SWNOVELS Chapter 76
Chapter 76
“Are you…okay?”
“I…hmh…no!” I throw up everything that I have eaten in the last couple of hours.”
“I told you! You should not have come to see the b*dy.” Colt says.
“You were right. I shouldn’t
have.”
Before leaving the room, I
glance back one more time.
Two bodies lie next to each
other. Men I have seen
around the house doing
rounds and now they are
dead.
Who is killing them, and why?
“Come on. You shouldn’t
have to see this.” Colt rubs
my back and leads us out.
Back in the war room, we are
all gathered here now.
“We know it for a fact. Ezra is
meeting with other packs
and looking to make
alliances. And to top it off,
we have confirmation that
Oliver is with him.”
Archie–the beta—says.
“We suspected that but how
do you know all of this for
sure?”
He nods. “We have people inside helping us. Feeding us information.”
“Mh…and what can we make
about these killings? Are these…random killings?”
“We don’t know yet. But we
do know that it was done
with the same weapon.”
“Same weapon? So it must be the same person then.”
“Yes, we believe so.”
“Is it Ezra?” I ask.
“We don’t know.”
“If so, that means that he
would have infiltrated the
pack and by him, I mean one
of his men.”
“Which is not farfetched
since assassins have been
running amock around our pack already.”
“True, but I am not sure it is
Ezra. Why would he want to kill these men? They were guards, and I am not trying to belittle them, I am just saying that killing these men
seems senseless.” Colt says.
Victor–who had been just listening–nods. “Agree.”
“Then what the hell is going
on?” I ask.
“We have a murderer among
us.”
Great, as if we don’t have
enough complications
already.
“So what do we do?”
“Place more guards around
the house. These murders
seem to be concentrated on
the main house.” Archie says.
“I’ll continue investigating.”
“Yes. Keep doing that. In the meantime, everyone be careful.” I say.
They all nod.
“Now, how is Rodrick doing with Oliver’s pack?”
“He already sent a report.
The pack is secured and
under control.”
“Good. And the river packs?”
“All good as well but we might want to have one of
our generals there.” Vitor
says.
I ponder this for a moment.
“I don’t think that would be
such a good idea.” Garret says. “I get that you want to have someone strong at the forefront. The river packs are the only thing between this pack and Ezra’s. So if they are attacked, they’d be
the first ones to fall and the
general stationed there with
it.”
Exactly what I was thinking.
“Send…Crow.” I say.
“Crow!” They all ask with
shock and confusion. “He is a
rogue!”
“A rogue that has been
working for us.” I remind
them.
“Because he fears your
father.” Beck says.
“I am not so sure about that.
He told you of where I was,
did he not?”
They all look at each other.
“Look, before here, I had
never heard of rogues
working for a pack and they
did not seem to be under the
influence of my father’s
power. Why is that?”
“Warrick…knew he didn’t
have to.” Archie says.
“And why is that?”
“Well…his words were that a
well–fed dog will not bite the
hand that feeds him.”
I nod. “So, we keep the agreement with them but
also reward them for what
they have done.”
“Reward them? If we are
attacked, they’d be the first to fall. Hardly a reward.”
“They don’t know that.” I tell them. “The river packs will
either fall or not. It is one or
the other. So do you really
want to sacrifice our own
good men knowing this?”
“Can you sacrifice even
them?” Colt asks.
I look down. He knows me
so well. I did come up with
this idea but the more I
think about it, the harder it is
to do.
“I can’t. So…we explain it to
them. We tell them the truth.
Rogues–despite their bad
reputation–can be
fearless…or idiots but will
render the same results.”
“And if they refuse?” Garret
asks.
“Then we’ll think of
something else.”
“Very well. I’ll send notice to
them now.” Victor says,
leaving the room.
“Let’s meet up again when
we have heard from them.”
Everyone is dismissed.
“How is your stomach feeling?” Colt asks.
“My stomach?!” I panic.
“Yeah…you threw
up earlier.”
“Oh…much better.‘
“Cass, there you are. Come.” Kanda appears from out of nowhere and grabs my hand.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to speak to you.” She looks at Colt. “Only girls. No boys allowed.”
Colt’s eyebrow shoots up.
“Is it boy talk?” I ask,
laughing.
“Uhm… yeah. Boy talk.”
I give Colt a smile and wink at him before turning the
corner and leaving him
smiling.
“Is this about my brothers?”
“Why? Have they said anything?” She asks.
I laugh. “Not at the moment.‘
“Oh. But no. I lied. It’s about
you.” SHe says.
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
Within minutes, we are at
the pack doctor.
“Here she is doctor. Check
her.”
“Check me?”
“Just because you are keeping it a secret does not mean that you shouldn’t be taking care of yourself. I told
the doctor of the situation
and told him that I’d kill him if he said anything.”
