two | mission

EROS

“Alpha Damien is a good man,” said my dad to Alpha Leonidas and Beta Thanos Ashcroft, my best friend Xyrra’s father. His voice was tight and his jaw was clenched. “And the Night Walkers pack has never crossed our way, they’re all tucked in the West, minding their own business. They don’t even go to the Center that often.” Taking a deep breath, my dad glanced my way and I knew that in his eyes there was pure desperation right there. He didn’t want to put a target on an innocent man, let alone a college kid. “All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t do this. Killing an innocent young girl is not the key and it has the potential to make things worse.”  

Beta gave one look at Alpha, asking him for permission to speak. Once the Alpha gave him a small nod, he started to lay it all out. “Alpha Damien might be a good man but we all know his father was far from being good. He killed people mercilessly, even his own pack members. We don’t know for sure whether his grandkids will have the bad gene or not,” said Beta. “She has no wolf right now so it will be a lot easier for us to carry on with the plan. We should be thanking Moon Goddess that she hasn’t gotten her wolf even after she passed the right age. Once she gets her wolf, she could be a dangerous weapon. We’ve gone over this twice, Ezio. I’m not sure which part you don’t understand.”  

Again, there was that tone every time Beta talked to my father ever since he’d been reinstated as the Beta of the Erebus. More than a decade ago, he had been kicked out of the pack upon murdering his mate, Xyrra’s mum. The man and his wolf had sworn up and down that they’d remembered nothing. I’d been tasked to keep a close eye on him so I’d often gone to his house in the past, and that was how I’d become best friends with his daughter, Xyrra. However, about four years ago, we all had learned that Thanos had actually saved his daughter’s life by killing the evil witch that he called his wife. Upon learning the truth, Alpha Leonidas had decided to take him back and reinstate his old position as Beta of the pack which also meant that my father, who’d stepped in as Beta for nearly fifteen years, had to be demoted. After all, a pack couldn’t have two Beta. No one said to my dad that he’d been demoted but we all knew it was what it was. What else would someone call being stripped of the Beta title and being handed back his team leader title?  

Now every time Beta addressed my dad, especially when they disagreed on some things, he would use that specific tone to remind my dad that he was no longer second in command. I may have been close with Beta and he considered me as his own son, but every single time he used that tone toward my father, I wanted nothing but pulled my arm back, swung my fist right into his face, and hoped he’d have more than a broken nose.  

‘Easy there, Son.’  I heard my dad’s voice inside my head reminding me to calm the fuck down. He knew that I was so close to setting up a meeting between my fist and Beta’s face.  

‘One more condescending tone and I can’t promise you things won’t go down ugly, Páppa.’  

My dad took a deep breath and kept that small smile on his face despite everything else. He was usually a calm, wise man but this issue certainly had brought out the bad side of him and honestly, I couldn’t blame him. We were talking about killing a girl just because the prophecy mentioned that she would be a lethal weapon against the werewolf kind in the future.  

“Beta, I understand that the prophecy could be true but would it be worth risking a pack war, putting us against the Night Walkers?”  

“Could?” Beta laughed, shaking his head and glancing at the audience in this pack meeting with that look that he couldn’t even believe someone would ask such a stupid question. I curled and uncurled my fist and did my best to keep my composure. “This prophecy was told by one of our most trusted prophets! The same one who had once said that I would slay an evil witch. It did happen, did it not? The same thing as this prophecy. If we don’t take her out now while she still has the power of a twenty-something-year-old girl, we might not have another chance in the future. She will be a hell lot stronger and it would be impossible for us to eliminate the threat.”  

“She has just turned twenty-one. She barely lives her life,” said my dad, trying to reason with him. “And we don’t even know what she’s like. What if she’s a good kid, Thanos? What if she won’t be a threat?”  

Something flickered in Beta’s eyes and I realized that it was anger. “You will address me with my title, Ezio. This is a pack meeting.” His lips tucked into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “It doesn’t matter if she’s a good kid or not. The real issue here is that she could be an undefeatable weapon. A weapon. Something others can use to cause harm.”  

