5 Puppies For The Alpha
Chapter 64

Lukyan could swear his heart skipped a beat. Before him lay the bodies of his husband and son, unconscious on the ground. It had all happened so fast. Seconds before, they had been sharing the herd, and now they were there.

-Lu…, Luky…, Lukyan,” the sound of his name reached her ears along with the bustle around them.

He had been shocked for a moment. Bastian moved his arm to bring him to his senses as tears streamed down his face. The omega shook his head and centred himself. This was no time to panic.

He knelt by his husband’s side after verifying that Fallen was copying him with Matthias, and searched for Dante’s breath. It was light but present. She breathed with a modicum of relief. Out of the commotion that was beginning to form around him, Edgar managed to appear and knelt down beside him, taking the pulse of his wrist to study what had really happened.

What had happened, what had happened to the alpha, had he been poisoned?

The hubbub became very audible to almost everyone between questions, wolves jostling, some panicking over the alpha’s condition. Others running back and forth. Even Falco found it hard to reach them and look at the scene with a worried face and a painfully furrowed brow. Shouting, murmuring…

-Quiet!” shouted Lukyan and all sound in the room disappeared. “Edgar,” he looked at the doctor for results, with all the noise he wasn’t sure he could have found out what was going on.

-Queen, the alpha has been poisoned,” he said.

Lukyan closed his eyes and pursed his lips.

-I’m sure it was him,” a male voice echoed in the room and everyone looked at a wolf who pushed those in front of him and positioned himself in front of everyone, “Don’t play the victim, you want to take over the pack, so you poisoned the alpha, who better than you to do it?

A minute of silence and then everyone began to look at each other. Doubt began to bloom.

Sacha turned away from Fallen and walked straight towards him.

-What are you say…?

-Sacha,” his voice echoed over his son’s and he stopped with a slight shudder and stepped back. It was the first time he had heard her speak in that tone.

Lukyan sat up and turned to the wolf, walking slowly. Her hair began to wave slightly around her neck and her eyes became very golden, the iris disappearing into a whitish centre. The wolf that had been stalking her felt her body being paralysed and began to sweat. No part of his body moved.

The members of the pack backed away, lowering their heads. The atmosphere around her intimidated them to such an extent that it demanded their submission. It was not like the feeling when an alpha asserted himself where his body was crushed by a force greater than them. No, this time it was as if they lost their own will to do anything to this wolf.

Even his two youngest sons clung to Falco trembling and Fallen’s face turned pale as he hugged Matias tighter in his arms.

-Say it again,” Lukyan stopped in front of the wolf who had fallen to his knees, “Say in front of me that I was the one who poisoned him,” he looked down at him with a frozen face.

The slanderer could not speak, a tremor ran through his whole body. Not even when Dante was upset had he reacted like this.

-Lukyan leaned in front of him and lifted his chin with his finger, making their gazes meet, terrifying him. He had never witnessed orbs like that before. “If I had wanted to take over the pack, I would have used other, quicker methods to do so. Do not alter the facts as you see fit. Besides,” a menacing smile left his lips as he slowly turned his head, “why are you so nervous?

The wolf’s trembling became more noticeable and he tried to release his grip.

-Falco,” Lukyan stood up abruptly, “Take him in for questioning, the scent he’s giving off tells me he’s hiding something. Tell Mitya to be alert and to reinforce the guard on all sides. No one is allowed to move outside the herd boundaries.

The beta nodded. He dared not refuse to refuse her command. First, because she was his queen, second, because he didn’t think she would be able to refuse his order in the tone he had used.

-Edgar, take Dante and Matthias with you so that you can attend to them. Everything you need will be given to you to secure their lives. Anyone who refuses, let me know. Bastian, gather all those who drank wine and take them to another room to examine them to check for other cases of poisoning. The barrels I will check personally. And prepare a messenger, in case the contents are contaminated, we need to report it.

He turned to the rest of the herd.

-Remain calm and everyone return to their duties, you will be notified of the alpha’s status as soon as we have a breakthrough. If you see anyone acting strangely report it to any of the wolf guards.

The wolves around him nodded in their positions without replying.

-Move along,” Lukyan finally ordered, returning to normal.

Everything was done as he had ordered and without complaint. He did not know if they did it out of fear. He had never used his strength in that way, he himself had forbidden it as soon as he had discovered other ways to use his ability to calm the savage state. He did not like the reaction of others to him. He liked to be respected for who he was, not feared. And that was what he found in his children’s eyes as he stood before them.

Nicholas wrapped his arms around Axel and Sacha’s shoulders, but they slipped behind his back. The hands of all three trembled slightly and they did not raise their heads even after the omega’s eyes were the same colour again. Lukyan swallowed dryly and smiled slightly, something he never did and only showed pain on his face.

-I’m sorry,” was all he said before walking past her and following the path where Edgar had taken her husband and son.

She could bear it all, but the rejection of one of her sons was hard enough, of the other three it broke her inside. And if they were afraid of her now, then it was better to turn away.

The three of them stood there motionless, listening to what was going on around them. Sacha began to cry silently against his brother’s back and Axel just hugged Fallen. The older one clenched his fists remembering the expression of the wolf that had brought them to this world.

Lukyan stood for three hours in front of the door of what was considered the pack’s treatment room. Edgar’s helpers came and went, but they were told nothing and were forbidden to even peek in.

Falco was hugging Bastian against his chest who had no comfort. Both had performed the tasks assigned to them. Among the other members of the pack there was no one else with symptoms of poisoning, besides the contents of the barrels were clean, so it was necessary to notify those who had made the gift, it was no time to look for more conflict.

Falco had spoken to Dmitri and security had been tightened. No one outside could know of the situation, or they would be too vulnerable, with the alpha on leave and Lukyan, a queen, who he didn’t know if they would respond to him after there was still a question as to whether she was the one who had poisoned him.

Dmitri had returned, within an hour of replaceing out, he was shocked by the information he had been given and his desperation caused him to break one of the window panes. He was now sitting in a corner waiting for results. He had not attempted to engage the omega, had not even spoken to him.

Lukyan knew, that so many good things were happening around him was just an illusion. Fate was not grateful to him. And for the first time Lukyan felt more alone than when he had been held captive for so many years.

What had he done wrong?