Chasing Moon

8

"How are you feeling?" Harold asked.

"Great," Chase replied, drawing circles with his right shoulder. Harold stared hard at him.

"That wasn't sarcasm," Chase assured him.

Harold snickered. Sitting next to Chase, he handed him a mug of water.

It slipped off Chase's fingers.

"Shit!" the duo yelled together as they jumped up from the bench. The ceramic shattered and water spilt over the floor.

Footsteps approached and the two wolves looked up.

"Monty," Harold greeted as the old woman reached the two of them. Her hands were carrying a tray containing a glass of water.

"Who's that for?" he asked.

"Her Lady. Did the two of you happened to see her?"

"Crystella?" Chase asked as he approached Monty, "What happened?"

Monty eyed Chase. She had found him a nuisance, an arrogant, self-obsessed wolf who shouldn't have tried to antagonise any of the pack members. What was the Alpha's daughter thinking, letting such a savage into the pack?

"It's none of your business," Monty said as she looked away from Chase. Bringing her gaze to Harold, she bid a farewell before walking off, not waiting for a reply.

Chase stared as the old woman walked away.

"I didn't know you were on a first name basis with her Lady," Harold commented as he squinted his eyes on Chase. Chase laughed.

"We're not," he replied, "Do we just let this dry or what?"

"There will be people who will clean this up."

"Great. If you need me, I'll be around finding out how this damn place works—"

"Not so fast. I think you owe someone an apology," Harold cut in, holding up on of his hand.

Chase groaned.

"Do you wish to see another bloodbath or what?"

"Kyle isn't an asshole who wouldn't accept defeat. I'm pretty sure he has gotten over it—"

"Yeah, right. It's been only a few hours since I almost ripped his throat out. I'm sure he would want me to give him a heartfelt apology now," Chase retorted.

This time, it was Harold's turn to groan.

Chase lifted a brow before shrugging. He gave Harold a pat on the back.

"It's alright. I'm sure I can sort this out myself," Chase assured with a sweet smile. Harold merely returned a strained one.

Where are you?

Jules.

I'm with the rogue.

Where?

Hallway down the Alpha's study—

"What are the two of you doing here?"

Harold stilled.

"My Lady," he said as he gave a bow to the Alpha's daughter. He noticed the thin sheen of sweat on her forehead.

"My Lady, are you feeling well?" he asked, concerned. This was the first time he had seen the Alpha's daughter with such pale complexion.

The Alpha's daughter simply nodded and turned her head back, checking the corridors behind her. Her crystal blue pupils were dilated, her lips trembling ever so slightly.

"By the way, the Head of Medic was looking at you. You just missed her," Chase said as he eyed her carefully. She frowned.

And in one second, her worried demeanour morphed into an unreadable, blank nature.

"I see. Thank you for informing me," the Alpha's daughter said in a clipped tone. The two wolves stared at her.

"Well, I'll be off then," she continued, before swiftly walking past them.

Chase and Harold could only exchange looks.

"Whatever your look is implying, don't do it," Harold blurted out when Chase's eyes glinted.

"Too late," Chase replied with a smirk before following the Alpha's daughter's lead without waiting to hear the protests that Harold was giving.

As Harold watch his new pack mate shuffle down the corridor, his legs betrayed his mind and followed after him. He hated himself at the moment for already falling into Chase's charms and having the urge to protect him. Walking after the duo, Harold muttered to himself:

"What have I gotten myself into?"

-

A huge mess.

The corridor in front of Crystella's room had turned into a mini war zone. The guard explained that he had gone off for a short break before returning to see the pile of dirt and shattered ceramic on the ground.

Someone had smashed pots of plants against the doors of Crystella's room.

"Hey, at least it's just plants and not dead bodies—what's the big deal?" someone said, breaking the tensed silence.

Crystella turned. The damn rogue had followed her all the way here.

Fortunately, a pack member appeared behind him and answered his question for her.

"It's not just any plants. Those are basil plants. In our pack, they symbolise peace—or at least tolerance," the wolf said, tone sombre.

"Uh... Care to elaborate?" the rogue continued and Crystella bit back a curse.

"They are the first Craw's wife's favourite," Crystella replied hastily, refusing to give up any other information, "Someone is either upset about the Alpha's disappearance or—"

"Or my sudden appearance as part of the pack," the rogue continued for Crystella, "And is that supposed to be a big deal? You can't please everyone, right?"

Crystella stared hard at him.

"I don't know how it is for Kelsey—but at Craw, everyone obeys the ultimate command that is given."

"The Alpha's words. Or in this case, the words of her Lady," the wolf accompanying the rogue added on before nudging the rogue by his elbow.

Crystella looked at the plants again. Someone from her father's pack actually did this. She wondered what her father would think about this if he was still here. He would probably track the wolf down and kill it. If the perpetrator was not found, any other wolf would be enough for Craw and he would have no second thoughts about killing it and displaying its corpse for everyone to see—to challenge any pack member to disagree with him.

When it comes to Alpha Craw, it was all about making the consequence known.

But Crystella knew that whoever had done this did not just want to show his or her resentment towards Crystella's choice of making the rogue part of the Craw pack. Seventeen years of being with her ruthless father taught her that an action like this was an act of rebellion.

Someone wanted Crystella out, and he or she was about to make it happen during the Alpha's disappearance.

And Crystella dare says that the culprit's ultimate goal might be more than just that—someone wanted the Craw pack to crumble to oblivion.