Chapter 5

Alessandro's Pov

Almost three weeks later, I was at my pack, sorting through hundreds of files at my office. I had shipments coming in, files that needed my signature, businesses that were next in line for expansion. I had just gotten back from a short business trip so I had some work piled up.

I should get an assistant but I don't trust anyone with some sensitive details. The only people I did trust were Alessia and Silas, and they both had their hands full with other assignments.

A knock sounded sharply at my door. I glanced at my watch, 1:38 pm. Everyone knew not to disturb me between 1 and 2 pm so I ignored it. Moments later, I heard Silas’ voice in my head, fighting through the mind link.

“What?” I ask him after granting him access.

“I'm sorry but it's urgent. I wouldn't disturb you now if it weren't, especially knowing that you just got back,” he said, skipping all pleasantries.

I sigh, closing off the mind link again.

“Come in!” I called out, and he stepped into my office.

I was almost taken aback by how disheveled Silas looked. “Is everything okay? Maria?” I asked, referring to his mate of over ten years.

“Maria is alright, but to answer your initial question—no, everything is not okay.”

“Sit,” I gestured to the chair in front of me, closing the folder I had been reading and pushing it aside to give him my full attention.

“Alpha,” he began, “something’s gone terribly wrong with the pack. I think... I think the land has been cursed.”

I almost laughed. “What the hell are you talking about, Silas? Our land can’t be cursed. We have one of the most powerful seers alive.” My tone was smug, unapologetically so.

I’d clawed this pack into power from nothing. I had every right to be confident.

But Silas didn’t flinch. Didn’t argue. He just shook his head and let out a long breath. “This is real, Sandro. Something’s happening.”

I leaned back in my chair. “Alright. I’m listening.”

“It started over two weeks ago,” he said slowly. “You remember the night it rained, rained so hard it felt like the sky was trying to drown us?”

“Right.”

“After that day, our crops began to die. The farmers and workers had been complaining bitterly. Even the food that had already been harvested, some of it was getting spoiled.”

I thought about his words for a moment. “Okay, it could just be that the rain disrupted the planting season. It never rains in February, you know.”

Silas nodded, agreeing with me. “That was what we thought too. But the soldiers at the borders reported that the greenery just outside the borders looked more lush than ever. The plants were budding and fruiting, and flowers were blooming. The difference was too glaring to ignore.”

I frowned. That wasn’t normal.

“That’s not all. A few of the soldiers went around to inspect other areas before bringing in this report. As we speak, every one of them is terribly ill, two of them died this morning.”

That made me sit up. “My soldiers? Ill? That’s impossible. Moretti Brun members do not fall ill, much less die from… from illness.” The gravity of what Silas had just said began to dawn on me.

“A pregnant she-wolf lost her pup today, and another is currently in the clinic while Dr. Enzo struggles to keep them both alive. Something has gone horribly wrong, Sandro. We can’t afford to sit quietly.”

“The news has reached the council. You may be summoned any time now,” he finished, slumping in his chair.

Before I could respond, my cousin Sofia burst in through the doors, slamming them shut behind her.

“Sandro!” she called sharply.

I gave her a warning look, but she didn’t bother to correct the way she had addressed me.

“You found your mate and rejected her?” she screeched. “I can’t believe you, Sandro. After all these years?”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Silas perk up in his chair and shoot me a look of disbelief. I ignored him.

“How did you hear about that? Who have you been talking to?”

She ignored my questions and shook her head at me.

Just then, my delta, Dante, entered the office. “The council—they’re here.”

——

“It is my life and my decision!” I barked, not caring who could hear me. The room we were in had been specially designed to keep the words in and the noise out, but I wouldn’t have cared either way.

Father Matteo was present in the meeting. After dropping the bombshell he had just delivered, he had the decency to stay quiet now that the verdict was being handed down.

I never liked the idea of the Council. They were just a bunch of old people trying to control the affairs of those who now sat in positions they never had the chance to.

“It goes beyond your life and your decision, Alpha Moretti. This is about the pack,” Grand Elder Lysandra said, her lips drawn thin with disapproval.

“The consequences of your actions have been detrimental to the entire Moretti Brun. Unless you want the pack members baraging your doors in demand for a solution, this is the only way.”

“You must find your mate and seal the alpha knot. That is final!”