Chapter 30 Subconscious Denial

~Liam~

This was expected. I’m surprised it took him a week to get here. He wasn’t welcome in my pack – he never was until that day. This would be the last time he gets to see this place. And it would be the last I get to see Salina. It’d be hardest for me, but as Alpha, I must do what was best for the pack.

“Inform the pack,” I ordered. “Find Rigel. Meet me in my office after twenty minutes.”

“Yes, Alpha,” said Gale and hurriedly went down the stairs then out the door.

Lately, I’d been thinking that I might actually have a shot at this. That maybe things would also be better for me, as long she was around, as she stayed by my side. That maybe, just maybe, this was what Sarina would’ve wanted for me.

I went to my room, half-expecting to see Salina but she wasn’t there. What lingered was her scent, the same familiar scent of lavender and peppermint that I couldn’t get enough of. This was wrong, I understood it since day one. But it kept me afloat… it kept me alive.

I took a quick cold shower to clear my thoughts, feeling the weight of an impending decision. This was inevitable. The Moon Goddess granted my wish – it shouldn’t be this hard to let her go.

I’m happy with her.

Anna was opening herself up to me, little by little.

She trusts me.

What more could I possibly ask for?

“Hey,” Luca said casually as I wrapped a towel around my waist and stepped out of the bathroom. I went into my closet and looked around for what to wear.

“Hey,” he said again.

“What do you want?”

A suit didn’t seem proper. He wasn’t someone to dress up for and I didn’t need to assert my position. He knew who I am– everyone in our world knew.

“Don’t find a way out of this,” he said, growling.

“I’m not.”

I should go casual. Dark denim jeans and a baby blue shirt; roll up the sleeves. I combed my hair in front of the mirror; decided against putting on cologne. Then I chose an Oyster watch in yellow gold, with a black dial, and a black Oysterflex bracelet; the fluted bezel adding an elegant touch of luxury. One last look and I was ready.

Luca whimpered. “We have a mate now.”

“We also had a mate.”

“I don’t want to lose her, you idiot!”

I sighed as I closed the bedroom door behind me.

“I don’t want to lose her, too.”

He retreated to the back of my mind. I went down the stairs and to the right, passing the library and the study. Now at the side of the mansion, I watched the warriors train on their own. Which reminds me, we were set to launch a raid soon. Once our spies return, they should all be ready by then.

For now, I had to win this messed-up game. Reaching my office, I opened the door to find Rigel and Gale already waiting for me. Rigel, as usual, was wearing nothing but basketball shorts. He’d been spending more and more time in the woods, with his wolf, and some pack members have reported seeing him asleep, naked, on varying areas. And by reported, it was more like the trending gossip in the pack channel by the she-wolves. He yawned as I entered.

What the fuck tires him?

I sat on my office chair and gestured for them to sit across me.

“Who wants to go first?”

“Yeah, how long do I have to be here?” Rigel asked, earning a sigh from Gale. “What? Some of us have work to get back to.”

“What work?” Gale snarked. “You rarely train the warriors and word is that you’re sleeping naked everywhere! I’m getting tired of your lazy ass.”

“Well guess what, Beta?” said Rigel, pointing to himself. “This lazy ass saved our Luna.”

He slid down his chair, hands behind his head, with a smirk on his face.

Gale’s upper lip twitched. He was losing it. I don’t blame him – he’d been taking over Rigel’s duties for months now.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you want us to build a statue for you? Award you a fucking medal?”

My Beta was cussing now. I pinched the bridge of my nose – why couldn’t these two at least try to get along?

“I don’t see a reason why not.”

Gale got up and pushed the sleeves of his shirt up.

“That’s it!” he said, pulling an arm back, fist in the air.

“Gale.” I gave him a hard stare until he resigned back to his chair, sighing.

“Pussy.”

“Rigel! Salina’s father is coming and if talks break down, I need to know that you are with us.”

“With you?” he said, moving his jaw from side to side.

“No. No fucking way. Get yourself killed for all I care. You’d like that, won’t you? At least when you’re dead, you wouldn’t have to pretend anymore.”

My hands balled into fists as I fought to keep myself from punching that smirk off his pretty-boy face. This was fucking important for the pack – at least as Head Gamma, he should take this matter seriously.

“Gale!” I said sternly as he was about to stand. He brought his fist to his lips, knuckles turning white from the urge to put Rigel back to his place.

Rigel chuckled.

“Look at you two. Can’t fucking do shit.” He raised himself and crossed his arms. His eyes met mine, his smirk replaced by hardened features. “With her? Yes. I’ll have your back when you need me. Know that this is for your precious mate and not for you, Alpha.”

I could make do with that. I just needed him to hear it from himself. “Thank you,” I said. “We need you on this one.”

“No shit.”

“It’s your duty as Head Gamma, Rigel,” said Gale while glaring at him.

“Now you talk about my duty?” he replied in a bored tone. “I’m keeping her safe, Beta. Something the two of you always fail to do. So, don’t fucking tell me what my fucking duty is.” He grinned at the two of us, his eyes flickering to a deeper and clearer forest green. If it wasn’t for the circumstances of our situation, he might’ve turned those eyes at me – hungry, angry, and murderous. The tension in the room grew tenfold.

“Are we done here?” he asked, his eyes back to their normal color.

“Yes,” I said, sighing. There’d be no point in keeping him here longer.

“Great!” he said, getting up and already heading for the door. “Good luck!”

For a few minutes, neither of us spoke a word. The shouts of the warriors could clearly be heard, a filter for the unspoken thoughts that ran through our minds.

I broke the silence. “He didn’t mean it, Gale.”

“He’s right though,” he said, gazing up at the ceiling. “He always is.”

“He’ll protect Anna,” I assured him. Rigel, even with his carefree attitude, would protect her. It was the only thing he could do now. “I’ve something else for you.”

“What?” he asked, lowering his head.

“Set a separate team to continue the investigation on the rogue.”

“He used wolfsbane to hide his scent. The question is how he got past the patrollers. I have a team interrogating those on duty at that time. If someone’s feeding an enemy information…“

His gaze hardened.

“… do I have your permission?”

Torture. Not many in the pack knew this, but a special unit specializes in breaking a werewolf’s will. It was organized by my father. The first unit, unfortunately, died from wolfsbane poisoning. Not long after I took over as Alpha, I organized another unit, personally handpicked from the best among the warriors.

“Yes. Do whatever is necessary,” I replied. No one… harms my Anna. “Keep your guard up. Do a thorough search.”

“We’ve spies tailing them now. They should be reporting anytime soon. Anything else I should know?”

I decided it’d be best to be blunt. “The agreement won’t be honored.”

Gale nodded. He didn’t bother asking why – he didn’t need to. “What’ll you do?”

“There’s only one way out of this,” I said, looking him right in the eye.

His eyes went wide in realization. We said the answer at the same time.

“An Alpha Duel.”

“Rigel knew,” he said. “Do you have a fucking death wish, Liam?”

“I’ve no other choice. This will make it clear to both packs.”

“There has to be another way,” he said, brows furrowing.

I kept quiet. This was the only answer to keep the Blue Moon Pack at bay without spilling innocent blood, as it should. This was personal, just between me and him. I’d have to be the one to settle it. For my pack and Luna, I would win.