Thorne stepped out into the midday sun, his gaze sweeping across the Silverwater Pack grounds. The air smelled clean, perhaps too clean.

He looked to his right where the pack Alpha stood and nodded. "Lead the way, Alpha Jordan."

Jordan smiled tightly, "Yes, of course, your majesty." He stepped forward and began to walk.

To Thorne's right was Caelum, whose eyes were also taking in the pack grounds. Thorne had been to Silverwater once when the pack Alpha was reinstated as the alpha of the pack. That was over fifteen years ago, and back then, the pack was much smaller than it is now, but it thrived fairly well.

Walking through the streets of Silverwater, Thorne couldn't help but notice how much Jordan had improved the pack. The pack was pristine clean, the various stalls were filled with things that attracted the eyes. The people were clad in exquisite clothing that showed just how much Silverwater was thriving.

Thorne nodded approvingly; at least this was good. The people weren't suffering. They walked some more and saw even warriors and pack officials who walked around in their fine robes, their bellies rounded from eating good food.

"How do they fight if they all have such round pot bellies?" Mason's voice rang in Thorne's head.

Thorne bit back a smirk at this, ignoring the other's comments as his eyes roamed around.

"Damn, even I should move to Silverwater if their pack officials have it this good," Mason mused to himself mostly, but of course, Thorne heard it.

"You're well within your rights to move, Mason. I should get to signing your documents off and ship you off to Silverwater," Thorne replied.

"Your majesty! I'll have you know that I am a highly important member of Obsidian and cannot easily be replaced," the gamma bit out.

Thorne shook his head, smirking at the man's words. Mason was so easy to rile.

Alpha Jordan suddenly came to a halt, turning to Thorne. "That's it for Silverwater, your majesty. As you can see, the pack is more—" Thorne tuned him out, his gaze flickering past the average-looking house they stopped by. He squinted his eyes to see past the houses and paused.

Surely, that isn't…

"Is that part of Silverwater too, or does it belong to another pack?" Thorne asked, pushing past the clearly distraught alpha.

He walked toward Mason hot on his heels. Thorne's gaze widened the second he moved beyond the average-looking houses.

Right behind those houses was a disaster.

The roads were no longer smooth but instead cracked and filthy, muddied from yesterday's rain. Crappy homes leaned into each other like they were holding each other up out of mercy. Children played barefoot in the mud, their clothes torn and too thin for the weather. A thin, scrawny woman crouched near a fire pit, her hand trembling as she stirred a pot that smelled more of burnt water than food.

Thorne stood still for a moment, his body tense, eyes cold.

Mason's jaw clenched. "What the fuck…"

Jordan finally caught up, breathless. "Your Majesty, this section—"

"Is this part of your pack?" Thorne asked, cutting him off sharply, his tone suddenly void of all amusement.

"Yes, technically, but—"

"Technically?" Thorne repeated, his voice low. "Are these people a part of your pack, Alpha Jordan?" Thorne asked in his King voice, and the Alpha straightened.

"Yes, your majesty."

"What in the world…" Thorne said, his voice trailing off.

Jordan paled. "They're… the lower-tier workers. Some of them don't contribute directly to the inner pack affairs and—"

"They don't contribute?" Thorne turned fully to him now. "So they're not worthy of food? Shelter? Basic fucking dignity?"

As the words left his lips, a pup fell into the filthy muddy road and began to wail loudly. Thorne's gaze snapped to the child who cried, his heart clenching at the sight.

"These people are a part of your pack, Alpha Jordan, or must I remind you?" He snapped angrily. The child had now stopped crying, being comforted by an older sibling who was barely a year older than him.

"Of course not, Your Majesty! We offer assistance where we can, but they've always been… like this. This is how they choose to live."

"How they chose to live? Do you hear the words coming out of your mouth?" Thorne snarled. The child was now laughing, running away from his brother who had now begun to chase him.

"My King, I understand your grievance towards this, but in every pack, there are the wealthy ones and the poorer ones. As pack alpha, I do my best to take care of these people as much as the pack can afford it. But, you have to understand that they don't contribute to the pack's economy. It's been like this even before I assumed my position as pack alpha. They choose to live this way, your majesty."

The child crashed into Thorne from how fast he was running. He almost fell to the ground but was swiftly caught by Thorne, who held him up to his feet. "Careful," he said, his voice calm, a total opposite of how it had been just seconds ago.

The child looked up at Thorne and then Jordan, his eyes widened like he'd seen something he shouldn't have, and then he ran behind Thorne's legs, holding his trousers hard and peeking at Jordan from behind his legs.

"Hey, little one. Are you okay?" Mason asked, his voice soft. He's always been good with pups. It was a gift at this point.

The brother who had been chasing him slowed down when he reached them, bowing so low his hair almost dipped into the muddy ground. "F-forgive my brother, Pack Alpha," he stammered.

"That's alright. Your brother was only playing. Nothing to forgive," Thorne said, grabbing the child from behind and carried him into his arms. He didn't miss the way Jordan's eyes narrowed at this, nor did he miss the way the brother's eyes widened in shock.

"You're good, little one."

The pup smiled widely at this. He looked at his shocked brother, covering his mouth like he was about to spill a secret. "See, I told you he's good," he said rather loudly.

The brother's eyes widened impossibly more, already bowing. "Please forgive, please," he bowed.

Thorne and Mason shared a look as he dropped the child. "Nothing to forgive again," he said, ruffling the child's hair, then sent them off, the two running after each other again.

Thorne turned to the alpha only to find him holding out a handkerchief. "For you, my king. I imagine it must've been—"

"It's just mud," Thorne snapped.

Thorne shook his head. "So you're telling me these people willingly chose starvation? They chose to have their children sleep on moldy floors? I carried that body and felt nothing but his bones. Are you telling me he chose that?"

Jordan's mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air.

Thorne scoffed. "Tell me, which of these class are going missing?"

Jordan lowered his gaze. "They're from this part of the pack, my king."

Thorne shook his head. Of course! The poor ones were the ones missing, and he didn't think it was important enough to be reported to the king.

Thorne laughed. Not with humor—no, with ice. "No scent trails. No bodies. No noise. People are plucked from right under your nose, and your best theory is that they must've gone to a brother? A whorehouse or gambling?"

"They weren't warriors. No one filed missing person reports for most of them until weeks later," Jordan said quickly.

"Because no one here is listening," Mason snapped, gesturing around. "And it's clear why. No one gives a damn about this part of the pack."

"T-They weren't warriors. No one, not even their relatives, filed missing person reports for most of them until weeks later," Jordan said quickly.

"Because no one here is listening," Mason snapped, unable to stay silent anymore, he gestured around. "And it's clear why. No one gives a damn about this part of the pack."

Thorne turned to Mason. "Speak to the people and find out exactly how they discovered the people were missing. Find out anything suspicious that might have happened leading to their disappearance." He ordered, and the gamma nodded, turning to the warriors behind him.

They all dispersed into the place, knocking on the wooden doors of the people.

Thorne turned to the alpha. "You have greatly disappointed me, Alpha Jordan. I'll be assigning a new treasurer to oversee all resource distribution. If a single report comes to me that these people are still suffering while your officials eat like kings, I will not only remove you. I will try you for negligence under the Pack Protection Code."