Information On Rogues' Attacks

••• Arabella’s POV ••• Alpha Daniel? He had arrived earlier than I expected... But why would he come to Max’s company instead of the pack’s main house? I looked at Max, and he mindlinked me, “I’m not sure why he came here.” Daniel was an Alpha of the Mystic Pride Pack. Recently, there had been many rogue attacks near our borders, and since he had experiences with rogue attacks throughout his journey as the Alpha of the Mystic Pride Pack, I invited him over to discuss some countermeasures against those attacks. “Let him in,” I told the other assistant who was on the other side of the door. Max and I rose from our seats when the door opened, and Alpha Daniel and his Luna, Luna Kyla, stepped into the room. Alpha Daniel was older than Max with a handsome face and tall and burly body, while Luna Kyla was petite, making them look cute together. As he stepped in, he looked at the chaotic scene in the meeting room - an Elder with a red face and trembling body who was obviously trying to contain his anger and a younger version of that Elder who looked like he was going to cry and the shocked faces of the others. “Welcome to our pack, Alpha Daniel and Luna Kyla,” Max and I greeted them graciously. “Alpha Maximillian, Luna Arabella, sorry to impose on your meeting,” Alpha Daniel chuckled goodheartedly, not wanting to involve himself in this chaos. “We arrived earlier than we expected, and when we asked an Omega about your whereabouts, she told us that you are here, so we came here to meet you,” Luna Kyla's soft and gentle voice sounded from beside Alpha Daniel. “We do not mean to intrude on your meeting.” I stepped toward Luna Kyla, took her hands, and smiled, saying, “It’s alright, Luna Kyla. We are finishing the meeting in about another moment. Will it be alright for you and Alpha Daniel to wait for us at the pack's main house?” “Of course, Luna Arabella,” she smiled gently at me. I turned to look at the two guards stationed outside the meeting room. “Escort Alpha Daniel and Luna Kyla to the pack’s main house,” I ordered the two guards. “And tell the Omegas to bring them to their room.” Then I let go of Luna Kyla’s hands and told both the Alpha and Luna, “We’ll hold a welcome banquet for you tonight.” “Thank you, Luna Arabella and Alpha Maximillian. See you tonight,” Alpha Daniel and Luna Kyla smiled before turning around to leave with the two guards I had appointed. Beta Jaxon closed the door for us, and Max and I went back to the head of the table with his hand around my waist, showing his love and support for me. We didn’t even bother to sit back down as I swept my gaze around the Elders in the meeting room, telling them, “I will require all the Elders to be present at the welcome banquet for Alpha Daniel and Luna Kyla tonight.” “And also...” I kept looking at everyone present. “Any form of bullying, taking advantage of pack members or the company, and violence within the pack are strictly prohibited. Anyone discovered of doing so will be banished from the pack regardless of their status.” I added those words for good measure so they knew how seriously I took this pack matters and my position as a Luna. “And no one should challenge Alpha Max’s authority anymore. He is the Alpha of the Silentmane Canines Pack, and as he said, he held the absolute power for any decisions,” I stressed those words out. “And Luna Arabella is my Luna and YOUR Luna, the Luna of the Silentmane Canines Pack. Her decisions are my decisions,” Max repeated his earlier words as we stood tall in front of the Elders and managers, showing them how united we were. Seeing them looking at us silently with different expressions - reluctance, anger, and acceptance, Max reminded the Elders to attend the welcoming banquet again before turning around to leave the meeting room with his arm still circling my waist. Beta Jaxon opened the car door for us. Once inside the car, Max pulled me onto his lap and gently pushed my face to the crook of his neck. I gladly took in my mate’s scent, just like he wanted me to, so I could relax after being in a Luna mode in front of those Elders and managers. “You did well, my sweet Luna,” he whispered lovingly at me. “Was I really not out of line when I told them they would be banished if they did those bad things?” I asked with a muffled voice. “No. You did really well. I loved it