Chapter 2: THE VIDEO
Three years ago, in a not-so-far-off, densely forested area up the side of a mountain…
Hey! Lay low, or they will see us! I keep telling you, it’s like you never went to warrior training. What’s with your lousy combat skills today, Ma’Heron?
“Lyon, seriously, if you don’t shut up and let me listen, I’ll have to get closer and we will be discovered! Just shut up, alright!” M murmured as he swiftly ran Assassin’s Creed style while dodging trees and various kinds of vegetation to another spot at the edge of the woods.
I just don’t get how and when you got so suddenly clumsy, is all…
“It happened on the same day I got a wolf who NEVER SHUTS UP!” the irritated Gamma growled through gritted teeth.
Damn, you sure need a mate, M, concluded Lyon with a confident tone.
“I need no such thing, wolf. I’m happy with what I am right now and I’m sorry for you that you got stuck with me. But yes, mindlessly loving someone just because of the Moon goddess is not part of my life goals. Now let me work, please! We need this information on the Dark Forest Pack since we heard rumors that they are planning a strategic move against our own pack.”
Ok, I’ll shut up for now. However, don’t you dare ask me why I don’t confirm WHEN WE DO find our mate, jackass!
Thank you! I’ll greatly appreciate that, Lyon. Here, we finally have a spot where we can watch the Dark Forest boundary in peace. IN PEACE, WOLF! Please try to understand that concept while we complete our mission…
The sulking wolf rested in the back of Ma’Heron’s mind after their heated exchange. They have this annoying obstinate younger brother-wise older brother relationship with Lyon being the L
latter, and his human being the former. Given their situation, M wasn’t happy about his wolf’s continuous nagging, sudden teasing and non-stop preaching when it came to his missions.
After all, he was the logical one, the serious planner, the one between them who calculated, assessed, and then would finally react.
Except for any occasion in which deep feelings and emotions were involved, that is.
Now that Lyon was finally quiet, he remembered the conversation earlier with his Alpha which is why he’s spying on a pack known to be their rival for quite a number of generations already.
“Good morning, M, good to see you!”
“Hey, V, how’s everything so far?”
Vincent was sitting behind his desk, and Aaron was standing right behind him, as both seemed to be checking something on the Alpha’s hi-tech and powerful laptop.
“Hey, bro! Come here, you need to see this!” the Beta said with his signature charming smile.
“If it was only you asking me, I would be pretty sure it’s porn,” The Gamma seriously said as he walked to the only two werewolves with a higher rank than him in the Silvercrest Pack.
“Ouch!” Aaron said in one of his typical over-dramatic joking tones. “That hurt, bro! I have feelings too, you know?”
“Yeah? And that’s your excuse why you’ve bedded more than half the pack already?”
“ Well, those involve some kind of are feelings too, you know. But what would you know about those, right?” Aaron countered while raising his thick auburn eyebrow, smirking and leaning languidly behind V’s massive leather executive chair.
“You two, this is our mission today, so please focus here,” firmly interrupted their blond and bearded Alpha as he cut through his subordinates’ friendly banter. “We got this video anonymously sent to the packhouse email. Aaron and I checked it already while waiting for you.”
“Ok, let’s see it then.”
V pressed a button on his laptop. The screen went purely black and a disembodied cyborg-sounding voice started to speak…
“Good morning, Alpha Vincent Riegel. I’m sending this information to help you and your pack. It’s your choice if you take it seriously or not. You might wonder why I’m doing this since I’m so close to the subjects in the video that I’m able to gather this information for you. The answer is that I can’t agree with what’s wrong. And this decision of my own Alpha is very, very wrong. Now it is your choice if you doubt it or decide to act on it.”
The muffled, obviously edited narration ended, and then a CCTV video where Alpha Arnout Van der Meer, of their neighboring pack, Dark Forest, can be seen speaking to someone on his mobile.
“Yes. Yes, I agree with that too. Not only will it secure my pack, but will also allow you to get closer to what you want with Silvercrest. I think it’s a win-win situation,” he then paused for a moment as the other person on the line kept talking.
“No, I don’t think she would ever be prepared to lead the pack on her own!”
M has now squinted at the word “she” as he rifled through his memories’ information about the Van der Meers. He suddenly remembered that Alpha Arnout didn’t have any sons due to the fact that his mate died when the Dark Forest Alpha’s lone offspring, was still a young toddler.
“Mates? No, I don’t think so either. If she had found a mate by now, I wouldn’t be doing this, but she has not managed to do that either.”
A short pause as the speaker listened to his caller’s reply…
“Against Silvercrest? On our own, we can’t afford to do so. But it would secure jobs for our pack members, and a better financial standing in general, if we are successful with our plans of merging to fight them.”
Ma’Heron had to scoff at hearing their rival leader’s last sentence. This is the cross he had to bear as Gamma, dealing with the many greedy gold-diggers and ambitious social climbers that constantly hound his Alpha and pack.
“No, I never thought of mating her with him. There are legends about him and his ‘destined mate’ and though I don’t believe that bullshit, it’s my understanding that he does!”
V’s hand curled into a fist at this part. He’s comfortable with people talking about him and his choices, but this was too personal a statement to ignore, especially since he hasn’t found his mate… yet.
“Had I chosen to ‘partner’ with them, as you call it, I wouldn’t be talking to you, alright!”
Now it’s V’s turn to scoff derisively.
“OK, I’ll see you in three days.”
The conversation ended there, and the video finished a few seconds later.
Aaron was the first to speak, “What do you think of that, M?”
“Well, the facts are that Dark Forest is planning an alliance and that whoever Van der Meer is getting as an ally, he’s against us as well.”
“Whoever sent this left the timestamp, so we knew that this has been going on for some time. We just need a way to get more information and that’s why I’m sending you, Ma’Heron. You’ve suggested in the past that the Deltas on patrol are a great source of information. So eavesdrop, record, take pictures, or whatever you think can help us find out what is happening. This way, we can avoid this issue becoming too big, too fast.”
“This could be a trap as well, so you should get some warriors with you,” Aaron added thoughtfully. “We can’t spare Myron and R right now since they’re handling something else for us.”
“I know Dark Forest is about a third the size of our pack, but still, no enemy should be underestimated. I’m sure you agree with that,” Vince stated matter-of-factually.
“Yes, Alpha. I will plan accordingly and leave as soon as possible. Will give you my report as soon as I get back.”
A few hours later, M approached their territory’s border alone. He decided that taking warriors with him would make it harder to go unnoticed, so he chose to set aside his Alpha and Beta’s ‘suggestions’ for this mission and proceeded on his own.
“I know our Deltas are well trained, but there are things that should be done on my own,” the Gamma explained to his wolf before they traveled on their mission.
And with that thought, he changed into his full military-grade bodysuit, packed his gear and gadgets that were fit for his present mission, and swiftly left the packhouse.