Chapter 69- How Could This Happen?

“WHAT DID YOU DO?” Alpha Leon screams from the back of the pickup as Harry brings it to a stop near the cellar doors.
“We didn’t do this,” I tell him as Harry pulls him down from the back of the pickup.
“LIAR!” He screams, dropping to his knees as he looks over the bodies on the ground. “WHERE’S MY MATE AND SON?”
“Alpha, you need to listen to me and hear the words I am saying. We. Did. Not. Do this,” I tell him slowly. “We found everyone like this.”
He looks up at me with a broken look in his eyes, then turns to look behind him at the trucks. “Where’s Roy?”
I motion to Harry to get Roy out of the truck.
“Alpha, why didn’t you feel this happening?” Elder Andino Asks. “You should have felt the pain of losing the connections to your pack as they died.”
“We hadn’t performed my ceremony yet,” he explains sadly.
“So, you’re not even this pack’s Alpha? You held the meeting with us tonight under false pretenses?” I growl angrily.
“I was going to be!” He yells.
“So you say,” Ryna says.
“I was Costas Beta! It was my right to be Alpha!”
“Being Beta doesn’t automatically make you Alpha,” I growl, as Harry brings Roy over and makes him kneel next to Leon.
“WHAT DID YOUR MUTT FRIENDS DO TO MY PACK?” Leon screams at Roy, who is smiling sadistically as he surveys the carnage before him.
“Their job,” he says.
“I’LL KILL YOU!” Leon screams and tries to lunge for Roy despite his hands being tied, but Harry grabs him quickly and forces him back to his knees.
“WHERE’S MY MATE AND SON?” He screams at me.
I crouch in front of him and look him in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Leon, but the only survivors are two young children who were hiding,” I tell him.
“Who?” He asks.
“Grace and her brother George,” I tell him.
He shakes his head. “Omega kids. My mate must be here somewhere too. I would have felt her die. But I can still feel the mate bond,” Leon says.
“Are there any hidden rooms or other secret tunnels they could have used?” I ask.
“There’s a bunker, but I don’t understand why no one used it,” he says sadly.
“I don’t think they had time to,” Ryna says.
I sigh. “Delta, get this filth back into the truck,” I tell Harry, nodding at Roy. “I need you and the Luna Guard to stay here and protect the prisoners in case anyone comes back for them.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Harry says, lifting Roy and leading him back to the truck.
“Epsilons, take Leon and see if his mate and child are in the bunker, and I want the rest of you to spread out and search every building for any survivors,” I tell Noah, Rich, and the rest of the Crescent warriors. “But be careful. Keep your guard up,” I tell them.
“Yes, Alpha,” they say as Noah pulls Leon to his feet.
“What are we going to do with all the bodies?” Andreas asks sadly as I walk back over to him.
“I think we should build a funeral pyre,” I say sadly. “There’s too many to bury.”
“That’s going to be a lot of smoke. We’ll need to contact the mayor’s office and make sure the fire department doesn’t come out,” Ryna says.
“Do we know who to contact in the office?” I ask.
“No idea. Michael should know, though,” he says.
“Get him to make the call. I need to speak with the mayor eventually, but this is urgent.”
“I’ll call him,” Ryna says.
“What about the territory?” Cassia asks.
“The territory will revert to the council unless the remaining survivors wish to stay,” Elder Andino answers.
“You mean if they’re released from our custody,” Cassia says with a small growl.
“Yes, of course. If the prisoners are released and wish to stay, the council will allow it.”
“We could use it for Alpha Pollux’s pack if there’s too many to house at home,” Ryna suggests.
“Not after what’s happened,” I say. “They would be too exposed if the rogue pack returned. We wouldn’t be able to get here in time to protect them.”
“I agree,” Andreas says. “The Rogue pack knows too much about this area. It would be a death sentence if they’re still lurking about.”
“You should have your pack monitor the area in the meantime. The last thing you need is the Rogue pack returning and setting up camp without you knowing,” Elder Laskaris says.
“Good idea,” I say. “How are the kids?”
“Doctor Apollo is looking after them. Elder Andino and I really need to be going if we’re going to catch our flight.”
“This is more pressing, don’t you think?” Andino says to Laskaris, motioning to the bodies.
