Chapter Ten: What are you hiding?

NORCUNIS

The smell of leather, ink, and paper surrounded me. A strange balm to my otherwise overwhelmed mind. Assisted by chamomile and mint tea, the exact elderberry to honey ratio to help with the immune system, stress, and calming I desperately needed. It seemed to be one of the few things that calmed my anxiety– which was at an all time high lately for some reason. Not that I would ever tell a soul what was going on. I had a reputation to uphold. 

One word from me, kingdoms toppled.  I conquered nearly all versions of this world.

From mountains to ships, from the sea to the sky, the Earth crushed beneath my feet. My enemies are buried by my rallying cry alone. Technology, power, and wealth now bent to my will.  

And yet…

The dreams plagued me. 

“Norcunis…” her voice whispered in the wind. The voice never should’ve made it to me. The voice that never should’ve cut through the noise. Yet, like a ghost, on the frequency that vibrated my soul. The sound stitched to my being….

Something deep, carnal, and unsettling echoed within me. The sensation as it rippled across my body for the first time in a millennia, it was so powerful it nearly took my breath away. Everything faded away except for her voice as it danced along the three syllables of my name.

My email dinged in front of me, and within minutes, the printer sounded automatically–just like I had trained the system to do, at least something still adhered to the rules of logic. I climbed to my feet and made my way to the sleek black device by the oversized windows. The courtyard below glittered with blooms of every type and color. Pack members meandered around, their smiles and happiness palpable even from this distance. 

 With a proud sigh, I grabbed the reports and returned to the desk, my foot pressed the button to lift the desk top up to standing mode. While I waited for it to raise to the appropriate height I required, my neck popped and rolled before I sipped my tea. My eyes skimmed the latest information on Horne Pack. They were my latest hyperfixation as some new Omega refugees came to me from there, they mentioned things had turned strange and wanted me to investigate.

“As of yesterday, the stocks are down 20% everywhere except the heir’s business which had a 75% increase in profits there within the last three years. All accredited to new patents listed by a…Zovada Sage? Hmm…” 

Zovada…. The name melted like butter on my tongue, the sweetest thing I'd tasted in years. Is this a new addition to the company? I placed the tea cup down and leaned over the desk, with a quick flick of the wrist and some furious typing, I made my way to the Heir’s website for his business–it was more underwhelming than anticipated. At the top there was a bubble that read ’Site is under construction, but the information is accurate and updated in real time for your convenience until the new roll out. Signed, Zovada Sage, Alpha Heir Relations Coordinator.’ 

Sage again, interesting. I maneuvered to the team descriptions page and everything was what you’d expect. 

Simon Parker Horne, Alpha Heir and Business Protege, his age, goals, future plans for the pack when he became Alpha. He built the business from the ground up alongside a skeleton crew of his Beta Rex, some warriors, and childhood friend, Zovada Sage. No known mate, but not in a rush to find one, his focus primarily on growth and innovation for the Horne pack. 

I read through the list, Alpha Richard Horne, a business tycoon who’d taken over his section of the states through negotiations and diplomacy. Fighting through the sickness of his mate, and all but became a single father with an iron fist. Etc. etc. 

I rolled my eyes and impatiently scrolled. I don’t care about any of this. 

The next page gave me pause as it was decorated beautifully with flowers and flowing script, so warm and inviting. Luna Claudia Horne. Beloved Wife, Mother, and Luna. It read almost like an in memoriam, or a desperate plea, I couldn’t tell which. She’d fallen ill after she sacrificed her life in a battle to protect the bastard child of her husband’s mistress, poisoned by a rare form of Wolfsbane. I blinked and reread the words three times before I was able to comprehend them. I scrolled back up to the smug expression on Alpha Richard’s face in his business headshot and studied it for a moment. I tried to parse the kind words written about him, versus the information I just learned. Not my business…let it go…not my business…I tried to remain neutral but something pulled me back to Luna Claudia’s page. 

I skimmed through the rest of the tragic event that led to her illness, unable to contain my rage, then there at the bottom the words that stung the most were. 

Luna Claudia has lived and breathed this pack for decades, the least we can do is raise awareness and money for her care or initiatives she cares about in return. If you’d like to contribute to anything, please click any of the links below. 

There were links to different accounts listed. 

Caretaker Fees

Research Fees

The Diamond Glass Initiative

Hospital Wing Expansion

Sanctuary Healing Wing Facility Growth

Sanctuary for Women and Children

Herbal Remedies and Gardens 

Then, right there beneath it, my breath caught once more. 

