Free Web NovelChapter 63: June 6th
Anastasia had barely taken her seat at the breakfast table when a frantic Caleb came barreling into the room, eyes wide with urgency.
"Two warriors are fighting to the death outside!" he panted, skidding to a halt. "There is an omega trapped between them. I have no clue what the problem is."
Xavier and Liam exchanged a grim look, instantly rising to their feet as the gravity of the situation sank in.
Without a word, they swiftly led the charge outside, the others hot on their heels and Anastasia bringing up the rear with mounting trepidation.
In the expansive courtyard, two colossal werewolves were locked in vicious combat - one from Midnight Shores, the other bearing the unmistakable markings of the Luna pack.
Snarls and vicious snapping jaws filled the air as they grappled savagely, claws raking through thick fur and drawing crimson lines.
Surrounding warriors watched in frozen horror, no one daring to intervene lest they escalate the lethal confrontation unnecessarily.
It would take a direct order from their head Alpha to safely defuse the situation.
Wasting no time, Xavier flung himself into the fray with a thunderous roar, bodily tackling his warrior and pinning the thrashing wolf to the ground.
Heeding Anastasia’s subtle nod, Philip mirrored the move, using his superior bulk to subdue the Luna warrior.
"Stand down, now!" Xavier bellowed in a voice that brooked no argument, his words underscored by a wave of commanding Alpha pheromones that swept over the courtyard.
Subdued but seething, the warriors fell grudgingly still beneath the combined dominance of their Alphas.
Only then did the bystanders become aware of the diminutive, visibly distressed omega female cowering nearby - blonde hair in confusion, tanned skin streaked with tears as she trembled with visceral fear.
Seems to be 5’5 feet tall, and tiny, and her skin color paled due to how scared she is right now in this situation.
Without hesitation, Liam approached the traumatized young woman, dropping into a non-threatening crouch beside her.
Thick, soothing omega pheromones wafted from him, a calming balm against her distress as he gently hushed her whimpers.
"It’s alright now, you are safe," he murmured, his deep voice a reassuring rumble. "What is your name, sweetheart?"
She hiccuped, wide brown eyes still glazed with terror as she managed to choke out, "K-Katie. My name is Katie."
Liam nodded encouragingly. "Katie, I’m Liam. Can you tell me how old you are?"
"Twenty-seven," she whispered shakily.
"Good, nice to meet you, Katie" he praised, his tone soothing and measured. "And your parents’ names? Any siblings?"
As if hypnotized by the melodic timber of his voice, Katie visibly relaxed with each simple question he posed.
Her shoulders loosened, breathing evening out as she provided the basic details about her small family.
Once she seemed relatively calm, Liam broached the crucial question with utmost care. "Now...can you tell me what happened here, Katie? Why were those two fighting over you? Do you have something to do with it? Did they hurt you in any way?"
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, but Katie swallowed thickly and forced out the explanation. "M-my boyfriend was with me, then that other guy showed up and said he was my fated mate. He is right. He is my fated mate. When he said that, they just...started fighting, all of a sudden."
Anastasia exhaled a weary sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Of course, nothing could ever be simple - the introduction of a fated mate always spelled complicated hardship.
But they don’t have time for this.
The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife as the two warriors shifted back to their human forms, bodies glistening with sweat and streaked with dirt from their brutal fight.
Jared, her boyfriend, and Marcus, her fated mate - those were their names - shot murderous glares at each other, silently vowing this was not over.
"She has been my girlfriend since we were kids," Jared snarled, jabbing an accusing finger at Marcus. "Go fuck yourself."
Marcus simply growled back, completely unfazed. "She is my fated mate. You can not dispute that."
"You don’t even know her fucking name. Shut the fuck up." Jared raged, fists clenched tightly as spittle flew from his mouth.
"Enough!" Xavier’s commanding alpha voice cut through the volatility like a blade.
He and Philip ordered the two to stand down in unison.
Though bristling with pent-up anger, Jared and Marcus grudgingly fell silent under the dominance of their alphas.
Xavier, Liam, Philip, and Caleb exchanged worried looks, realizing they had to handle this perfectly to preserve the critical pack alliance. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Anastasia drew herself up, her presence commanding everyone’s attention effortlessly. "Everyone back to your duties. You two, stay here."
As the other warriors dispersed, Anastasia gently beckoned Katie over, surprising Liam with the care she showed the shaken omega.
