9
Rhys POV
"I want all those low creatures out of this pack this instance," Caius barked like a Chihuahua, darting his forefinger on the long, rectangular, black, glass table. He sat next to the alpha king, who sat perpendicular to the table across me.
Within the space of an hour, awareness of the hideous incident that occurred in the village spread like wildfire. Less than forty minutes, the eight alphas, popularly known as the higher-ups, had already called for a meeting in the conference room at the train station to decide precautionary measures to be taken in my pack. They always assembled complete in their numbers because they never missed a humiliation show like the one going on.
The eight alphas ruled the most prestigious packs. Despite being alliances, each had alliances like trophies. Moon Vision Pack was declared a dependent pack after Oakley chose to dethrone one of their alliances.
While the eight alphas made a mockery of my position as an alpha, I sat silent, analyzing the chaotic effect of what happened in the village, things that might have occurred when the shifters were fighting. A heavy, plastic seal under the train prevented shifters from illegally entering the city, but the fight should have afforded any shifter time to break the seal.
I mind-linked my enforcers immediately after the chances of low-class shifters showing up at the train station became obvious. "Check under the train. See if the seal is broken. You know what to do next."
"Yes, Alpha," Jason, my gamma, said through the mind link.
"This is the reason we never agreed to this in the first place," Billy, who sat opposite Caius, said, staring daggers my way. The symmetric seating arrangement went on. Billy was nothing but Carter's lapdog, even though he was among the higher-ups.
To save them a scene to talk about, I mind-linked Jason the second time, "Cut off the surveillance cameras. No CCTV for the rest of the day."
"Got it."
"This was all Hugh's fault for always picking sides with you," the alpha king, Lance, said.
Hugh was Darla's father. He was one of the alphas in the prestigious packs. Because of his daughter, Darla, he had always been on my side, that was the philosophy they believed, but Hugh knew the right thing to do. Except when he supported Oakley, Darla's husband. After his son, Ryan, took over his position, Hugh still found a way to talk sense into the sick brains of the eight alphas.
"What do you say, King Lance, request all those bags of mud sent back to their tiny village where they belong?" Ryan said and shot a sly smile at me.
"Six shifters died in the village today. Who knows how many would die the next time Rhys sends them on a suicide mission," Carter said in a calm tone as he approached Lance with his words.
Since I was five, I'd watched the higher-ups make fun of my family and me. I'd watched Oakley, an alpha who was to be respected, on his knees, begging the eight alphas for mercy. Oakley never gained their favor, even after his death. That was a big lesson to me and the reason I never groveled at their feet like Oakley. To put up with them till death, I'd learned to stay silent in meetings, occasions, and conferences while they rambled on.
"This is a bad sign for us to send those children back, or they will grow up to be the next Oakley and his sons," Ryan said, and the others laughed, except Lance.
"Maybe Rhys should go pick the pups the next time," Caius said, making the other jerks laugh all over.
"There's no need sending the children back. They're already here. After all, They will be staying under their alpha's watch." Lance rose to his feet. "Today will be the last a train leaves for the village on behalf of those privileges who don't deserve a second chance."
"Then the kids will no longer go to the village," I said, my gaze rising to lock with Lance's. Those children did nothing wrong, and I wouldn't stop advocating for their safety. "They will no more be moved to the village, regardless of what their crimes would be."
"Let's say I believe the children are the future of tomorrow." Lance moved away from his seat. "Maybe one day one of them will dethrone you, as your father did twenty-four years ago." He left the conference.
The other alphas still sat there, voicing their disapproval in mocking words. I left them, using the opposite exit that led into the train station. After leaving the conference room, the last thing I wanted was to cross paths with those insane shifters for the rest of the day.
Just to be certain I'd lose the eight alphas for good, I asked the security guards to block the exit door I passed through, shutting it down for the day; and then I phoned my driver, ordering him to park the car in front of the train station.
Stepping out of the elevator, Theo called, and I picked up. Theo was my half-brother and beta. Being unrelated to any of the eight alphas deprived him of the alpha title. His mother left Oakley for a wealthy man, had children, and lived happily. Nevertheless, we were good to each other, even though we fought most of the time.
"How did it go?" Theo asked over the phone, his voice cold.
"You know how it always goes," I said, getting irritated by his question. Theo wasn't anywhere around the station as he held down the forte for me at the pack office.
"I thought the fight in the village would make a difference," Theo said.
Walking towards the elevator, I stopped. For the first time in two years, my heart skipped. My gaze riveted on a little pup, whose red lips reminded me of someone I'd struggled to forget. His lips were thin and hers were full, but something about this little pup reminded me of her. The little boy sat on a steel bench, watching the movement of travelers while he cleaned his eyes as if an insect flew into them.
"Is it Carter or—"
"Let me call you back." I cut the call, my gaze still at the pup that kept causing more blood to pump into my heart, making it beat faster than it'd ever done in the past five years.
For the first time in the same two years, Smoke, my wolf, muttered a groan.
Curious to know why the child made Smoke and I react in ways we'd forgotten were part of emotions, I walked over to where he sat.
Standing up close to the pup, I realized his face was wet with tears. That was what he'd been cleaning from his face. He was crying. Even though I knew nothing about the little boy, somehow, it broke my heart to see him cry.
I sat beside him and stretched a handkerchief to him, wondering how he made no sound as he cried.
The pup took the handkerchief and muttered in his little voice with no trace of whimper. "Thank you, mister."
"Glad I could help." Wondering why the boy sat all alone, crying, I asked, "Where's your mom?"
I could have asked where are your parents, but I was specific. For some unknown reason, the aura he exuded was very familiar to Smoke and me, a feeling only one female shifter made us feel six years ago.
"She's in the village." He cleaned his eyes with the handkerchief.
Understanding the boy's pain, regrets of indulging my curiosity coursed through me. There was nothing I could do to bring his mother out of the village. He missed his mother after leaving the village, which was why he sat here all alone, probably thinking of what life would be like without the one person he had known throughout his existence. It was clear his father was within the pack, impregnating more female shifters and having more babies who would be called low-class shifters for coming into the world.
"Join the others before you get tagged as stray," I advised, wishing I could say something better to take away his pain. "I'm sure your mom won't like to see you repatriated back to the village."
"I'm here to find my father, not to join the others." He fiddled the handkerchief.
I knew what he meant by that, and I would rather not break his heart anymore with the truth. He wanted to bring his mom out of the village after finding his father. Such a scenario was forbidden. The first shifter who tried that was imprisoned for getting a female shifter pregnant. Thereafter, no male shifter had dared come forward to claim a low-class female shifter.
I shoved my thoughts away and asked, "The city is big; where will you start?"
"Fate," he stared at me with those emerald eyes that melted my heart. "fate will lead me to him."
"Good luck with that," I said.
There was a mole close to his ear, the same mole that the female shifter had. The only difference was the spot where the mole stayed. Hers was in the center of her cheek. First his red lips, then the mole. Feeling those similar features were just a coincidence, I left the bench, and the memory of her flooded my mind.