Alpha Instincts

Chapter 29

The next few days passed with a mixture of training for Alpha and school.

Excitement towards the Alpha ceremony was building up in the pack, and preparations were now occurring in full-swing. More and more people were asking me for my opinion – what colour flowers did I want? Lilies. Did I want the ceremony in the afternoon or at dusk? Dusk.

But it didn't matter, because I knew none of it was going to happen once I betrayed the Alpha's orders and went searching in unknown territory for my mother.

I was just about to head into the kitchen with Hanna and Cole to eat an afternoon snack, when Monroe called me into his office. Cole shot me a good luck smile, and Hanna just looked downright sorry for me.

I shut Monroe's office door behind me and looked around the room. It had been a long time since I was last in here, but everything remained the same. A bookcase ran along two adjacent walls, and a large window overlooking the backyard was on the opposing wall. Monroe stood in front of it, his hands clasped behind his back, watching a few of the pack's children chase each other on the grass.

One of the kids, a boy, tripped over on the grass, face planting onto the ground. The other girl stood still for a moment, shocked with his fall and wondering whether he was okay. But the boy looked up for a moment, and after the girl noticed he was alright, they both began to laugh.

A smile graced my lips. This was what pack life was about. The support and life we gave each other was what separated us from the rogues. I looked over to see Monroe looking over the children in concern.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

He sighed and backed away from the window, looking at the chair that sat in front of his desk. "You best sit down. This might take a while."

Cautiously, I moved into the chair, watching Monroe as he sat down in his own chair, leaning forwards with his elbows resting on his desk. "I asked you to come in, because I've formulated a plan to stop the rogues, and I want your opinion."

I shuffled closer on the seat, interested. "I'm listening."

"Lars refuses to give the Strongshade pack any information about Red's science facilities, so I'm going to go up there and convince him myself."

"Convince him?" I repeated.

Monroe was silent for a few moments. "The Strongshade pack refuse to use violence to get information."

The thought of Monroe punching information out of Lars made me cringe. But I knew that Lars wasn't the loyal type and would spill information if Monroe so much as stepped into the room. But still...

My blood ran cold thinking of what Monroe might intend to do if Lars didn't give him any information.

"I've already conferred with the Committee," he continued. "Once we have the location of their facilities, it will take us a couple of weeks to launch an attack. I've created an alliance with the Strongshade pack, but they're pacifists and warned me that should it come to a fight," his eyes darkened several tones, "they may not fight with us."

"What's the plan for the attack?"

"We'll explode the building, destroying all the research inside. If we're lucky, we'll set the whole building on fire to eradicate everything they've been working on."

It almost sounded perfect – but the plan was deeply flawed. With Red being Quinn's father, there was a chance he was already aware I knew of his facilities, and a couple of weeks before launching an attack gave Red more than enough time to up and disappear. I know I should've told Monroe about this piece of knowledge, but worried that if I did, Quinn's fate would be similar to Lars's.