2. Kage
2
KAGE
I t was ridiculous, really. I owned this pack, I made the rules, I set the boundaries. No one told Kage Cridhe what to do.
I stared at the red numbers on the digital clock as it changed. Four twenty-eight a.m.
Absolutely ridiculous. I lifted my head off my pillow just as my phone vibrated. I could feel the curl of my lip as I lay back down and grabbed it off the nightstand, settling back down.
Rainor: Two minutes. Learn some discipline.
I rolled my eyes. That was rich, coming from him.
Who was I kidding? Rain had the most discipline out of all of us.
I raised my eyes to the clock just as another minute ticked by. Four twenty-nine a.m. Close enough. Getting out of bed, I turned around and pulled the blanket back into place. I had no time to waste. I grabbed my clothes and walked into the en suite bathroom.
I remained in my head as I lay my clothes out on the chair in the en suite. I had meetings to attend in person today, though I had received an alert yesterday evening that I had an issue to address.
I thought nothing of stepping into the cold water of the shower, not taking the time to allow it to warm up. Instead, my thoughts shifted to the funds I had to transfer to the council. We had a position in the pack open up last week that still needed to be filled, and—
My thoughts were immediately cut off by the sound of ringing coming from the bathroom speakers. I sighed. “Answer,” I called out, wiping the water from my face.
“One minute. You couldn’t wait one minute longer,” Rainor snapped over the intercom.
“Good, you’re up.”
“Of course, I’m up. Your restlessness is filtering down the pack link.” There was a whirlwind of noise as he turned on a blender in the background.
“Yes, how unfortunate.” Really, I had no time to be bothered with such semantics. We never understood why we could carry on the pack link, even when not in shifted form. Pack link was a sort of communication. In wolf form, we didn’t speak physically; it was all done mentally. High-ranking members typically had the strongest links, though technically, it was supposed to be open to anyone in the pack. Why only Rainor, Weylin, and I were linked in human form remained a mystery to us.
Because of this, I was no longer able to work after the hours of midnight and before the hours of four-thirty. Which was a large inconvenience when deadlines were tight.
I turned off the shower at the same time the blender noise stopped. “Where’s Weylin?” I asked.
“Somehow able to sleep through your fretting.”
“I don’t fret.” I growled, toweling off and then wrapping said towel around my waist. I walked up to the marble sink countertop and grabbed my toothbrush.
“It sounded like fretting. We haven’t had any issues with Ophidian Pack in the past. Why are you worried about it now?”
I finished brushing, spitting into the sink and then taking a mouthful of water and swishing before spitting once more. “It’s not Ophidian I’m worried about. And I don’t worry. Their trials are coming up, and who ascends into lead will determine how much more time we will have to spend with them.”
“You’re talking about Marcus.”
“And I’m not the only surrounding pack leader thinking the same thing. When balance isn’t upheld—”
“Chaos, it will create,” Rainor finished.
I began getting dressed. “I have a meeting at eight. I want you there to take notes.”
Rainor scoffed. “Send Emma.”
“The luna that jumps every time I look at her? No, I don’t need someone who will tuck tail. I want Weylin, too, but if he is one minute late, he will be locked out of the room.”
Rainor chuckled. “If you say so.”
The click was the only sign that Rainor had ended the call. I finished getting dressed, walking back out to the master bedroom to slip my shoes on before striding toward the kitchen.
I put my phone into my pocket and was strapping on my wristwatch when the smell of breakfast hit me.
A place setting with eggs and spinach Benedict on an English muffin, fresh fruit, and a glass of orange juice sat waiting for me at the expansive dining table. Emma was pouring tea just as I arrived and sat a newspaper in front.
She jumped when she saw me, biting her lip and quickly scurrying out of the way. “Where’s my itinerary? I shouldn’t even have to be asking for it.” I sat down and began eating.
“Yes, Alpha. Sorry.”
God, that woman was going to die if I didn’t make this interaction quick. She was so easily intimidated.
Emma placed a tablet in front of me, and I began scrolling through the schedule. “What’s the meeting with the city police?” I asked. I hadn’t seen that there last night.
“I had to add it in, sorry. They, um—”
“Spit it out.”
She took a deep breath. “They’ve been trying to have a meeting with you all weekend.”
“I know. What importance is this to me? Weylin can handle it.”
“Yes, he did meet with them but was told they had to see you.” She stammered through her explanation, looking pale.
Weylin hadn’t told me this. I searched our link, just to find him still sleeping. I finished eating and left the dining room without another word from my luna. I would see her later at the office.