For all other inquiries, or Luna Related Business, your point of contact is Zovada Sage. 

Before I even knew what I was doing, I clicked on every single link and donated an absorbent amount of funds. Then moved on to the task at hand. 

Just who is this Zovada Sage? 

There was not a photo to be seen, nor a bio, compared to everything else, her page was short and simple. Direct and professional, but not even cold. Just, there. 

Zovada Sage, Alpha Heir Coordinator.  

Responsibilities include: Personal Assistant to Simon and Claudia Horne, Sales and Marketing, Investigative Research and Reporting, Patent Development, Public Relations Programmer, Innovation Expert. If you’d like to know more about the Horne Pack, please click here. 

I clicked the link and it opened a new page that listed all of the things the Horne Pack was working on. 

Zovada Sage. Her name was everywhere, usually alone, but sometimes paired with either the heir’s name or the Luna’s on every single project. There were numerous testimonies written by Claudia Horne about Miss Sage’s ingenuity, her passion for the pack, her achievements, and the projects she led. Her name on every single patent I could see, but not on any website or billboard or news article giving her the credit she deserved. If mentioned, it’s by name fro the Luna’s own words, or in step with them. As if the Luna has been trying to get her noticed but everyone else kept burying it. 

Sanctuary Healing Wing Build with Diamond Glass Windows

Herbal Gardens and Fountains, Horticulture Remedies

The SheWolf Den: A Domestic Violence Shelter for the abused

Omega Refuge and Rehabilitation: Empowering Omegas when no one else will. 

Business and Education Patents and Grants

Training the Youth of Tomorrow: Be Prepared, Not Scared 

Luna Preparation and Motivation

The Horne Legacy Orphanage

The Princess Project

There were photos everywhere, but none of them showed her. Or if they did, her name was not listed, as if she were a ghost–or someone didn’t want her to be seen. Despite her accolades, and the testimonies from Luna Claudia, the pack remained silent. The Alpha and his heir remained silent. Something about that doesn’t sit right with me. 

I hesitated for a moment, I knew that the minute I took those next few steps, there was no going back. Did I really want to get entangled in whatever mess was going on in the Horne pack? I sighed and looked out the window. The Omega refugees knew how ruthless I could be from the rumors, isn’t that why they came to me in the first place?

I clicked on the Princess Project, something about that one called to me. The blurb read:

The Princess Project, funded and sponsored by Simon Horne’s childhood friend, backed by Luna Claudia, is a large-scale innovation project that helps girls focus on careers in multiple fields, including STEM. The focus for the Princess Project, is to remind everyone that even Orphan Shewolves are worthy of a bright, powerful future, and should never be forgotten. In the below photo, our esteemed and beloved Alpha Heir stands outside of the freshly remodeled and modernized Horne Legacy Orphanage with Regina Sherwood, from our neighboring allied Sherwood Pack, ready to cut the red ribbon. 

The photo annoyed me. 

A knock on my door pulled me from the screen. “Come in.” 

An Omega bowed and entered quietly with a tray that had a black envelope on it with gaudy gold handwriting with my name. 

I opened it to find an horribly decorated, gold and white invitation. 

“Alpha Norcunis Medonis, please join us for the Alpha Ascension ceremony and Coronation Ball of Alpha Simon Horne.” 

With the dates and times. I smirked. How very convenient Moon Goddess…

Before I could react further, there was a ding on the business page, I clicked back into the tab. A real time update showed that stocks were still low, but started to fluctuate. I rubbed my chin, what an interesting pack these refugees asked me to investigate. I messaged my financier immediately.

“Mr. Roberts,

Anonymously buy whatever stock you can in Horne Holdings. Specifically the Alpha Heir’s business. I want to see the financial reports, patents, immediately. We aren’t technically competitors yet, but I am curious about their diamond glass and horticulture initiatives.”

He immediately responded. 

“Is there something I need to be aware of?” He then sent a follow up immediately, “Um sir, did you authorize all of these donations to the Horne Pack? This is an astronomical amount–not that you can’t afford it… Just.. wow.” 

“I did.”

“Another requisition this month? Hostile takeover? Sixth in a row. Aiming for a new record?”

I smirked and looked at Luna Claudia’s beautifully decorated page again. “I haven’t decided yet.”

Well then, Horne Holdings. What are you hiding, and why is her name Zovada Sage?