Saving Her Broken Alpha

Chapter 20

After going back to the clinic to make sure that her mate was doing fine, April went to look for beta Blake. She felt a little apprehensive about introducing herself as the Luna when she had not straightened things out with alpha Duncan. The awkward introduction made the beta smile. But she really did not need to, because he already could sense that she was his leader. Not only did his wolf submit to her, but the way she also took charge confirmed it.

She asked for the number of casualties, and if they had suffered any loss. The beta gave her the required information. She felt sad that they had lost half a dozen members, “half a dozen of my people that I will never get to meet.” She thought unhappily and made a mental note to visit these families.

Together with the beta, she supervised the clean-up from the previous night’s battle. She did not want the constant reminder of what happened there, and so she made sure they totally wiped every trace of the attack off.

As they cleaned up, she looked at the buildings closest to her and could not help but shiver at how dreary they looked. “A fresh coat of paint will do this place a lot of good.” She mused in her head. Already thinking about how to improve the pack.

“Why didn’t the injured come to the clinic to be looked at last night?” She asked as they walked back to the clinic together.

“They wanted the alpha to have the full attention of the doctor.”

“But if they were also injured, they needed to be seen by the doctor too.”

“You know how it is with our kind. We heal fast. But I’m sure the doctor will see more patients today if anyone has not healed completely by now.”

Satisfied with his explanation, she gave him a nod.

“I would like to meet your mate.”

“Why?” His voice raised sharply in defence.

She stopped and turned to him; surprise mixed with confusion written clearly on her face.

“I am only asking to meet her.” She said, baffled.

“Sorry.” Blake mumbled as he shamefully hung his head.

“You don’t have to be. It is only normal for wolves to be protective of their mates.”

“I wasn’t just being protective. The last time I introduced her to em… the erm….”

He struggled with how to address Lily before his real Luna.

“You mean your alpha’s ex-girlfriend?

“Yes, she and Ellie did not really get along.”

“What transpired between them?”

April was curious to know, but Blake did not want to make his friend look bad before his mate. Sensing his hesitance, she decided not to pursue the subject further, but still insisted on meeting his mate as they would both be working closely together.

              ********

While members of the crescent moon pack were cleaning up the battleground, grand priestess Zelda was busy kicking up dust in her own coven. She could not believe what she had just heard.

“So you failed.” She accused the pale-looking vampire leader, sitting on a black armchair facing her.

“Watch your tone, witch. I am not one of your subjects.”

Zelda mused to open the curtains in her private living room just to watch the arrogant vampire burn.

“I must commend your pride. Even in the face of such a colossal failure, you can still hold your head high. All I asked you to do was to destroy a measly tiny pack and you could not. Yet here you are, carelessly flopped on my chair, asking for your reward.”

Zelda’s words scalded the vampire so badly to the point that his fangs descended, and he hissed at her.

“You should have armed us with the right information to enable us to prepare accordingly.” He accused.

“What do you mean?”

Now mad with anger at losing several of his men, Cassius, the vampire warrior, explained that the alpha, his Luna and beta, were not the only powerful fighters they faced. He told her of four other wolves that were almost indestructible. How they ploughed through him and his men, dodging and ducking from their silver weapons as if they were invincible.

His statement nearly knocked Zelda off her seat.

“Do these four warriors you speak about consist of two males and two females? She asked, adjusting to sit on the edge of her chair in anticipation of his answer.

“Yes.”

“Did you, by any chance, notice if one of them was a red hair?”

She held her breath, hoping and praying that it was Talia.

“So you knew about the formidable opponents we would be facing and did not inform us? You killed my men for nothing?” Thundered Cassius.

Zelda ignored his outburst. Her eyes turned red to match the boiling rage in her heart. She calmed her nerves and gave a sweet smile at the thought of the sweet revenge she was about to mete out.

“You attack again tonight.” She said in a voice that sounded distant.

“I do not take orders from you.”

“In that case, you will go back to the leaders of your coven without the female I promised to deliver into your hands.”

“You will not dare to go back on your words.”

“I can and I will if you do not fulfil your end of the agreement. I agreed to give your rival’s mate to you after you have destroyed the outland packs. You could not bring down the first one and yet you are already asking for your own end of the bargain.”

The vampire sitting before her cursed silently. They both know he must do her bidding, because his leaders have mandated him not to return without Prince Carl’s mate. The prospect of capturing her and then having her mate in their palm almost made his still heart start beating again.

“We will attack again, but not tonight. More than half of my fighters are critically injured and must make a full recovery before we can do so.”

“What if the watchers leave before your men recover? Now that I have all four of them together, I cannot afford to miss this opportunity of striking them down.” Zelda panicked.

She has been planning to infiltrate their individual packs, but now that fate has presented them to her, she will not decline the gift.

“You mean those were the legendary watchers?” Cassius asked in amazement.

Although only a little over a hundred years old, he had heard tales about the watchers of the werewolves. Stories have it that they are the four walls of protection that their goddess put around their kind to keep watch over her children. They are the reason why their kind has remained formidable in the supernatural world. However, something horrible had happened to the set that was supposed to have appeared a hundred years ago.

He reasoned that if he were to be an instrument in the defeat of the watchers, then he would be feared among his own kind. Not only will they see him as a hero, but they will also make him an elder in his own coven. A position he badly coveted.

Upon further discussion, they agreed to give his men at least an entire week to recover, and then they would attack.

Just as they were concluding their plans, Eva walked in.

“Judging from the glee on your face, I presume the attack was successful.” She said to her great grandmother.

“No, it was not.”

“Then why do you look like we have won?” She asked.

“Because soon we will, as our victory is sure. In a matter of days, we will bring the werewolves to their knees.”

Seeing the questioning look on Eva’s face, she explained what Cassius had told her.

“You mean that wretched female Talia is in the outlands?”

Her distorted face twisted with so much hate that even the fearsome vampire recoiled inwardly.

“I am going after her.”

“No, I command you not to. I will gather some of the high priestesses and in a week, we will attack. When we are done with them, history will never forget us.” She said in a small, happy, but yet menacing voice.