Chapter 11: Conspirator in the Pack

After Ben left the office, Alex walked towards the desk and took a seat in front of Damien. A lot is going on, he thought.

“What do you think, Alex?” Damien asked. He frowned. He can sense something is terribly wrong.

“I have never heard about that Rogue King. Do you have any idea?” Alex asked Damien back.

Damien shook his head.

“We need to find out about him, Damien. He already knows a lot about us. How did they know that we will be gone?” Alex asked again.

Damien also was thinking the same. They can't know unless there is a conspirator in the pack.

“Do you think of someone from inside?” Damien asked. Alex nodded his head in agreement. “But again, what about your marriage?”

“That is bugging me as well. If someone knows about her being my wife in this pack, the news must have travelled by all these months.” Damien said. “Not to mention, not everyone knew about the fact that we will be away.”

“Do you think Lotus may have talked about your marriage with someone?” Alex suggested.

“Possibility,” Damien said.

“Damien, we need a plan. This rogue king, or whoever this person is, sent seven hundred men to get a single girl. And I can sense it was just the beginning. They will come back again and again.” Alex was concerned. Lotus is not only his Luna; she is a sister to him.

“First thing first. We need to find the insider. And about the rogues, I don’t think they will attack any time again sooner. They planned that one because we were away. Still, they sent seven hundred wolves. This shows their insecurity,” Damien said. “But Alex, I think we do need some allies to fight beside us. I can sense a storm coming.”

“I agree, Damien. I will write to the other packs about this attack. It will not only help them to be prepared but also help us to get allies.” Alex nodded.

“Ask Curtis to keep an eye on every single warrior. I want to know everything. When they get up, whom they talk to, whom they sleep with. Every single f*****g thing.” Damien paused. “And ask someone to keep an eye on every she-wolf we have here.”

“You think it can be a female?” Alex was surprised.

“Possibility is more. They are very good at gathering information.” Damien thought something and then said again, “I cannot believe that I didn’t know about my mate’s abilities, and I had to hear it from Ben!” He was disappointed. A sigh left his mouth.

“About that, Damien, don’t get mad at me… whatever I did, I did it as your friend, and I did it for Lotus,” Alex said in a nervous tone.

“What is it, Alex?” Damien asked him. He was confused. He could sense there was something that he did not know about Lotus.

“Just don’t get mad, ok?” Alex said again.

“Don’t test my patience, Alex.” Damien’s voice was heavy.

“Umm…. Actually, I am… training Lotus for almost one month now.” Alex said like a whisper.

“You are doing what?” Damien shouted in anger. Every f*****g member of his pack is getting on his nerves. His beta is training his mate, and he had no clue about that. His third in command knew about his mate’s ability. Hello! She is my mate, he thought. “And you didn’t bother to tell me!” Damien was furious this time.

“I tried, but I knew you didn’t give her permission, and she was desperate.” Alex tried to explain.

Damien kept silent. He remembered that day she came to ask for permission. Why is she closer to others than him?

“Damien, do you think we should talk to her? If she mentioned marriage to anyone.” Alex suggested again.

“I have mind-linked Ben already to ask Lotus to come to my office.”, Damien said

Lotus was exhausted after all those running. She took a long shower and changed herself into an oversized hoodie and comfortable sweatpants. She closed her eyes while drying her long hair. She can see clearly the ending of the day. She saw Damien coming in his wolf form; he shifted. Cersei ran towards him and hugged each other. My husband was hugging her. He didn’t even care to look at her once. Today she understood her place in this pack. She meant nothing to him. Tears started to roll on her cheek. Her wolf was also howling in her head. All she can feel is her pain. She felt heartbroken. Suddenly she heard a knock on her door. She wiped her tears, stood up, walked towards the door, and opened it.  It was Ben standing at the door.

“Hey Lo! Are you ok?” Ben asked in a soft voice with a little concern on his face.

“Yes, Ben, I am fine. Totally unharmed” she returned him the smile. Ben gave her a side hug suddenly. “Lo, I know everything why you are here. You are so brave. I am proud of you.” And he pulled away. “If you ever need to talk about anything, I will always be there for you,” he said with a smile.

“But how did you know?” Lotus asked in confusion.

