~ the Red Moon pack ~
"What the hell is this!?", Alpha Edward raged at his Beta while gesturing at the screen of his computer.
Alpha Edward was busy with paperwork and thinking about what good news Marcy will give him later that day, confident that it will be related to her becoming the Luna of the Dark Howlers pack. Everything Marcy told him in the last few days was positive and the only thing pending was to pinpoint the date of her Luna ceremony. Alpha Edward wanted it to happen as soon as possible, but he also didn't want to rush it because it takes time to organize a grand event, and Marcy becoming Damon's Luna was a grand occasion.
Beta Raymond suddenly entered the study and interrupted Alpha Edward's pleasant thoughts by saying that there was something he needed to look at with urgency.
While Raymond navigated to a website, Alpha Edward assumed it was related to rogues, or maybe some of their spies got exposed, but this… just what was this? Did he just watch a clip of Marcy saying how she would rather travel the world than be the Luna of the largest pack in North America? What nonsense was that?
Alpha Edward called Marcy once, twice, but the damned automatic message told him that the phone was not in service. All his messages were stuck in the status 'pending', meaning that Marcy didn't receive them.
Alpha Edward couldn't believe this. They spoke two hours ago! Marcy told him that things were under control and going great, and how was this great!?
"This is a joke, right?", Alpha Edward asked his Beta.
"I don't think so.", Raymond responded. "Online forums are on fire. They are talking about how Marcy is not in competition to be the Luna of the Dark Howlers pack, and they are guessing who the next candidate with the highest chances is. Currently, it's a tie between Cassie from the Steelbite pack and Jade from…"
"ENOUGH!", Alpha Edward roared. "There will be no Cassie or Jade or any other. That position belongs to Marcy. This is a lie. Someone made it up. Videos can be fabricated. A hacker disconnected her phone! I will call James and he will confirm how all this is nonsense. We invested years and it can't be gone just like that. It can't be."
"James!", Alpha Edward exclaimed as soon as James picked up the call. "Did you see this fake video of Marcy saying how she doesn't want to be Damon's Luna?"
"Father", James called solemnly, and Alpha Edward felt his stomach tightening into one giant, excruciating knot.
"It's not fake."
Alpha Edward saw red. "WHAT!? YOU KNOW WHY YOU WENT THERE! HOW COULD YOU ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN!?"
"I didn't allow anything.", James was quick to say. "Do you think that Alpha Damon would sit and discuss this with me?"
"So, Alpha Damon knew? Is he behind this? Did he force her?", Alpha Edward squeezed through his teeth.
"Maybe. I mean… I'm not sure.", James said. "During breakfast, Marcy told us to postpone going to the training grounds because she had something to share with us. When we got to the living room, the reporter with a camera was already there. I don't know to what extent Alpha Damon was part of this, but how could a reporter get into the packhouse and live-stream a video without Alpha's approval? But at the same time, I can't see that Alpha Damon would allow all of us to stay in his packhouse and then pull the rug under Marcy's feet. That would be blatant disrespect and Alpha Damon wouldn't risk a war, not for a thing like this. If he wanted to get rid of Marcy, he would do it silently; strike a deal or something. Right?"
"Right.", Alpha Edward was a bit calmer now. "How did Alpha Damon react to all that?"
"His expression is always the same. I have no way of guessing what he was thinking."
Alpha Edward exhaled in frustration. "Tell me about the situation there."
"After her speech, Marcy gave an interview. I waited for that reporter to leave so I can talk to Marcy, but the reporter held me back and Marcy went to pack already. I think she is leaving for real."
"If she leaves, you will be punished."
James grit his teeth. "What can I do in a packhouse that is full of Alpha Damon's warriors? Do you want me to cause a scene and end up in a dungeon?"
"YOU CAN'T LET HER LEAVE!", Alpha Edward roared.
"And I can't force her to stay either.", James responded. "This is not our territory, and I don't want to risk things escalating. So far, Alpha Damon was accommodating, and I can assume that was the case because Marcy was set to be his Luna, but now that she broke up with him publicly, I don't want to test my luck by provoking him. The reporter just left, and I am heading to Marcy's room. I will see if I can talk some sense into her but don't hold your breath on it. If she has even a single functioning brain cell, she won't be coming home."
Alpha Edward didn't like this. "Give her your phone, so we can track her through GPS."
"What's wrong with her phone?"
"It's offline.", Alpha Edward responded irritably.
"If she turned off her phone, there is no way she will accept mine. And if Alpha Damon took it away, he will take mine as well. I will find out what her plans are and let you know as soon as I find out something useful. I suggest that you have our people ready to intercept her when she leaves the territory of the Dark Howlers pack. She was talking about Europe, so we should get someone to check if there is a plane ticket in her name and wait for her at the airport. There are two international airports nearby." James stopped talking and he wondered if his father's silence was a good thing or bad. "Can Beta Raymond work on suppressing the netizens? I saw that Marcy is trending online and…"
"I will get him to deal with that.", Alpha Edward said curtly.
Per Alpha Edward's opinion, James wouldn't dare to oppose him openly. Everything pointed to the possibility that Marcy was the one behind this. Why else would she be feeding him nonsense how everything was great, only to drop this bomb?
"Was Alpha Damon planning to make any announcements or events for today?"
"Not that I know of.", James responded. "He said that he will be training with us in the afternoon, and there was nothing special about dinner."
"That bitch lied!", Alpha Edward cursed under his breath. Marcy told him that the whole day will be filled with her and Alpha Damon preparing to make a grand announcement and she even hinted at some party, only to give him this blow. He was deceived by his own daughter.
