of my aura has floored most of the other brats.

“I’m Eve,” she finally speaks.

“So I heard. Do you see the Alpha’s daughter here?” I ask her.

She nonchalantly looks around and shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t think so. I never really left my mother’s side in the house, so I don’t know everyone. You killed my mother,” she says.

Her sad eyes make me uncomfortable for a moment. But then I shake it off. Greatness never comes from being comfortable. I stare her down and walk away from the van. Time will tell us if these brats are the child I seek, or not. “Take them back to Mountain View, they will work the packhouse as Omegas. We will keep a close eye on them,” I command as I walk towards my car.

“Alpha, what do we tell the rest of the pack about the children?” Ralph asks me.

“We tell them we were unable to find the abducted child, but after the Coral Lake pack was attacked by rogues, we had no choice but to fight. That we have brought the orphans with us to make sure they’re looked after,” I answer him. I’m a damn saint and it’ll keep the council off my case when I submit my report. With nobody to confirm the events from the Coral Lake pack, I can watch the girls while plotting to expand my search if the child isn’t here.

“And Luna Louisa?”

“She’ll accept my decision. She has no choice.”

“And what of the girls, once they reach 18?”

“We watch them for signs of being gifted as they age. If when they turn 18 years old, they aren’t the child of prophecy, and they aren’t mated to wolves within our pack; well, then we will sell them or use them as pack whores,” I decide.

“So we just wait?”

“We wait and watch them.”

“For how long? The youngest is six years old,” Ralph informs me.

“We watch and wait until we know,” I tell him.

“Until we know,” Ralph repeats.

The drive back to the Mountain View pack is a short journey, it’s far too early for the morning traffic to cause delays. I sit and go over my rehearsed story that I’ll submit to the council.

‘One day, karma will bite you in your arse and justice will be served,’ David tells me.

‘Why do you keep protesting? You chose to pair with me, your soul aligned with mine,’ I tell him.

‘I was eager to live. This is my first life, I won’t make the same mistake again, I will wait for a soul that calls to me,’ he sighs.

‘You do that. But in the meantime, you will serve me.’

‘I could leave you without a wolf, an Alpha without a wolf and without wolf strength won’t be Alpha for long,’ he threatens me.

His words briefly make me anxious, but I remember the upper card I always have up my sleeve. ‘If you do that, I will kill that bitch of a fated mate that you love so much,’ I warn him.

‘No. Not my mate,’ he pleads.

‘Then shut up and do as I say’.

‘If I do, will you let my mate live? Will you let me be with her?’

‘Once a year’.

‘Once a month,’ he tries to haggle.

‘Once a quarter and that’s it. It’ll take me months to get her filthy Omega stench off my dick,’ I argue.

‘She is the perfect soul for us as the Moon Goddess fated her to be. You would be much happier if you accepted her. But, I will accept your offer’.

“Alpha, we are home. Where shall we put the children?” Ralph says from the driver's seat.

“In the dungeons for now. We will rest today and tonight and then assign them their duties and supervision tomorrow,” I tell him.

“Shall I send food and water down?” He asks.

“No. They will be fine until tomorrow,” I say and get out of the car and head towards my wing and bed.