chapter 31

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~Adrien

Life is sure flammable. Fifteen minutes ago, I was enjoying a relaxing moment that I barely had permission to embrace, tricking myself to seriously believe that I can at least pick my breaths before preparing for another catastrophe to happen.
And now, well one of the most unwanted guests is in my land -considering that every werewolf that belongs outside of my pack is unwanted for me - taking a seat on the wingback cozy chair that met the facade of my desk.

she moves her arms to unwind them on the armrest while comfortably mingling her slim, well-measured legs that her dress did not bother covering.

"You're late!" She complains, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Well, I wasn't exactly expecting a little filthy rat to sneak inside of my land with no permission" I complain as well, not bothering to fake hospitality that I don't owe a single damn wolf in that entire Janus-faced community.

"And you should stop frightening my men for god sake" I remind myself of Stephan's uneven reaction -almost hysteric.

She eyes me spitefully. Not the deadly type of hate though "the nerve you have" she breathes beneath her teeth.

"And there is nothing I can do about that. most of your men are old flames of mine" she smirks, letting her index's long, redly, polished nail pierce through her upper lip "he still looks as cute as ever"

Only she can have the privilege of calling a man as large as Stephen with a term that bluntly refers to softness.


A woman easily attracted to but impossibly hard to fall in love with. Men who were unlucky enough to be untangled with her were mostly to exit the relationship heartbroken if not damaged -physically.

"Let's cut to the chase shall we?" I leave the entrance of the office.Moving closer to her inaugurated pale figure, I take at last a spot that faces her on a similar chair to the one she's seated on. Only a low black table is outlining the distance between us.
"I'm not in my best condition right now" My pointed elbow is taking a seat on the armrest to support my head, while my cheek is leaning on my palm. The perfect stance to show that I have no interest in whatever she intends to propose.

"Really?" she questions disdainfully, her hand cupping her chin as she enables her ruddy lips to forge a vicious grin.
"Well, I would rather say that you've spent quite an enjoyable time before coming here, You reek of mating pheromones, I can fucking smell you from outside the territory" She shrugs, enjoying the fact that she's scouring my personal life to its extreme. "well, I guess- one of the good advantages of having a mate. and speaking of your mate, I can't wait to meet her"
"Over my dead body" I growl at her request, instantly. There is no way I'm having any outsider get near her.

As I expected she's not going to easily divulge the reason behind her visit. even though I can guess some possibilities myself. After all, it is that time in two years.

"Anyway, why are you here?" I ask again, scratching my forehead. Patience is one of many virtues that I don't possess.
"shouldn't you be taking care of your pack? Morning on a dead brother maybe?" I try provoking her., putting to use some of the few facts that I know about her. that very one that says that she is not as generous enough to handle as much of a tiny insult touching her family.

I glance at her, waiting for her comeback.

Her current picture resembles nothing of her former one. She has grown immensely -and not in an easy way.

Even though I distanced myself and my pack from the rest of the packs, rumors do not know a thing about secrecy.
Stephan used to tell me about the malicious issues that had befallen the steel moon pack - hers and one of the moon packs trilogy.
The fact that they were left behind by the council, merely because they chose neutrality. Abandoned in a time of need when rogues invaded their lands. The tragedy that had made her the woman she is today. A dominant emblem I might add.

She chuckles bitterly, her fingers veiling her front, leaving her blue eyes to stand out from the cracks between her fingers. Her neck tilts down, compelling her head to fall behind it. A few seconds until she hangs it back again, this time with her eyes glimmering in silver rather than the deep blue.

"Still the vulgar and insensitive bastard you've always been" Retrieving her prior posture, she insults me with a grim expression on her face.
"Well, in that, I can't compete with you can I?" I smile back, slightly regretting my selection of words.
No matter how much I loathe someone, no one deserves to be reminded of a beloved's loss.
Not that I particularly hate her anyway, and not that I have the right to do so. After all, it was she and her brother that chose to lose that geezer's favor by choosing to be detached from the rest, when he shamelessly encouraged everyone to turn a blind eye when attempting to coldly take my life and Isabelle's.

That old man is the one to condemn. And he will pay the price - a price that will equal his life.

Three knocks on the door, alarming us of someone's presence. Another person that my mental state and my poor tension cannot permit. Walking in velvety, his large feet are touching the ground but making no sound. For a man his size, it seems more believable that he's flying rather than simply stepping on the floor that speaks no volumes.

He soon stands archly behind Vivan -his alpha and master.
Emerald apertures that growl with wildness despite its soft and deep hue, a face that I strongly acknowledge from my childhood days.

