Chapter 6

Cassius' Point of View

I pressed my ears on the door of the meeting room at the homestead just to hear clearly what the Elders and my parents are talking about this time. It's been a while since they had a meeting that made my parents so tense. So it is no wonder I'm curious beyond what's right, and which is why I'm secretly listening to the meeting.

I am the soon to be Alpha of our pack, of the honorable Silvercrest Pack. Our family has been leading it for centuries and so far, no one has been able to take it away from us. None of the members had any issues with how our family leads as well, nor did they have the guts to protest if there ever was.

It's not like anyone's capable of leading our pack aside from us. So it's really not that much of a worry.

"Is everyone here already?" I heard my father's deep and commanding voice speak. A series of 'yes, Alpha' resounded across the room. "Alright. Elder Sebastian? You can start with your report."

"Thank you, Alpha," I pressed myself even more on the door because the Elder's voice can be barely heard from the outside, as opposed to my father's natural loud voice.

"So as per my previous report regarding the nearest independent wolves, there is not much to add aside from the fact they have no leader. No Alpha, no Luna. They do not seem to be a pack either, since there is no unity between them. The children have to travel a few kilometers inside the forest since the school they are attending is from another village which has a public school open for all students of middle school."

"Why do we need to adopt them into the pack? It seemed from your report that they have been doing well already, even without someone leading them," my mother asked.

My eyebrow raised at my mother's question. Adopt? Some of them are planning to adopt new members in the pack?

"When I said they have no unity, I am telling the truth," the same Elder responded. "Six years ago, a group of rogue wolves attacked their village. Since they have no Generals to protect them, they have been protecting themselves. However, they only protect their family. There have been a couple of deaths because they all have been fighting for themselves only. So when a rogue wolf attacks someone that does not belong to their family, they do not help. Even if they could see what was happening and have the means to help. It resulted in deaths and severe injuries."

I visibly shuddered at that, feeling a bit repulsed as well. How can someone not extend help when they have the means? And it’s not like they would be helping strangers— they’ve been neighbors!

"Again; why do we need to adopt them if they live like that? They will just be a liability to the pack if they continue to live individually," Mom said, her voice stern. I nodded my head in agreement, although I am completely alone here and no one can see it.

"It is because they are used to living individually, which can be changed if they are taught of the normal customs of a pack. Without someone leading their pack, they are aimless, they do not know how to be a pack."

"And if I remember it right, Sebastian mentioned there were a lot of children living there but only half are studying," another Elder chimed in.

"Yes. Some parents would not let their children travel that far even if it meant their child will learn. It is reasonable, given the next village is indeed far from theirs."

"Might I add the trauma they had because of the rogue wolves? They might be afraid of another attack on their children while traveling in the forest, which is not impossible at all. The children attending school have been fortunate they have not been attacked yet."

"It will be safer for them once they move here. We have our own school they can attend; they did not need to travel so far. And all of them can attend freely. Silvercrest Pack has a lot to offer to them, and they can pay it back in several ways. Especially since they had a lot of children, those little beings can have a lot of potential and they can offer a lot to our pack as well once they grow up."

There was a shuffling and I heard footsteps approaching so I quickly slipped away, not wanting the consequences of being caught eavesdropping on a meeting as important as this one.

I returned to my room, plopping down on my bed.

So we will have new additions to the pack. It has been more than a decade since we had one, according to my father. I was just two years old when it happened. The new addition were the last survivors of the attack that happened on the North, an attack instigated by a rival pack of ours. The victims took months before they adjusted to their new home. Once they did, it was probably the best thing that happened in our pack. I had gained a best friend, Luster, once he finally came out of his shell. We became friends a year after they arrived here. I cannot remember how exactly our friendship started; I just remember that we clicked and started hanging out everyday.

I wonder if the new children that will be adopted here are bearable to have. Luster and I clicked, but I could barely manage to hang out with him without having the urge to bury his head on the ground.

I wanted to have new friends for some time already but because of my status as Silvercrest Pack's Alpha and Luna's only son, I could not have a friendship as genuine as the one I had with Luster. Some, if not most, just wanted to approach me because of my status. And because I am handsome. They wanted the superficial things about me. I did not want that.

A knock on the door pulled me out of my reverie. I did not have to stand up and open it to know who it was. There is only one person who has the guts to come to my room aside from my parents.

The door burst open and before I knew it, I got a mouthful of Luster's greasy blonde hair.

"Get off, you greasy bastard!" I grumbled in annoyance as I tried to push him away from me. He fell on the space beside me with a hearty laugh.

I sat up and leaned on the headboard. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm bored, Cas. Entertain me."

I grabbed one of my pillows and unceremoniously slammed it in his unprotected face. He sputtered and sat up as well, glaring at me as he threw the pillow away. I smirked at him.

"That's for calling me with that atrocious name," I sneered at him.

He rolled his eyes. "It was a nickname, Cassius."

"You only need to speak two syllables if you are calling my name, why would you need to shorten it even more? You are defiling my name."

"Defil— you know what? Never mind," Luster said. "But I'm really bored. I can't think of anything to do."

"Joy," I muttered, then quickly straightened up when I remembered something. "Hey, I heard something from the meeting."

Luster shot me an unimpressed look that made me want to smack his head. He always gives me that look whenever I tell him I eavesdrop on a meeting, but he is just as curious as I am and he gets too excited hearing the plans of the Elders and my parents firsthand.

"Stop giving me that look, you dolt. I know you want to hear it as well."

"Who am I to refuse to hear the news from an insider's source?" He shrugged with a lazy grin on his face.

It was my turn to shoot him an unimpressed look, but then I proceed to speak: "Well, I did not hear the final plan or if they had any already, but they plan to adopt new members to the pack."

Luster's eyes went wide. "Really? Why?"

I told him everything that I had heard from the meeting. He listened intently, never once interrupting me. I could see the excitement in his eyes at the prospect of having new members, especially kids our age. Guess I was not the only one wanting to have new friends.

"And when will they adopt them?"

I shrugged. "I did not stick too long to find out. I heard someone approaching so I quickly left before they found out I was eavesdropping."

"I hope they do proceed with it before Winter ends," he said. "I'm getting sick of only having you as a friend."

"Bastard," I mumbled. "Unlike me, you can have other friends here. Why don't you try?"

"You think I didn't?" Luster replied in a wry tone. "I did. I just decided to cut them off whenever they started crossing the line."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What line?"

He paused for a moment, seeming to hesitate. In the end, he just shrugged and answered: "They befriended me because I'm close with you. They think I can help them. Also, they keep asking creepy questions about you, it's horrifying."

So it wasn't just me having a hard time having friends. Even my best friend does as well, and it was because of me.

I clapped him on his shoulder. "Let's just hope the newcomers are acceptable acquaintances. That is, if the Elders and my parents decided to proceed with the adoption."

Luster laughed. "Oh, they will. Your parents wouldn't be so tense if it wasn't already decided."

"Point taken," I agreed with him. "It was up to the majority anyway, and it seems most Elders are keen to adopt new members since there are a lot of children there in that village."

"And pray tell, how did you find out about that?"

My whole body went rigid, blood turning cold. Luster visibly paled as he looked past my shoulder, then our eyes met. I slowly turned around and saw my mother standing at the doorway, her arms crossed on her chest as she raised an eyebrow at us.

I swallowed heavily.