“Kanda?!”
She waves her hands and
leaves, closing the door
behind her.
The doctor gives me a frazzled stare. “If it is your
wish that it is kept a secret, then so it shall, Alpha. But the scary lady is right. It is
best to make sure that
everything is going good.”
“Alright.” I give in. I know
they are right.
“Good. We’ll do an internal
sonogram and-”
“No. I don’t want to do that
without Colt.”
“Very well. We can just do a check–up without a
sonogram.”
I nod, relieved. “Okay.
He takes blood and then I
pee in a cup–obviously not
in front of him.
He then puts a device on my
stomach.
“What is this?”
“A fetalscope. It is a specialized stethoscope used
to hear the heartbeat of a
fetus.” He explains.
“Oh.”
He puts the end of the device in his ears and stays silent for a few seconds.
“It is very early in the
pregnancy so it is hard to
hear it but, you can still hear
- it. Here.”
He puts the device on my
ears.
“The loud heartbeat is yours.
Ignore that one and try to
listen in between them.”
I stay quiet, concentrating
until I do hear it.
It is so subtle but it is there.
I almost can’t believe it. It is
hard to believe in something when you don’t see it but it is there. There is a tiny little being inside of me. It is
surreal.
“Our little Alpha is growing.
The early stages are crucial
so please don’t exert
17/27
Setting
06:21
Chapter 76
yourself.”
I nod. “How far along do you
think I am?”
“It is hard to determine
without having a look but I would say around twelve
weeks, give or take. Your
morning sickens should
improve soon.”
“That’s great news.” I am
excited about that.
“You know, you won’t be able to hide it soon.” He says. “I give it a week or two till pack
members can tell. Your scent
will start changing soon and
the fetal heartbeat will only get stronger, strong enough that it will be heard by others in the pack.”
I suck in a deep breath. I
need to tell Colt. But I also
need to make a decision
about what to do with my powers. Honora has done this before but never on a
pregnant woman. She
doesn’t know if it will affect
the baby but even she says
that she doesn’t believe it
will. I need to think hard
about this.
I head back to the dining
room, looking for Colt. As I pass through the hall with windows, I notice in the distance that the reforming
camp is gone. I can’t see the wooden structures that were
there before.
Victor did as I asked. It
brings a smile to my face.
“What are you so happy about?” Colt appears behind
- me.
“That.” I point out of the
window.
He almost gasps. “It’s gone?”
“Yes! Finally.”
He smiles and turns to me.
“Thank you. I know I haven’t
shown it but it bothered me
every time I saw it.”
I put a hand on his cheek.
“Don’t thank me. It was the
right thing to do.”
He gets close and puts his hands on my waist. “Mh. I need to thank you…I want to thank you. Tonight, let me show you how thankful I
am.” His voice is low and
filled with want. I know how
he wants to thank me. The
way he says it makes a desire
burn in me.
“Okay, I won’t refuse it.”
He ki*ses me. His l*ps are
always so warm.
“Cass!”
“What?!” I ask, startled.
I turn to see Victor. “There is
another one.”
“Another one? Another
what?”
“Another b*dy!”
“What?!”
“F**k!” Colt curses.
“Where?!”
He leads me upstairs to one
of the bathrooms in the hall.
A body is clumsily lying down inside the tub, her legs
out of the tub.
“A woman?”
“Yes. One of the maids.
“1
The clear shower curtain
thankfully covers her but
you can see all the blood that
slides down the tub.
“This was not so long ago.
Fifteen minutes, give or
take.”
“So they could still be
around?”
“Yet it could be anyone.”
Garret mutters.
“We have a serious problem here. Someone is killing our people and in broad
daylight. A bold move…or a crazy one.” Colt says.
I nod. “Either one is not
good.”
“We haven’t told the pack of
what is happening but I
think we are going to have to
now.” Victor says.
“Alright, if you think we
should, then let’s do it. I just
hope it doesn’t cause panic.”
“I know.” I can tell he is
worried about it too.
“If only you could use your power to find out the truth.”
Garret says.
He is right. If my powers worked, I could ask pack
members and find out who
did it. I could stop another
murder.
I am the Alpha of this pack. This is my family and I need to do something to help.
“I am going to do it.” I mutter
to Colt.
“Do what?”
“I am going to let Honora help me. I need to get control of my power.‘
Colt cautiously nods. “Okay.
I am concerned but this is
your decision.” He hugs me.
I wonder if he would think
the same if he knew I was
with child. I honestly don’t
think he would.
I hug him tightly.
I am sorry. I am sorry for doing this. I am sorry for not
telling you.
As soon as we can, we head back to Honora’s shop. I
don’t know if this is the right
thing to do but I am doing it.