The Beta's Daughter

Connect The Dots

Chapter 44
Azariah's pov

Micah's call couldn't have come at a better time.

I was eight hours into reading these stupid files Amber suckered me into, and there isn't enough coffee in the world that could keep me awake much longer. Yesterday we were at it for 14 hours. I lay in bed all night trying to come up with an excuse to get out of it today. Clearly, I failed.

He said we had to attend a meeting in thirty minutes. So I gave Amber the bad, but good for me, news and headed out. I promised her I'd come back afterward, though. I wanted to bail on her for the day but didn't have the heart to do it.

I get that what we are doing is important, or so we think. However, I just don't understand what the hell I'm reading. She said all I have to do is jot down words or sentences that I think are noteworthy, and she can look back through them later.

I'm not sure if I hope this meeting is long or short. I stop and grab a coffee and a snack on my way to Garette's office. Sugar will help wake me back up, paired with the coffee that is.

Micah is waiting for me in the parking lot, as always, when I pull up. He comes to my door and opens it for me.

I'm stuffing the rest of my snack in my mouth when I step out. "Hello," I try to say.

"Supper? Or mid-afternoon snack?" He outright laughs at me.

"Well, I'm still hungry, so let's get to the meeting, shall we," I tell him.

We head inside, Garette and my father are waiting already. We take our usual seats at the big oval table in his office. I really should suggest the setup that Alpha Fenris has in his office. Way less stuffy.

Alek and Jace are the next to join us, and lastly, Alpha Fenris and Alpha Tony come in. Hmmm, this is interesting. And I don't mean it in a good way. They both give off a bad vibe. My stomach instantly feels sick, and I can't help but wonder if someone else has gone missing.

They thank Alpha Garette for meeting on such short notice, and then Tony says he has some news to share. His eyes are dark underneath, and he's sporting facial hair that's at least two days old. Give or take, and I'm no expert on the growth rate of facial hair. Either way, he's looking rough, and I conclude something has gone on in his pack.

He dives right into why he needed to see us. No foreplay or anything. The details he's giving us make me regret my choice to get a snack on the way here. He tells us that two nights ago, a wolf went ballistic and tore apart nine of his pack members. The wolf who did it was taken down, and they tested it yesterday to rule out rabies. And now, they have no clue what happened, why it happened, if it was just an unfortunate accident or some kind of planned attack.

Immediately, something doesn't sit right with me. No known substance can make a werewolf go crazy like that. Especially not to the point that it takes out its pack members. Sure, our kind can become that vicious when defending our mates or young, hell even our pack, but even then probably not to this degree.

Nobody knows what to say. I'm sorry for your loss. it doesn't seem to quite cut it here. Not when he was the one to go to each family to report what happened, and not have any answers to give them as to why.

I glance over at Micah, and my heart drops a little for him. One day, he's gonna have the weight of our whole pack on his shoulders, just like Tony does. I guess that's what I'm for. To help him get through the tough times. This would be another reason I knew leaving was the wrong choice. We were a team. Always.