Alphas United: The Battle Before the War

Chapter 3

As we walk inside, I’m surprised to see the outside does not match the inside of the house. Inside, the floors are white and black marble. It’s a little ornate, with the dark purple walls, and the red and white furniture, but the chandeliers sparkle, the paint isn’t chipped and everything looks clean and well-kempt.

“What’s that smell? Cardamom? And Jasmine?” Lauren asks scrunching her nose.

Mrs. Parker turns to look at her, and smiles, “Yes! I steep my own tea. It’s my specialty. Good nose,” she nods. “Oh, I guess your kind… that’s one of your strengths, is it?” she raises a brow, and Lauren nods. Good nose or not, I don’t even know what cardamom is.

Alicia brings us into a living room. A man and woman about my age are there, and when Alicia motions them to leave they do.

“Sit, please. Tea?” she asks.

“No thanks,” I shake my head.

-Don’t- I warn Lauren through mind-link. I don’t know what these witches are capable of, or what they would put in it. I don’t trust her enough to drink the tea that she concocted on her own.

Lauren makes eye contact with me and then looks at Ms.Parker.

“No thank you, we just had a coffee on the way, but that’s very kind of you,” Lauren smiles.

She pours herself a cup and then pauses to look at both of us. Studying us. She looks at me with more hesitation than Lauren.

“I’m so sorry to hear about the events of last night, please tell us what happened. We want to help,” Lauren starts.

“Well, as I’m sure you’ve heard, one of our girls Toni was attacked with her human friend. The girl… Leilani was unable to protect herself. They assumed she was a witch as well, I think,” she explains, and there’s a hoarseness to her voice now.

“Who?” I interrupt, leaning forward a little, resting my elbows on my knees.

“Who do you think? Jacques, and his goons,” she snaps, staring daggers at me.

“Why?”

“They want something from us, and we aren’t willing to give it to them,” she admits cooly without making eye contact.

“Toni? How is she holding up?” Lauren asks. Alicia’s lips curl down into a frown and her eyes crinkle; the pain on her face is evident.

“Not good. She suffered not only physical wounds but emotional,” she pauses.

“They hurt her every way they could, and they only let her survive so she could deliver the message. Give them what they want,” she says, nostrils flared and jaw clenched.

“Oh no, I ‘m so sorry to hear that,” Lauren says, with her hand on her mouth. I’m shaking my head in disgust and I’m pissed.

“I’m not sure if you handle things in the… coven, the same way our kind does… but that… what they did… they don’t get to live after that. And that’s not me. That’s not my pack. We stand against that type of evil,” I say firmly.

“I have to be honest… I wasn’t sure what to expect from you both. Your men showed up earlier, and part of me wanted to skin them alive. I reminded myself that we have lived and shared the same territory for many years and we’ve never had an issue with you or your pack. I wondered if I could trust you, but to be honest, your Luna here has bewitched me,” she says with a small smile.

“Bewitched?” Lauren’s brows furrow.

“I know I’m the witch, but I must say there is something about her. Something honest… trustworthy. I like her,” she nods deep in thought while staring at Lauren.

“Uh, thank you,” Lauren says, and I can tell she feels a little embarrassed.

“She is loved and held in very high regard within our pack as well,” I smile proudly at my mate.

“And I can see that you love her, and appreciate that about her. It makes you seem like less of an asshole,” she states and I’m scoffing. Don’t hold back.

“Really? Everyone always thinks he's approachable and easy to talk to,” Lauren adds.

“Really?” Alicia scoffs now.

“I think you just met him at his worst. When he’s worried about me, he tends to lose his easy-going demeanor. Maybe I shouldn’t have come, but I just wanted to offer my sincerest condolences, and I wanted you to know that we, as a whole pack, stand with you,” she explains. That’s my mate. My Luna. My hand finds her back, and I start rubbing circles.

“Thank you, I appreciate that,” Alicia answers softly.

“So, I need to know… what exactly did they want from you?” I ask.

“Have a drink of the tea, and maybe I’ll tell you,” she smiles with one brow raised.

I scoff, “I knew it. What’s in the tea?” I growl.

“Oh calm down. Nothing harmful, just a little truth serum. I’d like to know I’m getting the truth from people that expect me to trust them with my coven. Her… Your Luna, her aura, everything… I’m not worried about her. You, my instincts tell me that I don’t have to worry about you, but I need to know one thing. Truthfully,” she narrows her eyes.

“What? That’s a dangerous game for me to play. What if you ask me something that compromises the safety of my pack?” I ask. This is crazy.