I smile narrowly. This must be the rogue whom Vivian herself warranted refuge in her pack. A man in whom she has seen the potential and strived to give a purpose to that potential. If memory serves me right, I believe his name is Jacob.

Only when he stands on her side does she finally make the move, grabbing her small purse and reaching for something that I reckon to be light and tiny.
She puts it on the table and I nudge my eyebrow higher, allowing the skepticism much freedom on the surface of my face.

"And what is this supposed to be?" I ask, my sharp stares landing in turns, on both the seated woman and the man who stands behind her.

"An invitation!" she answers, cringing on the idiocy that my question held.

The truth is, I knew precisely what she laid on the table, I rather guessed it from the moment her image sneaked its path inside of my office. If anything it is even weirder for me not to guess the reason that made her travel all the way here.
The invitation is obviously the only document that grants certain individuals the right in accessing a certain party that is held once every two years. The werewolves council assembly. On this occasion, every alpha of every single pack is invited to only make an appearance or important announcements. Seeking to keep the rest of the community updated and strengthen the bonds within it.

The thing that still lingers obliviousness for me is the reason why she is handing it to me.
I vacated my place from there a long time ago. Not as being merely a pack that is presented by the council's few members but as being a member myself.

"Well, unfortunately, you came for nothing Vivian. I have no reason as to why I'm compelled to be present" I inform, gliding the envelope on the surface of the table. Sending it back to her side.

"Common stop being a stubborn little piece of shit" she scowls, pulling strands of her blond hair backward "you're not a child anymore. You know that you need support"

Support? How ironic. The council couldn't care less what happens inside of my pack, let alone offer me support. Not with that old man in charge.

"Alpha Vivian, language" Jacob hiss sharply from behind her as she rolls her eyes on him.

I smirk bitterly "I don't need support"

"Of course you don't. You've just had a deadly battle. Your men are either injured or fighting death and your problem with the rogues is not solved yet and there are no signs that it will be over anytime soon. You're basically sheltering a successor to one of the most powerful packs in the world that everyone is chasing after. And what about your mate ? A human mate ? Of all the things to be added to your endless worries. A human mate ?" She argues, words running out sharp and quick that it is hard to keep up with her. Concern leaks out of her voice no matter how much she tries to foreshadow it.

"It is none of your concern Vivian" "And I suggest, you reconsider any insult you're going to throw on my mate before speaking it out loud" I threaten, clenching my jaw.

She rolls her eyes once more, showing no signs of giving the subject up "of course, of course" she repeats mimically, seriousness sliding itself forcefully to her facade. " It is not like she's defenseless, or nearly unable to conceive your off-springs or weirdly wanted by your brother that only God knows about his psychotic intentions" she presses wildly on the last part as if that one, is the one that needs more attention. which is the case.

"As I said, it is none of your concern. She doesn't need to be able to protect herself, she has me and she is not completely defenseless, and neither I nor she need to prove that to anyone including yourself" I take a sharp breath deep inside, trying to answer her questions that I have no obligation to answer.

"I'm not thinking about kids for the moment, because - well, it is not like I'm facing my age's crisis as you said and I think you're missing a tiny detail" I halt shortly " that Greyson is chasing after her because of me and not the opposite. She can't even walk on the street because of my brother who is doing all of this to avenge what I've taken from him ages ago" I lay backward, allowing my stiffness to be washed away.

"So I would suggest that you stop referring to her as some kind of burden that should be disposed of" I give her the last warning.
My words are the ending line to her unwanted complaints and the beginning of a piercing silence that made the sour atmosphere between the three of us even thicker and more unbearable.

"But, You know what Vivian?" I retake my speech, deciding to bring up the matter -or rather the question- that I resisted to spread on the table of the conversation until now.
I rise, erasing my collapsed position. My elbows and forearm settle on my thighs, moving the upper part of my body forward.
"I still don't understand why would the council demand my presence. The last time I left, Oliver wasn't so happy about me defying his word that he somehow, stupidly thought it was absolute- even on me" I grin sarcastically, picturing the same scene all over again.

Oliver is the one who took over the position as an alpha to the silver moon pack, chosen as a replacement to his ceased brother, Isabelle's dad. the one who took belle's heritage, killed her mother and tried to force her to word the sentence that would mean giving up on that very right.That man had the audacity to order me to step aside and let him take her when he knew that she was taken under my wings.
I should've snapped his throat when I had the chance. Well, not that it is too late to do so in the future.

