Alpha's wolfless Luna

Chapter 8.: Friendly reminder

“Alpha. He is waiting for you downstairs.” Abby’s voice echoed in Liam’s mind, painfully reminding about being late for the lunch he orchestrated himself. One hour had passed faster than he expected. He walked around the pack, his mind wandering to the face of the girl whom he couldn’t get out of his mind. The moment he closed his eyes, she was there. Her scared face with tears rolling down her cheeks as they were forcefully pulling her by hair. Those black eyes of Acheron, Dagon’s wolf as he stares down at her before he slowly approaches her and lifts her up by her neck. Liam shook his head to get the image out of his mind.

“I am on my way.” Liam informed her, rushing straight to the pack-house. Simple mistakes like this one shouldn’t happen in a crucial moment. Dagon’s presence gifted him with the opportunity to finally get to the bottom of his nearly six years old torment and might as well screw it up because of distraction of his bothered mind.

“You are late.” Dagon informed him in a very annoyed tone, expressing not only his displeasure but irritation as well. Liam thought about the way to apologize without showing himself weak. Both were on the same level. Liam, the same as Dagon, was Alpha of his pack and he shouldn’t lower himself in front of anyone, except his chosen one.

“Work never stops. You should know that more than anyone.” Liam told him in a deep, strong voice, keeping his composure as he walked firmly to the table prepared for them.

Liam made changes to the pack house and the dining halls in it. The previous dining hall consisted of almost the entire floor except the space for kitchen and Liam’s office with the briefing office. Liam designated space properly, creating multiple smaller dining halls, suitable for different occasions. The one they were using right now was the smallest one, prepared for private dinner or lunch, for four people at max.

“I hope my presence doesn’t cause you any problems.” Dagon answered him. The sudden change in his tone surprised Liam. Dagon went from total irritation to a nearly the politest one in a second. If Liam wouldn’t know him better, he would think Dagon was trying to be friendly.

Liam looked for hidden signs and followed Dagon’s body language, searching for anything which would disclose his motives behind his pretense.

“Not at all.” Liam answered him straight away. Omegas working in the kitchen began serving the food from the menu which Abby prepared beforehand according to the information Liam provided. Meals they served were based on Dagon’s taste as Liam tried to please him. Abby questioned herself about Liam’s motives, but she couldn’t bring herself to directly ask him what intentions he had. Abby could only assume it had something to do with his lasting dreams.

Two days ago, when the information about Dagon's visit arrived in Liam's ears and he got to speak to Kayen about the possibility of obtaining desired information, his excitement reached new horizons despite the dislike of Dagon’s presence. The opportunity of getting what he sought for so long beat the displeasure from having Dagon in front of him.

Dagon scanned the food on the plate right in front of him. Seeing one of his favorite dishes brought a smirk on his face once again. Increased security around the pack proved they feared him and at the same time Liam tried his best to please him. Dagon could read in between lines as well. He directly understood Liam allowed him to come because there was something he wanted as well.

“So. What exactly brought you to my home?” Liam’s question earned Dagon’s full attention. He suddenly forgot about the food in front of him and looked Liam straight in the eyes. They both were measuring the strength of their dedications. By a second Dagon confirmed his thoughts. Liam had an ulterior motive behind his current behavior.

“Well, since you had already asked, I guess we can go straight to the point. Once we finish the business, maybe I could enjoy a little bit more of the hospitality your pack is offering.” The tone in Dagon’s voice completely changed. He sat firmly opposite to Liam, their eyes locked as the battle of their minds began.

“I am sure we can’t offer the kind of hospitality you are thinking about.” Liam answered him carefully. The intentions behind Dagon’s smirk and his lustful eyes told more than Liam asked for. Whatever was in Dagon’s mind couldn’t be anything good. It took a few seconds for Dagon to shift in his position and change the way he looked at Liam.

“As you might know, everyone in my pack wears a mark on the left side of their chest, right above the heart.” Dagon changed his tone to a serious one. He slowly unbuttoned the upper part of his shirt, revealing the left side of his chest, showing the pack crest engraved onto his chest. First time Liam saw it. There were rumors about the marking, but no one ever saw it before since any kind of fights with Dagon’s pack were f*******n.

“It is a known fact, yes.” Liam answered, pretending to know. Dagon covered his chest once again, closing the button of his shirt before he continued talking, making their conversation look too casual.

“I know your folks don’t recognize s*****y and neither of the other packs held slaves, but my pack is different. Only wolves can be part of the pack. The rest are slaves. Recently, one of my slaves run away. We tracked her all the way to your pack.” Dagon talked casually, belittling the importance of what he talked about. He needed Liam to catch her for him but not to arouse his interest in the girl.

Dagon’s words left Liam in a daze. He planned carefully how to make Dagon talk about this matter and here he sat, openly talking about runaway slave from his pack. At least no Liam was sure she existed. Whether she was the same girl from his dreams or not, someone had got out of the Dragon's pack.

