Chapter 103

103

Luke.

Tia and I remained indoors the entire day. I told her about everything that happened at Santa Braee, and

it sounded funny now. It wasn‘t funny when it happened, but now that I was home with my wife, we could

laugh about it. I was surprised to learn of the protests. The truth was Woodclaw had been broke for a

while, with a low productivity rate. Eastwood‘s exports were what kept their jobs. I intended to do a major

reform and run a more transparent leadership so the pack members would no longer be in the dark

about things. Right now, the most important thing was dealing with Luis.

My father linked me in the morning, which made me realise he was home. Caleb told me he . stayed

permanently at the hospital, so I was surprised to hear him in my mind.

“Luke,” he said.

“Good morning, father,” I said.

“I am glad you are home. I heard the good news from Caleb,” he said, and I was silent. “I want you and

Tia to meet me in my bedroom. Caleb is already there,” he said, and I wondered why my father would

want me in his bedroom. We were never allowed to go there. I had only been in there once, and that was

recently when He got angry during breakfast because I implied he killed my mother.

Tia woke up and went straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She looked energised for the day, and

I could feel her joy. She returned from the restroom and kissed me gently on the lips. I growled at her,

and she giggled sweetly. It was good to be home.

“Good morning, Darling,” She said to me, and I pulled her back to the. Bed and tickled her in response to

her greeting. She laughed so much. I then led her to the shower, and we took our bath. We did not make

love because we had done much of that the day before. I guess both of us could not wait to follow up on

the leads we had. When my father was Alpha, he had banned Tia from getting involved with military

affairs, but now she was Luna. She had also been managing the pack in my absence; it was only normal

to carry her along. We needed people like her and Kirk on our team if we were going to win this. I did not

care about what my father said; as long as Tia was not putting herself and our baby in danger, it was

fine. Besides, there was nothing more for her to do, and I hated leaving her idly in the house.

“Father wants us to join him in his bedroom,” I told her, and she looked at me in shock.

‘Your father is home?” she asked, and I nodded.

“I can‘t believe it, Luke. He wouldn‘t budge from that hospital. I became worried about his mental health. I

am so happy right now that he had the heart to leave that hospital room.” she said, and as if something

hit her, she gasped wide–eyed and stared at me. I turned off the water immediately. “What is it, Tia?” I

asked her, and she looked worried.

“Maybe he finally pulled the plug, Luke,” she said, and it hit me. Was that why he wanted us in his room?

Caleb was there too, but if that was the case, he wouldn‘t ask me to come with Tia. We left the shower

and got dressed in a hurry. While we walked towards the right–wing,

questions reeled on my mind. What must have happened, and why the sudden meeting?” I picked a whiff

of hospital scent when we got to the bedroom door and walked in. To my surprise, Stacy sat on the bed,

looking frail. Caleb sat beside her holding her hand.

“Shh,” my father said with a finger on his lips. He did not want me to speak to her yet.

“She is confused,” he linked me.

“Caleb..” She managed, and Caleb squeezed her hand that he was already holding.

“I am here, mother. I am with you,” he assured her, and she smiled. She looked frail.

“What did the doctor say?” I asked my father.

. “They say she is healed but a bit disoriented. They said I should give her twenty–four hours to

regain her senses fully, but she recognises everyone.” He told me, and I looked at him. “Did she tell you

what happened?” I asked my father, and he shook his head. “I do not think it is wise to ask her now. I

want her to fully gain her senses before I ask her anything.” He explained to me, and I nodded.

Caleb laid her to rest on the bed, and I noticed that my mother‘s pictures were no longer on the wall. It

also looked like he had done it recently.

“Would have sent her to her room, but I need to get to the bottom of the poisoning and what Monica told

us,” my father linked me, and I nodded.

“I just wanted everyone to see her and know she is okay. The three of you can go and handle pack

matters now. Time is of the essence,” he said.

I left with Tia, and we decided to eat breakfast at a restaurant. With all that I had heard about poisoning

at the mansion, I doubted if I wanted to eat in that mansion with the unknown culprit free. Caleb joined us

outside the mansion, and we drove to a restaurant. The protest on the road was much, and the people

were getting on my nerves. I intend to address them as soon as possible.

After breakfast, we headed to the headquarters, and I could see Tia‘s excitement. Caleb told me all he

had learned from Justin, and we intend to act on it. As we walked toward my office, I discussed the

matter with Caleb and Tia. Mike and Kirk were not around, so we had to make do.

“We need to lunch a full assault on Tetra. None of them must escape. Luis needs to know we are on to

him. We need to take the heat to his doorstep.” I said to Caleb, and he nodded, but I felt uneasy about

something. So I waited until the three of us were in my office before I decided to ask him.

Tia lay on the three–sitter couch while Caleb sat on the chair opposite mine at my desk.

“Spill,” I told my brother, and he looked at me. A bit uneasy. “I kept this from Tia, so don‘t be mad at her

for not being vigilant. She was dealing with a lot, and I did not want her to panic,” He said to me, and I

knew whatever the problem might be, it must be serious.

“We have lost most of our military support Luke. We have only six territories that have remained

unmoved.” He said to me, and I exclaimed.

