Chapter 2 - Cyrus

“Thanks for joining us today, Flynn,” I nod curtly from across the room. “I know this is bad timing, but we needed you.”

“I had to come,” Alpha Flynn of the Blood Moon Pack of Zafra relents with a sigh. “If there’s one thing I’m sure of, Dorian is on our side.”

I can't help but feel grateful for the man's attendance today. During the past couple of months, ever since we learned about the threat against werewolf packs in the Oklahoma region, the leaders of the surrounding packs had formed an alliance that had subsequently turned into what is now known as the Alpha Council of Oklahoma. With six Alphas, including myself, forming the Council, we've had to regroup because of one of our members’ disappearance last week.

Flynn Lycoan's mate had recently given birth, yet he's attending the meeting. It comes as a surprise since the missing Alpha was considered his enemy before Flynn was able to find out the truth.

Dorian Walker, the Alpha of the Nightclaw Pack of Fort Smit, used to be his brother's best friend. Dorian was with him the night he died, and for a long time, Flynn didn't trust that he had nothing to do with it. Once his suspicions were put to rest, Flynn and Dorian had become amicable enough to shake hands at every Council meeting since then.

Dorian's disappearance is what has brought the Council together today. For almost four months, the rogue werewolves who'd kidnapped werewolves from Dorian's pack had been missing in action. The trail we found that led to their location was cold when we discovered their whereabouts, and for some time, we thought we were rid of the impending threat that had all of us in a chokehold.

They're back now, and they've taken one of our own.

“Have you found anything in Fort Smit?” I ask Damian, the Alpha of the Valley Walker Pack—Dorian's younger brother.

The man shakes his head, blue eyes growing sadder. Though he and Dorian hardly see eye to eye, I can tell that his disappearance has affected Damian.

“The rogues seem to be quite smart,” Damian reveals. “For a bunch of homeless mutts, they sure seem to know how to cover their tracks well.”

I clear my throat, drawing the attention of the boardroom to me.

“Unfortunately, we'd been unsuccessful in gaining access to the satellite,” I informed them. “However, my Beta has been able to gather information about a very… diligent hacker…”

“A hacker?” Theodore, Alpha of the Blackmaw Pack, asks skeptically. “Isn't that illegal?”

“It is,” I admit tersely, fixing the collar on my shirt. “But we don't have any options. The government has refused our request.”

“Won't this be a threat to your company?” Flynn asks.

I nod slowly. “I'll take my chances. The threat of the rogues on our kind is my priority now.”

The other Alphas nod their agreement since we've all established one thing—the safety of our respective packs is our main priority as Alphas and members of the new alliance.

I'll do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the Moon Shine Pack. Like any good leader, it's the only thing that's become important to me. Even risking the reputation of Rudolph Inc., a tech company my grandfather built from the ground up, is a risk I'm willing to take.

I know it's what my father would have done if he was still alive.

When the meeting is wrapped up, I ride the elevator to my office floor, sending a mind link to my Beta. Doubling up as my assistant at work, he's already waiting in my office when I arrive.

“Have you made contact yet?” I ask as I take a seat behind my desk.

Jarrod nods, hanging on the opposite side of the desk as he skims through his smartwatch. “Her handler has gotten back to me. They want two-fifty.”

“Two-fifty dollars?” I chuckle. “Go ahead—”

“No, Cyrus,” Jarrod interjects. “Two-hundred-and-fifty thousand .”

“Fuck!” I exclaim, slamming a palm on the desk. “A quarter of a million? That's absurd!”

“It's a government satellite…” he reminds me glumly with a sigh. “And she's the only one who can do it.”

I run a hand through my hair, deliberating my choices with a huff. Our only hope of finding Dorian is with the help of the infamous hacker, Asuka. With a clean track record of some of the most stealthy jobs known to the technological world, the help of a faceless hacker comes with a heavy price.

“Have you tried negotiating?” I ask, to which Jarrod nods.

“Tried and failed. Her work is spotless. Her assistant won't budge.”

My cheeks hollowed out as I let out a heavy breath. “Set it up,” I instruct Jarrod. “Money isn't the issue. I need to know that she can be trusted.”

“She comes highly recommended by everyone I've spoken to,” he assures me. “I'll set up a meeting ASAP.”

There's no question about what needs to be done. With Dorian abducted, we are on high alert as Alphas. The need to protect our packs is instinctive, ingrained in us as our birthright. I have to do what I can to rid the land of the threat posed by these mutts. I can't afford any more sleepless nights, and I'm wondering if I will be next.

