| KALEB

The Alpha stared at the note with furrowed brows, his lips pulled into a snarl. This would be the tenth time he'd read the disturbing message, he seemed to get angrier every time. He threw the note onto to his desk as he began pacing behind the chair where Luna sat. Her hands were interlocked as she leaned forward gazing at the open piece of paper in front of her in absolute seriousness.

Out of all the raging shifters in the room, I had to say the one scaring me the most was Luna. He claws were extended and the look in her eyes chilled me to the bone.

"Josh did this?" She said slowly, her tone latent with suppressed anger.

Alpha Drake growled menacingly at the sound of his name being uttered but resumed pacing. Darren was standing next to the desk, his face impassive. Pierce, the alphas beta, walked over to pick up the note. He examined it and his brows knit together before he placed it back down.

"Has anyone ever notice his feelings for Kaleb?" The red headed male asked, getting to business. I tried not to scoff. If he meant feelings of contempt and irritation, then yes, I'd say that I was quite familiar with his feelings. I frowned and felt the irritation simmering in Zev spike.

My mate hadn't said a word since we saw the note on my bed. He eyes were the bright emerald of his tiger's and they glared at anything that moved, breathed or looked in my direction. I was sitting on top of his lap, in front of the Alpha's large mahogany desk. Zev had one massive arm wrapped around my waist, gripping me to him securely. I could tell that he was miles past livid, I almost felt bad for Josh in that he had the terrifying wrath of a tiger shifter directed solely at him. Luna Eden looked at her son evenly.

"Did he ever confide in you with this, pup?" Darren's eyes met his mother's respectfully.

"No ma'am, he didn't. I wasn't aware that he had any feelings for Kaleb." He answered solemnly. Luna reached out and gripped his arm comfortingly, her gaze softening.

"I understand that he was your friend, pup, but-"

"He was like a brother to me, how could he do this?! Why-" he voice rose a little towards the end before cutting off. He whirled around his feelings of betrayal clear on his face as he walked over to the wall and punched it resulting in a hole. His chest was heaving through his pants as he pulled his hand from the wall. The alpha stopped pacing and moved to stand in front of his son, gripping his shoulder.

"Calm yourself," he said firmly before releasing him. "None of this makes sense," he began, addressing everyone in the room. "Why try to claim Kaleb now?" The alpha thought aloud. Yet for all the questions posed there was no answer. No one knew and we were all lost and confused.

"The more concerning question is why he would mutilate a pack member just to prove a point." The beta spoke up. "Or how the hell he managed to leave a note in Kaleb's room completely unnoticed."

"Kaleb," my Luna addressed me "Did you smell a scent belonging to someone other than you or Zev in your room?" She asked in all seriousness. I gulped before responding, feeling Zev's arm tighten further. I shook my head in the negative.

"No, the scent of the flowers was overbearing, to the point where it hurt my nose." I informed her. " I couldn't smell any thing else besides them."

"He must have used them to cover his scent." She concluded releasing me from her gaze. Immediately my shoulders relaxed and I melted further into Zev seeking reassurance. There were a lot of dominant shifters in here, my wolf was intimidated and Zev helped to calm our frayed nerves.

"So, he claims Kaleb as his own, leaving notes in two different locations and covers his scent in both places," the Alpha surmised as he resumed pacing behind his mate's chair. "That kind of makes sense, leave a message, not a trace. But why reveal himself as the culprit?"

Darren was the one to answer, he'd calmed down a little. " He didn't do it so we'd know." He began referring to himself and the others in the room. "He wants them to know," he gestured toward me and Zev. "Especially, Zev. In the clearing, I was able to read a snipet of Josh's thoughts. He was jealous, from what I could tell, and angry. At the time I didn't know what for. I thought it had to do with the way Zev put him in his place and the power he'd displayed. Obviously, I was wrong," the alpha-to-be continued "he intended for Zev to read it, to piss him off or what I don't know-"

"," the tiger shifter interrupted "." Zev growled menacingly. I rubbed the arm my waist soothingly, trying to calm him down.

"What do we do now?" I asked. Looking towards the leaders in the room.

"We have no scents to follow, no leads so we can't send a searching party out on a wild goose chase," Alpha Drake began. "The best thing to do would be, increase the patrol on the borders, if he really wants Kaleb he'll have to go through hell to get him."

