Alpha of the cursed pack

Ch 9

Alastair’s POV

It’s been a whole day since my encounter with Astrid, I have given it a thought. There is no point for me to keep all the cards on the table.

Even though what Sera said was absolutely right. For now, I will let things be the way they are. I need to first find a way to get Astrid to my pack. One’s she is here; I will see for how many days she will keep her identity a secret. I will break this curse even if it means to take advantage of Astrid.

I went back to the pack and asked Trevon to meet me at my office. Sera will be joining us shortly.

“Alpha” Trevon walked in. I nod at him and motioned him towards the seat. A second later sera also appeared.

“How are the pack members doing?” I asked. I need to keep an update.

“Everyone is doing fine after sera healed them fifty percent. Our salutary Mia has done a good job as well” Trevon informed me.

“What about the rogues?” I inquired as I rolled the thumb ring. The thumb ring is the Alpha ring passed on from our ancestors. It is mostly worn by the Alpha and Luna of the pack.

“The Rogues are ready to talk to you. Some of them are taking the treatment. There are only two of them who were refused but Dr Sophie was able to put some sense into them” he explained to me.

“That’s good. I will talk to them first thing in the morning” I said leaning back on the chair. Sera were silent as I and Trevon discussed the pack matters. She has always been an observer. She scrutinizes everything and everyone. She is known to give her opinion only when she sees fit. Today though her silence was unnerving me.

“What are you staring at?” Sera clicked her fingers in front of me. I shook my head at her “Nothing” she narrowed her eyes at me.

“Seriously now Alastair” she rolled her eyes at me when I did explain not anything to her.

“We will have a talk later” she said to me.

“We will be having the talk now itself” I said to her.

“Why do I feel like I am left out from this conversation?” Trevon looked from me to Sera.

“I will fill you in” Sera smirked in my direction.

“Don’t” I warned her. I know she is simply exaggerating things. I simply don’t want her to put ideas into Trevon’s mind as well.

“Before you start, I want to say something” Trevon intervened and broke my eye contact with Sera.

“We have got the invitation” Trevon smirked at me. My mind immediately went towards Astrid.

“No, I cannot think about her’ I chided myself inwardly. Sera were smirking at me. She is obviously enjoying listening to my thoughts. Ignoring her, I turned to Trevon. He passed me the invitation. It was from the dark wood pack. They have invited us for the weekend meet and greet party.

Throwing the card on the table, I said. “Well, I did not really expect Jasper to invite us”

“So, are we going or not?” Trevon inquired with a questioning look.

Before I could reply though, Sera beat me to it “oh, we are definitely going” she teased.

“Now seriously, my curiosity is increasing.” Trevon looked from me to Sera.

“What am I missing?” he stared at me waiting for an explanation.

“Go ahead. I am sure you must be eager to fill him in” I said to Sera with a scowl on my face. She rubbed her palms together looking excited.

“My eagerness in increasing looking at your excited face. Tell me already” Trevon looked at Sera with an impatient face. I looked heaven wards at the dramatic reaction.

I listened as Sera started with her story.

“Alastair met someone and also spent the night with her” she told Trevon with a smirk on her face.

“This is news” Trevon looked shocked as he stared at me.

“There is more” she added with an excited look.

“He was also flirting with her and helped her as well. The next morning, he made her breakfast” she said to him.

“I did not flirt with Astrid” I muttered.

“Oh, that’s her name. Pretty name” Trevon joined Sera in teasing me. I rolled my eyes at him “Not you too” I mumbled.

“Most importantly, she is also the witch” Sera breaks the top secret. Trevon’s eyes widened.

“Oh, burned” Trevon muttered. It was his way of expressing things.

“You haven’t even heard the main news.”

“There is more?” Trevon looked from me to Sera.

“Astrid is not only witch whom we have been searching all this time, she is Alpha Jasper’s wife. She recently got her heartbroken” Sera mumbled sadly. My fist clenched tightly at the reminder.

“You are kidding me?” Trevon looked shocked by the revelation.

“She is Alpha Jasper’s wife?”

“I cannot even fathom how much she must have suffered at his hands” Trevon lets out shudder as a he said that.

“Oh, you haven’t heard what our great Alastair over here did” I let out sigh as Sera continued

“After preparing the wonderful and yummy breakfast, he said that whatever happened between them was a mistake and that she should forget it” Trevon eyes widened as he gave me a disbelieving look.

“You cannot be serious Alpha.”

“How can you be so heartless?”

“Do you expect me to take responsibility of my actions when we were obviously intoxicated. We are adults. And I did not want to give her hope of something which would never happen” I explained myself.

“But how can you be so cold by saying it was mistake?” Trevon did not look happy about it.

“I did not want to sugar coat things” I muttered.

“Are you even listening to yourself right now, Alastair” Trevon used my name. He only does that when he uses the friendship mode.

“You are sounding so cold. It is okay that you wanted to be up front about it, but you should not have called it a mistake. Do you know how she might have felt?” he snapped at me.

