THE ALPHA’S ADDICTION

Derek barged into the pack’s conference room in anger, and wasn’t fazed at all by the look of disappointment that appeared on his father’s face at his entry. He totally ignored it, thinking that his old man should have had it coming; should have known that he wouldn’t be pleased with the idea of merging their pack with another, let alone merging with Arnold’s, even if it was for ten seconds.

“Oh, if it’s not my favorite nephew.” He heard his uncle say, and scoffed. Surely, he would get back at him one day. He just had to find the right circumstance to do it.

“Hello Uncle.” He greeted, trying hard to rein his temper in, his teeth gritting in the process.

“Hello nephew. Where have you been? We’ve been searching the whole area for you.” Arnold said, with a smirk present on his lips. He could see his nephew’s burning with anger, and it did him good that he caused it. The boy was too proud for his liking.

“I’ve been around.” Derek replied, before turning away to greet his father.

“Evening Father.” He greeted, still curbing his temper and himself from screaming obscene words at the duo in front of him. He already knew that blasting out words won’t help his cause at the moment, he had to make his father see reason.

“I think you should be worried about his pack warriors more.” He heard Maru, his wolf say.

“Why?” He asked, wondering what his wolf meant by that. If he could convince his father to let go of the treaty, then surely, his uncle’s pack warriors would be leaving too.

“Well, for one, you can’t convince your father otherwise. Don’t you think your mother already tried? He didn’t listen to his mate, so he wouldn’t listen to you either. You should be planning on how to deal with the issue of protecting the interests of your pack members and warriors than changing your father’s mind. It’s already made up” Maru summarized.

Derek soughed, as he pondered shortly on his wolf’s words. It was actually right. His mother must have tried to convince his father, but to no avail. That’s why she must have sent him here; at least to put some things in order, like setting ground rules for their visitors.

“Derek, where have you been? Clem had pinpointed when I asked him about you, that he hadn’t seen you since you both left school. I haven’t, since you left the sitting room hours ago.” Peter said.

“I went to hunt.” Derek replied curtly, still standing.

” Okay.” Peter stated, taking a more relaxable position on the high chair.

Arnold stared keenly at his nephew, taking note of his clothes and shoes, and concluded that the boy must be lying. There was not an ounce of evidence that he had gone hunting. His clothes were still neat, without threads of grasses or shrubs, except for a splash of water around the shoulder blades and chest which seem to have difficulty drying up. And he smelt of soap and perfume, instead of the forest.

Taking a look at his younger brother, he wondered whether he was this gullible to believe that his son went hunting, or that he just wanted to let it slide because of the impending issues they had to settle. He concluded that the latter was the case, even though he still thought his brother as the most gullible person ever.

“How was the hunt then?” He asked his nephew, smirking.

“Good.” Derek replied, knowing that his uncle had cut into his lie, but not really worrying about it. There were bigger fishes to fry.

“Oh, wonderful.” Arnold said in an over excited manner which irritated Derek greatly. He couldn’t wait for an opportunity to snap his neck.

“Okay then, back to the issue on ground.” Peter said, interrupting the staring contest between his son and his brother. He knew that the duo had always been at loggerheads with each other since time began, although he couldn’t tell when it had actually started. But nevertheless, he had to make sure that they work together now; he had no choice.

“Derek, have a seat.” He said to his son, pointing at the sofa closer to the window.

“Thanks Father, but I’m okay standing.” Derek replied, folding his arms across his chest, taking a dare stance and staring at his old man; ears attuned to hear what he would say.

“Alright then.” Peter said with a sigh. He took a deep breath and continued.

“I believe your beta, or your gamma must have told you about my recent proclamation. Yes?” He asked

“Yes, they did. But I still don’t understand why it is so soon. We had agreed on having a pack meeting first before letting the visitors in.” Derek answered, casting a furtive glance at his uncle.

“True, but there’s no time at all. We needed to start training the soonest, and that’s why I had let them in immediately, since he already came with them.” Peter countered.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“He already came with them? Where were they? I hadn’t seen them, or smelt them around? Derek queried hotly, shocked at the information he had just gotten. ‘How possible or true was that?’

“Well, you see.. that’s one art we would have to learn from them. The art of camouflage.” Peter quipped in.

“Camouflage? That’s not true, and you know it Father. That’s witchcraft!” Derek shouted, now angry at his father for being so wide eyed and trusting. It was only a potion from the witches that could work the art of camouflage. He had heard it all from his mother; the story of the roles the witches played in the last pack war, and their detriments. There was never a free service from them.

“Cut it out Derek. I won’t have you disrespect me in front of your uncle, I’m still your Alpha.” Peter said, in a loud booming voice.

“We are joining forces with them, and that’s final. You should choose some of our best warriors, Leo especially, and then others that will join the Wind Winders pack. They will be leaving tomorrow. ” He concluded.

Derek opened his mouth, and then shut it. He knew he couldn’t convince his father any further like his wolf had cited, he also knew that he couldn’t disobey his father; especially since he made his last statement with the Alpha’s voice. He had to concur.

Taking a glance at his uncle, he saw that the older man was smirking. He thought that he looked devilish; he had always looked devilish to him.

“What about Mother?” He finally asked, getting his eyes back to his father; using his last trump card.

“She already knows about it.” Peter replied, but in a down tone. His mate hadn’t been happy about it, at all; but he had to do it. He had to let his brother have his way for now, until he finds out exactly what had happened to Sheila. He hoped that she was still alive. She was the only one that could save him from the evil blackmail and entanglement of his brother.

“So get going. Start with welcoming our visitors. You could call a pack meeting then.” He stated, getting rid of his Sheila-thoughts for now. There were other things to think about, like why his brother wanted to merge with his pack immediately. He knew that Arnold was up to no good at all, but his wicked brother already had him tied. He only hoped it wouldn’t be the same for his son.

Derek nodded at his father’s statement. There was no other choice. He had to get going.

“So who’s in charge of your pack warriors?” He asked his uncle, whose smirk seem to even widen at his question.

“I am.” A voice answered.