Mated To The Beastly Alpha
Chapter 19

"I don't know what's going on with you, Liam. I don't give a f**k about what game you're playing with Nicole, but don't you ever put yourself in such a dangerous position again," James reprimanded. Liam growled, asking him to check his tone, but didn't make any comment. James was right. He had made very stupid and careless decisions and had almost played into the hands of his enemies. "How did you know?" He grunted.

James huffed.

"When you bumped into me on your way into the forest. I was very curious as to why you reacted that way and so I followed you to a far distance. The last thing I wanted to do was to spite you further since you were raving mad. When I realized that it probably had everything to do with the Luna, I decided to turn back and do something else with my life. But I noticed some movement in the forest and got curious. Someone was tracking you and was very subtle about it. The worst part is that I couldn't pick up any scent and you were too distracted by your thoughts to notice," he paused to catch his breath.

"I soon realized that something fishy was in play because there was no way we wouldn't be alerted by the scouts at the borders when something trespassed our territory. A reason that just like me, they didn't perceive their scent when they crossed the border. I quickly rallied our scouts and warriors then tried to notify you. But your stubborn a*s shut me off and you closed your link to us. It became more alarming when I realized that whoever was after you was also masking your scent. It means that the person didn't want you to be found and probably planned to corner you.That set me off. Luckily, our scouts snooped you out before you did something stupid. I think whatever spell they had on you somehow fed into your frustration and anger, then used it to cloud your senses and make you less sensitive to your surroundings."

Liam gulped.

"I think the lady was the final piece and if you had struck a conversation with her the spell would have been completed. At first, I suspected that they wanted to weaken you and kidnap you, but knowing how powerful you are even when under their spell and from the magnitude of dark magic that hung in the scene we burst into, this wasn't a kidnap attempt, it was a death attempt. I think our perpetrator wanted it to be swift and clean."

Liam ran his hand through his hair, "Do I need to interrogate them myself to replace out who's behind this?" He muttered.

"No, we have people for that. What you need to do is set your head straight. This was a stupid mistake. You were this close to death, the whole pack could feel it and yet you couldn't. We sent thousands of warnings your way. Your instincts should have been more than enough to pick it up. Yet you waltzed into it like that." Liam groaned.

"I do not like to mix myself or get into your business with women. You told me a thousand times that you do not want to be tamed or be vulnerable, and as much as I have my reservations, I understand, but you seem to dismiss the power of marking a female. A mark is the first step in the mating ritual between a male and a female and it helps to bind them together forever. Werewolves hardly mark random people. Alpha wolves like yours do not pick unworthy mates or mark random people," he took a step closer to me. "They are very intentional about these things. Yet, mistakes have been made. People have mistakenly marked the wrong people. However, it doesn't make things easier. Somehow, the mark and connection are supposed to fade after a short period of time and if it doesn't, it can be undone when the real mate is found, but since you argue that you can never have a mate and we know how unlikely it is for her to replace hers, especially after what she has gone through in Crimson, you have your work cut out for you." "F**k," Liam groaned, "What do I do? What the hell have I gotten myself into?"

"The fastest way to make it fade out is by losing attraction to each other," James continued. "The best way to do it is the natural way of replaceing the flaws of the other party. It's not by avoiding her and allowing the hunger to build up so much that you can barely control yourself.

In your case, I believe you should show her that you are flawed, as long as she doesn't see you as some sort of messiah. When she begins to dislike you, she too will start acting up, and whatever this is will go away." "Hmmm," Liam thought.

"That will only happen if she's not your fated mate, Liam."

"She isn't. Nobody is." Liam growled.

"I don't care. You have to realize that what happened today introduced a new type of enemy to the Dark Moon and you're going to need to be active and in your best shape at all times. These distractions have to be erased. We need you to concentrate. Dealing with witches is not a small feat."

"I know," Liam grunted. "I would have sent her away, but I don't think my wolf can bear that at the moment."