“There’s nothing further we can do here until the Rogue pack is found. Until then, Alpha Athena can handle things here.”
“I don’t think that’s wise,” Andino says quietly to Laskaris.
“Nonsense. She will have help when the others return to the safety of the Blood-Moon pack,” Laskaris says and goes to turn away from him, but Andino grabs his arm.
“I meant for the safety of her prisoners,” he whispers.
“Excuse me?” I ask.
Andino looks at me, a flash of anger in his eyes. “I’m not talking to you.”
“We will handle these prisoners as we see fit, Elder,” Enyo says, coming forward with a growl.
Andino growls at us, taking a step forward before Laskaris stops him.
“Enough of this,” Laskaris says to Andino angrily. “We have a flight to catch.”
Andino stares Enyo down for a moment, then shakes his head angrily and follows Laskaris.
‘He needs to watch himself,’ Enyo growls, pulling back.
‘He’s just doing his job,’ I sigh.
‘I’m worried about him,’ she says.
‘We’ll deal with him if we have to,’ I say.
“Alpha! Leon found his mate!” Noah calls out. I turn to see them walking over with Leon and a woman, who is holding a young boy asleep in her arms.
“I’m glad you found them. Put them in the truck with Harry. They’ll be taken back to our territory,” I tell them.
“Please, please don’t kill us,” the woman cries, clearly terrified.
“Despite what your husband believes, I’m not a monster. You’ll be safe with us as long as you don’t try anything,” I warn her.
She looks at Leon, and he nods at her. She hugs him briefly around the neck, then walks towards the trucks.
“Get him back on the truck,” I tell Rich. “Place the prisoners in the cells in the bunker. Leon’s mate can be taken to a room in the pack house with her son, but they’re to stay under guard. Have Tony assign which guards.”
“Yes, Alpha,” he says.
“We also need to get Tony and the rest of the warriors here to help. Cassia, can you please help Doc get the kids in the truck without seeing this? I’m placing them in your care until we can determine what happened here and if they have any family in another pack.”
“Yes, Alpha,” she says and walks to the shed.
“Harry,” I call out, and he pops his head out the truck window. “You and Leah are to stay with Cassia and the kids at all times until I return. Have the other Luna guards return to help once the prisoners are secure.”
He nods in understanding and starts the truck up.
#
Ten minutes later, everyone has left, and it’s just me, Andreas, Doc Apollo, and Ryna remaining.
“Why the hell did this happen?” Ryna asks sadly.
“They probably thought the pack was a threat,” Andreas says.
“Or they thought Leon was going to betray them,” I say as I walk over to a woman on the ground, crouching next to her. I gently move her hair out of her face, my heart breaking at the loss of more innocent lycans. I turn her head gently, noticing marks on her neck.
“How big is the Rogue pack that they could do all of this?” Andreas asks.
“There was maybe thirty that we saw leave the barn the night we rescued you,” I say as I inspect the wounds on her neck. “Doc, take a look at these,” I say, pointing at her neck.
“Thirty rogues took out a pack this size?” Doc asks doubtfully as he crouches down next to me.
“That’s just what we saw. There could be more out there we don’t know about,” Ryna says, crouching next to me as well. “What is it?” He asks.
“I’m not sure. But these wounds don’t look like lycan marks,” I say.
“Werewolf?” Andreas asks from behind me.
“It’s not a full moon. And if what we know is true, the werewolves transform into lycans with this mysterious potion we keep hearing about. You would assume their bites would look like lycan bites.”
“They look too small to be lycan or werewolf. You don’t think...” Doc says, trailing off.
“Vampires?” I ask.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a vamp bite, but if you look at the tearing...” he says, tracing the wounds with his finger. “It would be shredded if it was lycan or werewolf.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me at this point if vampires are involved,” I say with a sigh.
Doc stands and starts checking other bodies.
“Not all of them have the same wounds as that one,” he says a few moments later.
“Do you think it could just be the witches trying to cover the packs tracks?” Andreas asks. “These wounds might not even be real.”
I stand up with a sigh. “Either way, this shit needs to end.”



Author note: Hey everyone. So sorry for the delays between updates. Hope you enjoy x