“A highly flammable oil was used in one of the stores in the market,” The firefighter revealed, holding up the charred remains of a burnt can of oil for Beta Richard to examine. “That was what set the place on fire and the fire quickly spread to other places because there were fabrics, books in the library, planks and other materials which aided its quick spread.” He continued, explaining carefully to Beta Richard and the others.“Hmmmmm!” Beta Richard sighed, “But how are you sure that it was a deliberate act?” Beta Richard asked him, his brow furrowing in concern as he scrutinized the can of flammable oil in the firefighter's hand.“Sir,” the firefighter continued, “this type of oil is very rare and can't just be found in any pack.” He explained, his voice filled with certainty, as someone who definitely knew what he was talking about.“It is usually imported and only available on specific orders due to its high tendency to explode even at the slightest spark.” He paused and checked
“Megan, please talk to me. What is going on?” Veronica asked as calmly as possible even though she was completely scared and her anxiety was shooting through the roof. Her heart, racing with every passing second.She wished Megan had put the call on loudspeaker, so she would have heard the whole conversation with her dad and there would have been no need for her to start asking questions from Megan, who was now looking so devastated with tears welling up in her eyes.But at the same time, she understood that it was a conversation between a father and his child and it should be somewhat private. So she respected her privacy.As Megan began to cry, Veronica became so confused, not knowing what to do or what words to say that wouldn't complicate the present situation or worsen it.“Megan, can you please talk to me? What did your dad say? Is Steve fine?” Veronica kept asking, her voice filled with concern but Megan just kept crying, her cries getting louder.Crouching in front of Megan an
“Are you sure about this, Richard?” Alpha Marcus asked Beta Richard who nodded positively.“I'm positive. From the evidence found at the scene, I'm very sure that it was a deliberate act.” Beta Richard spoke with confidence. “The oil that was found was placed strategically. The fire was set on the floor where there were fabric stores and food stores, knowing well how often the food stores used matchsticks. There are also book stores on that floor.” Beta Richard explained carefully.“Hmmmmm!” Alpha Marcus mused as he thought deeply about it.“So there was no way it wouldn't have happened with all those stores filled with materials which could start a fire and help it spread quickly.” Alpha Marcus said and Beta Richard snapped his fingers.“Exactly, now you get it.” Beta Richard said to him.As soon as he got to the palace from the fire scene, Beta Richard had informed Alpha Marcus of everything that happened and all the information that he had been able to gather but Alpha Marcus was f
As instructed, the Pack Heralds immediately walked around the pack and began to announce the Alpha’s instructions to every member of the pack. They positioned themselves at different areas from the northern part, to the southern part to eastern part and the western part, yelling the order of the Alpha to everyone who listened.“According to the Alpha's orders and for your safety, Parents, keep your children home. Spouses, siblings, everyone - stay inside. Do not come out. Lock your door and your windows.” They shouted out loud.“Also, after now. Every house will be searched. There is a traitor in our midst and we need to fish them out. Put your houses in order and if you have any stranger in your houses, it is better for you to hand them over immediately the guards get to your houses.” They continued.“Do not argue with or resist the authorities in any way, else you and every member of your household will appear before the Alpha before you are thrown into jail for harbouring a crimina
It didn't take long before the search for the traitor in the pack began. It wasn't a simple task, especially with how large the pack was, so it wasn't a task that could be finished in one day. The guards got splitted into different teams, with each team having a leader from among themselves to make the work faster, but even with that, they still had a lot to do.The guards went from house to house, searching for the supposed traitor. The instructions given to them included that they should pick anyone who looked suspicious, especially anyone who didn't belong in the pack, so they were on the lookout for strangers in the pack.They searched and searched. Minutes rolled into hours, hours rolled into days and the days rolled into a week. They searched for a whole week but found nothing suspicious.One night as their search had now extended to the area where Steve's house was located, they began to search all the houses, asking the residents to come out, while they carried out their search
“Have you both gone deaf?” Captain Murphy asked as he walked towards them, while the rest of his team stayed back and waited for him.“I just asked you both a question. I said, what are you doing here?” He asked again, now standing in front of them but they were too embarrassed to speak.“I believe that I'm not speaking to deaf and dumb guards, right?” He asked. “Stan? Fred?” He called their names.“Yes, Captain.” They both answered.“Oh, they are not deaf, after all.” Captain Murphy said, as he waited for them to start talking.“So?” He urged them, raising his eyebrows, still waiting patiently for them to begin to talk about what they were up to at Steve's house.“Actually, we were trying to go into the house to search for-” Fred began to talk shakily.“Wait, what!?” Captain Murphy exclaimed, interrupting him as he was unable to believe his ears. “You were trying to do what?”“To go into the house to search.” Fred replied, pointing at Steve's house behind them.“To search for what exa