I push off my chair and head to the liquor cabinet behind my desk, pouring myself a brandy. “Want one?” I ask my Beta-slash-assistant. If it were any other employee, I wouldn't be asking him if he wanted to drink while at work. Luckily for him, he has a free pass because he's my best friend.

Jarrod clears his throat. “No thanks, Cyrus,” he declines, pointing at his watch. “I've just heard that Cassandra Chikara is coming back.”

“Wh-what?!” I exclaim, choking on the sip of my drink when it catches halfway down my throat. A series of coughing and splattering has me keeled over the table; a palm braced on the edge while I fight for composure.

“Geez, Cyrus… Are you alright?”

I clear my throat and straighten up, but I can feel the color draining from my face. “Y-yeah…” I lie. “I'm fine. She's erm—She's coming back?”

Jarrod narrows his eyes at me, nodding without any indication that he believes me. “Her mother died a few days ago.”

I nod absentmindedly, not feeling even an ounce of remorse as I should. All I can think of is her… The ex-member of the Moon Shine Pack.

Snorting disdainfully, I clutch the backrest of my swivel chair and throw a wary look at Jarrod. “Who does she think she is, coming back to Mysthaven?”

“She's Agatha Chikara's only daughter,” Jarrod shrugs nonchalantly. “It would make sense that she comes back to attend her mother's funeral.”

“Huh,” I scoff. The mere mention of her name infuriates me. But knowing that she's coming back? I pray to the Moon Goddess she doesn't cross my path!

It's not like I care to see her after leaving Mysthaven without a word of goodbye. The scoundrel sent her mother to inform the pack of her departure, like the witless mutt she is.

I always knew she wasn't capable of being a real werewolf in our pack. As resentment for her abandoning the pack she was born into rises like bile in my throat, I shake my head.

“The funeral will be taking place on Friday,” Jarrod says matter-of-factly as he types something on his tablet.

“So?” I frown.

He lifts his head, brows furrowing in disbelief. “Agatha was a member of the pack, Cyrus. You'll have to attend and—”

“I will do no such thing!” I fume, nostrils flaring as if I'm breathing fire. “Cassandra Chikara is as dead to me as her dead mother.”

Jarrod gasps as if I'd struck him on the head. “Cyrus, surely you don't mean—”

“If you're so concerned about the Chikaras, you can attend the funeral on my behalf,” I grunt as I lift myself to my feet. I'm way too irritated to stay in the office after hearing about her. “Clear my schedule for the rest of the day,” I instructed him, pausing at the door. “And make sure that no one welcomes her to town.”

***

Clutching the rigid wheel in my Jeep until my knuckles pale, I'm fuming in the confines of the vehicle parked behind my house.

When the news of Agatha's passing came a few days ago, I never expected Cassandra Chikara to return.

She hasn't been on Moon Shine turf in nine years.

Not that I was counting… I scoff under my breath, brooding resentment fueling my sudden urge to go back to the city and get shit-faced.

I know I shouldn't be riled up like this. Cassandra means nothing to me and nothing to this pack.

If her return weren't because of her mother's funeral, I would have ensured that she wasn't allowed to step foot on Moon Shine territory.

I'm not heartless enough, though the thought of making her suffer is tempting. Grinding my teeth, I get out of my car, and as soon as my feet touch the ground, my airways are hit by a distinct scent of difference.

Honing my Alpha senses to be better equipped in my duties, I'd become trained to the scent belonging to my wolves. A mixture of the Mysthaven soil and the potent scent of wolfiness, the smell of a Moon Shine wolf is unmistakable.

What I smell now is unfamiliar; the soil is untainted by air pollution, and the muskiness of the wolf is not as robust as it should be for a Moon Shine werewolf.

It's tooth-achingly sweet, and my wolf senses are tingling as I'm alerted to the presence of a werewolf who shouldn't be in town.

With the looming threat of the rogues, I can't be too careful, so I send out a mind link to border patrol to check the perimeter of Mysthaven for any sign of trespassing.

When a stray wind passes my face, I follow the smell like a trail of breadcrumbs that leads me toward the town center. The streets are mostly empty, save for a few youths returning from school. They bow their heads in the distance as I pass, but I remain oblivious, especially when my border patrol reports that there hasn't been any sighting of a trespasser.

Strange, I think as I follow the scent that leads me past the library, then the local pack clinic. It's only when I turn the corner that I spot a coated figure with long, raven black hair cascading down its back, lurking in front of the town mortuary. My feet speed up, crossing the road in a march to find out who it is.

