001: May the best man win

Horres

I stood in my study, waiting impatiently for the team to arrive. My second beta scrambled to sort out the messages delivered by the messenger ravens, but he still didn’t find what we wanted.

Our major concern was the whereabouts of our delegation.

I kept this meeting between the two of us because I received a distress call that rogues had ambushed the delegation sent to the Moon Howler Pack. 

How could rogues roam so freely within the pack's borders like that? The Alpha wanted to take me for a fool, huh? I bet he got impatient playing in the shadows. 

This should have been a simple gathering of Alphas, as ordered by the Alpha King. I never showed my face at such meetings because I was always sick at the scheduled times. I don’t give a fuck about whether they believe my excuses or not, but my first beta always attended on my behalf. 

I ordered my men to return, but they still haven’t sent any response. I was particularly restless because it was an open secret that I was sworn enemies with the Moon Howler Pack. I wouldn’t have sent a delegation there if I could openly defy the Alpha king.

“Alpha, a raven just came in.” The head guard rushed into the study with a folded sheet of paper in his hand. My blood boiled at the mere sight of it. That old fart sent a message instead of my people responding to me. 

Was he keeping them hostage or what?

[Bam!] 

I bumped my fist on the table, not bothering about the scattered items or the trembling guard. 

My beta looked toward me, a thousand questions on his mind, yet he wouldn’t dare to ask. 

Just like he came, the guard retreated as quickly. 

“That old fart wants to send a tribute to atone for the warriors we lost in his borders. He thinks one person from the Moon Howler Pack is worth more than the eight warriors he murdered in his land? If he wants war, he will get just that.”

I was ready to eradicate the Moon Howler Pack for good. Their existence had been an eyesore for the longest time. Now, I would take them all out in one fell swoop.

“Alpha, please reconsider. This is clearly a trap, my lord. Don’t play right into his hands.” My second beta made sense, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I lost my men, and all I was to get were a few gifts and…

“My lord, if this was plotted between Alpha Holmes and the Alpha king, then there should be more at play than they’re letting on.” I couldn’t believe my ears. He fought side by side with me in the Great War and never seemed like a coward. What could be the problem now?

“Oxley, are you scared to fight?” I couldn’t think of any other reason. I have prepared to pay back the Moon Howler Pack for decades. “Why the heck would I need to care about the Alpha king now of all times?” 

“My lord, the message states that he wishes to offer his favorite daughter. She has the alpha’s blood running through her veins. A princess at that. Why not allow her to be the temporary entertainment you need?” 

Hmmph! Interesting!

“I haven’t heard from my first beta and my gamma. I don’t know what state they’re in right now, and all you can say is to allow a daughter of that bastard to warm my bed? Does the Iron Fang Pack lack women so much?” The heck! 

“My apologies, my lord. Please, permit me to explain.” He’d better!

The killing intent that filled the room was enough to make my second beta go to his knees. He knew for a fact that one wrong word, and I could snap his neck. 

“My lord, he wants to plant a spy in our pack. However, we could accept her and make her wish she had never stepped into our borders. Stepping on his favorite child would be just like stepping on the man himself. Besides, you wouldn’t need any reason to hold her hostage, since she would come as a peace offering.”

I began to think deeply about his words; after all, using my enemies’ weapons against them was my best ammunition. I guess I was just too angry about my warriors to think properly. 

“Hmmm! You have a point.” I drummed my fingers on the table, finally taking a seat after standing for hours.

“Your hesitation to fight would make Alpha Holmes believe that he had already won. He would think you were too scared to act, which would make him act more recklessly.” That’s true. I have been attacking him in the shadows, causing him a lot of losses, which he never failed to retaliate at the least chance he got. 

This wouldn’t be a bad idea, after all. 

“He would think I fear him too much to act against him, huh?” Tsk! Nice one. Oxley, Oxley, Oxley, ever the strategist. 

Oxley nodded and rose to his feet when I signaled him to do so.

“That’s a good point you made, Oxley. In that case, round up all the spies and execute them secretly. Alpha Holmes should hear about the bodies within the next two hours.” 

Beta Oxley nodded with so much enthusiasm that I couldn’t help shaking my head. Even I had my hands itching to snap their heads for the longest time. They thought I never found out about them infiltrating my pack all these years. Tsk!

Oxley was about to step out of the room when something suddenly clicked in my mind.

“Leave two spies.” We’ll need them to report back to Alpha Holmes, and Oxley understood that perfectly. “Make sure one is poisoned. He can die in his pack later.” 

He had a smile that made it clear to me that he understood the task.

“As you wish, Alpha.” That said, Oxley hurried out of the study, leaving me to my thoughts. 

“I accept your peace offering.” With those words scribbled on the paper, I folded it and tied it to the feet of my messenger raven.

I watched the bird flap its wings in the air, heading toward the direction of the Moon Howler Pack. 

Alpha Holmes had taken too much from me, yet he still wanted more. Hmpph!

“The stage has been set, Alpha Holmes. May the best man win.”