The luna of the pack was supposed to be strong, confident, powerful. She was supposed to be my other half, except I didn’t need another half. I chose Emma from Awlen Pack because she seemed like the kind of wolf that would stay out of my way.
I buried myself in my home office for the next hour while the sun slowly made its way over the mountains. I found myself staring out the window at the city below. Barely daybreak, and the ants were rushing in. Traffic thickened, humans getting from one point to another in their mundane life, with no clue of the war that waged around them. They really were just tools, pawns for large corporations, sheep for stronger blood.
I could feel Rainor’s presence before Weylin’s. I gathered my supplies and left the office, heading to the elevator in the penthouse lobby.
“What is so difficult to understand about not one minute sooner?” Rainor asked the moment the elevator door opened. He stood in his black suit, finely pressed, clean-cut, looking every bit the neurotic professional he was.
Weylin, on the other hand, gave me an instant headache. I walked up to him, a lazy grin spreading on his face. “I wore a tie.”
“It’s Rain’s tie, there are no wrinkles in it.” I reached up and straightened my second beta’s tie as the elevator descended. The fact that Rain hadn’t fixed it before me told me he was annoyed that I disobeyed him this morning.
Weylin hadn’t come from our pack; he was adopted. Found through the link that was formed between us, he was a mess that Rain and I were always cleaning up. But he was a scrapper, a good fighter, and one of only two wolves I trusted to have my back.
Weylin drove while Rain and I sat in the back. “What’s this meeting with the task force? I thought I asked you to handle it,” I said to Weylin.
“Sorry, boss. I showed up, and they were adamant it was a case for the pack leader. I did some digging, and a few bodies showed up at a park, hearts missing. It’s not our territory, though.”
“Whose is it?” I asked.
Weylin raised a shoulder.
I turned my attention to Rainor. “I want to know who owns the territory before the meeting this afternoon. This is nothing but a waste of my time, and I intend to let them know.”
He nodded and pulled out his tablet.
The rest of the morning passed by as usual. Rainor remained my diligent second hand while Weylin followed my every move. Not that a guard was really needed. No one dared to go after me, since wolves and humans alike parted the moment I stepped into their presence.
Emma briefly came into my office, delivering our lunch, before quietly exiting.
“For a luna, you don’t have her doing many luna activities,” Weylin said as he ate his meal.
“Making her luna was to give binding properties among our packs, as well as bring reassurance to our pack the bloodline would carry on. Her next heat, I will lay with her to produce offspring.” Though I feared she may be a dud; she hadn’t produced the last two heats.
He snorted. “Don’t put yourself out now, Alpha. She’s a good-looking wolf.”
Rainor cleared his throat. “She’s not his type. But her living situation and the fact she is so moldable means she’s the type the pack needs. She won’t cause any trouble. She doesn’t want to be returned to her pack.”
Emma came into the room then. “Your meeting with city police is in twenty minutes. I have them waiting in the lobby,” she said meekly. Weylin grinned like a wolf looking at a plaything.
“Move them to room 406. Humans?” I asked.
“Not all. Two humans are among them.”
“How many are there?” Weylin asked.
Her eyes flickered down to his feet. “Six, sir.” She inclined her head at me. “Alpha,” she mumbled before exiting the room.
None of us finished our lunch. “What would four shifters be doing bringing two humans to a meeting with us?” Weylin asked.
I met Rainor’s stare, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.
We made our way to the meeting room. Weylin was all business as he stepped behind Rain and me, closing the door behind him and standing at it with his hands clasped in front.
I nodded to a few of the officers I knew. “Owen, Dom.” Then I stood straight as I took in the others. Owen wasn’t just an officer he was the head chief for the city, and Dom was his second-in-command, both of them shifters. We worked well together.
“Alpha Cridhe, I’d like to introduce you to Nicolas and—”
“Marcus,” Rain said, his voice clipped, his eyes sharp. The way Owen had said my name told me two things. One, this was shifter business. Two, the two humans here knew of our world. It wasn’t uncommon for shifters to work with humans, though it posed many risks. In this case, Owen felt the benefits outweighed the risks. Which brought me to three, whatever was happening could be a real issue.
Owen continued to speak after nodding to Rainor, a sign of respect. “These two are officers from an unmarked region that borders your lines.”
I frowned. Rainor carefully schooled his confusion but brought out his tablet. “There are no unmarked regions in this area…”
Rain handed his tablet to me, which I set on the table, taking a seat. Everyone followed. “May I?” Owen asked.
I waved my hand to the map that was brought up. Owen zoomed in on the map, following a line that bordered our pack territory and Marcus’ pack territory. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Footsteps approached behind me—Weylin.
