The Golden One

It's A Trap

Ayoke stands before me, still dishevelled, still so unlike her normal self. The pack elders and leaders of the pack divisions stand behind me. Christopher stands directly to my right, hand brushing lightly off my wrist, ready to support me if needed and Carl stands next to him, eyes fixed on the ground and shoulders slumped. Michael is on my left, he'd finally yoyo'd himself back to being calm and professional and stood next to me as my willing Beta.

I take a careful step forward, desperately trying to maintain composure. I just have to rip it off like a bandaid.

"Ayoke Nenge, you have confessed your crimes against myself and my mate. You have betrayed the Alpha and as such you have betrayed this pack." Emotions swirling in my stomach and heart push to break free but I keep myself in the moment by digging my nails tightly into my palms.

"Your disregard for me, and therefore this pack, shows you are unworthy of continuing as one of us. As such, it is my decision to banish you from this pack and the pack territory." I try not to look at her. This is hardly a punishment at all, especially for her crimes, but I can't bring myself to do anything to her. I don't want to keep her locked up, I don't want to kill her; I just want to move on from her heartbreaking betrayal.

"Meila, I—" I cut her off by raising my hand. I carefully walk down to her and stand strong directly at her feet. Although she is normally taller than me, her slumped shoulders bring her almost to my level. Letting the power radiate from me, I stare deep into her dark eyes, mine ruby red and burning through her.

"You've had your chance to speak with me. Your sentence has been delivered. Now leave." My teeth grit as I almost spit each word at her. She sighs heavily, a tear rolling down her cheek, then turns to walk away. Quickly, I grab her wrist and pull her close to me, leaning in so my mouth is just at her ear.

"And if I ever see you on this territory again, I'll kill you myself." The last part leaves my mouth as a deathly growl. More tears fall down her cheeks and her shoulders slump even lower as she turns and leaves.

The crowd disperses but I stand still, watching the woman who was one of the closest things to family I had as she makes her way down the driveway and leaves me forever.

...

"For fucks sake!" Papers fly around my office as if swept up in a treacherous tornado. I am the tornado, stomping and storming around my office, ripping maps from walls and throwing research and data papers up in the air in exasperation.

"Four months, Chris. Four fucking months and nothing!" Christopher sits calmly behind my desk watching me fly off the handle, again. It's not the first time in the past four months and it definitely won't be the last.

Since Ayoke's departure, we have been chasing our tails trying to track down Damien and The Elite. He has left his pack behind and gone underground and there is no trace of where they could be.

Wolves are going missing every other day and more and more are turning up dead in a pool of putrid black ooze. Almost everyday, I draw at least half of my blood to send out to packs to treat wolves who have been bitten, and keep some as a store for when things truly become miserable. At the moment, it keeps the balance from tipping in The Elite's favour but I'm not sure how much longer we can keep that up.

I'm feeling incredibly weak, but I try not to show it. The people closest to me know I'm not at my best. My body is physically weak, but my mental strength is also cracking under the pressures of trying to save an entire species. And failing miserably.

"Meila..." The sound of my name in his deep husky voice is still my favourite sound, even after knowing each other for six months. He's made his way around the desk and stands in front of me in all of his glory. Even in a plain white tee and jeans, he looks like a god.