“I did not want her to expect anything from me. I have made myself clear end of discussion” My voice broke no room for argument.

“Now if you both are done discussing about my life can we think about what to do next?” I raised my eyebrows at both of them.

“I am all ears” Sera muttered with a deep resigned sigh.

“So am I” Trevon said as well.

“Good” I nod at the both of them as I got comfortable on my chair.

“So, this weekend we will go to the Dark Woods Pack and attend the greet and meet party.”

“We need to find a way to bring Astrid to our pack before anyone else finds out” I stated.

“Why do you think she will help us after everything that happened between you guys?” Trevon raised his eyebrows at me.

“And what do you mean before anyone else finds out?” he frowned in confusion.

“Astrid has kept her identity a secret. Even Jasper does not know that she is a witch” Sera explained to him. Trevon’s mouth dropped at the news.

“She is the witch” he looked at me for confirmation. I gave him an affirmative nod.

“Then why the hell would you behave like that?” he snapped at me.

I did not bother replying as I have already made myself clear. Trevon cursed at me. I waited patiently for him to blow the steam out.

“You know how important the witch is for” us he pointed a finger at me.

I raised my eyebrows at him “You are asking me that question?”

“I have too, when you have acted so stupidly” he said.

“Don’t use that tone with me” I warned him.

“I am sorry. I just lost it in the heat of the moment” he apologized as he rubbed his forehead.

“That’s better” Giving him a nod, I turned to Sera.

“Are you done?” she did not reply to me.

“There is another witch with Astrid. She also stays in Jasper’s pack. I am also sure that they are friends and have kept their identity secret together” she informed Trevon.

Trevon tuned to me “What are you doing to do now?” he asked me. I got up from my chair and walked towards the window.

“I will try to make her fall in love with me”

“No” they both said in unison. I turned around to stare at them “Do you guys have better option?” I looked at them waiting for them to suggest something.

“What are you going to tell Claire?” was the first excuse Trevon came up with.

“Both of us know that I have never really committed to Claire in anyway.” I said to him.

“She likes you. I am sure you know that. You both have been childhood best friends. You do like her” he said to me. I shook my head at him.

“You are wrong. I like her as my best friend. Like and love are not the same thing” I stated.

“How do you think she will feel if you suddenly bring someone else in the pack?” he asked me.

“I will have a word with her. I am sure she will understand it” I mumbled sera looked at me.

“So, you are going to tell Claire about Astrid being a witch?” Sera asked me. I let out a sight.

I know I cannot share the main reason with Claire. She is still under bed rest after the attack. I had met her day before yesterday at mom’s funeral services. We laid mom to rest at the pack grounds. After that I had taken care of everything here before I went to the city. Going to the city lead me towards Astrid. I finally found the witch to break the curse. I can finally save the whole werewolf’s species. Then no one can point fingers at me or my pack. It will be a new beginning to all of us.

“Where are you lost?” Sera clicked her fingers in front of me.

“And you did not reply to my question” she stated.

“I won’t reveal anything to Claire. I will just tell that whatever I am doing is for the pack’s sake” I explained as I went back to my chair and settled down.”

“Do you think Claire will believe you?” Trevon looked skeptical as he stared at me.

“I agree with Trevon. Claire is definitely smart and she will try to find out the main reason” Sera pointed.

“I won’t let her get to the bottom of this. Both of you have to trust me on this” I said to them. Sera and Trevon shared a look before nodding at me.

“Alright then handle Claire your way” Sera muttered.

I smiled at her “thanks.”

She raised her eyebrows at me “I am not done yet.”

“Now what is it?” I narrowed my eyes in her direction.

“I don’t agree with you about what you said earlier. Making Astrid fall in love with you is not right. You are going to use her for your benefit. It is not right” she said to me.

“I agree with Sera” Trevon said to me.

“Don’t make the same mistake your ancestors did.”

“There is no way I will be like them. I have no intention of hurting Astrid in that way” I said through clenched teeth.

Trevon was calm as he spoke “Even though you won’t hurt her physically but you are still going to hurt her mentally and emotionally. You are using her for her powers. How is that different?” he asked me.

Leaning forward, I stared him straight in the eye before muttering “my ancestors used the witch for their selfish reasons as they wanted to rule over the werewolf species. I am doing no such thing”

Trevon kept silent as I continued with the same tone “I am merely trying to break the curse. Other than that, I don’t have the intention to use her witch powers.”

“What if things don’t go according to your plan?” he asked me. I frowned at him.

“Why are we even thinking about the what ifs?” I glared at him.

“Both of you stop arguing among yourselves” Sera snapped at me and Trevon. I leaned back on the chair.

“You can bring her from that pack as hers and jaspers relation is already broken. You don’t have to take the extreme measures of making her fall in love with you.” she explained to me.

“I agree with sera” Trevon muttered.

“Will you both agree with my plan if Astrid refuses to come?” I inquired as I stared at them. Sera and Trevon shared a look before giving me a nod.

“And if she comes with her own will, you won’t go with your plan” Sera stated.

“Okay I will agree with your condition.”