“Veronica?” She heard a familiar voice, whispering her name and she immediately opened her eyes and waited to be sure that she wasn't hallucinating and that she heard clearly.“Veronica, where are you?” She clearly heard it the second time and she immediately recognized the voice. She sighed in relief as she realized that it was none else but Megan.“I'm here.” Veronica answered, whispering too.“Where?” Megan replied, her eyes scanning through the room for any sign of Veronica. “I don't see you anywhere.” She said again as she didn't find her anywhere visible.“I'm right here.” Veronica said again, slipping her hand out from under the bed and waved at Megan, startling her. “Oh my goodness!” Megan screamed and immediately covered her mouth to avoid getting unnecessary attention from people. “What are you doing there?” Megan asked after she composed herself.“I was hiding.” Veronica revealed and slipped out from under the bed, with Megan lending her a helping hand as she got up.“Hidi
“What is it, please?” Veronica asked, with eager eyes and Megan gave a funny look. “Really? Come on, guess.” Megan pressed, waiting for her to at least say something.“I'm not good at guessing, Megan.” She said, seeing the look on Megan's face.“Fine, since you're not willing to guess. I guess I’ll have to keep my information to myself.” Megan said, looking away.“Come on, Megan. Please, don't do that.” Veronica begged her gently. “I really am so bad at guessing. And I'm not joking. I'm being very honest with you.” She said, further but Megan refused to answer her.She then got up and went straight to Megan, saying, “Please….” with a cute little face.“Fine! Just because of that cute little face, I'll tell you.” Megan said, smiling.“So I spoke to my dad and he has agreed to speak to the Alpha.” She continued.“About what?” Veronica asked, looking confused.“About Steve.” She revealed and Veronica's eyes lighted up.“Really? Are you being serious?” Veronica asked her.“Of course yes.
“Veronica!!!” They all called out to her in unison, but she was too devastated to answer.“Wait up.” Scott yelled, but she still didn't answer him.Right when she was almost at the gate, Beta Richard hurried after her and grabbed her arm, holding her firmly, but even with that, she still refused to stay still and kept fighting to be let go.“What do you think you're doing? Where do you think you're going?” He asked her, still holding her firmly, stopping her from leaving on her own.“The hospital. Please let me go.” She replied, her voice breaking and her eyes welling up with tears.“You can't just go like that. You know what? Just calm down, and wait.” He said, his voice laced with concern.“No, I can't wait. I can't just stay calm, do nothing. I have to be there.” She tried to wriggle her hand free from his grasp, her face flushing with frustration and devastation.“You have to!” He snapped at her, his voice a little louder. “You barely know your way around here yet. How exactly do
“Dad, I don't know what is going on. He suddenly coughed out blood, and now it seems like he is not breathing.” She panicked, her voice shaking with fear. Tears, pouring out of her eyes.“Dad, I'm in trouble. I killed him.” She screamed in terror.The guards soon rushed into the room, and were taken aback. The sight before then wasn't something they had thought they would see.“Sir, we should take him to the Pack Hospital. He might have just slipped into unconsciousness.” One of the guards said in a rush.“Yes, yes. Let's take him to the hospital. Carry him gently, please.” He ordered them, and they got to work immediately.“Please get up, ma'am.” They said to Megan, who had Steve's head on her lap.Seeing that Megan didn't move, and was still holding on to Steve, her father yelled at her. “Get up Megan!” She jerked in fear, and got up.The guards then went ahead to carry Steve gently, and headed outside the house, while Megan and her dad followed closely behind them. They soon got to
“Megan!!!” Her father screamed in shock as he ducked to avoid the shattering glass.“Megan! What the hell is this? What has gotten over you?” He yelled at her, and rushed to Steve who was holding onto his shoulder in pain, and staring at the furious Megan in disbelief.“How could he suddenly choose her over me? Why would he do such a thing to me after everything we have been through all these years. After all that we've shared. How can he choose a complete stranger over me?” She cried angrily.“Wait, what?!” Her father stared at her in utter shock. “So this whole anger and violence is because he chose someone else over you?” He couldn't believe what he had just heard his daughter say.“Oh my goodness! I thought I raised you better. I can't believe this.” He said with so much disappointment.He turned to Steve who was still writhing in pain.“Are you okay?” He asked, and immediately Steve lifted his hands off his shoulder, Megan's father’s eyes widened in shock at what he saw.Steve's
