The large steel door creaked open with a loud noise, disrupting the meeting being held in the main hall of the Alpha's building. Everyone turned their heads toward the direction of the door, staring at the unfamiliar faces standing there waiting for permission to proceed further. "I'm sorry for the intrusion Alpha...." One of the main Beta guards of the Alpha came in from behind the two unfamiliar faces. One of them seemed to be injured as he was bleeding from his sides, staining the floor with his blood even as he was clutching his wound. The other one's face wasn't visible as he stood far away in the shadows. "They come with grave news" The guard added.
"Bring them closer" Tessa urged with a worried look.
"Yeah bring them closer" The Alpha agreed. The four of them sitting round the large center table, stared curiously.
"Careful not to bleed all over the place" Derek pointed out as they got closer.
Tessa saw the man seemed to be in so much pain as he got closer. He looked like a father but a bit unkempt with how messy he was looking. She immediately felt pity for him and was eager to know what had happened. She then shifted her gaze to the other who was following closely behind and her heart immediately skipped a beat. He didn't appear to be injured, rather, the opposite was the case. Her heart skipped because of how he looked.
He looked like someone wished out of a fantasy book. Mere looking at him she could tell he was definitely taller than her. Probably 6'5 ft with snow white hair that stopped just above his eyes. Bright blue eyes that shone courage and care-freeness. He was lean muscular and had a little smile planted on his lips. She averted her gaze from his body before he caught her staring but instead her eyes fell on Derek's who seemed a bit pissed off as though he knew what was on her mind.
"You're from our pack, aren't you?" Beta Maynard, the Alpha's right hand questioned the injured man. "I have seen you before" he added.
"Yes I am" the man replied, wincing from the pain he was feeling.
"And you?" Beta Maynard shifted his attention to the stranger who came with him. "I don’t know you. Who are you?"
"He's the reason I am alive right now. He saved me" The man replied
"Saved you from what? And what's your name?" The Alpha finally asked
"My name is Billy, Alpha. I am an Omega under your rule. He saved me from the Black Lotus" He explained
"Back up....what do you mean the Black Lotus?" Derek questioned with disbelief.
"It's true. They were the ones that attacked me close to the pack border"
"'They?' How many are we talking about here?" Beta Maynard inquired
"Five of them. They weren't like any wolves I have come across before. They had this intimidating aura and strong presence. You could easily tell they weren't like your ordinary wolves" He explained.
"If what you're saying is true then what we've been hearing about the attacks of a rebellious group called The Black Lotus wasn't a rumor after all" Tessa chipped in. "Which means we have to take this seriously"
"How come they left you alive?" The Alpha asked
"To pass a message to you Alpha" Billy replied with a serious but fearful look. "They wanted me to tell you that they were coming for you, for us, every Alpha" He explained whilst still bleeding heavily with no signs of him healing as fast as he was supposed to.
"Well that’s a bold declaration, them thinking they can go up against us not to talk of all Alphas together" Derek stated
"Why are you still bleeding? You should have healed fully by now" Said Tessa
"Yeah well I wouldn’t have made it out of the woods alive if it wasn’t for this young man here. He found me almost passed out from my wounds and bleeding and he brought me here, back in town"
"That’s me" The young man smiled, making a short hand wave with a proud smile on his face.
"And what's your name?" Beta Maynard questioned, giving him a suspicious look.
"I am Kieran.....sir"
"Well Kieran, did you see these so called Black Lotus group?"
"No...i only ran into him lying on the rough hard earth, slowly bleeding to death. Although I caught some unfamiliar and strong scents too but I saw no one besides him" Kieran replied before shifting his eyes to Tessa for the first time since he got there. His eyes met hers but she swiftly looked away. He smiled inwardly at how cute she seemed at that moment. He hadn’t expected to see someone as beautiful as her there with the others.
The few seconds he had stared into her eyes was the most warmth he had felt for the day. Her dark silky long hair sheathed her face so he couldn't see more as she turned away from him. He turned just in time to take notice of the death stare he was getting from Derek. He knew immediately there was something going on between the two of them or at the very least, he felt something for her. "That still doesn’t explain why you're not healing as fast as you are supposed to" Said Beta Maynard
"Oh! That...that is because it’s a wound from an Alpha" Billy replied
"What?! So you mean they are being led by an Alpha?" The Alpha replied, sitting up as this was a turn of event and not for the best.
"No Alpha, that’s the disturbing and shocking part....they were all Alphas. The five of them" Billy dropped the bombshell on them.
The whole room fell quiet with a look of shock and disbelief replacing their expressions. Kieran could tell they were trying to wrap their heads around what they just heard. He also was baffled by the news. A rebellious organization comprising of just Alphas who are hell-bent on attacking all Alphas and their packs. This was definitely taking an interesting turn, he thought.
"What? What do you mean they were all Alphas?" The Alpha questioned, looking a bit more worried now.
"You must be joking or you must have seen wrong" Beta Maynard added
"There's no way that’s possible" Derek scoffed
"Are you sure that’s what you saw?" Tessa inquired with furrowed brows.
