Choleric

Chapter VII

Celia's feet felt like lead as she dragged herself across the hall. The once beautiful cursive "Alpha" was now daunting. The title stirred the pit of her stomach until she thought she would throw up from nervousness.

Lights above gloomed pathetically, illuminating the door in a soft yellow hue. Celia stood in front of it, staring at the expensive-looking wood. Sucking in a deep breath she closed her eyes and found the will to knock.

Instantly the door swung open and Celia wished she had more time to evaluate the situation that she had been thrown in. Stepping inside she found herself looking at a retreating back. The sandstone tiles amplified the sound of his footsteps as he paced away from her. The muscles in his back were drawn tight, stretching his dark shirt across the rippling muscles.

Sterile walls rejected sound, forcing the rhythmic click-clacking to echo around the room, smothering Celia as she begged her brain to think of words. Any words would do.

"Umm...so you had a meeting," his head lifted slightly as he paced the room. His piercing eyes carried an expression somewhere between no shit and are you a fucking retard? The look on his face vanished as he spun on his heel and headed in the other direction.

Great start Celia, you really helped. She thought to herself, cursing Aleara and her great idea "to help her mate". She didn't have to listen to her. Technically, as the current Alpha's mate she held more power but the thought of opposing Aleara scared the bejesus out of her.

"What happened?" She asked curiously. Cassius' face darkened and she felt her heart jump to her throat, cursing herself for being so nosey. It was her major flaw, but she couldn't help the feeling of curiosity that seemed to always be bubbling away in the pit of her stomach. It was only now that she realised it could be the death of her.

Her breathing hitched as the realised she had stepped over the line. But when his face softened and his pacing stopped she found herself crinkling her brows in confusion.

"I gave an offer to an inland pack, one I didn't expect them to refuse and it's mucked up the entire plan," he replied lowly. He as if his voice box had been scratched against gravel a million times before he spoke.

What inland packs? 

An offer for what? To who?

Everyone important was at the markets. Who could he have possibly seen?

His answer did not seem to do anything to help her curiosity but she found herself too intimidated to push further.

Cassius stared at his mate, running his eyes up and down her body without remorse. She was young, tall and very thin making her look more fragile than a porcelain doll. On her lips lingered millions of questions. Questions she was too afraid to ask. Sighing, he pushed himself off the wall and made a small notion for her to follow.

Walking down the hall they entered a room Celia had skipped on her self-tour of the place. She looked around at the mahogany desk stacked with papers, glasses a laptop and a lamp. Along the walls bookcases and filing cabinets hugged each other in an un-orderly fashion. 

The room was large, slightly dark and smelt musty, like an old library filled with ageing paper. But most of all it smelt like him. The musky smell of male and cologne stronger than she had ever smelt before. He must spend most of his time here, sorting out finances, meeting and other pack stuff. Sitting on the couch that has been shoved in front of a sad looking wooden bookcase reading for hours.

Other than the disorganised state of furniture placement, the room was impeccably clean. Not a ball of fluff was out of place on the dark navy carpet. Not a spec of dust lined any surface within the room.

"Over here," he mumbled lowly, shocking Celia out of her haze. She jumped slightly and spun around the room, looking for the source of his voice. Behind the door hid a corner with a large white table. He had turned the light on above it and stared deeply into her eyes, waiting for her to join him.

She walked over warily looking at the strange table, trying to decipher what it was. As she reached it she figured out all the lines and the strange pins protruding out of it. Different coloured string wrapped around the pins over the white table marked with black lines, notes and illegible scrawl. Her eyes lifted to his in confusion before she dropped her gaze back down and it hit her. She was staring at a map.

The table was a large square of around two metres. The black lines marked old human towns and suburbs, lakes, rivers and any other important landmarks. Three red uneven circles were crudely painted on the white table, seemingly between certain webs of coloured wool. Under the table was a clothes basket filled with balls of wool, thin nails and a hammer obviously used to mark the map.

"I don't get it," she said, staring at the map. "Why have you put coloured string over some parts. And what are these sticky notes for?" She looked into his piercing eyes for the answer. His face was a perfect mask staring into her soul, reading her like words off a page while she couldn't find anything through his guarded stature.

"Think harder," he pushed, pointing to an area surrounded by blue wool. "This here is lake Baroon, my pack," he hinted patiently. Waiting for the information to click.

"You've mapped all the territories," Celia whispered to herself as she started to see the perfectly outlined territory of her old pack in yellow string. It was a little smaller than the others, much smaller than the blue string that surrounded Alpha Cassius's pack. 

A little yellow sticky note was pinned in the middle with dashes that looked to make up some code and a number. A rough estimate of the number of shifters within a pack. She felt as if her stomach had twisted into a million knots. She had a very bad feeling, but she just couldn't figure out what this map means.

"But why?" She asked, her eyes staying locked on the yellow string lining her old home. "Why have you done this?" 

Finally finding the courage to look at her mates crystal clear irises. The muscles in his arms rippled and tensed as he brought his shoulders up and shrugged before walking from the map.

"This way I know everything," he replied as he exited the room, leaving Celia more confused than before.

Why show her this map? 

What has it got to do with the meeting he was speaking about? 

Or more importantly, Celia wondered to herself; 

What was this meeting about?

•••

~ Immortal - Serenity.