8

Jasper's POV

I stood on the balcony, holding a cigarette between my fingers as I puffed out a mouthful of smoke.

Davina’s words reverberated in my mind. I had to give myself a break. 

I stared at the beautiful scenery before me. The cool breeze felt comforting. Deep Paw Claw was always feared, but every attempt to secure great benefits for my pack almost left me at the point of death.

There was always an ambush.

Another attempt on my life.

At first, I thought it was nothing but a coincidence, but it had been happening frequently.

It seemed like someone was in the shadows, watching my every movement and knowing my every move.

It felt like whoever it was could even predict my next move.

But who could it be?

With a sigh, I took another long drag from the cigarette and puffed the smoke out. The wind carried it away.

“Alpha,” Flinn called out as he got closer.

Without turning, I remained rooted to my spot, placing my hands on the railing and concentrating on the scenery before me.

“What did you find out?” I questioned.

He moved closer and handed me a document. My brows knitted into a tight frown. “I have no time to go through that.”

“We conducted a thorough search, but it was fruitless. We couldn’t find anything about Miss Davina.”

I raised my eyebrows. This was surprising. He had always referred to her as the Imperial Physician.

“Oh,” I replied, processing the information. “What about her pictures?”

“I showed them to every pack besides ours, but they’ve never seen or heard of her before.”

I drew in another mouthful of smoke. The atmosphere turned silent for a moment. I paid attention as I listened to the names of the packs he had searched. They were all huge and mighty packs.

“Search through the smaller packs,” I commanded.

“Do not return until you’ve found something,” I said coldly.

He bowed his head slightly in respect and was about to leave.

“Have you found Clinton?” I questioned.

Flinn halted his movement.

“Yes, we did. We found his body. Someone had ripped his heart out. We couldn’t save him.”

My hands around the railing clenched tightly. The veins in my hands bulged as if they were going to burst.

Clinton was one of my loyal Betas, the best among them. He was one of the fiercest and strongest among the five most skilled Betas.

During the ambush, he had sacrificed himself.

“Find whoever is responsible for the ambush and give them the same treatment.” My voice was filled with resentment and pain.

“Yes, Alpha,” he said before leaving immediately.

My chest tightened, and I felt a pang of pain in my heart. In just a few months, I had lost more men than I had ever lost in a battle.

Someone was killing my men and being a coward, hiding deep in the shadows.

The pack I had fought so hard to protect was gradually crumbling right before my eyes. I was losing my Betas, my elite warriors, and even my pack members.

My pack members were always living in fear. They said it was because I had remained alone as an Alpha without my Luna. Some said it was because of a curse.

I sighed in frustration, staring at the cigarette. It had burned down to the filter. The more I thought about this, the more upset I became.

Khan had chosen Davina. Would I be able to dissolve the mate bond?

Would my pack members accept a werewolf with no background as their Luna?

I wondered if Flinn would find something interesting. There was something very different about Davina, something I couldn’t explain.

If she was a wolfless werewolf, Khan would have no choice but to accept Cassidy.

My limbs felt weak, so I moved back into my room. I searched through the cupboard beside the bed for the moonwater and medicated pills.

I took a mouthful of moonwater and felt rejuvenated. Then I swallowed the pills with it.

I lay carefully on the bed, closing my eyes.

~~~

I sat at the table for lunch, staring at the medium-rare steak before me. I had lost my appetite.

“Alpha, you don’t seem pleased with the meal?” my Beta said.

I frowned. “I’m not!” I replied.

He immediately took the steak away from the table and moved the hunter’s stew closer to me.

The savoury fragrance made me salivate.

“Call Cassidy down for lunch. I’m sure she hasn’t had lunch,” I instructed.

“She has instructed that no one should come and call her for breakfast or lunch. She wants to get some rest,” he explained.

All I could do was nod. I placed my hands on my temples and massaged them.

“What about Davina? Has she had lunch?” I questioned.

“Not yet. She also doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

It seemed that healing me must have been exhausting.

It seemed both women were skipping lunch. Earlier, I had skipped breakfast because I needed to rest. Since I had narrowly escaped the claws of death. 

Though an Alpha, my body wasn’t made of steel.

“Fine, then. Get me a glass of red wine.”

Holding the glass of red wine, I gulped it down in one drink and focused on eating the hunter’s stew. Though she had healed me, I still needed to eat meals that could boost my immune system, and the hunter’s stew before me was the best option.

The first spoonful tasted strange. It tasted like zinc. The more I ate, the stranger it became. I just couldn’t explain what was wrong with my taste buds.

Was this because I had skipped breakfast?

Or was I yet to recover?

“Alpha,” I heard my Beta call out in alarm.

What was the urgency? I raised my eyelids to meet his surprised gaze.

“Your nose is bleeding,” he said in alarm.

I raised my fingers and wiped away the warm liquid. It was indeed blood.

Just then, my chest tightened. My claws elongated as I clenched the table tightly. Pain surged aggressively through my veins. I felt like my body was going to explode.

The more I tried to fight it, the weaker I became.

“Alpha!” I heard a scream.

A loud ringing echoed in my brain, and my eyes turned bloodshot.

I tried to howl, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t make a sound.

I called out to my wolf, but Khan was in so much pain.

Was this death?