“Who are you?” I utilize the gallant tone of my Alpha wolf to ask the question as I reach the front of the mortuary. I don't recognize her from behind, and since I'm able to detect every one of my pack members without a shadow of a doubt, this one has me frowning.

The shoulders of the woman slouch inside her coat, and she slowly turns. That's when my breath catches, my heart momentarily stopping when I realize, with dread, that this is the she-wolf I thought I'd never see again.

“Cassandra?!” I exclaim in shock when she lifts her dark, dragon-shaped eyes and meets my eyes, knocking the wind out of my soul.

“Cyrus…” she whispers timidly, sounding equally surprised as she stares at me and gulps.

I take a step forward, narrowing my eyes at her to intently inspect every curve and contour of her face.

She's so… different.

Gone are the braces to straighten her teeth and the buccal fat underneath her cheekbones that used to give her face a rounder shape. Now, with defined cheekbones and a prominent jawline, her features are sharp and distinct, matching the sharpness of her eyes, which stare at me in disbelief.

“It's really you…” I murmur, unable to control my mind from drifting off into a space of the past I'd walked away from when she left the pack nine years ago.

All she does in response is bat her eyelids at me, long lashes fluttering like an eagle's wings, ready for take-off. The exhale I let out is one of awe, marveling at how strikingly different she is.

The last time I saw her, she was just a curious-eyed young woman. Even back then, she was the cause of my stomach flutters and disoriented thoughts that seemed to emerge once again.

I hate this feeling, but I can't help it. I can't help but stare at her creamy white skin, which is as perfect as marble.

It takes every ounce of strength to speak the words hanging on the tip of my tongue.

“You're back after all these years…” I comment, the words serving as a reminder to snap out of my daze and remember that what she did was unforgivable.

Leaving the pack, leaving Mysthaven without saying goodbye to me, the future Alpha of this pack…

I hate what she did. She has no right to affect me like this, no power over me that's stronger than my authority as the Alpha.

“My mother…” she reminds me, and she blinks as if reeling from her own daze. The corners of her eyes turn sharper just as she straightens her shoulders and tilts her chin. “I'm back for my mother's funeral.”

“It took your mother's death to bring you back, huh?” I ask, completely snapped out of my daze and level-headed now.

Cassandra narrows her eyes. “There's nothing else that would have brought me back,” she snaps, her firm tone infuriating me and setting my pulse alight.

Just who does she think she is, waltzing back into town as if nine years of her absence didn't pass?

I rake my eyes over her from head to toe as if searching for something to get back at her for. Doesn't she know how vile her departure was?

She's lucky I'm not heartless!

“I see you finally took my advice and lost a few pounds,” I remarked crudely.

She scoffs, not nearly as fazed by my words as I expected her to be.

“If you're here to comment on my weight, Alpha… ” the title sounds bitter on her tongue. “... Then I suggest you leave right now.”

“You're gonna tell me, the Alpha, what to do?”

Cassandra takes a bold step forward, crossing her arms over her chest. “What are you gonna do about it, huh? Kick me out of town? Out of Rosethorn Valley?”

My jaw widens slowly as shock washes over me. She'd never retorted so bluntly at me in the past. Right now, I brush aside that tiny bit of compassion I had left for her and open my mouth to tell her that I have a good mind to do exactly that and kick her out of town.

As if saved by the bell, the mortuary door clicks open, and the morgue assistant, Daniel, sticks his head out.

“Cassandra? Is that you?” he asks, prompting her to turn to him. “I've been expecting you.”

“Hi, Daniel,” she greets as she steps through the parted door when he moves aside. Without throwing back a single glance at me, Cassandra disappears inside.

“Hello, Alpha,” Daniel greets me with a curt nod, reminding me that I'm the benevolent leader of this pack.

All I can do is nod back at him, frozen on the spot, as realization dawns on me.

Somehow, Cassandra has become brave enough to stand up to me. What have these nine years done to her?

This feels like an unspoken challenge, and I have to accept it.

I won't accept defeat, that's for sure. I might not have the heart to dispel her from the town now that she has to take care of her mother's funeral. But I'm not a pushover, and I won't let her speak to me any way she wants to.

If she thinks she can get away with the nine years that have passed, she's sorely mistaken. As my fists curl at my sides, I feel a strange sense of eagerness to make Cassandra Chikara's life a living misery while she's back in town.

It's the only suitable price to pay for how she abandoned her own pack.