‘I bet if it’s his own kid, he won’t think like that!’ growled Ares, my wolf. He hated this plan as much as my dad.  

“Beta, I understand your concern. Perhaps we can talk to their Alpha. He could keep an eye on his daughter and if she’s acting strange, he could handle her,” suggested my dad, glancing at Beta and Alpha. “Damien Sinclair is a reasonable man. If we tell him, I’m sure he will do the right thing.”

“Reasonable?” spat Beta. His pupils were widening, and his hands clutched the edge of the table tightly. Veins were popping on his forehead. “Do you hear what you were saying, Ezio Adler? The Alpha is her father. Even if she turns into a lethal weapon as our prophet has predicted, he would be the last person to grab the gun and put a silver bullet in his daughter’s heart. He can never know about this. He will order a dozen of his members to guard his daughter at all cost which will render our mission impossible!”

“Thanos is right,” Alpha who’d been quiet and letting Beta Ashcroft talk finally spoke. “We can’t let Alpha Damien know of this. He will be hellbent on preventing this from ever happening.”  

“But, Alpha, she’s just a young girl. If we are going to kill her, we need to have a justifiable reason.” My dad’s voice grew despairing. He knew he wouldn’t be able to fight both Alpha and Beta who would have the ultimate say in this and yet his conscience wouldn’t allow such an innocent young girl to be put in harm’s way.  

Beta straightened his back in his seat and then leaned forward. A menacing smile started to shape on his mouth. “Don’t you consider the prophecy as a justifiable reason?”  

“I’m merely referring to some concrete proof, Beta. I have no doubt about our prophet’s ability, however, I do believe that we need something solid, something that we can know for sure.”  

Judging from the veins bulging on Beta’s forehead and his curled hands, I could tell that he was so close to shifting into his wolf form, leaping across the table and landing on the ground with his claws around my dad’s throat. I had to do something to stop this madness.  

“I’ll do it.” My mouth said the words before my brain could fully process this.  

“Eros?” Alpha said my name in a tone of disbelief. I was probably the last person he would think of that would not only side against my own father but actually offer to take the mission.  

For the first time since this pack meeting had commenced, Beta’s gaze landed on me. His expression remained unreadable for a few passing seconds before a satisfied smile emerged on his mouth. He gave me a small nod as if telling me that he appreciated what I’d just done. That I had his vote. “You see, Ezio, even your son knows how important this mission is.” Albeit what he said rang true, his voice was filled with mockery and I had to fight a throbbing urge not to smash his face to the wall behind him.  

Alpha stood from his chair and made his way toward me. Since I wasn’t a group leader nor anyone of power despite my many successful kills, I’d been sitting with the rest of the members a few feet away from the long 12-seaters table they’d like to call the ‘High Table’. His eyes locked on me as he approached me. He stood tall in front of me and I had no choice but to bare my neck for him, showing my fealty. “Are you sure you are willing to take this mission? Your father doesn’t seem to approve of this mission. By taking this mission, you are basically going against your own father.”  

‘Eros, what are you doing?’ my dad’s voice was asking me inside my head and I fought the urge to look his way. If I wanted to play this, I had to play this right. The person in front of me was our Alpha.  

‘This is the only way, Páppa. Trust me.’

“If it is for the greater good, Alpha, if it is to protect our pack, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do. Even if my Páppa doesn’t agree, I will still carry out the deed.”  

I had given the perfect answer and now I could only hope that he would buy it.  

“But you’ve just come back from your last mission, Boy.” There was a tad of wonder in Alpha’s voice. “And as I said earlier, Ajax alone will gladly do it.”  

“I am perfectly fine and able.” I leveled my gaze with his and gave him the reassurance he needed. “I have never failed you before and you can trust me with this mission too. I have no issue killing a little girl.”  

Alpha looked over his shoulder at Beta. Both of them bore a similar look of satisfaction. I knew right then that I had it in the bag.  “Very well then, Eros Son of Ezio,” said Alpha as he returned to his seat at the very end of the High Table, his Luna Aikaterini sat on his right while Beta Ashcroft sat on the far end. “Then the job is yours.” 

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