“Alpha told me. And Lo, he is expecting you.” Lotus nodded and started to walk with Ben towards Damien’s office. How strange their relationship is, she thought.

‘Until we find our mate, Lo’, her wolf said.

‘Until we find our mate.’ She repeated.

They reached Damien’s office. Before Ben could knock, Alex opened the door with a smile on his face, “Hey Lo! Come in.”

She returned him the smile and walked inside the office, and Ben followed her. He saw Damien was standing behind the massive desk. He was looking dashing as always. His smell was overwhelming the room. Why does he have to look so good all the time? Lotus thought. Damien looked into her eyes. Using his speed, Damien came in front of her in a blink and hugged her tightly. He rubbed his nose on her neck as always and inhaled her scent multiple times.

She forgot what happened a few hours before. She forgot how he neglected her in front of the whole pack. She felt tingles on her body. Her wolf is relaxed now. It felt like all her exhaustion was gone with his warm hug. ‘I love his warm embrace’, her wolf said.

‘I like it too. But it is not for us.’ she sighed

‘Can’t we stay here a little longer?’ her wolf asked.

‘No! The longer we stay, the more we will be attached. In the end, we will be hurt again. Remember how he ignored us before? Remember how he said we are not his Luna? Remember how he always holds Cersei in front of everyone?’ she yelled at my wolf.

‘He is not ours’, her wolf said in pain.

‘Until we find our mate.’, Lotus murmured.

“Why were you crying back then, Kitten? Were you hurt?” Damien whispered. Really? Now he remembers! Lotus thought. Her wolf got angry.

‘He noticed us back then but didn’t bother to ask!’ her wolf said.

‘I told you. We have to stay away from him. He is only playing with our emotions.’, she sighed.

“Tell me, kitten, are you alright?” Lotus tried to pull herself away, but that devil alpha tightens his grip. “Stop struggling, Kitten. Let me feel you.”

“Really? Why don’t you call Cersei?” Lotus said while struggling to pull away.

Damien loosens the grip and places his thumb on her cheek. Lotus looked upwards into his eyes. They are beautiful. Damien chuckled, “Is my kitten jealous?” He rubbed his nose with hers playfully.

Lotus forcefully pulled herself away from him. “I am not jealous. I understand, alpha, and our marriage was just a treaty. And that’s the reason you have never accepted that.” Lotus said. There was a pain in her voice.

“Kitten…”

“I don’t need any explanation, Damien. I will be here in your pack until I find my mate. And if you find yours or wish to get married to someone else before that, I will leave happily without a second word. I will never be in between you and your future Luna, Damien. Neither I have uttered a single word about our marriage in this pack till now, nor I intend to do that.” Lotus offered a small smile to him. Damien was standing there like a statue. Did he hear her correctly? Was she that disappointed? Did he hurt her that bad?

“Kitten, listen to….” Damien tried to explain himself, but Lotus cut her off.

“Good night, Alpha Damien.” She wished and offered a smile to Ben and Alex before leaving the office.

Alex walked to Damien and placed a hand on his shoulder. Ben was also surprised with the way Alpha was talking, and Lotus responded. He could never imagine that the heartless man he knew adores her this much.

“Damien”, Alex called his name.

“At least we know that she hasn’t said anything about our marriage to anyone.”, Damien said. He is holding back his feelings. He just faced rejection from his mate. His wolf is howling inside his head. He is in pain. He wants to take over and run to his mate. He wants to hug her; he wants to shower kisses on her. He wants to mark her. But he cannot show any emotions right now. He has to be strong. He has to protect her.

Alex nodded in agreement.

“Ben, keep an eye on Lotus for me, will you?” Domain requested him. His voice was soft.

“Of course, alpha.”, Ben said. He is still confused. Is she really their Luna? Why was alpha trying to hide that?

Damien dismissed him again and sat on his usual seat.

“Alex, keep training her like you were doing. Don’t let her know that I know about that fact.”, Damien said to Alex.

“You need to stop Damien; you are pushing her away. I think it is time. You should let her know.”, Alex said in a concerned way.

Damien chuckled. He did not respond to Alex. Alex knew the meaning of it. He left the office, leaving Damien behind. He has a lot to do. But he needs to find the traitor first.