"From his blatant lack of caring displayed by him signing his name on the note, I'd say he's more than willing to face that possibility." Luna Eden spoke up, leaning back in the large chair, keeping her clasped hands on the desk. "No, he's just getting started. I feel as though Kaleb isn't the only prize he is seeking."

"And he can't be doing it alone either," Beta Pierce spoke. "It would take more than one individual to pull something like this off." The red head concluded.

This discussion was only leading to more questions and we hadnt even answered all of the one's in the first batch. I was beginning to develop a headache. Why couldn't anything be simple. Simple was me and Zev going off to start our own family with no major complications. This whole situation was ridiculous, why go through all of this over a mere omega?

The pensive atmosphere was broken as a knock sounded on the door. Beta Pierce being the closest to it, opened it. In stepped an enforcer wolf and in hands was yet another note. Bile rose in the back of my throat as I buried my face Zev's neck taking in lungfuls of his scent.

"It's addressed to the Alpha," the enforcer reported. Confused I removed my face in order to see what was going on. The Beta took the note, closing the door before reading it aloud.

"You've stolen something precious from me, now I will destroy everything you hold dear." He read. "No signature."

"The only person we know with a connection like that to you is..." Luna began.

"My father." I said as my heart plummeted.

My father...here. I couldn't wrap my head around it. My brain simply wouldn't process the information, let alone what it entailed. My heart picked up speed and my hands began to shake. This can't be happening. Why was it happening.

I curled further into Zev as he wrapped both arms around me protectively. I hid my face in his warm neck, trying to take in lungfuls of his scent to abate the panic attack that was moment's away from happening. I am going to kill them both for this. Malicious intent weighed on his thoughts as well as concern and irritation. I simply snuggled closer, tightly shutting my eyes closed and deciding to listen to the rest of the conversation rather than actively participate.

"And not for a family reunion, I'm guessing," Beta Pierce bit out. I couldn't see his face but I could tell by his tone that the arrival of yet another threat set him on edge. "He and Josh must be working together." I shivered at the mere thought of it. This was a nightmare.

"What does he mean by 'you've stolen something from me?'." Darren asked cluelessly. "Did you kick him out of the pack?"

"No, but to him I did something much worse." The alpha responded cryptically forcing Darren to drop it.

They continued talking for what seemed like hours. The light streaming in through the window had begun to fade as the sun went down. I was only half aware of the conversation going on around me. This whole situation was exhausting, I just wanted to sleep.

"Okay, boys, that's enough discussion for today." Luna announced and I removed my face from Zev's neck to look at her. "We should all get some rest, there's nothing more we can do without any scents to track." She finished firmly, standing up from the massive chair. Alpha Drake stopped pacing behind her nodding his head in agreement. "She's right," the big male agreed.

"So we just wait until he makes his next move?!" Peirce asked incredulously.

"If we go looking for him, we'll end up just chasing our tails," the Alpha spoke up "not only that, but Kaleb would be undergaurded and we have to assume that Josh has a spy among us. As soon as he learned over half of the enforcer wolves had left he'd come for Kaleb. And not alone most likely." He reasoned.

"That's a great idea," Darren exclaimed. Zev growled and some of my grogginess began to fade.

"?" Through our bond I could feel that he wanted nothing more than to rip Darren apart. For his sake I hope what ever he said next made sense.

Fear flashed through Darren's dark orbs before he gulped warily. "Think about it," he began slowly "we could lure Josh here and capture him and Kaleb's father-."

"." Zev said not leaving any room for argument "."

"Enough." Alpha Drake growled glaring at both Darren and Zev. "We'll figure something else out, Darren. For now we make sure our territory is secure and no one else dies." Darren sighed, clenching his jaw but nodded while Zev returned to his stoic silence. "You're all dismissed," he said placing his hands on the large desk. Luna Eden placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and we took that as our cue to leave.

I returned to my hiding place, wrapping my arms around Zev's neck. I was so tired out from the events of the day, I was out within seconds.

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Sorry, this chapter was mostly dialogue but I hope you still enjoyed it.

Zev seems a little ticked doesn't

As always, thanks for reading!!! 😍😍😍

-J.T.😙😙😙