Chapter 12|Damon.

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The next day, Alexander and Isabelle stayed in his penthouse until noon. By then he's made a few calls and had a car sent to the building. Before leaving the house, his third in command and the Delta of his pack paid them a visit.

The brooding man sat on a sofa wearing black from head to toe, his gaze was fixed on Isabelle as he tried to read her mind, Alexander's smell was too strong on her that he could hardly fish out her initial scent. He has the ability to read a man's feelings from his mere scent and the only thing he felt from her was nervousness. It was a rare ability and gift.

Isabelle moved away from the man's penetrating stare, it wasn't the sort that made you feel itchy and disgusted. It was the type that made you feel self-conscious and intimidated but Alexander's reassuring presence beside her cooled her fear. The man was obviously below Alexander in ranks.

"This is Damon, our Delta and my third in command. He's the best warrior, fighter, brawler you name it that we have." He squeezed her hand in a reassuring manner before turning to Damon. "Damon, meet Isabelle, my mate."

Damon's gaze sharply moved from Alex to her before exhaling harshly with a huff, "It's nice meeting you Miss Isabella.." He waited for a surname and got nothing in response.

Rather, Alex rose from his seat and took her hand in his before leading her out of the room to the bedroom they shared the night before. Once in, he took her face in his hands, turned his face to a better position before latching their lips together. He kissed her breathlessly once, then twice before letting go of her face, his forehead met hers, with a soothing caress he promised her once more that everything was going be alright.

After reassuring her he excused himself from the room and joined Damon whom he found pacing agitatedly in the living room with his hands fisted and jaws clenched tightly.

"Alexander. There are too many problems I don't know where to start from. Where have you been?" He asked pausing mid-stride to deliver his question before resuming his insistent pacing.

"Where I was at doesn't matter. I need to know what's happened to make you this agitated. I can feel it rolling off you." Alexander who was much more relaxed than his Delta and friend muttered after taking a seat and helping himself with a drink. A drink he felt was necessary to keep close for the situation.

Whatever could get Damon react as he was doing wasn't something to be taken lightly with. Alex urged Damon to sit, he did so when the words were spoken in a commanding tone.

"The Pack is in turmoil, your betrothed arrived a week after you disappeared."

Alex felt a vein in his head throb harshly.

"When we searched for you all over the world and couldn't find a sign of you the Elders decided to take an action, they decided to put Lucas in your place and have him act like he were you for a reason I am unaware of. Believe me, neither did I accept the farce nor did Francis did. But then They took out an edict of your betrothal to someone named Bella who was confirmed to be Miss Arabella Edgar Martin, a betrothal that was made few hours after her birth. Martin Miles, her grandfather himself brought the betrothal agreement. She's from the Lichen pack in the UK just North of our closest allies, the Bane Pack." Damon exhaled harshly. "That's not all of it, Lucas agreed to act up his part. The matter is only known within the Pack Manor but not outside of it, it grates on my fucking nerves, irks the hell out of me to see Lucas taking your seat and responding to him being referred to as Alpha. The Elders know how I'm not in support of their pathetic idea so they rose the topic of how a few rogues were found lurking around our territory just about the same time we lost you and assigned me to take charge." He shook his head after explaining.

"I'm back now, Lucas will have to forfeit his temporary seat and you'll return to being my third in command whether they have an objection to it or not."

"What about her?" Damon nodded towards the direction of the corridor.

Alexander's focus wasn't on Damon as he replied, "Who? The Arabella girl? I'll send her back to where she's from betrothal or not."

"Not her, your Isabelle. How is she going to take all this and what do you mean to do about her?" He asked, inclining his head more forcefully at the door.

Alexander took a swig of his wine, stared hard at Damon before responding in a chilly tone, "Isabelle is mine and I'm not letting go of her."

Damon shook his head once, "I never said to let go of her but don't you think it's a little bit messed up? Bringing her over will just disorient what's on ground already." He has always been known for blurting out his words without a care in the world if it was going to hurt the next person or not.

"What do you suggest?" Alexander's voice was lethal as he rose up his seat in a swift move. He held his wine glass casually between two fingers staring down at Damon who was beginning to rise from his own seat.

Of the three of them with the highest ranks in the Pack, Alexander was most known for his stealth but when he lost his temper it was a sight to behold.

"I suggest you let her go for now."

Alexander's ears only heard the "let her go" part of Damon's sentence. In the blink of an eye his wine glass was hurled at the wall missing Damon's face by a mere two inch.

Deliberately.

Damon exhaled harshly at his Alpha's reaction. There was a burning rage litting up the nonchalant facade he was showcasing, but at Damon's words the rage unlocked itself as his onyx orbs turned to slits, veins violently throbbed in his head and his wolf fought the urge to sink its claws into Damon's neck until all the blood in his body was soaking up the carpet.

"You dare suggest that?" He asked in an inhumane voice striding towards Damon who stood on his ground without flinching an inch. He was used to Alexander's temper though not as sharp and fast as this but he was self-assured there was no harm his Alpha could inject in him.

"You know I don't mean it that way. Look, believe me-" He stopped as Alexander's hand circled his neck, the threat to cut off his air supply rang in the air forcing Damon's wolf to submit to his Alpha's unspoken command.

The command to not say another word again.

Damon bowed his head and nodded once before he felt the hold Alex had on his neck loosen bit by bit until he was breathing harshly beside his Delta.

"I apologize."

Alexander looked into his eyes once before responding, "Don't you dare suggest that again, in any way. It'll be a waste to kill you because I can't promise not to next time you suggest something as impossible as this."

Damon nodded, cleared his throat and said "It won't happen again but hear me out. Do you have a plan in mind?"

"Isabelle is going to the Pack manor with me, with her hands in mine. I'll have Lucas out of his seat and my ring will return to my finger after I find out how the hell he got it in the first place, it was on me before I lost consciousness."

Damon raised his brow at his Alpha's concession. "You said you found yourself with Isabelle and couldn't remember anything that happened before, can't you remember where you were at last before the incident happened?"

"It's what frustrates me most but believe me whoever was behind it will regret not finishing me off while he still had the chance to. I'm not a fool to think it was someone from other packs, that attack came from within so no one is to be trusted. I'm only confiding in you about this and I want no mention of the Forest of Eyre or how I came upon Isabelle. My scar will probably beguile everyone, let's let curiosity eat them up. Where's Francis?"

Damon plopped unto the sofa he occupied previously, with a huff of warm breath he spoke "It's tradition to have the betrothed's trusted companion escort the Bride's family back to their Pack and make arrangements on behalf of the Groom as to when the wedding ceremony takes place and other necessities I find trivial. I feel like it was a mechanism to have the pack distracted and lack any one of us. Your disappearance and all of this has a connection."

Alex nodded "Too many dots connect them together. Well, we'll find everything out and display the fuckers heads on a pike for the whole pack to witness that I do not take deceit lightly."

Damon nodded in agreement. The two discussed more about all that was to be done from how they were to make an appearance to the tacts to be used in finding out the traitors they had from within.