Ezra pulled up to the Rose Estate. The sight of the calm grounds was the opposite of the distress call we received earlier. 

Weren’t we under attack? Why is everything so quiet? 

Only the thrashing sounds of my heart echoed in my head as we approached the extensive steps to the front door. The large chateau with its lush vegetation, grand white columns, and elegant slate steps invited us towards the large oak door. The mounting pressure was slowly piling up on my shoulders as I cautiously took each step.

What am I going to do? What should I do? 

River seemed to know just exactly what he was planning on doing, but I wasn’t sure I could even do the same. My hands were trembling, staring down at the rough, thin brown lines painted on the palm of my hands. Never once have I been the one to use them for any sort of violence before. There was never a burning desire to fight, and I honestly didn’t think I was capable of such a thing.

Voices echoed from the house. Nate, having returned, held the door open for us, my eyes widening at the scene just before us. The cozy foyer with its warm wooden floors and cream-colored walls had become prime time WWE smack-down. In the center, challenger Theo attempted to get past his opponents, the tag-team duo Jian and his sister, Kira. 

“Dude, fucking listen to me!” Kira dodged a hit from her brother. Jian, not one to say much, struggled to keep his own against the all-powerful Alpha. 

Theo was like a bull raging through a fine china shop. He kept charging ahead, full force. It drew attention from everyone in the house, gathering to watch Theo lose his shit. Phones were out, a live stream of the drama was probably on some social media platform.

“Theo, calm down!” Kira hissed as she dodged yet another punch. Theo could only hit Jian in the side. The enforcer stumbled a bit, but still held his ground against the unmovable Alpha.

“Would you look at this idiot?” Nate growled, running his hands through his hair. He rushed over to break up the fight. 

“You call this stealth?!” Looping his arms around Theo, Nate put him into a quick armlock, helping Kira and Jian hold him down as the Alpha slowly tired himself out. 

His threatening presence had already scared me, but I didn’t let that stop me from helping too. Slowly, I approached his side, wrapping my arms around him to pull Theo into a tight hug.

“It’s okay. I promise you, it’s okay. I’m here.” Releasing my soft peachy scent, only then did the Alpha steady himself. It was working. Theo stopped struggling to everyone’s relief.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, you freakin’ maniac?” Kira snapped. With no explanation given, the woman couldn’t understand why Theo was behaving like an unleashed, rabid dog. 

“Anyone care to explain what the hell is going on here?” A deep voice called out from across the hall. Direct, loud footsteps approached as Alpha Leo entered the common area. The older Alpha held everyone’s attention as he came face-to-face with his brash son. 

“Theo, you can’t just barge into the house like this. Are you a child?” The man’s sharp words were a stern reprimand toward his son.

Theo only gave a frosty glare in response, still held in place by Nate and the others. The Alpha didn’t care to answer his father’s questions, but he still made one last attempt to get free.

Holding on tighter, I squeezed him in an effort to break through his entrenched, deep-seated anger. 

“Theo, please calm down,” I didn’t let him go. I wouldn’t.

My words finally broke through, and the Alpha relaxed a touch. 

“Took you long enough,” Nate scoffed before releasing his stronghold on the burly Alpha. Theo, still looking to take the edge off, wrapped his arms around me, holding me in a tight embrace. I could tell my presence was easing his stress away. Whatever I had done had worked, at least, for now. With the fervent beast under control, we could all finally relax and catch our breath.

An exhausted Alpha Leo shook his head at the whole situation. “As future leaders, I expect you all to show more respect for yourselves and our pack’s decorum around here. You can’t just run around making a muck of things.” After dishing out his scolding to all of us, he ushered us to follow him to the great hall.

“I seriously need you all on your best behavior today,” he snapped in Theo’s direction. “It’s a serious matter the council is dealing with right now!”

“What’s going on?” I couldn’t help but ask, worried that something terrible had already happened.

Alpha Leo knotted his brow, stopping for a ‌moment to answer my concerns. 

“Tyrus has returned, but he's not safe at the moment,” he said in a soft whisper.

A huge gasp left my lips, my heart dropped at the idea that Tyrus had been found out by the council. For a moment, the careening sensation of my body in a free fall consumed my thoughts, everything inside of me fearing the next words from Alpha Leo. 

“We are in the middle of a hostage negotiation.” His words sucked all the air from the room.

Hostage negotiation…? The bizarre news made the whole hallway fade into a dreary silence. 

‘What the hell does he mean hostage… who is being held prisoner?’ I asked my wolf. River locked onto the older Alpha, watching his hardened face for any emotion.

