s o m e t h i n g | chapter 07

"Alpha, there's someone here who wants to see you." Was the first thing Atticus was greeted with by his Beta, whose back is leaning against his Alpha's office door with hands lazily tucked inside his jeans' pocket. "There are two actually. And both seemed to be, surprisingly, well acquainted with each other."

"Just tell me who they are, Nick." He watched Onyx remove himself from his lethargic posture on the mahogany door, grab its handle, and turn it downwards.

Before opening it fully, he stopped to look at Atticus. "Why don't you go see for yourself?"

Atticus was met with two familiar faces, one completely unexpected and the other not-so-really, once Onyx got to push the door open. The two appeared to be lounging on the sofa in front of his fireplace and talking with easiness, as if parted friends catching up with each other's lives.

Ignatius Avalon turned to give the Alpha a brooding look when he noticed him enter the room. His blue eyes seemed to turn two shades darker every passing second of seeing Atticus. He was about to make a move towards the Alpha when a hand stopped him.

Atticus' gaze fell on the outstretched arm over Nate's chest before moving towards the face of its owner. "Kenneth Folaire. Seeing you here was the last thing I expected."

"I am a man full of surprises." A man with pale skin, dark curly hair, and dark meticulous eyes smiled cheekily at him as he stood up, before making Atticus frown with his next words. "And I must say that I do have a surprise for you."

〜 ※ 〜

Atticus paced in front of the modern-styled fireplace in his office with Onyx Aion and Ludovic Moretti watching his moving, silent figure from the sofa that was previously occupied by Atticus' visitors earlier. The afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, irradiating the room and the trio.

"So, how did it go?" Ludovic asked him, curiosity lacing his voice. He and Onyx suddenly waltzed in their Alpha's office when Ignatius Avalon and Kenneth Folaire stepped out.

Atticus didn't stopped pacing around, not even when his clipped reply came. "Good."

The 'meeting' with the Beta of Lycan Shadows and Kenneth Folaire went somewhat well, though he is still a bit puzzled with what had happen earlier.

"I understand why Ignatius is here. It's pretty obvious. The Lycan Shadows pack probably knows of their Alpha's disappearance and he must've thought that Octavia's here-"

"In which she is." Vic interrupted Onyx before taking a bite out of his red apple. "Doesn't really take a genius to work that out. This apple tastes so good."

The Beta was not pleased at his interruption, so Nick slightly glared at the jet-haired man who was busy munching on his fruit. "As I was saying, he unmistakably wants his Alpha back. What I'm really curious about is; what in the world would Kenneth Folaire want with you?"

Atticus hummed in thought as he run a hand through his sandy blond hair. "Yes. That is what I'm curious about as well."

"Wait. You mean he didn't tell you what he wants?" Onyx, who was lying flat on his back on the sofa, sat upright in an instant, almost falling over in the process.

"No."

"Huh." A pause. "That strange man. Could you tell us the, like, detailed story of what happened earlier?"

Atticus grumbled something incoherent before walking over to his desk. "There's not much to tell, really."

"And I must say that I do have a surprise for you."

Kenneth Folaire had continued to give Atticus a cheeky grin as the latter frowned at him in confusion. "Now what are you on about?"

"All in good time, my friend." He'd said with a small pause. "And I shall return when that time comes."

Atticus had been annoyed with his subtleness and just had enough. "Cut the crap, Folaire. What is it that you want?"

"What I want is for you to tell me where the hell is my sister." Ignatius Avalon had interjected, his cerulean eyes turning evermore darker. "I know you have her, Grady. I can smell her faint scent on you."

"I wasn't talking to you, Avalon." The Alpha had given him a cold glare, growling threateningly low before nodding toward Kenneth. "I was talking to him, and I suggest you speak to me with respect if you want to keep that tongue of yours."

"There is nothing that I want from you, Atticus. In fact, it is you who needs something from someone." Kenneth had smiled while giving Atticus a pointed look, his gaze discreetly shifting over to Ignatius' figure. "Am I right?"

Kenneth's smile had widened before breaking into a full blown grin as the man with sandy blond hair and blue-brown eyes looked at him in utter understanding and a bit of annoyance. "I'm sensing that you want me to leave already. I will – we will, if you tell us Octavia Avalon's whereabouts. I'm also guessing that she's just here in the pack house, isn't she?"

"She's in this pack house, alright. But I will not hand her to you. Not now, not ever. She'll be safe here. I won't let anything happen to her."

Ignatius' gaze on him had softened slightly. He and Kenneth shared a shrewd look. "That's not what we're really worried about, Alpha Atticus."

"Indeed. Octavia's pretty much the epitome of..." Kenneth Folaire had trailed off, seemingly uncertain and was at a loss for words. "Something. You know, I can't really define nor describe your sister properly or in the right words. She really is something."

"Well, Kenneth Folaire was definitely right about one thing; Octavia Avalon is one helluva something." Said Ludovic in a low, matter-of-factly way, voice.

Onyx murmured in agreement while nodding his head. "Anything else?"

"Ignatius Avalon also told me to tell Octavia that a Diana is missing along with a few of their pack members in Area-6, but they're doing their best to find them."

Vic perked up at the mention of a female's name. "Who's Diana?"

Atticus shrugged indifferently, his mind drifting to his realization of her capability to smash a bulletproof glass to get out of the room she's in earlier. The corners of his lips tugged upwards as he spoke under his breath. "She's definitely something."