She drops her head to the sideway, piercing her bottom lip under her upper teeth. An expression she can only make while being deep in thoughts.
" Things have changed, Adrien" she declares, fixing her wandering gaze on mine.
Few words that somehow seem to mean more than their content. What things exactly?

"Now, you can say that everyone knows your worth" she sneers, almost sarcastically. Shaping the same reaction that I should be making in response to her own words.
"Taking down a whole army with not much power" her untangled arms sink in her chest. "And getting humans to work along with the pack. That's a first".

So that's what all of this is about.

They want to use me as a negotiator between them and the spicy, they tried to make an ally so much but only failed with the same intensity.

Humans were never able to trust us. Their -wise- instincts always told them to force a distance between us, to be wary of us, to strangle us with a leash and press us down. We were always treated as nothing but animals.
They knew we were strong. They knew we were a threat.

Even after the treaty that was forcibly constructed between us. The hate between the categories remained. And it ruled the dynamic in between. We are always jailed in our lands, restricted from entering their own, while they are scared day and night that we would someday attack, destroying the hierarchy they struggled so much to build.

No matter if it is for the ones who knew for sure about our existence or the ones who only suspected, they fear us all the same.

"You must be taking me for a fool. All of you" I sigh sharply, irritation covering my voice. "I was and I will never be taken advantage of, Vivian. nor will I ever reclaim that filthy place"
She remains totally unchanged - her posture, her grimace and the aura around her-. Not flinching for an inch as my harsh words echo inside of the room.

My right hand takes a rise, digging my head and stroking my hair backward.

My poor hospitality ends here.

"I wasn't the one who got the humans to work with me. I have my so-called human luna to thank for that. Thought you would want to know that" I state lastly, quitting my seat but never moving from the spot I'm standing on.

I lean my body and let my hands hammer against the table, making a loud thud. Loud enough to intimidate anyone to be on their guard. However, as expected, not enough to make her move.
On the contrary, Jacob proves he isn't as calm when he strides slightly toward me, his canines unveiled.

"Tell your loyal dog to back off if you want him to leave my pack with his four limbs intact" I lean closer to her as he still courageously roars back. Suck a loyal object. He knows very much that he's no match for me.
As a matter of fact, too loyal in an abnormal way. After all, no matter how much we struggle against it, the instinct of survival will always make us back off once knowing that we're fighting a losing battle. Unless it is instinct itself that makes him shield her this way.

"Jack" she whispers calmly as her hand climbs to his forearm. A hint of concern escapes her blond features. Concern that she didn't bother showing even for herself.

"Your proposal is rejected, Vivian. LEAVE" I cut the intense eye contact between us, and rollover toward the door. heading toward the exit, I stop midway when she calls me once more. This time, desperation and a spark of remorse are dropping the volume of her usually loud voice.

"Listen, Vivian, none of your sugar-coated wor-" my words come to an abrupt stop when my eyes spot what changes my expression from irritatedly determined to horrifyingly shacked.

"Mate" my wolf screams.

The blurry image of the pictures that she laid on the table become clearer as I stride closer to my previous spot. Only to make sure of what I feared and suspected. Photos that were taken of Sesil. One of her in the university alongside a guy that I recognize easily as Jay, the other one of her alone standing in the middle of the campus, and the last one, the one that shook me the most. One of her Inside the pack. Where she is supposed to be protected and far away from the ones who want her harm. Or so, I naively thought.

"These were found in the disposition of a small pack of rogues" she sighs, preparing to divulge details that she preferred very much to keep hidden.

" A small pack of rogues, Adrien. A freaking pack of rogues. When were rogues ever traveling in packs? and they're not of the blood pack origins. they are from all over the damn world" she presses on every word toughly. Hard enough to gain access to my ears in the midst of my dazed state. I take the pictures in my hands, my eyes are left to investigate every detail. Still not believing that one of them was taken in my land.

There are Traitors in my pack. Fucking traitors. And they construct a valid danger of the fragile being that I treasure the most.

"Listen carefully" she warns snappily " your brother no longer desires only your pack. He rather wants a bigger trophy and what he lusts for, will break down what we've been building for ages until now" she takes in a deep breath, breaking through the stinginess of spouting those forbidden facts.

"He wants to take down the pack's system"

Her sole sentence almost makes me lose balance. Such a dangerous claim to even think about is being certified as an undoubtful fact.

"What are you-?" I whisper in distress. Still not fully able to grasp the vigor of the situation.

"We're not exactly sure what they are ganging up for " she says again, ignoring my unfinished question.

"But It looks like your mate is right in the middle of it"






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