“What about the other witch, should we get her as well?” Trevon asked me.

“If Astrid brings her along, then well and good. If not then we should find a way” I murmured.

“How does the witch look like?” he inquired. I and sera shared a look.

Letting out a sigh, I leaned back on my chair “We don’t really know how she looks.

“What do you mean by that?” Trevon gave us a confused look. I gave Sera a look.

“When we saw the witch, she had taken the appearance of the guy. As we both followed them, she transformed into a girl. So, we don’t really know” Sera explained. Trevon was silent for few minutes before he said.

“Don’t worry. We are going this weekend to the Dark Wood Pack. We will definitely find her there.”

“You are right. I am sure the other witch will be in her original form” I said. Sera looked in deep thought.

“What is it?” I asked her. She looked at me.

“What if the witch was never in her original form at the pack?” she asked with a frown. my eyes widened when I realized that Sera could be right.

“Oh no, how are we going to recognize her then?” Trevon voiced out my exact thought. I was confused as I was thought through. We have to keep this a secret as well as no one knows about the witch. As I was thinking, a sudden thought came to me which disturbed me.

“What is it?” Sera asked as she stared at my expression.

“What if Astrid was not really in her original form?”

“Well, we are doomed” muttered Trevon with a displeased look.

“Don’t worry. Astrid was in her real form” Sera assured me. “Are you sure?” I wanted the confirmation.

“I am hundred percent sure because as a Fae I knew about Astrid from the council’s office.”

“You don’t look happy though” I pointed out.

“I am not sure why the council kept me in dark about the other witch. Was their intention to take us surprise or they did not want us to find out?” Sera is someone who want’s answers and she won’t stop until she gets them. As much as I know her, I am sur she will leave immediately.

My lips twitched the next moment when she suddenly got up from her chair, “I need to go” she informed us.

“But” Trevon stared at the empty seat from where Sera just disappeared. He frowned in confusion.

“What the actual hell?” he muttered while turning to face me.

“Where did she go?” he asked me.

“She left to find out about the other witch from the council” I explained to him.

“oh” Trevon nods at me. Both of us were silent for some time before he said “do you think Astrid was in her real form?” he asked me with a doubtful look.

“I am sure she was in her real form. Sera is right about Astrid” I assured him.

He lets out a sigh of relief “I am glad that at least we won’t have trouble in finding her” he mumbled.

“Yeah, you are right. As for the other witch, Sera is there” I added.

He gave me a nod before standing from his chair “if there is nothing more to discuss, can I leave?” he asked me.

Giving him a nod, I said “I am leaving as well” Both of us left the office. He went to do his work whereas, I went to meet Claire.

Reaching the second floor, I waked down the corridor and entered her room only to freeze on the spot.

“Dad what are you doing here?” I frowned in confusion as I found dad in Claire’s room. He was sitting on bed right beside her and was dad holding her hand.

Dad let go of Claire hand before standing up from the bed “Alastair, I had come to check upon Claire” dad informed me.

I walked further into the room “Claire has always been close with dad but I never saw dad visiting her. This is the first.

“Alastair, Jeremy came to check upon me” Claire said to me. I nod at her.

“Take care of yourself Claire” dad said to her.

“If you will excuse me, I have to leave now” with a nod from me and Claire, he left the room.

Once he left, I turned to Claire “how are you feeling?” both of us sat down on the bed. She smiled at me.

“I am doing fine now” she assured me.

Giving her a nod, I murmured “I am glad to hear that”

Both of us were silent for some time. I had come here to clear things with Claire so that she doesn’t keep any hope from me. I don’t want her to be upset. She has been my best friend since childhood after all.

“Claire” I started. She turned to me with a smile.

“What is it?” she inquired. I know doing this will break her heart but I don’t have any choice.

“This weekend the Dark Wood Pack is organizing a meet and greet party. It is organized to find our soulmates and marry” her eyes widened when she heard that.

“So, you are going?” she inquired softly.

“The elders have made a decision. I need to attend it. Also, I don’t want you to expect anything from me. We can never be more than friends” the words left my mouth with conviction.

“But you like me. I know you do” she cried. Tears instantly filled her eyes.

I took her hand in mine. Instead, she leaned in to hug me. Reluctantly, I wrapped my arm around her.

“Please Alastair, don’t do this” she mumbled.

“Claire, it is not in my hands. The decision is made the elders. They want to make connections. It is for the pack” I informed her. She moved back and stared at me with tear-streaked face.

“Are you angry that I could not save your mom?” she asked me.

My eyes widened “I never blamed you” I assured her but Claire was having none of it.

“You do blame me Alastair. That is why you are doing this” she said to me.

“Claire you are mistaken. I have always liked you as my friend but never saw you more than that. I hope you will accept my decision. I ask you to move on” I murmured.

She was silent for few moments.

“Are you doing this because of the curse?” she asked me. I took my time in replying.

“Something related to it” I gave her something which will make her move on.

But the next moment the words which she said made me feel stupid. It also made me rethink my decision of telling her.