A bit surprised, he asked, “Who is the person?”“It's Master Steve, sir.” The voice replied.“Oh.” He then turned to his daughter. “I guess he is here to see you.” She shook her head in disagreement, and pulled away from her dad.“Is he here to see Megan?” Megan's dad asked the messenger.“No, sir. He specifically asked to see you sir.” The messenger answered.“Really? That's unusual.” He muttered, and looked at Megan, who looked away immediately.“Alright, tell him to wait. I'll be with him shortly.” He said to the messenger at the door, who in turn, replied, and walked away.He then turned back to his daughter, hoping to continue their previous conversation, but her expression indicated to him that she wasn't ready to say anything at that moment.Understanding her expression, he asked, “you don't want to talk now, right?” And she nodded in agreement.He sighed. “That's fine. I'll be back shortly. Let me just find out what he is here for.”He got up and left the room, while Megan cu
For hours after Megan left, Steve sat in a chair, still dumbfounded, and unable to compose himself. He couldn't wrap his head around what had just happened. He couldn't believe that the one true friend he had literally all his life was in love with him and he didn't know.“Damn! I'm such a fool. I really am.” He muttered to himself, beating himself up about it.Even though they fought and disagreed about a lot of things, a lot of times, he still really cared about Megan, and always looked out for her all the time, and she did the same too, or so he thought.He remembered all the time when they would get into trouble when they were younger, and how they would smartly figure out a way out of every mess they got themselves into.After his mother passed away and he was depressed and hurt, Megan was the one who didn't make him feel alone, because she was always there to comfort him. And that was one of the reasons why their friendship grew stronger over the years.But now, it seemed like t
“Wait, what?” Steve stood shocked and lost for words.At that moment, he didn't even understand what was going on. “What are you talking about? What is this?” He asked, looking as confused as ever.“How could you choose Veronica over me? How could you?” She yelled at him again, throwing him into further confusion.“Choose her over you?” His head snapped back in confusion, “What does that even mean?” Megan's eyes flashed in anger as she snapped at him,“Don't even try to play dumb with me, Steve. Stop the pretense!”“Look, Megan, you're not making any sense. What is all this? What are you going on about?” Megan’s eyes soon blazed with tears. “You're really choosing her over me, aren't you?” Her voice cracked, as she asked again.Steve's expression softened, unaware of the depth of Megan’s emotions, and unable to understand why she kept repeating the same words. “Megan, what is all this? You've been repeating these same exact words for the past few minutes. What exactly is the matter?
FIRE DAWN PACK THREE MONTHS LATER“Phew. I can't believe we're finally done with this community service. This has been the longest three months of my life.” Megan said, as they walked slowly to Steve's house.“I also hope my dad lets me off the hook too.” She said, thinking out loud. “I've really missed going out whenever I want, I hope he ‘ungrounds’ me.” She rolled her eyes, as she kept talking to the unattentive Steve.“Also, I’ve been so bored and miserable without my phone and my other gadgets. Ughhh” She grunted as she complained.“Anyway, thank you for making the past three months easy for me. I don't want to imagine what it would have felt like without you being there.” She continued talking, not paying attention to if Steve responded or not.“To be honest, I think I would have collapsed at some point.” She added. “You and I know that I'm not built for any menial or hard labour.” She said, examining her hands, and she then chuckled.“But Steve, do you think your dad has finall
SUN CREST PACK “How dare you, Beck!” His father yelled, barging into Beck's house. “How dare you embarrass and humiliate me like that? Have you lost your mind? Or have you lost your sense of reasoning?” He kept yelling angrily, the guards immediately left his presence, leaving him alone with Beck.“What is it, father?” Beck asked his already furious father.“Don't you even dare, Beck. Don't give me that bullshit!” He snapped at Beck.“But I don't even know what you're talking about, father. I really don't understand what is going on.” Beck replied, trying to figure out what his father was angry about.“You think I don't know what you're doing? You must think I'm a fool, right?” He scoffed, “Do you think I don’t know that you're trying to act innocent, and feign ignorance. Don't piss me off Beck!”“Dad, I promise you, I don't know what you're talking about.” He replied, hoping to calm his father down.“You liar!” His father snapped at him.“I'm being honest, father. I don't know what
“I really don't know what happened in the space of two hours, but from my observation, his vitals look completely different from what it was when I left him two hours ago.” The doctor replied, still flipping through his note pad.Scott's parents exchanged nervous glances, and turned to face the doctor once again.Beta Lily nervously held her husband's hand, her grip tightening in his. “Is that a good thing?” She asked, looking really concerned.“Yes, doctor. Is it something we should be worried about?” Her husband chipped in immediately.“Oh no. It's nothing to be worried about. What I am trying to say is that he looks much better than when I left earlier.” The doctor explained carefully.“Oh. So, he is better, right?” She asked again, to be sure of what the doctor was telling them.“Yes. He is perfectly fine.” The doctor replied, smiling. “He just needs more rest and that's all.” He added.“Then he can come home with us after that?” Veronica, who had been silent all the while, finall