“We didn’t catch anyone from your pack, and I am sure my guards would report any trespasser.” Liam answered, carefully controlling his tone not to let anything from his happiness and excitement get out.

“Ah, I know. She hasn't passed your territory yet. Although she changed her directions multiple times, her steps slowly lead her to the north, directly to your territory. She is a dangerous individual. She found a way to avoid being directly tracked down which makes it very complicated for us to apprehend her. I would really appreciate your help with this matter.” Liam disliked the tone Dagon’s just used. He could sense a secret threat behind his words. Liam knew which card Dagon would try to play next which irked him and reminded him once again why he hated Dagon so much.

“I see. Since she is so dangerous shouldn’t we kill her on spot instead? You know I don’t like to put my people in danger.” Liam didn’t plan to hurt her at all. He planned to find her and protect her no matter what. If she was the same girl he saw in his dreams, he would never give her back to this disgusting person. For once, Liam was sure if she would ever get back to Dagon’s hand, he would do exactly what he saw him doing in those nightmares he recently had, yet Liam couldn’t let his real intentions seep through his body language. He cautiously played alongside Dagon, placing himself on the same side with him.

“No. She must be punished according to the pack rules and in front of everyone to set an example.” Dagon replied firmly. His posture changed. His muscles tightened. Liam wasn’t sure whether he saw through his pretense or not but the vibes coming from Dagon suddenly changed. Within a second Liam noticed Dagon’s eyes turned pitch black. His wolf came dangerously close to the surface.

“I understand. If she trespasses on our territory, we will hand her directly to you.” Liam didn’t twitch seeing Dagon’s wolf coming resurfacing, threatening to take over. Despite the dangerous situation Liam stayed calm, trying to calm Dagon although he didn’t understand why got suddenly so worked up.

Dagon’s tensed body slowly began relaxing as Liam assured him about the girl going back to the pack once they apprehend her, but Dagon continued glaring at Liam with distrust behind his eyes. The color of his irises began turning back to their original color as he successfully restrained his wolf from taking over but Liam knew the conversation wasn’t over yet. The distrust in Dagon’s eyes couldn’t pass unnoticed by Liam. Dagon took a deep breath, before he continued.

“I hope I don’t need to remind you about the contract. What is mine is mine and if not returned willingly I am allowed to take it by force.” Liam didn’t sit calmly while Dagon openly threatened him. Dagon’s Alpha tone echoed in Liam’s mind, feeding his displeasure with the continuation of this conversation. The calm which Liam maintained until now broke. Slight growl escaped him through reacting to the threat coming from Dagon.

“You are right. You don’t need to remind me about the contract. I am more than aware of the content written down by our ancestors. As I said. If she appears on my territory, you will be informed without delay.” Liam’s voice held the same strength as Dagon’s. Dagon wasn’t used to anyone opposing him. Liam’s Alpha tone sent shivers down his spine, reminding him he wasn’t the only Alpha in the room. Dagon didn’t expect Liam to have such a powerful voice and he took it nearly as a humiliation, yet he couldn’t start a fight with Liam here in his territory where Liam had the advantage and numbers. Not to mention starting a fight without a reason would result badly for Dagon.

Dagon growled loudly, shaking away the feeling of control which he slightly felt from Liam’s voice. Alpha couldn’t control another Alpha but stronger the voice, bigger the effect which left bitter aftertaste in loser’s mind.

They both sat, opposite each other, full plates in front of them as they maintained this silent fight of their minds. Liam couldn’t afford to back up, not when he evidently had the upper hand over Dagon. Dagon couldn’t let this humiliation pass like nothing had happened. Not after he sensed the taste of fear coming from the powerful voice Liam possessed.

Abby heard the growl coming from the dining hall as she came closer sensing her Alpha’s distress. Even the guards around the pack-house felt nervous, trying to figure out what was happening inside the room as they felt the vibes through their mind-link but they couldn’t just rush inside. Abby on the hand could. She opened the door of the dinning room, seeing both Alpha staring without blinking at each other, their body hair sticking up in a threatening manner. Their pupils dilated and the colors of their eyes changed.

The situation was dire. They both were threatening to destroy not only the dining hall but the entire pack as well in case they would start a real fight.

“Alpha.” Abby tried to distract Liam. She came up with a lame excuse to gain his attention about the phone call which needed his attention. Dagon didn’t feel threatened by her, yet his mind overheard her words as well. They both slowly forced their wolves back to the corner of their minds.

Liam stood up, slamming his fists over the table, venting his anger right away.

“This discussion isn’t over.” Liam said out loud, full strength entwined in his tone once again. Dagon growled- loudly but didn’t say anything. Abby spoke to Liam silently through their mind-link, demanding explanation but Liam didn’t answer her. He quietly passed by her and walked away. She waited for Dagon to stand up and go back to his suite as well but to her surprise he slammed his fist on the table as well before he picked up the utensils and began eating his food. She waited silently for him in the corner of the room, her face cold as stone with no emotions but deep inside she squeaked happily seeing her Alpha won the argument, what they argued about.