Chapter 4

“Have our brothers been brought back to the pack house?” Alex asked his pack members.

“Yes, alpha.” They have been placed under the olive tree. “We’re waiting for your order to bury them,” they said.

“They shall be given a befitting burial, I assure you, and I’ll find a solution to this problem once and for all,” Alex assured them.

“Thank you, Alpha,” they echoed, and with their heads buried in grief, they walked away to console themselves.

“This is so confusing, Alex. What do we do now?” Hendrix asked.

Alex swallowed. “We’ll check the bodies of the people who died, Hendrix, and for now, we’ll grieve with the bereaved,” he said, and Hendrix nodded, and together they walked over to the olive trees, and truly, their pack members were dead, laying down on the ground as cold as ice, their eyes forever closed. Not to see the sun or the moon or feel the trees. They could never shift into their wolf form again. Their lives have been cut short by just the light of the red moon.

“It’s unfortunate that this is where they end, Alex. “They were such respectful pack members,” Hendrix said, shaking his head.

“There has got to be something, anything,” Alex said as he crouched on his knees to examine the bodies. He was looking for a knife’s mark, or a sword, or a clamber—anything at all. One man could not possibly kill many wolves at once with just his bare hands.

“What are you looking for?” Hendrix asked him with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Anything that shows that a man is responsible for these killings,” he said, and as he moved closer to one of the dead men on the ground, his action was suddenly halted by the shouts and yells echoing at the pack house.

“What’s going on?” Hendrix asked as he turned toward the direction of the uproar. Alex straightened up and moved towards the pack house, and Hendrix followed him.

They got to the pack house and saw the pack members holding stones, ready to throw them at an angry Jayden. His accompanied Gammas were trying their best to make sure the angry pack members did not come close to Jayden.

“How dare you come here after all what you’ve done?” The demanded.

“The nerves you have!”

“We shall not spare you today!” They raved in anger.

“Enough,” Alex said calmly, but they were not willing to listen as they kept ranting and yelling about how they would end Jayden’s life.

“That’s about enough!” Alex bellowed, having enough of their yelling that was beginning to irritate his ears, and the whole pack fell silent. He knew they were grieving, but he expected them to act properly, especially before him. Hendrix placed his hand on Alex’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He whispered, and Alex gave a slight nod. He was just a little angry, and he fought against it before it exploded inside of him.

“Let him pass,” he ordered them, and with grudge, they made way for Jayden and his grandparents to pass through.

“Leave,” he said to them, and they did as they were told.

Jayden narrowed his eyes at Alex. “As if what you all have done to my pack is not enough, you decided to ridicule me.” He demanded.

“I do not tolerate unjust accusations, Alpha Jayden. You should count yourself lucky that you’re still alive, standing in the Crystal Moon Pack’s territorial abodes,” Alex said calmly to him.

“I should count myself lucky.” Jayden scoffed. “Count myself lucky that your pack has been killing my people. I’ve been quiet before about it, but not anymore. The rise of the increase in deaths,” he began to say.

“Wait, what?” Alex cut in. “Killing of your people?” He asked, just to be certain he heard well.

“Don’t play dumb with me, young alpha. Every red moon, members of my pack die strangely, without any trace!" He explained bitterly, and Alex and Hendrix were both stunned by his words.

“About ten red wolves die under the light of the red moon, right?” Alex asked, just to be sure of what he was hearing.

“Of course! How would you not know that when you’re the murderer?” Jayden flared up, and Alex made a mental count in his head just to keep himself from yelling at this man who was laying false accusations on him and his pack.

“Believe me, Jayden, we are not responsible for the deaths of your pack members,” Alex calmly said, his green eyes fixed on Jayden.

“Don’t give me that cock-and-bull. You all are responsible,” he said adamantly, shaking a finger at Alex and Hendrix. “If you’re not responsible, how come you know about the deaths of the red wolves?” He demanded.

“Because the same thing has been happening to my pack,” he replied, and Jayden stared at him in disbelief.

“That’s impossible,” he said.

“Come with me,” Alex said to him, and turned away, walking towards the olive trees. Jayden was hesitant, but Hendrix urged him.

They got to the olive trees, and when Jayden got closer, he was shocked. “This is precisely the way my pack members died,” he said, stunned by the dead bodies he was seeing.

Alex stood with no trace of emotion on his face. “As you can see, we’ve been battling the same problem for a long time now, and there have been no solutions whatsoever to it. It’s tearing my pack apart,” Alex explained.

“I’m too shocked to speak,” Jayden replied, still looking at the bodies, then he backed away from them. “We must find a solution to this, Alex. These killings must end,” he said.

Alex squared his shoulders as he folded his hands behind his back. “I thought of having a meeting with the council of elders to bring this matter before them and get a solution to It,” he said, looking in the direction of Jayden.

Jayden nodded. “I concur. I agree with you, Alex. If this will bring a solution, I cannot refuse,” he said.

“The meeting will commence tomorrow noon,” Alex announced, and Jayden nodded.

“I shall be there,” he said, and turned to Alex. “You’ve cleared up my misconception about the deaths of my pack. I’ll remind you that this doesn’t settle the old score I have with your father, nor the scores of our ancestors,” he added, and Alex merely stared at him with a cold countenance on his face. “I’ll take my leave now,” he added again, and walked away, with his girlfriend right behind him.

It was night already, and the bodies of the dead pack members were placed on planks and covered with thin white linings. After the heartfelt words said and the wailing, they were set ablaze, and Alex, Hendrix, and the pack members watched them burn to ashes. Their loved ones collected their ashes into a jar as a memory of them before returning to the pack house.

“I’ll be at the river,” Alex told Hendrix.

“Do you need me with you?” He asked.

Alex shook his head. “I want to be alone,” he said, and Hendrix nodded in understanding and left him alone.

Alex walked to the river, his thoughts spreading like wildfire on a Harmattan morning. He pondered why unusual deaths would be occurring in both packs at the same time. It was a mystery to him. A mystery he so badly wanted to solve.

All of a sudden, his senses were on alert, as he could hear strange movements behind him. He turned back when he heard running movement behind him, and there was a masked man who threw his fist at Alex, but, with his fast reflexes, he was able to avoid his face coming into contact with the blow.

Immediately, he was surrounded by many masked men, and his instincts made him realize he was under attack. With clubs and knives in their hands, they attacked him at once, and he defended himself.