~Liam~ After my call to Adrian, I felt a bit restless. Time was going by pretty fast, and I was nervous. Asking me to remain in Lucland was unfair. It would have been nice to be in the Mountains, where all the action was. Just like old times. I was a bit frustrated. Josephine entered the bedroom with a knowing smile on her face. "Why don't you just go to Mountain. You know I can take charge here," she teased, chuckling. I got off the bed and pulled her into my arms, tickling her in the process, and she laughed. "Li, Li, stop, stop," she said, her laughter loud and genuine, warming my heart and easing my mind. Josephine had always been playful, and she hadn't changed, and I doubted she would. I pinned her against the wall, ready to kiss her. She slid down. Between my arms, dodging the kiss. "I have to go back to the garden. Jason is there with his cousins, and we are having a picnic," she said. I pulled her up and gently caressed her bump, feeling our baby growing in her. Joseph
~Liam~ I finally arrived at the Mountain, and I was shocked to see the airport sparsely populated. I could sense something was coming, and I hoped we had the power for it. Taking a cab, I headed to the settlement. I didn't want to trouble Noah and Sebastien by sending a vehicle because I knew they had a lot to do and might be tied up at the moment. The cab took me straight to the Alphas office, where I met Anthony, Luis, Ethan, Noah and Sebastian. They looked demoralised, and I could tell they might have hit a wall. "They were surprised to see me, and I could understand why. After all, I had told them I wasn't coming. "What are you doing here?" Luis asked me, and I made myself comfortable. The alpha meeting was my seven tonight so I best be on my way but I had to explain certain things to them. "The alphas have written a petition and requested the temporary removal of power from your family pending the investigation. They say Lord Andrew can take over for the time being, and t
~Liam~ Alpha Gabriel introduced himself officially and welcomed me to the meeting, then decided to speak about their request. "The majority of the Eastern alphas have petitioned his majesty to permit the appointment of Lord Andrew Stepanov, either his heir or representative, to serve as interim head of the East until this matter is resolved. While I may not personally align with this prevailing sentiment, the majority of my colleagues present here today advocate for the arrest and interrogation of the Albert brothers. Given the disappearance of our lord and lady, coupled with the mounting evidence against them, we seek clarity from the royal family. We wish to know their stance on this issue and whether any action has been taken," stated Alpha Gabriel, and I stood up to thank them for having me. "The King extends his gratitude for your communication, and rest assured, we are actively addressing the situation. Given the absence of Lord Andrew and his son, we have opted to refrain fr
~Anthony~ Everything had gone to shit in a blink of an eye, and none of us were the wiser. The moment that footage was on the screen in the council hall, I knew something was up. Sitting down and waiting around wasn't going to cut it, but we had hit a dead end with Kelcy, and right now, only a miracle could help us. One thing was certain: I was sure that Mosess was shady, but with the eastern alphas against my cousins, it would be hard for us to investigate properly. Regardless of the situation, we hoped we would prevail. "You seem restless," Luis asked me, and I turned to look at him. Noah and Sebastien were going through documents and making calls. It was a lot of work: searching for their folks and trying to find the culprits simultaneously. I had ordered warriors from Greenville to start coming to the East, I was also hopeful that some Alphas would lend a hand, but it seemed no one wanted to be near this out of fear of being implicated. As things were we might not have the
~Anthony~ The medical team sprang into action swiftly, and I silently thanked my lucky stars for Luis and Noah's insistence on visiting the Zherdevs. Without their promptness, Aspen might not have survived. As I pondered the situation, it dawned on me what kind of life Aspen must have been enduring in that household. Her earlier demeanour towards me, her urgency to leave the East, suddenly made sense. I couldn't help but feel utterly disappointed in myself for not helping out. Though Luis opted to depart, I resolved to stay a while longer, awaiting Aspen's recovery. It wasn't until two hours later, following her treatment, that she finally regained consciousness. Tears welled in her eyes as she beheld me, though she managed to sit up. The sorrow evident in her gaze pierced me deeply, extinguishing any remnants of brightness. "I specifically told you not to disclose anything, Alpha, but you did," she accused, her voice tinged with betrayal. "What do you mean?" I inquired, puzzl
~Anthony~ As I stepped into the alpha's office building, I was taken aback to find everyone already present. How had they all gathered on such short notice? Then it dawned on me—I had spent quite some time at the hospital. "Done playing the hero?" Ethan's snide remark cut through the air, but I chose to ignore it, knowing it was likely a dig about our agreement regarding Chelsea. "Where's Li?" I inquired, directing my gaze at Noah. Exhaustion was evident in Noah's eyes, and Sebastian didn't look much better. It then occurred to me that Ethan was also struggling to keep it together. "Liam, Adrian, Justin, and Jacob went to the packhouse. They should be back soon," Miles informed me, and Noah shook his head. "They won't be returning. We're heading there now. We need to confer and devise a plan," Noah declared, closing the file on his desk and rising to his feet. We returned to the pack house, and instead of going to our rooms, we headed to the lounge. There was no point in going t
~Sylvester~ The night was so hectic that I didn't sleep until the early hours of the mourning. The scouts I sent weren't successful. They hadn't even gotten anything that would give us hope, and my heart was heavy. I was worried and scared. Alexei and Clay had joined the scouts. They didn't want to think or strategise. They just wanted to search for Amelia and Leo. It was a mess. Even Tamia was overworking herself, and it all seemed as if we weren't doing enough. My biggest concern was Leo's children. Although our children were with them, I still knew it wasn't enough. I didn't know who or what we were up against. Throughout this entire ordeal, we had been playing right into the hands of our adversaries. I dreaded the possibility that we were still playing into their expectations, further entangling ourselves in their scheme. I struggled to comprehend why anyone would go to such lengths to overthrow the Alberts—it simply didn't add up. It appeared to be either a longstanding feud
~Sylvester~ Theo, Marcel, Dominic and David joined us in the hall, and we organised ourselves, waiting for the invited parties to attend. "We are all set," Marcel told me, letting me know we were set to leave. I knew I had to temporarily hand over power pending our return, so I chose to hand it over to Dominic. Vino was too emotional and could be irrational sometimes. Dominic would balance them out. David would have been the best candidate, but I knew my older brother wouldn't sit idly by while we were out there trying to find Leo and Amelia. I knew once we found them, we'd find Andrew and Kevin, too. I just had that feeling. Before long, all the invited guests had arrived. Stepping up to the podium, I prepared to deliver a concise speech to avoid further delays. My brothers and cousins flanked me while our wives positioned themselves at the rear of the platform. The event was being broadcast live, and the rioters had subdued, eagerly anticipating our address. "Good day, citize