“What happened?” I asked my brother.

“We could no longer offer to pay up, and while we did not pay the full requested sum to some, we

outrightly did not pay others,” he explained, and I noticed that Tia took the news calmly. wrthose people

are traitors, all of them,” she said, and I did not know how she would take this likely. We had a war

brewing.

“Why aren‘t you surprised, Tia?” Caleb asked her what I was about to ask.

“Because I already knew,” she said, and I wondered when she planned on telling me.

“Why didn‘t you tell me?” I asked her, and she shrugged.

“I didn‘t think much of it. In fact, I saw it as an advantage. It meant fewer wolves to equip and fewer

territories to protect.” she said, and I could not see things her way.

She sat up on the couch and sighed.

“No matter the might they come with, superior weapons would give us an edge. Who needs wolves when

we have weapons. Kirk is procuring the latest weapons for our military. Luis stole money from us, but he

isn‘t still as rich as we are. The peanut he used to sway them would be the death of them. Why waste the

money on them when we can spend it on weapons. Luis does not have the financial capacity to equip

them the way we will equip ourselves, and most of those territories are poor. That was why he kept

attacking the areas where our arsenals were situated. It wasn‘t only to know if we were equipped for war.

It was also to steal weapons to help them prepare for war. Unfortunately for them, Alpha Aesop did not

deem it necessary to store weapons. For once, his nonchalance worked in our favour without us even

knowing it. They are likely to depend on number and muscles. We have the muscles, finances and

weapons to win the war. The size of our military should be the least of our concerns. Right now, we

should plan on taking over Tetra and forcing Luis out within three days.” She said, and I was stunned.

Tia would have been an incredible asset if she had been in the military. Still, as a luna involved with

Military matters, it was a winning situation.

“Why do you want us to complete this task within three days?” Caleb asked her, and she stood up from

the couch and began to pace.

“We do not know Luis‘s movements or the people working for him. If he returns to Santa Braee and finds

out what happened there, he will likely re–strategise, and we will return to where we started. We must

attack that place tomorrow and go there ourselves and lead the assault.” She said, and I understood her

point, but there was no way I was letting her go and lead an assault, pregnant or not. I did not want a

situation where I would be distracted with my heart in my mouth. “What you say is valid, Tia, and I think

three days is too long a time to do that. Also, there is no way I will let you come along. I said you could

get involved with Military matters quite alright, but I meant as a consultant and strategist. There is no way

you will be engaging in combat, my darling wife. Especially when you are carrying our baby.” I said to

her, and she pouted her lips, angry at the systematic way I had said no to her.

“Yes, Tia. I will need you here to hold things down while we bring Petra to its knees tomorrow. “I told her,

and she reluctantly nodded. There was no use arguing with me, and she knew it. There was no way I

intended to allow her to risk her life and that of my child for the pack.

“So, what do you intend to do in Tetra?” Caleb finally asked me, and I smiled.

wit

‘I intend to do what they did at the village in Eastwood. Wipe all of them out and maybe take a prisoner

or two, pending their use.” I said, and Caleb was okay with it.

Protecting ourselves from Luis and the constant rollercoaster we have had to endure has hardened our

hearts. Usually, we would just seek Luis out to kill him, but right now, anyone in league with him was just

as guilty as he was, and I did not intend to show mercy to anyone. The bastard had done enough

damage.

“Are you doing to address the people?” Tia finally asked me, and I requested that Caleb should organise

a press conference. I know they had said I was kidnapped. I would have to explain the situation to the

people and make sure whatever I say adds up. Caleb organised the press conference together quickly,

and I was eager to get it over with. I did not need to write anything down because I would be speaking

from the heart. I would give my speech and then take questions. We got to the conference room, and I

was surprised at the turnout of the media. They had only received the invite an hour and thirty minutes

ago. It was almost as if they were lurking about the headquarters. The room could not fit most of them,

so Caleb had selected a few and left the less relevant ones outside.

As soon as everything was set, I looked at the camera and began to speak. “I am glad to have finally

returned home after a life–threatening ordeal. I want to thank my Luna for keeping things under control

while I was away and my Beta and Delta for making her work easy. I have heard your plights, and I

understand your pain. Sadly, Diamond corp had to suspend its operation. Still, I promise you that

operations will be up and running once the threat has been neutralised. Woodclaw is currently suffering

from terrorism, and we are still unable to figure out how to catch this group. Some packs and territories

have joined up with them and are making resolving the issue harder than it should be. I assure you that

we will not rest until the order is returned and there is peace again. I implore you to bear with us and

allow us to do our jobs. Unlike your former Alpha, my tenure would be more transparent and

accountable. Thank you for understanding.” I said and started answering the question. I answered about

fifteen questions before excusing myself from the conference room.

I did not know if that would work, but that was the best I could give them at the moment because I did not

want Luis to realise we were on to him. I called Mike on the phone and told him to prepare for the assault

against Tetra. As things were looking, we would go to the place at night. The assault will start in the

afternoon when the people are up and about. They will least expect an attack at that time, leaving them

vulnerable. My plan was to eradicate the place. Luis needed to know that the tables were turning in our

favour.