For the first time, Elijah looked stressed out of his mind, his hands gripping his hair as Christian narrated what had gone down in the North pack.
"...Apparently, Patrick had his claws deep into Finn, Alaric’s beta. He attacked Luna Zara in her holding cell, where she awaited trial for her actions against Alaric. He destroyed evidence and even killed his own kind just to get to her—only to be killed by her hands. Though they say Luna Zara barely survived. Nonetheless, while the North is shaken, they’ve never been stronger than now. Your heirs are safe, and so is Violet Purple, the goddess daughter, as she’s fondly called right now." Christian finished with emphasis.
For a moment, Elijah was silent, his eyes darting around as he processed the information. Then he muttered, "This is a mess."
He lifted his head, his face darkening. "Who is going to be held responsible for this? Me?" He slammed his hand on the arm rest.
"Put a call through to the Office of the President."
"Of course, Your Majesty." Christian bowed slightly and proceeded to dial the secure line that connected directly to the Office of the President.
"This is Christian, Beta to Alpha King Elijah. Put me through to President Roy. It’s urgent," he said with a taut voice.
There was a pause, then a crisp response: "Hold for transfer."
Several tones clicked on the line, the call bouncing through encrypted channels until a deep, calm and authoritative voice answered.
"This is President Roy."
Elijah stood to his feet at once, the tension in his shoulders pulling taut like a bowstring. His voice was as cold as ice as he said. "President Roy, we need to talk about the attack on the North pack."
Christian stepped back, giving Elijah the illusion of privacy — though he could still hear every word of the conversation.
Roy didn’t bother with condolences. "I’m aware, Elijah. My people briefed me. I understand the situation is volatile."
Elijah’s jaw tightened. "You said you were going to find Patrick Vale. Where is he? Why haven’t we had results?"
"Of course, I did. My people are still on it."
"Really?" Elijah scoffed. "How hard can it be to find one man? If it were a werewolf terrorist, I’m sure it’d be all over your human networks by now, and every law enforcement unit would be at your command."
Roy snapped. "Because I’m trying not to cause mass hysteria, Elijah. What do you think the public would do if they found out there’s a drug out there that can make them feel powerful? They’d riot in the streets for a taste of it. And if I recall correctly," his voice dropped coldly, "Ignis came from your carelessness. So don’t you dare pressure me into cleaning up your mess."
The edge in his voice warned Alpha King Elijah that he’d pushed too far. Roy’s patience was wearing thin, fraying like the last thread before it snapped.
But Elijah was not intimidated. Instead, he chuckled mirthlessly. "It’s quite interesting though, I hear rumors that you’ve been in communication with Patrick Vale."
From the tense silence that followed, it was obvious Elijah had hit a nerve. When Roy finally spoke, his voice came thin and cold.
"Alpha King Elijah," Roy said, each word precise and dangerous, "do you dare accuse me of working with the enemy?"
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