when you stood up for me,” he said, gently pinching my chin and lifting my head so he could kiss me. We heard a cough from the driver’s seat, and Beta Jaxon’s voice sounded next, “Yes, you did really well, Luna Arabella. That should be the first time a woman ever stood up for Max, except for his mom when he was still a kid.” “Was he bullied when he was a kid?” I asked in surprise. “No, he wet the bed and told everyone it was his dog who did it,” Beta Jaxon smirked. “You wet the bed and blamed your dog?” I looked at Max, whose eyes had turned cold as he looked at Beta Jaxon through the rearview mirror. Still, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing out loud at the image of small Max looking embarrassed yet arrogant when blaming a small dog. “Yup, he insisted it was the dog, and his mom was the only one who ‘believed’ him,” Beta Jaxon smirked again. “Jaxon, it’s been a while since we last spar,” Max said in a low voice. “Sorry, Alpha. Luna Arabella, it was actually the dog who wet the bed and not Alpha Max,” Beta Jaxon winked at me through the rearview mirror and hurriedly shut his mouth when Max let out a growl. “We should rest and get ready for the banquet tonight,” Max said as we reached the pack’s main house and went to our bedroom. *** At the banquet that night, Alpha Daniel, Luna Kyla, Max, and I were seated together. After we finished eating and were now enjoying our wines, Alpha Daniel shared insights into his experiences with rogues’ attacks and also during his journey from his pack to ours. “During our travel here, we saw many small villages had been turned into ghost towns by the rogues' attacks, with all the residents slaughtered, leaving no one alive,” he said. The images of such cruelty popped into my mind, making me shudder, yet at the same time, I felt my anger boil inside me. Max took my hand, knowing how much that information affected me. “How long have the attacks been going on?” I asked Alpha Daniel; my voice sounded like a growl without me intending to. He sipped his wine before replying, “From my knowledge, such small-scale attacks have been happening for years but have grown more active and intense in the last six months.” The last six months... The Mystic Pride Pack was not situated in our area, so I couldn’t find any news about those attacks when I investigated if there were any unusual attacks in our area. I should’ve extended my investigation to the whole continent, or the entire world for that matter. “Was the Mystic Pride Pack being attacked too?” Max asked in a serious tone. “I’d set up more squads along the pack’s border, stationing guards at intervals and having regular patrols. This allowed us to respond quickly when alarms went off,” he replied. “Putting more guards is an essential thing to do now,” Max agreed. “So the Mystic Pride Pack should be well-guarded now,” I told him and his Luna. “It should be,” he sighed. I frowned. “But it was still attacked?” He shared a look at his Luna and let out another sigh before picking up his wine glass and taking a sip again. “It wasn’t attacked by the rogues, but...” his brows furrowed as he seemed to be thinking of the things that had happened to his pack. “But recently, we found that some members seemed to be killed by the mauling of wild beasts, and some of them lost a lot of blood,” Luna Kyla’s gentle voice continued her mate’s words. “And we have no idea who did it,” Alpha Daniel seemed frustrated as he ran his fingers through his hair. Hearing it, now it was Max and my turn to share a look. Beast... Blood... It seemed our enemies, the dark power, were already on the move. “Max...” I mindlinked him. I didn’t feel good thinking that our enemies had begun moving now and they had attacked those not from our area. “Alpha Daniel, Luna Kyla, I have to apologize for not being able to accompany you longer. Luna Arabella is not feeling well now,” Max said politely. “You look pale, Luna Arabella. Please, you don't have to accompany us. Let Alpha Maximillian accompany you to rest,” Luna Kyla said with a concerned look. “I’m sorry,” I apologized guiltily. “Please don’t hesitate to ask the Omegas for help.” “We will. Don’t worry about us,” Alpha Daniel said. Max stood up and pulled me gently with him. “Please excuse us,” he said, and we all nodded to each other. After that, we left the banquet and returned to our bedroom.