Chapter 27 Alliance

**Xavier**
The place fell into silence while a storming rage was waging inside me. Ares was eager to come out, bellowing a furious growl in my chest. I could feel the muscles on my back being sore after tightening up for so long, eyes prickling and burning for prolonged staring at where she left.
She would be intact under Sebastian’s protection.
She would be safe without me.
I knew it very well.
But the extreme pain in my chest was devouring my sanity. I longed to stay by her side, touch her, kiss her, hug her, making her mine.
I couldn’t.
I couldn’t give up my responsibility as the Alpha of Red Moon Pack. And I couldn’t let her involve in the dispute either. Any trace of a clue showing she was my mate would endanger her life.
I wouldn’t never allow that to happen.
“Am I late?” Lucas appeared at the doorway, speaking with an amused voice, “Why so quiet? I suppose it’s not the right atmosphere for celebration?”
Everyone turned to look at him as he strolled into the dining room and stopped at the vampire’s table, casually leant against the chair.
He exchanged a glance with me before chuckling to the crowds, “So, tell me. what happened? Are we going to have a funeral?”
No one replied to him and Kronos Lang shot him a glance of clear annoyance, signaling for his silence.
“Lucas,” father raised from his seat and spoke in an amiable tone, “How are you? Haven’t seen you in a long time.”
Lucas tilted his head, turning to father with a bemused-looking face. Then he exclaimed with a surprised countenance, “Oh, Mr. Murphy! Why are you here? I thought you were retired.”
Hearing what he said, father’s face suddenly became white and sullen.
“I see. I heard ‘rumors’ saying that Mr. Murphy had something important to announce on this celebration,” Lucas continued in a cavalier tone. “Is it true?”
“We did have a very important thing to announce, but not now.” Felix Woodland grumbled.
“We? That’s very interesting.” Lucas laughed sarcastically before uttering in a cold tone, “I hope we don’t all forget how our alliance functions. When you said ‘we’, Alpha Felix, did you mean Alpha Xavier or Mr. Murphy?”
“I…is there any difference?” Felix stuttered.
“You must be joking, Alpha Felix,” Lucas snorted, “We believed your werewolves are disciplined, with unquestionable loyalty to your only Alpha. And that’s why the alliance decided to put Red Moon Pack in charge for all those years.”
“So, if you’re collaborating with Mr. Murphy in private, Alpha Felix, I’m afraid you’re against the principles.” Lucas smirked, switching his stare from Felix to father.
Before father was able to reply, Kronos Lang snickered aloud, going along with his son, “Lucas is right. We have no intentions to interfere in your pack stuff, though we must clarify the rumors that may risk our smooth collaboration. The reason why we keep allied after the war, as we all know, is for checks and balances. We just want to ensure that no one has overgrown its power.”
Felix lifted up abruptly and flared, “Checks and balances? For fuck sake, Kronos. Then why not put your Vampire Council to openness? We all know it’s the biggest threaten to our cooperation!”
“Hilarious!” Kronos bellowed, “Vampire Council has been there since you wolves were born. Do not try to change the subject.”
“Fuck—” Felix roared, hands balling into fists and bumping violently on the plane. Guests who sat in close proximity with him yelped in shock.
“I don’t want to repeat my warning, Alpha Felix.” I growled in rage.
I was particularly vehement about this stupid quarrel, but that just gave me a good opportunity to vent my scathing feelings in a drastic way. Ares screamed in frenzy, raving for ripping them up for framing our mate.
“What do you want to know, Mr. Lang?” I glanced over at Kronos, trying to calm down my voice.
“The marriage,” Kronos replied frankly, “don’t try to bamboozle us.”
“We are not——” I was about to explain but father cut me off sharply with a grim look.
“Yes, Red Moon is going to consummate a marriage with The Eclipse. But there’s nothing we owe you for that, Mr. Lang.” He stated emotionlessly, “It’s a pack thing.”
“A pack thing?” Kronos looked sulky, “Stop fooling us! This is going to change the whole continent!”
He shot a glare at Felix while standing up, striding towards father with a contempt face. Then he sneered, turning to the other guests, “A marriage between two most powerful packs, on in the South, the other in the North. And you tell me it’s just a pack thing? Your sneaky intention is self-evident.”
Father remained that aloof look while gazing at Kronos, as if what Kronos just said had not sent a ripple to his heart. I supposed his confidence originated from his solid belief that he had the initiative to take measures. The guests, most of whom came from Red Moon or The Eclipse, would be undeniably standing by werewolf’s side despite being tricked and baffled. That meant, he believed Kronos would lose without even a fight.
But he had underestimated vampires.
“If the Red Moon insist on the marriage, I guess we have no choice but to disband our alliance.” Kronos shrugged, looking careless, “If that’s what you want, please excuse me, I suppose the celebration could also be put to an end then?”
Turning up on his heels, Kronos strolled towards the doorway.
“Do you think you could leave just like that?” Father stopped him with an icy howl, agitated all wolves in the Red Moon to raise up, being ready for launching an attack.
Kronos turned around slightly to glance at me, before jeering, “Do you think we would come alone?” As he finished the sentence, there’s a loud noise echoing with squawks outside the castle.
Father froze at the vampire’s smirk, frowning deeply without a word.
Looking at his face, I felt a thrill of vengeance. I had longed to watch this countenance on his face since mom’s death, a face of being defeated unexpectedly, a face of regretting misjudgment and a face of losing his grip on everything.
He deserved it.
“Red Moon members,” I raised my voice and commanded, “sit down.”
They hesitated and exchanged glances with each other, before complying with a deferential reply in unison, “Yes, Alpha.”
“Mr. Lang,” I turned to Kronos and said with firmness, “In the name of regional peace and security, the Red Moon shall never break the alliance principles. But it’s reasonable for Red Moon to intermarry The Eclipse.”
“Stop playing word games, Alpha Xavier. Why not confess the truth without decorous lies?” Kronos snorted, “Is it true that you are going to marry Alpha Felix’s daughter?”
As if being baffled by crudeness of the vampire, Felix widened his eyes and flared his nostrils speechlessly.
“No,” I said amusedly, “that’s out of question.”
Kronos frowned, squinting at me suspiciously before switching to glance at his son. Lucas gave a little shrug with his hands outstretched, smiling indifferently.
“Well, I hope you keep your word.” Kronos said before turning back with a scowl on his face.
Lucas chuckled with a scornful expression and followed his father, hands in his pocket striding through the tables before leaving the dining room.
From the corner of my eyes, I could see father stared at me with that sullen face, being likely to make a fuss. Ignoring the fact that both he and Felix expected me to make a timely explanation on my utterance, I let the celebration to carry on with a toast.
“Red Moon members, let’s raise a glass for ourselves, for the prosperity of our pack and the happiness of our families. I, Xavier Murphy, Alpha of the Red Moon Pack, with duties and obligations, shall devoted my life to led Red Moon.”
After a short silence, howls of pride and cheers erupted from the crowd.
“Alpha Xavier, we shall serve faithfully as your pack members!” The male guests all clang their hand against chest to make an oath to me.
As I nodded and sat back into the chair, one of my guards rushed to me in a hasty, whispering something close to my ear before I frowned sharply at my father.