〜 ※ 〜

A soft knock on the thick mahogany doors of her (temporary) room caused Octavia to stop pacing back and forth from one side of the room to the other. She had been on edge ever since Atticus Grady entered her room, fought with her, and left with that wretched command half an hour ago.

Heck, she's been on edge since yesterday, upon realizing that a full moon will shine the vast lands of the Southern continent tonight.

"Your breakfast, um L-luna Octavia." A young girl, around 16 or 17 years of age, with golden hair and brown eyes appeared on her doorway, shakily carrying a tray that has plates of stacked pancakes and French toasts, a sunny side up egg with bacons and sausages on the side, and a glass of orange liquid.

Octavia refrained herself from giving the poor girl a deadly look when she heard the word Luna escape from the girl's lips. She eyed the food warily. "Do you have a pack witch?"

"A p-pack w-w-witch..?" Asked the girl incredulously.

"Yes. Do you have one in this blasted pack?"

"N-no, Luna. We d-don't."

Octavia could've sworn she felt her right eye twitch. "Blast, lass! Do you not know how to speak properly? Put an end to your stuttering or I will end you myself. Stop calling me Luna as well." She growled out harshly, causing the young girl to step back in fright.

The female Alpha realized her doing at the moment she heard the girl let out a small whimper. She looked at her quivering clawed fingers and fur-covered hands before starting to pace about the room, taking in deep breaths and counting.

"I apologize for my animalistic behavior. Set the food down on the floor or something and leave." The girl did what she was told and left the room in haste, almost forgetting to lock the door. Octavia would've silently thanked her and the moon goddess if it weren't for the fact that the girl knows of the serious consequences that would occur to her if the female Alpha got out.

When her claws retracted and her self calmed, she approached the tray that contains her food. She picked it up and cautiously sniffed the food, searching for any traces of a potion, or drugs. Finding none, she sat cross-legged on the queen-sized bed and consumed the delectable food with a smile on her face, letting out a soft moan of delight once in a while.

6:40 pm. Thursday. May 8, 121 A.T.

Hours had passed and Octavia Avalon was more than agitated as the nightfall came. She was absolutely terrified. Her condition had worsened over time and she doubted tonight will be anything but lovely and pleasant.

The fact that some of her pack members are missing and may be in danger, and that Diana Sinclair is one of those people, did not help her racing nerves.

She did all sorts of things to calm herself down; pace around the room, count the trees outside, and look over the vast area of the forest surrounding the Broken Blood pack house.

Octavia felt a slight jolt in her bones which frightened her. She rushed to the window and looked at the night sky, seeing that the moon was no where in sight. She silently prayed for the moon to be hidden behind the night clouds for the night as she slid down the wall.

When she convulsed, collapsing to the floor in pain, Octavia knew that her prayers weren't heard. She felt the moon before she even saw it, resulting a loud chilly howl to escape her lips. She could hear the agonizing cracks of her bones and the pained cry of hers as her wolf vigorously arises without her control.

A lone tear ran down the smooth surface of her cheek as she faintly called out Atticus' name in the dark, before the beast inside her took over.

〜 ※ 〜

Atticus stopped to look at Onyx as he heard a howl rang through the evening sky. His Beta stared back at him a second longer before the both of them were on their feet, walking towards the main door of the pack house with swiftness.

"You heard that, didn't you?" Ludovic was at their side all of a sudden, also making fleet steps to catch up with the Alpha and Beta.

"I think the whole pack did." Onyx commented when they passed through the threshold of their home.

Werewolves were scattered around the small clearing in front of the pack house. All were on alert as if a threat could attack any moment and Atticus took pride in this.

He gave out a command to his Delta warriors to each form a group and start scouting the whole area of the pack. He then set out in his own course toward the forest, motioning for his Beta and Gamma to follow in suit.

"Where are you going?" Ludovic asked his Alpha as he walked behind him, keeping his eyes peeled for any threat that may be lurking in the dark.

"You mean 'we'?" Atticus replied back indifferently.

Vic opened his mouth to say something back when he was cut off by the sound of a howl nearby. He turned to look at Atticus, only to realize that the Alpha had taken off in the direction of the sound. Onyx watched as the Gamma made an annoyed gesture by flinging his hands in different directions before he and Ludovic ran after their friend.

When Atticus heard a rustle of leaves by his right, he made a sharp turn and an unfamiliar scent wafted him. He then followed the scent and was met with a sight he never thought he would ever see again for the rest of his life.

"Shift." Atticus demanded the brown-furred wolf in front of him.

The rogue snarled and bared its teeth at him, not showing any signs of obeying. Atticus noticed a small movement from the wolf as it prepares to make a run for it. He mentally scoffed and grabbed it by the neck, not even giving the rogue a chance to believe that it has a possibility to escape him.

The brown wolf let out a whimper as Atticus clenched his fists around its flesh more forcefully. "I said shift, mutt."

The fur on his hand was replaced with skin as the rogue shifted back to its human form. The man gave Atticus a wicked grin before bowing down mockingly. "Atticus Grady. What a displeasure to be in your presence right now."

Atticus glowered at him in irritation before hurling the man at Onyx's feet. "Take that to the cellars and lock it up."

"You talk as if I'm a fucking thing." The rogue spat as he struggled in Nick's hold.

"Yes. You are something that ticks me off." Atticus replied, eyes narrowing at the scoundrel in front of him before a smirk made its way onto his pink lips. "Take it away."

〜 ※ 〜

n o t e

So, how would you guys describe Octavia as the epitome of?

Also, how's chapter 7?

Pretty intense, right?

This is where things will start to get down lol.

Also, this chapter is by far my favorite.

Much love,

Tonie