Artifact

Evelyn. 

Two Days Earlier. 

I grunted, folding back as Axel threw a punch in my abdomen.

He smirked and I raised my head, suddenly swinging my leg at his head. He ducked as I expected, but my other leg hit him right in the face. 

He staggered backward and I charged at him again, kicking his leg and causing him to fall to the ground on his back. 

"Oh okay, that's wicked." He groaned and I smiled. Axel was my cousin, but more like my brother. His parents died when he was young and my dad brought him to the pack. 

"I warned you," I said and I stretched out my hand to him. He grabbed it and I pulled him up to his feet.

"Eve-" I looked at the door and saw Tyler standing there. I groaned, throwing my head back. 

What the hell does he want? 

"What is it?"

"There's a meeting. Hurry up," he said and I looked at myself. 

"I'm a mess now, I need to freshen up," I said and he scoffed, shaking his head.

"No one cares, let's go," he said and I sighed before going to meet him. 

"Hi, Axel." Tyler waved at Axel before walking out of the training room. 

"So, what is the meeting about??" I asked as we walked down the hallway. 

"The MoonGem," he replied just as I had suspected. Everything is always about the MoonGem these days because of the coming Lunar Eclipse and it was getting so tiring to hear about it. 

Maybe the reason I wasn't so interested in it was that I didn't really have a need for it. The MoonGem is supposed to be an ancient artifact that could be used to break the Werewolf curse. That is, having to go through so much pain when turning and the mandatory turn during a full moon.

"Did they find it already??" I asked as we got to the General chamber.

"Well, we are about to find out." Tyler smiled and he opened the wide arched wooden doors. I walked into the chamber and sat down on an empty seat. My father who was the Alpha sat at the far end of the long rectangular wooden table at the center of the chamber. 

The other seats were occupied by the three gammas, the Delta, and seven pack elders. The chamber was not at elegant or large as the old General chamber that was set on fire. A Rogue was later found responsible. 

Crystal chandeliers hung down from the white ceilings and the lights reflected off the white marble floor and the walls. 

There were few paintings hung on the wall and biblical drawings on the ceiling.

"Is everyone here?" My dad asked and we all looked at each other.

"Yes," Tyler replied.

"Alright. Kaleb, go on," My dad said with a nod, and Kaleb, the Delta stood up. 

"So two days ago, armed robbers broke into a museum on 5th avenue and they still some artifacts newly shipped into the country," Kaleb explained and paused. 

The pack had been monitoring the shipment of artifacts for several months.

"After running from the cops, the armed robbers lodged themselves at the Ridax hotel, but someone tipped off the cops and they had to make a run for it again."

I sighed on the inside, waiting to see where this was going. Do they know where the MoonGem is or not? 

"This morning, we heard a phone call to the cops on our radio and a cleaner at Ridax hotel reported that he found something in the room of the robbers and the description fits that of the MoonGem," Kaleb stated and I raised my eyebrows. 

"Are you certain it's the MoonGem?" I asked. 

"We don't know for sure," he replied and I muttered a skeptical "Hmn" 

"But when the cops went back to the Hotel, the cleaner apologized and said that it was just Mr. Richardson's glass golf ball. Mr. Richardson was there to confirm," Kaleb said and I began to realize what was going on here.

Mr. Richardson is the owner of the Ridax Hotel, but it is only a cover-up for the illegal businesses that he involves in. 

If he saw that artifact then...

"What we think is that Mr. Richardson manage to land on the MoonGem and he made the cleaner shut up about it." That was the same thing I was thinking.

"Mr. Richardson is human. He most likely doesn't know what that gemstone does, so is going to sell it at the first chance he gets," Tyler said and I nodded in agreement even though I hated it. 

"I sent some men out to spy on him this morning and it seems like he's already talking with somebody concerning the MoonGem," Kaleb said and everyone frowned.

"Do you know who it is?" My dad asked. 

"No, we don't." Kaleb shook his head.

"It could be someone from another pack. We need to do something. We can't afford to lose the MoonGem," my dad said frantically. 

I looked around, this sounded so important to all of them. Being part Vampire, I can stop myself from turning on a full moon and turning is painless for me. No one knew this except Axel, and I also don't know what they go through. 

If finding the MoonGem was so important, then this can be my chance to prove to my dad that I am competent enough to handle important issues or better still, that I am far more competent than Tyler.

"I'll handle this," I said, standing up and everyone looked at me. 

"Yeah, like how you handled the Rogues lying in wait around the estate," Tyler retorted all of a sudden, and I breathe in deeply holding myself back from saying the multiple swear words that came to mind. 

"I had to get those kids to safety!" I fired back at him, rolling my eyes so hard. 

I knew why he was doing this. He couldn't stand the possibility of me being successful and he always wants to prove that he is better than me. 

"I am going to find out if the MoonGem is still with me Mr. Richardson or not. If not, I'll track it down and get it," I said, looking away from Tyler and facing my dad. 

He stared at me really before glancing at the elders in the room. 

"Fine, but two of my guards are going to escort you," he agreed and I smiled lightly. 

I glanced at Tyler who looked defeated and I smirked. 

"I'm not going to disappoint you."