‘I’m…I’m not sure,’ he answered coldly. Anxiety ate its way through my last sense of security. A new feeling of fear mixed with tension engulfed my body as we all followed along. Everyone was silent, lost in their thoughts as they tried to figure out just what the hell was going on. 

Alpha Leo entered first, holding the door wide open so we could all file in. With Theo and Nate at my side, I pictured the room to be filled with the usual cast of characters, but three new people had joined us. Tyrus, with the same look of disgust, sat next to a familiar face and one I hadn’t seen before, one whose eyes followed me the moment I entered.

“Hello, Remy.” Vince, the evil assassin, waved at me cheerfully. 

“Looks like you’ve been doing good. How’s that leg of yours?” He gave a curt smile. My body jerked to a stop, mortified and disgusted. Vince was bold enough to dare set foot in my presence again—my mind shuddered at the painful memory, as if it were yesterday. 

What made little sense was why he was allowed in this very room with all the council members? 

Like, hello people!? This dude tried to fucking kidnap me!

The Alphas didn’t care for the vile greeting. Nate let out a heated growl, already with his mind made up to attack Vince. I held onto his hand, Theo’s as well, hoping I had enough strength to hold them in place. 

Without a single sound, my eyes locked onto the stranger who had been tracking my every move since I entered. A fairly good-looking older fellow with a serious look on his face as he watched us find our seats. The first thing I noticed was the jagged scar across his neck. At some point in his life, he had suffered a brutal attack—someone had wanted him dead. 

An Alpha? 

The hairs on my neck stood at attention. The air around him was suffocating. I found myself struggling to even breathe normally. The dominant pheromones in the room were getting to me. My body began to shake uncontrollably. I was freaking out. A flash of a dream, dark eyes staring down at me…

Have I…have I seen him before?

I couldn’t quite place just where, but my mind was searching through my memories, things left in the forgotten past. River had turned deadly silent once more, the wolf no longer pacing in my mind but ‌locked on target, fighting the impulse to attack.

‘River?’ His strange behavior worried me as I continued to watch the hardened man in front of me. Something was off, very off. My mind was in shambles when a thought stirred within me. 

Did I…did we know him?

His eyes said nothing, only staring as I huddled by the Alphas’ side.

Alpha Leo was talking, and everyone was listening, but I couldn’t focus on the words. My ears weren’t working, muffled like cotton shoved inside of them with only the draining feeling of fear gripping my body. 

“Boys, we have a few guests here. Like I said before, we were in the middle of hostage negotiations—for Tyrus.” Alpha Leo gestured for us to sit. 

River growled, his fire burning as adrenaline shot through my veins. The sensation of heat came over me—the ability to sit or even move became a struggle.

Everything was moving so slowly, time stopped as I watched everyone moving silently, idling in a daze. 

My heart was racing. The dead look in the stranger’s eyes never left my being. 

Drawing a deep breath, my wolf stalked the man in front of us, ripping control as he took charge over my body. 

‘River…? What’s going on?’ 

His protective mode was on, hurdling me into the deepest corner of my mind as he remained unseated in the room.

A minute went by, then two.

Everyone was staring at my purple-eyed wolf, soft whispers rising, trying to figure out his sudden appearance.

‘River I think—’ I didn’t get to finish that thought, cut short as I watched the stranger give a devilish smile, a brow-raising laughter like there was some kind of hidden joke to all of this.

Something wasn’t right. My nose filled with a vile stench of death, as the man with amber-colored eyes soon revealed something sickening; some sort of perverse desire that River was clearly reacting to.

River stepped back, his movements idling towards the door, the weight shifting ‌forward slightly. He held his ground, the wooden floors creaking with the balancing of his weight. A deep breath was drawn, but this time he held it in.

‘River…?’

In a swift manner, he launched forward, revealing the knife held in his back pocket, brandishing the switchblade as he charged forward.

‘River, what the fuck?!’ Screaming into the black repose as my wolf jumped up on the meeting table, I could do nothing to stop him from running down its solid oak surface, aiming his knife at the stranger.

‘Didn’t I tell you, Remy? I hate fucking snakes! Especially ones that bring friends!’ The wolf had set his mark and no one, not even the moon goddess could stop him. 

Heads were gonna roll.

Edited by ArcisOne & Patroklos

A/N Dammmn!😧River not playing with anyone out here! I wonder who this new Alpha is?👀 Next chapter is definitely gonna be an interesting one.😉 Hope you guys enjoyed the update! Thanks for subscribing and reading! 💕😘

-Otaku_rose 🥀