“It won't. One question. It’s a personal one, nothing pack-related,” she assures me. "There's no forcing you to answer, it just ensures what comes from your lips is the truth," she adds.

I nod.

-Paul?- I mind link.

-Yeah?-

-If I don’t mind link you within 1 minute, telling you everything is fine. Storm the place. We’re at the back of the house, the main floor.-

-Got it-

-Paul’s on stand-by- I mind link Lauren, and she looks at me with hesitation.

“How much of this?” I ask as I pick up the purple floral cup.

“All of it,” she says without emotion.

I start with a sip, making sure it’s not too hot. Then I down it all.

“Okay, what’s your question?” I ask as I wipe my lips.

“It’s good right?” she asks cheerfully.

“Ugh, not really!” I answer and my eyes widen. What the f**k? I didn't want to say that. It’s the truth… but that was rude. Alicia bursts into laughter.

“I see it’s working,” she muses.

“What’s your question? Or was that it?” I press.

“What motivates you?” she asks.

“In what? Helping you?”

“No. In life.”

“Uhm… I don't know," I answer quickly.

"Think, " she presses,

”Hmm... What motivates me? I guess it’s a lot of things. My mate, my kids, my friends, my pack. I have a deep desire to help people, take care of them, protect them…" I answer. That's all I got.

“Love,” Lauren beams, looking at me lovingly. "He just loves people," she smiles and leans into my arm.

She nods, “You passed! Alpha’s… they can be a power-hungry bunch. The last thing I need is for you to want from us what Jacques wants from us. I don’t need your pack attacking us too. In short, they want us to do their bidding. Procuring them compulsion elixirs, supernatural weapons for battle. Bombs that release wolfsbane as a gas, but also an antidote potion as well, so only the enemy is affected. They had a list of a half dozen things they wanted us to provide, as well as looking for witches that would aid them in battle. They want world domination. He wants to be a king,” she explains and I quickly mind link Paul giving him the okay, and not to attack.

“What?” Lauren gasps.

“He has a group of what? 70? How is he expected to do all that with 70? Magic? That’s a lot of magic,” I question, one brow raised.

“No, Jacques is not their leader. His leader's name is Hogan. Jacques said he has either a pack or an army of 1200. His army is scattered. They’re looking for witches willing to help with everything I mentioned, but they're also looking for witches to aid them in some dark magic.”

“Dark magic?”

“Some coven’s practice magic that draws energy from the elements. Fire, water, earth, and wind. Light magic. Witches and covens that practice dark magic draw their energy from demonic forces. Some spells can only be cast with dark magic. Spells that have no business being cast,” she says firmly, with a look of hesitation.

“Like what?” What could be so bad?" Lauren asks.

“Necromancy.”

“Bringing people back from the dead… can that actually be done?” I ask in disbelief. This seems like some Hollywood s**t.

“Unfortunately, yes. My coven, we don’t practice dark magic though.”

“So why would they even come to you then?” Lauren asks, which was my next question.

“No dark coven will help him. Dark witches are a selfish bunch, and help NO ONE. Not that I’d be willing to help them with this either, but to get a dark coven to help with anything, there needs to be something in it for them. My guess is Hogan hasn’t been able to find something they want. Which isn’t surprising… they want for nothing. Well almost. Anyway, they can also be very strong and ruthless witches, and they don’t take lightly to being pushed around. They’re mostly asking for the potions, elixirs and weapons right now. In terms of black magic, they are trying to appeal to individual witches, as opposed to covens as a whole. They're offering them safety and a place in their royal court when they complete the task of making Hogan a king,” she explains. A king? Why would anyone want that? There has never been a king of wolves, why would we need one now?

“Well, I am going to take care of this group of rogues today. They might send more, or they’ll cut their losses and move on. Regardless, no one is going to walk free after participating in what happened last night,” I state as I stand up, and extend a hand to Lauren. She places her hand in mine, slipping her fingers between mine and stands beside me.

“Who exactly was responsible for what happened last night? I want to make sure I pay special attention to them,” I ask through gritted teeth.

“Jacques and 2 other guys. I don’t know yet,” she shrugs. "But I want to send a few of my members with you. Just so they can tell Toni’s family that they witnessed with their own eyes that this was taken care of,” she explains.

“Of course. If you want we can exchange contact information. I can call you when we’re ready to move out,” I explain.

“Yes, of course.” We exchange phone numbers, and as she walks us out, a man comes rushing in.

“Our grounds have been breached,” he huffs in a panic.