When I raised my eyes, Marcus was staring at me. It was a challenge and Weylin was ready to meet it. I held Marcus’ gaze, ready to show him his place. He wasn’t an alpha yet.
“Need I remind you three, there are humans present,” Rainor said, sounding bored.
“Oh, they very much know this world.” Marcus' voice was like a slimy snake’s.
“And they are very much delicate,” Rainor snapped. “I won’t have human blood spilled on this floor.”
“Perhaps you’d rather have wo—”
“Here!” Owen jumped in. I took the tablet and slid it to Rainor, not taking my eyes off Marcus.
“It’s a grey area. Completely missed. We’ll have it claimed by the end of the day,” Rain said, pulling out his phone.
“Not so fast,” Marus hissed.
“You’ve claimed it?” I asked. I couldn’t care less about the territory. It was a small, insignificant town, but I’d take advantage of any excuse to go head-to-head with Marcus before he became pack leader, so I could put him in his place now, instead of having to wait for an official declaration of challenge.
“No,” Dom answered. He had been positioning his body in front of the humans, their fear apparent even from here. If they wanted to run with the wolves, they best get used to this level of intensity.
“The town has been marked, but the scent is unknown,” Dom continued.
“Of course, if it isn’t one of your own going rogue, we will have no issues claiming the land.” Marcus stood up, and I got to my feet at the same time.
“It may very well be one of my own. I’ll have to investigate.”
“Why are the humans here?” Rain asked. “If it’s a simple matter of territory marks.”
“May I speak?” the female asked.
I remained standing, held in a staring contest with Marcus.
“Speak,” Rain said, his patience wearing thin.
“Cartway Park surrounds this town. It’s a provincial park run by the government and a protected forest.”
“And?” Rainor tried to speed this meeting up.
“Three bodies have been found mutilated, torn apart. We believe they are wolves.”
“Yes, well, wolves are territorial, and if whoever has claimed this land is defending their territory, I assure you, there is nothing that can be done. Call the council,” Rain said, waving her off.
“Three people are dead! Human or not!” she screeched.
“She left out one detail.” Marcus growled. “Tell me, Alpha , do you still practice power consumption?”
Owen shook his head when the male human whispered to him. “It’s an old practice, outdated.”
“Outdated but not illegal.” Marcus grinned. “Few old blood packs still practice it.”
“I’ll have to ask you to leave now,” I growled.
Marcus raised his lip, baring his teeth only slightly. Not ready to play with the big boys yet. “You better watch out.”
“Is that a threat?” I could hear Weylin’s claws elongating.
“Kage.” Owen’s voice was calm, the voice of reason. My eyes left Marcus’ and they would not return. I glanced at Owen, who seemed genuinely worried. “Whoever is doing this is targeting alphas. Nadair, Sgrios, and Awlen packs are the bodies we have found. Ophidian pack, Marcus’ alpha is missing. All bodies found on this territory. All bodies… missing a heart.”
“That’s why Marcus is here,” Rain said. “Standing in, is he?” Owen nodded. “And the humans?”
“Liaisons between shifter and human worlds. They are organizing a transfer from local police, there is a detective on the case currently. We are unsure if sending shifters in right now is a smart move. We’ve come to ask you to sniff out your territory line. See if it is a scent you recognize as one of your own.”
“How big is your pack?” the male human asked.
I scoffed.
“Thousands? We just want to know. Maybe it’s someone going rogue or something,” he said it like he knew something about our world.
I snarled. “My pack is tens of thousands, and I know every single scent. I can assure you, if it were my pack attacking alphas, I would know about it. I don’t control them, I own them. Leave, now, so we can deal with this matter.”
I wasn’t sure how menacing my voice had gotten, but the humans stood immediately, slipping out. Marcus tried to capture my gaze once more, but I refused to look at him. That’s how insignificant he was to me.
As Dom and Owen stood, I stepped forward, lowering my voice to them. “As neutral liaisons on my pack territory, I respect you, but if you ever bring another alpha on my land without my knowledge, I will be seeking repercussions.”
Owen tilted his head towards me, concern coloring his features. “Kage, is it you? Are you still consuming—”
“What I do on my land is my prerogative. It’s not my pack, but I will find who it is.”
They both nodded. “Careful, my Alpha.” He whispered, resting his palm on my shoulder.
Weylin closed the door behind the officers, the room now empty, save for the three of us. “What do we do now?”
Rainor’s eyes were already glowing red.
“We hunt,” I said. A wolf that has taken out at least three alphas was bound to be powerful. That was a heart I didn’t want to let go.