CHAPTER 19: 19

XAVIER

"Don’t be insensitive Xavier, backing out now is like signing an u undertaken for war. Alpha Dmitri’s not going to try to reason with us like he did initially, and his forces are way stronger than ours. We don’t even have good doctors and healers that would tend to our injured and sick. We would lose greatly in the war." Brian reasoned, but it sounded more like a query.

"I don’t care, I can’t sit back and be pushed around like a pauper! I’m a fucking Alpha! not an immature cub!" I barked in response, my chest rising and falling in anger.

Ivy had visited my room again even after I gave the guards a strict instruction not to let her in whenever she came, they said she threatened to report to her father and they all quivered and granted her wish.

There’s no way I’d lose my rights as an Alpha in a bid to calm a war, damn the war, damn the consequences.

"You asked for it, you went there even when I told you not to, you said ’what’s the worst that could happen? What’s worse than death that he could possibly ask for?’ And now you want to back out, there’s no going back from this Xavier. We need to see this through for the people’s sake." He continued.

Brian was making sense, he was right but I was blinded by rage, hell, I wanted to be blinded by rage to get out of this shit hole I put myself in even though I knew that one phone call to Alpha Dmitri could have his men raging to my pack the very next day fully armed and ready to take down everything in their path.

I couldn’t mess with him or his daughter if I wanted to have people to lead.

"The guards disobeyed me today because his daughter threatened to report their refusal to her father. They’re more scared of my suppose wife than me, Brian. What if she orders the kitchen to poison my food? This can’t work Brian, it can’t!" The main reason why it wouldn’t work was because being with Ivy would stop me from being with Nylah and that, I couldn’t even imagine.

I knew that the girls who attend to her bully Nylah daily and they know I brought her to the pack, Ivy might take interest in her and decide to torture her for fun or to mark her territory and I didn’t want that time to come because I don’t k ow how I’ll react then, I might just strangle Ivy to death or snap her neck.

"That’s a good point, the kitchen staff will begin to taste every meal brought to you before you eat it," Brian said reasonably but that wasn’t enough to calm my raging mind.

"Can’t we get more able males to join our pack? We’ll source for healers or more good doctors to tend to the injured and the sick. Can’t we train our men?" I asked Brian, urgency laced in my voice.

"Nobody wants to join a pack that isn’t safe. There are able males out there but they argue that there’s no standard treatment in the pack in case families fall sick or in case they get injured. Everyone knows what happened in the last war." Brian’s words stuck a medium-sized pin in my heart.

Everyone still remembered the horror war that took most of the valuable people in the pack, if not all. Once they got the healer and her husband, every other injured person didn’t stand a chance at survival.

I could still remember that day, my pack members were down, wailing in pain. The grounds were soaked with their blood. Some lay lifeless with their little cubs beside them, I couldn’t save them all...

"Xavier? Did you hear what I said?" Brian asked when he didn’t get a reply from me.

"So the first thing to do is find a healer?" I asked, getting out of my reverie.

"Yes, or a good doctor. Then we can get the manpower we need. But for the time being, you still need to put up with her." By ’her’ he meant, Ivy.

I nodded, acknowledging his words.

"Good. Go back to her now, let her sleep in your room and give her whatever she wants before she calls Dmitri on us unprepared." Brian added and as much as I wanted to sew his mouth in place so he wouldn’t speak again, I knew he was right.

He was always right and that was why I made him my Beta.

I shot him a deadly glare instead and he broke into loud chuckles.

"By the way, I heard Rex visited the pack, but he didn’t stay for long. He came to pack some supplies and was pissed when we didn’t have some that he claimed were the most important."

My eyes widened upon hearing the information.

After sending Rex away from the mansion, I hadn’t set my eyes on him, not that it was anything new, but visiting the pack he swore never to step foot in after I was made the Alpha and I made Brian my Beta instead of making him my Beta like he wanted, he said I betrayed him and swore never to set foot in the pack again and had surprisingly kept to it until now.

"What were the supplies?" I asked, my curiosity evident.

"Some ancient herbs and wolf’s bane," Brian informed casually even though the words weren’t casual in the slightest.

"Wolf’s bane? What does he need that for?" I asked again but Brian was just as clueless.

Rex was up to no good for sure and considering the fight we had at the mansion, he might be out to get me and I knew that, I had to be careful.

"Did you two fight recently?" He asked with a thoughtful expression.

"Yes, is it that obvious?" I asked

"Not from you, he said something about proving himself when he returns."

"Returns?" My brow arched

"He wants to return to the pack?" I was genuinely surprised considering his hatred towards the pack since he couldn’t get it after the death of our parents.

"So I heard," Brian replied.

"You need to be careful, who knows what he’s cooking up? He’s no good."

I knew that but I didn’t care much about myself. I knew he had something for Nylah and he expressed himself when I confronted him at the mansion.

He might be coming for her and I need to protect her if that’s the case. I won’t let any males under the skies have her.