Vikron's POV
I asked Demuel to take the secluded back route leading to the mansion, deciding we would walk to the front of the gate on foot. It was only a brief seven-minute walk. I clipped stop on the timer on my hand.
I linked Demuel to inform the others following behind to hasten their pace. We were here. Each one appeared, standing silently behind me.
Then the powerful lights came on, flashing blindingly on our faces. "Stand back," a guard ordered from beyond the imposing gate.
"Stop right there. Who are you?" Came another voice, releasing a low, guttural growl, making me want to laugh. I could sense its palpable fear.
I raised both hands up, causing the others, even a noticeably disgruntled Demuel, to do the same.
"I'm Alpha Vikron and I'm here to see Alpha Loeka," I called back, my hands still raised in the air.
The heavy gate opened as someone stepped forward. A pointed nose, an oval-shaped face, dark, untrimmed hair, a black jacket relaxing perfectly on his shoulders. He looked remarkably like one of the Alpha's sons. I could immediately perceive the Alpha's strong aura. Plus his immense pride was suffocating the cologne he wore.
"Follow me," he ordered, his pride worn over him like a protective shield. "The rest will have to stay here until you return."
I shot Demuel a knowing glance to stay calm. If I didn't know him any better, he'd end up strangling each one of them. Like the others, everyone in the pack were dejected, outcast, and some identified as rogues. But these were my men. Men with different, challenging backgrounds who had learned to become one, live as one, and fight as one.
The inside of the mansion was legendary, even more impressive than the outside. Old, intricate carvings of past Alphas lined up on the wall with the distinctive face of a woman amongst other men. Noa K. Loeka. The only female Alpha to have ruled, refusing to make her son the next Alpha after the tragic death of her husband, only reinstating her son as the new Alpha when he turned twenty-eight. Tough blood. He had done his thorough research before coming.
Standing in front of the man with grey hair crawling on his hands and slightly beyond his wrist. Powerful eyes. Like the one from the younger face I'd seen outside. A neck aid was placed gently behind his neck.
"Good evening," his voice, gentle yet firm, came.
"Thank you for having me," I said.
"Some are like the birds, finding their course during the day, but some are like the owls, you only hear them and see them at night," he said, pushing the bifocals on his nose upward. Werewolves never had bad sights. The glasses were probably for pure aesthetics.
"You said you are… Alpha Vin…"
"Vikron," I corrected.
"Your name seems to sound very distinct. I presume you're not from this district then," he said, pushing the glasses above the bridge of his nose.
"No. The Northern district," I said, suddenly noticing the visible shock on his face and the hard lump drop down his throat.
"What do you want with the Darkstar pack, Alpha Vikron?"
"Camille," I said, my unwavering gaze on him. I saw the nervous twitch on his face before he pulled them back. She learned from him. How to mask emotions and put on a convincing facade.
A fake smile brokered on his face. "Tonight's her mating ceremony. She's been mated to Alpha Sigewuf from the Northern district." A deliberate stretch on Sigewuf's name. Like he was giving me a clear warning to back off.
I wanted to say I knew that, but instead went straight to my question, "Who is she?" My question clearly making him intensely uncomfortable.
"If only you could be more explicit in your question?" His eyes hard, some folds of skin appearing at the edge.
"I know she isn't your daughter, but what I want to know is who exactly she is," I said, shooting him a menacing growl. My patience was waning faster than I wanted it to.
He sat up, placing the glasses gently on the table. "Camille is my daughter and I will forgive this accusation of yours because this clearly is our first meeting, Alpha Vikron," he replied, his gaze taut.
I wanted to tell him that I had a squirt that made me laugh when people lied, especially when I knew they were lying, but I maintained my aloof countenance.
"Two more chances before I ask my men to slit the throat of that arrogant prick of a son you have, and don't think he'll heal," I said, looking him straight in the eye. "It's a silver blade."
"I see you've been on about my pack, huh," He chuckled without mirth, but he got the message. "What do you want?" He said, tapping his fingers on the table.
"Who is she? And just for the notice, no lies."
"My mother, Noa Kadiel Loeka, had found her dying mother during a pack hunt led by her. Barely three weeks ago, was entrusted over to Alpha Noa Kadiel Loeka. Her dying mother had claimed the child was an offspring of herself, a wolf from Ve Dame pack, and of a pure-blood 1st generation Vampire, but she didn't mention a name. But we discovered that had been a lie. A way to save her child. After 19 years, the girl can't even shift." He smiled. "She doesn't belong here anymore, she now belongs to Alpha Sigewuf of the Darkstar pack," he sighed, a gleam in his eyes.
"That was quick," I said, rising to my feet. I dropped a document of the new marriage contract with Camille on the table, pushing it over to him. "Sign your part for consent down below," I said, sending him a scathing look.
After a quick glance at the document, he shot up to his feet. "What is this?" Shaking the papers violently, his voice commanding. "Another marriage contract?"
"You cannot have her even if you wished," he yelled, flipping the document in the air, but my patience was already far spent.
I picked the documents from the floor, moved back to the rim of the table. With a quick twist, had my hand on the neck aid, pulling it out and pinning his head to the table with the silver powder close to his face. The shock in his eyes. He had not seen that coming. He was powerful. But he had no idea who I was dealing with.
"Now, you would sign the papers," I said. Not waiting for a response, I pushed the contract in front of him. His fingers scribbling faster than his mouth had been running. Slapping his ass back on the chair, "Welcome to the… pack," I said, shutting the door behind me.
I knew his type. Men desperate for power and selfish enough not to care who went for them to have it. Men like Sigewuf.
As I expected, Demuel and the rest already had the gatekeepers nestled in a corner. Lips sealed, hands tied securely behind their backs. The young Alpha was nowhere to be found.
I signaled for our departure as each strode out across the gate, but as the cool night wind grazed against my skin, I could feel someone's gaze on me, lurking, watching. I stood, trying to still my senses so I could hear for any strange movement, but nothing, yet the feeling stayed. Beyond the gates, something was watching over this mansion. Probably watching me.
We moved in the direction we had come from, shifting immediately we were behind the woods, headed back to the car. I had not gotten any message from Skyla or Elder McKenzie or Jacshen. But I felt an unsettling feeling heavy in my chest. Pushing the thoughts away, we would most likely arrive before midnight. Whatever it was, would wait till we arrived.
We had not stepped so much as a foot close to the car when a grey spotted wolf appeared. Its eyes a deep shade of blue.
"I'll take care of it," Ethan muttered, trying to move when I stopped him with a move of my hand. There was no need for that. We got what we wanted already. Releasing a deep growl as some canines found their way out, it growled back but retreated its steps before moving back into the woods.
Confirming my suspicion, it was the Alpha's son. I could smell his fear like before. Getting back to the car, we headed back for the pack house.
The light on my screen came on, a message from Skyla. "Where are you?" "I think Camille's had a vision." "We've taken her to the pack hospital."
I shut the screen down. If Camille was a descendant of a 1st generation pure-blood vampire and a beta wolf, and was having visions now even though she hadn't shifted, something was triggering it. And whatever it was, it was definitely significant.