James quickly organized everything, and people followed his orders without hesitation because he was a familiar face, their young Alpha James. The reality was yet to sink in.
George had a number of his people ready, a mix of warriors and Omegas. Warriors took over the security of the packhouse and surroundings, and Omegas were led by Estelle to work in the packhouse. Per James's advice, George prepared dozens of cell phones, and they distributed them to their people so they could communicate. It was less effective, but it worked.
Owen volunteered to keep an eye on border patrols.
They acted swiftly and decisively because if hostile units found out that Red Moon pack members didn't have their pack link anymore, hell would break loose. Unfortunately, the Red Moon pack had a lot of enemies.
They called a medic to tend to George's wounds and clean him up, and several warriors carried Alpha Edward's body away from prying eyes.
Lunas stayed with the people of the Red Moon pack in order to provide advice about resettling in different packs and to help document everything.
Talia led the way to Alpha Edward's study. They planned for all Alphas in attendance to meet there, but Talia paused at the door and scrunched her nose.
She looked at Damon, whose brows were together in a frown. He also picked up a thick scent of blood.
Damon entered the study first, and they found Ana's mangled body on the floor. She was naked, and every inch of her flesh was covered in bruises, and there were numerous cuts. The tan carpet under her was now dark red due to the blood it soaked in.
Keith approached the body to check. "She is not dead."
A second later, Ana confirmed it with a groan. If she were human, those injuries would kill her.
Seeing no one moved, Tony asked, "Should we call a medic?"
Damon looked at Talia, and he squeezed her hand. He recognized Ana from the encounter in George's villa.
Ana's eyes fluttered open, and she hissed when she saw Talia.
"You," Ana said. "It's all your fault." She came to tell the truth, but Alpha Edward didn't believe her. He beat her brutally, and then he left her there so he could attend the party. Ana was a she-wolf, and she wouldn't die from that, but she could feel pain, and it hurt like hell.
Talia didn't know how to feel. There was no glee or happiness she assumed would come when facing Ana's suffering, but Talia didn't feel sorry for the female either. It was an unknown numbness that made Talia uncomfortable.
Ana's eyes moved over people who milled in the study, and she swallowed hard when she realized too many Alphas were looking at her questionably.
"Is she a spy?" Maddox asked.
"No," Talia responded. "She is an Omega working here."
"Do you want to send her to the dungeon?" Damon asked. He guessed that Talia didn't want to grant relief of death to Ana.
Talia shook her head and said to Keith and Arya, "Take her to the attic."
"Attic?" Keith asked.
"That's the place where I suffered because of her. Now it's time to swap places."
Ana's eyes flashed, and she turned to James. "Young Alpha James! Did you hear that? This confirmed that my story was true. She is not Luna Talia or Alpha Natalia. She is an impostor, a lowly Omega who used to work here. She was hiding in the attic and was everyone's doormat and… Ahh!"
Ana shrieked when Arya grabbed a fistful of Ana's hair and lifted her off the ground.
"Don't you dare badmouth my Luna!" Arya said angrily.
"Young Alpha James!" Ana cried for help, and her stomach dropped when she realized James was totally focused on the female wearing a baby-blue cocktail dress by his side.
Keith looked at Talia with a complex expression, remembering how skinny and bruised she was when he saw her the first time. Was it because of Ana? It looked like it. Talia's gaze was firm, but Keith guessed that Talia's emotions were unstable.
"Arya and I will take care of this trash," Keith said, and then he asked Damon through the pack link, 'Are we allowed to kill her?'
'Don't make it easy on her.'
Keith bowed, and then he and Arya walked out while dragging Ana behind them.
"Are we supposed to have a meeting here?" Alpha William asked with a grimace while looking at the bloody stain on the carpet. It reeked of blood.
"There is a conference room at the end of the hallway," James said, and he turned to Cornelia. "Are you hungry? I didn't see you eat much." His mate was pregnant, and he wanted to feed her.
"Let's take half an hour break before we meet. I'm sure everyone could use a few minutes to process what happened here." James said, and then he gestured toward the big map on the wall. "This is the territory of the Red Moon pack. Alpha Damon said that he was not interested in land, but he was willing to trade for it. I suggest you think of the area you want and what you will offer in exchange for it…"
Damon followed Talia to the third floor. That's where the master suites were, which belonged to Alpha Edward and Luna Layla. Talia knew there were two suites as Alpha and Luna of the Red Moon pack didn't share a bedroom.
Damon thought that she would go to the suite belonging to Alpha Edward, but Talia went to the door across the hall.
Talia knocked on the door, and she waited for "Come in" before letting herself inside. Damon was right behind her.
Luna Layla was packing a suitcase. She looked up warily. "I'm getting one suitcase of clothes and toiletries to last me a few days until I figure out what to do. I left jewelry and things of value behind."
Talia waved, indicating that was not important. "We are not here to check what you are taking."
"You should be," Luna Layla said. "I assume Edward is dead. I could feel the bond break fully, and I'm confident he wouldn't let me go willingly. Everything here belongs to you now. Do whatever you want to with clothes, but this…" She reached for one purple palm-sized box. "It belonged to my grandmother and her mother before that. Can you ensure Marcy gets this?"
Talia pressed her lips into a line, and she didn't accept the box. "Luna Layla…"
"Just Layla. I am not anyone's Luna anymore."
Talia looked at her sadly.
'She deserves to know,' Liseli said, and Talia agreed.
"Marcy is dead."
Luna Layla's brows came together. "Dead? How?"
"She was in the Blue River pack when rogues attacked after Luna Tatiana's ceremony. Marcy was one of the casualties. I am sorry for your loss."
"Rogues? I was there and... I didn't know..." Luna Layla said absentmindedly. "In a way, it was Edward's fault. If he didn't meddle with those people…" She shook her head.
"Do you know something about people Alpha Edward worked with?" Talia asked.
Luna Layla shrugged. "He didn't confide in me. But I saw things. Recently, he was super secretive. Once, he was talking drunk, and he said how he will be young again. I don't know from where that came, but Beta Raymond might know. Edward didn't share much with his Beta, he was always selfish, but Raymond had a way of gathering information."