"I swear on my life and the lives of my girls, that I am telling the truth. I know exactly what I saw. That’s why when I got attacked by one of them, the wound wasn’t healing as fast as it's supposed to. I couldn’t see their faces. They wore this long black robe that went down all the way and stopped just a little above their feet. The sleeves were long enough to cover even their fingers. The robe had a hood that they wore, covering more parts of their heads and hiding their faces but even at that, they wore masks too, hiding their faces...."
"A mask?!" Tessa had a confused but curious look.
"Yes ma'am, a mask. It was all identical and a little spherical that it fitted their faces perfectly. It was black but had a red crescent moon pattern printed on it. The only part of the mask that was cut open were the eyes. That’s why I could see their eyes and tell they were Alphas. They all had blood-red glowing eyes like that of Alphas, only more menacing and dark" He explained still clearly shaken with fear from what he saw.
"That’s a very detailed information. We greatly appreciate that" Tessa stated
"For now, one of the guard wolves will take you to the pack doctor to check your wounds. He would stay with till you're okay enough and then escort you back here because we would need more information from you" The Alpha explained
"Of course Alpha. However I can help" He nodded, his blood soaked hand clutching his bleeding wound still.
The Alpha nodded at the guard to take him away and escort him to the pack doctor. They kept their sight on them till they were out of the room. As soon as the door was shut, the four of them simultaneously shifted their attention to Kieran. "Now I hope you can understand where we are coming from when we say we can't trust you? For all we know you might be one of these so called Black Lotus group and this was all planned" The Alpha pointed out
"Yes I understand. I will be cautious too especially with the bombshell the wounded man just dropped"
"Good. Then you wouldn’t mind showing us your eyes would you?" Beta Maynard added
"No problem but I'm afraid I'm just going to disappoint you..." He smiled softly while showing them his glowing blue eyes.
"What? You're just an Omega" Derek stated the obvious and then scoffed with relief as he stared at Kieran with disappointment. He wasn’t the only one who was surprised, you could see the look of surprise on Tessa's face too.
"I see. And what pack are you from?" Asked the Alpha
"I have no pack. I have been a lone wolf since I was turned. I was attacked in the woods years ago and got bitten, and then left to die. I survived but woke up no longer human. I have been surviving ever since on my own, never finding a suitable pack to join"
"No wonder you're an Omega" Derek muttered
"That must have been though, learning about the hidden world of werewolves and learning and navigating it all alone" Tessa stated with a sympathetic look on her face.
"Yeah it was"
"Well we have heard enough for now. But I'm afraid we can't let you go just yet. Not without verifying if all what you say is true and just in case something comes up we need to verify from you. So we'll be keeping an eye on you in the meantime till we are satisfied. That's of course if the Alpha agrees" Beta Maynard shifted his eyes to the Alpha, waiting for permission.
"Of course, do what you must, we can never be too careful" The Alpha approved, leaning against the arm of his chair
"So you mean you're detaining me?"
"Something like that. It's nothing personal. It's just so you can't escape in case your story isn’t true" Said The Alpha's right hand and commander, Beta Maynard. His dark intimidating eyes fixed on Kieran.
"Okay then" He agreed.
They called in one of the Beta guards standing outside the door to come escort him to the holding room on the other side of the Alpha's building. He bowed slightly at the Alpha, stole a quick glance at Tessa, flashing her a warm smile before leaving with the Beta.
Tessa gave a quiet sigh as soon as they took him out the room. She felt a bit tense from his presence. A feeling she hasn't felt before. It seemed as though he was specifically targeting her with his charisma and charm. His appearance, physique was definitely unique. And now she was curious to know what kind of person he was.
"Tessa!" The Alpha's voice broke through her thoughts, snapping her back to reality. "Are you here with us?"
"Yes. Sorry, I was just wondering" She shook her head, pushing her thoughts aside. She could feel Derek's burning stares but decided to ignore it.
"Like I was saying, if any of these is true, then we have to think carefully about it before making a decision. With the description we have for now, they seem to pose a dangerous threat" Beta Maynard stated
"I think it would be wise to reach out to other packs, their Alphas. They might know a little more or even if they don’t and we inform them, they might help as allies if the group was to attack" Tessa suggested
"There are just five of them. How much of a threat could they possibly be against us? We have the largest pack with strong Betas and our Alpha is the strongest amongst all Alphas. We could easily take them down with our numbers and strength" Derek pointed out confidently what seemed to be facts.
"Even at that, we have to be careful as we don’t know anything about them except what we have been told" She replied
"Both of you are right. With our forces we could easily overpower them if what we heard is all there is to it. But if it's not, then we have to thread carefully" said the Beta with a serious expression. "That is why we will use these two who just came in. especially the lone wolf"
"What do you mean? Use him how? For what?" Tessa questioned with a confused look. She knew whatever the Beta had planned would be nothing good.
"I don’t know in detail yet but I will let the Alpha know once I do"
"Do whatever you have to. For now this meeting is adjourned. It has taken longer than expected and I need my rest" The Alpha concluded and stood up. The others swiftly stood up too bowing their heads until he turned away and started for his quarters.
