CHAPTER 61: HUGE PROBLEM

Damien

I rap my fingers over the polished surface of the mahogany desk in my new office, sticking to a certain rhythm. It gives me a sense of calm, a sense of having everything under control.

And lately, unlike before, I can’t seem to be in control of many things. Things that matter.

Kaya has been out of my reach for a month now. No matter how many times I ask for an audience with the Lycan King, all my requests are always rejected. It’s become exhausting. And the worst part is that all this anxiety stands in the way of my becoming the new alpha of the Golden Lake Pack and merging it with Dark Wood.

I can’t seem to get a hold of myself, and that is threatening to result in dangerous mistakes. One of them has already been made.

"Alpha Damien?" I flinch as my assistant’s voice cuts through my wandering consciousness.

"What is it?" I ask more harshly than I intend to––this boiling irritation is really hard to control sometimes.

The man shrinks a little, but still walks up to my desk and places a stack of papers in front of me. "These are the papers needed for the pack merger; your signature is needed on each page."

I look through the papers almost absent-mindedly, not even curious about their content. Frankly, I know what’s written there––the merger procedures are all the same. After all, I have already done that before, I know the drill by heart.

However, there are still some other things that continue to bother me. The things I cannot be too careful about.

"What about his mistresses?" I ask my assistant as my pen is already spreading the ink on the pages.

"All of them were killed," he replies without a stutter, and honestly, I am impressed by the coldness of his tone. "But we ran into a small issue."

My eyebrows jerk up on their own, while my hand stops writing. I lift my head to face him, and the man instantly turns a little white.

"One of his ’mates’ had a toddler––a boy."

Yeah, that’s not a small issue, that a huge fucking problem.

Without even realizing it, I clench my fists so hard that the pen in my right hand breaks, black ink flowing over my skin in a sticky rivulet.

"If all of Alpha Arcanis’s mates were officially accepted, it means this child is his heir. And that prevents me from merging this pack with mine."

I shoot my assistant a cold look, while he rushes to offer me a handkerchief to wipe the ink off my hand. "So why the fuck am I signing these papers right now?"

"There is no record of him being born, Alpha," the man replies without hesitation, and his response lightens my mood immediately. "And judging by the atmosphere in the pack, only other ’mates’ were aware of his existence. They are all dead now. So... I came here to accept the orders regarding the child’s fate."

The solution is painfully obvious, yet something good in me still decides to stir an internal debate in my head.

If nobody knows about this child’s existence, then leaving it in the hands of the servants seems like an optimal choice. However, if the child has alpha blood and a strong connection to his lineage, then letting him live will eventually pose a threat to me.

And I don’t want to live my life contemplating whether or not this brat will kill me one day. No, I have my decision ready, I simply need to voice it.

"Kill him," I say so coldly that it almost feels like the temperature inside the room dropped as well. "And make sure that there is absolutely no one left who is aware of his existence. Doctors, nurses, maids––whatever. Get rid of them."

"Yes, Alpha."

He nods in understanding, but still hesitates to leave the room. I let out a long sigh as I know exactly what it means.

"Is there anything else?"

"It’s Luna Camilla," the man now speaks somewhat hesitantly as if talking about my wife makes him uncomfortable.

"What about her?"

"It was reported that she sees legal counseling. It looks like... she is preparing for a divorce."

One moment, I feel fury bubble underneath my skin, ready to spill like molten lava. The next one, however, serenity overwhelms me, and before I can even register it, my shoulders are shaking with a loud, almost hysterical laugh.

"She knows that she will get nothing if she divorces me," I barely manage as my laughter refuses to subside. "Her pack and all her assets belong to me. What the fuck is she doing?"

"Well, the thing is," my assistant hesitates again, nervously tugging at the collar of his shirt. "She is trying to start a petition that would allow female wolves to request a fair division of property and a one-sided request for divorce."

"Oh?" I have already managed to calm down, but every word that comes out of his mouth right now is making it worse for me to retain my composure. "And who will support that petition?"

My assistant sighs. "She had a secret meeting with a representative of the werecat coalition, and soon, she will be reaching out to werefoxes, too. Those shifters are ruled by women, and if other packs learn about Luna Camilla’s move... other Lunas might join her on that."

Well, yes, that was enough to put a damper on my mood. Werecats and werefoxes... Sure, those bitches hate the way the wolves are handling their politics so they will be happy to sabotage it.

Still, they have never been known for loyalty––they will follow whoever offers them better terms. And I think I can arrange that.

"Liam," I finally reply, placing the final signature on the merger papers. "Get me an urgent meeting with the werecats’ leader. And make sure she understands that I will not take no for an answer."