Katie glanced uncertainly at Liam before taking Anastasia’s outstretched hand.
Liam was so shocked at the fact that Anastasia actually got closer to an omega, and actually was nice enough to gently hold her hand and pull her with her.
He is so stunned.
She changed a bit since the last time he saw her back at Midnight Pack.
A deep, rumbling growl immediately tore from Jared’s throat - the feral sound of a wolf infuriated by another alpha touching his mate when he noticed Anastasia holding Katie’s hand.
Marcus tensed, enraged by the blatant disrespect shown to Anastasia’s dominance, he hated it and it pissed him off, if Philip were not holding him, he would have jumped him.
"Make that noise again and I will slit your throat myself," Anastasia said coldly without even looking at Jared. "Understood?"
Her chilling tone instantly quelled Jared’s outburst as an uneasy silence fell over the group." Yes."
"How about we let Katie decide which mate she wants?" Anastasia proposed flatly.
All eyes turned to the visibly overwhelmed Katie, who could only gape soundlessly between the hulking men, utterly at a loss.
With a sigh, Anastasia waved Liam over. "Snow, can you please bring her inside the pack house or anywhere far from these two?"
Liam murmured soothingly as he ushered the trembling Katie away, shooting Anastasia an inscrutable glance.
Her next words were edged with adamantine authority.
"Listen up, because I’ll only say this once. We don’t have time for romantic squabbles or bruised egos - not while our survival hangs in the balance." Her piercing stare sliced between the two wolves, pinning them in place.
"You’re going to set aside this conflict over Katie and work seamlessly together in this alliance. Because if you don’t, you aren’t just risking your own lives - your idiocy jeopardizes every single pack member, including Katie and your families. So sort out your priorities."
She let that grave truth resonate before continuing in a severe tone. "Put aside your claims to Katie’s affections and focus solely on making it through the coming battles alive. If we fail, there won’t be a happy ending for anyone, least of all Katie. Those are the stakes."
Marcus and Jared mulled over her sobering words in sullen contemplation before the rugged Marcus finally extended his hand in pragmatic resignation.
"I apologize for attacking you. We’re allies now." After a tense beat, Jared huffed and scrubbed a hand down his jaw before clasping Marcus’s hand firmly. "No worries, man. Sorry for my shit too."
With a slight nod, Anastasia stepped back as Philip kept watch over the two warriors returning to training.
But her sharp gaze lingered on the doorway where Liam and Katie had vanished, features tightening slightly as the enticing virility of Liam’s scent stroked the feral, possessive stirrings of her restless inner wolf.
_________
Xavier, Anastasia, Liam, Philip, and Caleb met in a room to talk about their plan to fight the enemy.
"Do we know how many enemy warriors there are?" Caleb asked.
"No, we don’t know more than what I already told you," Xavier said. "But we have some secret weapons they won’t expect. They may be ready for Anastasia, but not Philip and Liam being with us too. With two packs together, we can win."
Philip looked at Liam curiously. "What exactly are you, Liam?"
"He has two wolves inside him - an alpha and an omega," Xavier explained.
Caleb’s eyes went wide as he stared at Liam. "You... an omega?"
"Basically, yeah," Liam confirmed.
"Damn, that’s crazy!" Caleb exclaimed. "But also really cool."
Philip smiled proudly. "I knew you were special, not just a regular alpha."
"Want a cookie for figuring that out?" Caleb teased with an eye roll.
"Of course, Liam’s not boring like you," Philip shot back. "I wonder why we’re friends."
Caleb grabbed Philip’s collar. "Take that back."
Philip glanced at Caleb’s hand. "Nah, that’s kinda gay. Let go of my shirt."
Xavier chuckled at their little tussle while Liam watched with an amused grin.
Anastasia gave them a serious look. "Caleb, Philip. Stop messing around." When they focused again, Anastasia added dryly, "And get a room."
Xavier cracked up laughing hard, and even Liam chuckled.
Philip looked surprised Anastasia could joke while keeping a straight face.
"Okay, jokes aside," Xavier interrupted. "We know something important - they don’t attack randomly, there’s a pattern."
He counted on a paper. "They attack about every six months. The first patterned attack was on January 1st. Then June 2nd, December 3rd, and then June 4th. The latest was six months ago on December 5th. So according to this, they’ll attack on June 6th."
Everyone went silent as Xavier frowned. "What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Xavier," Liam replied grimly. "Today is June 4th."