"Like I said alpha, I don't care nor do I want to discuss women with you. Do whatever you have to do to keep your mind sound at all times. That's what I need. I believe I speak for all of the Dark Moon when I say that your sanity is our priority." James said, patting his shoulder and walking away.

Liam thought that James' ideas were the best he had heard in a long time, but he shoved them to the side. He wasn't ready to face or dwell on the issue of Nicole yet, not until he had traced the source of the magic that had almost killed him and found whoever sent them.

He walked back into the bar, where piercing screams of the captives being interrogated could be heard. He found James talking to one of the interrogators.

"Everything here was a set-up." The lanky man announced, "None of the werewolves found here originated from around this area. They were all imported from as far as overseas. Each one of them was under a spell and was promised a huge chunk of money. It's obvious that most of them do not know or understand what's going on,"

Liam looked at the group of people huddled in the corner.

"You mean that even the bar itself is a set-up?" James queried, the shock in his voice was evident.

"We're not done with our investigations, but I believe so."

"Whoever this is must have planned this for a couple of years. Decades even," James marvelled.

"Do not let their stories deceive you. My guts tell me that the head of this operation is close by. He or she is either amongst the captives or watching us closely.

But I'm sure that your interrogations will unearth more information about our new enemy. I'm certain that someone amongst them knows something that we're yet to replace out. Don't stop, keep up the good work." Liam said, and then walked out. "Does the Dark Moon know?" Liam asked, folding his arms and staring into the sky."

"They could feel that something was wrong but did not know the details. Although I've passed out the information that you're safe we can still feel unease thrumming through the bond."

"I should address the pack," Liam mused.

"Yes you will, but that will be after we wrap up from here. For now, Garret is in charge."

"Yeah," Liam nodded, "You know this scene was too familiar. What happened here was exactly how I met Nicole. I had been roaming around the forest, excited about finally winning, when I stumbled on the bar. The scene was a replica. It makes me suspicious." "You suspect Nicole?"

"Every person I've met in the last month is a suspect. But no, not Nicole. Whoever did this has been following me for a long time. The person may also have access to me at Dark Moon. This person must have been there on my night with Nicole and had decided to use the same ploy."

"You're implying that this person knows you then."

Liam smirked. "The culprit may as well be considered as a friend to me."

"What do we do about this then?"

"When addressing the pack, I will not go into full details. Instead, I will give them a vague picture. The details, though, would be discussed with a selected few. That way we can begin to alienate our suspects."

"Smart as always, Alpha," James agreed.

Liam and James lingered around the bar until late at night, when the interrogators had finally finished drawing out information from everybody. After those long hours, they didn't get much information to work with. All the culprits seemed to be repeating the same thing. Liam found it annoying.

When they were done, he instructed that they be incarcerated and monitored until they were completely sure that the effects of the spells placed on them had been wiped off completely. He couldn't put his pack at any further risk with any of them. His instincts warned him that his enemy was close by. He looked back at the bar. It was clear that everything had been perfectly planned.

Something told him that this was just the beginning of something big that was coming his way.

Although witches and werewolves coexisted peacefully, they weren't close and preferred to stay out of each other's business. He was certain that whoever was after him must have sacrificed a great deal to enlist the help of witches.

He was yet to understand this unknown enemy's motivations, but looking at her perfect scene created at the bar, he knew that that person was ready to do anything. He could feel it in his bones that this was just the beginning.

He rummaged his mind for a list of enemies that were ready to go as far as working with witches and using black energy that tainted the essence of werewolves. None came to mind. He had already defeated most of his enemies and he wasn't one to spare their lives.

"Make sure that these people have no inkling of what is happening to us," he instructed James," they could be under stronger spells or voluntary spies. I need them to be blind, deaf, and dumb to everything happening to us. Give the scouts and guards at the border higher training. Something is coming and we had better be ready for it."

In another part of his mind was the issue of Nicole. Now more than ever, he needed to get rid of whatever drew him to her. The last thing he needed was for her to be seen as his weak link.

Liam Hallows was a beast and he didn't have any weak links.