It was why everything in his life was organised. His schedule, his desk, his buildings, even his thoughts were impeccable, not a trace of chaos could be found.

That night, it was a bit more difficult to fall asleep. Even though I had only seen Vir two times before, and I had seen him yesterday evening, I missed him. I missed him even more than my mum. And knowing that I wouldn't see him tomorrow either, was kind of hurtful. I had to endure yet another day of boring lectures and meetings before he would grant me the pleasure of seeing him. The day after tomorrow. Hugging my pillow to my chest tightly, I managed to fall asleep in a light sleep, full with dreams of his eyes, his hair, the way his laugh would sound. The feeling of his chest against mine when we hugged, the feeling of his slightly stubbled cheek – although it was still mostly smooth skin - on my lips when I pecked his cheek.

Waking up was both a blessing and a curse. I would have loved to dream some more about my soulmate, but knowing that in reality such things would not be happening for some time, was excruciatingly annoying.

A bit dazed, I showered, ordered breakfast, got dressed, ate my breakfast and went downstairs to find half of the group of representatives already waiting for the rest of us to get ready to go to one of the bigger medical research institutions of the city: ImmunovaGen. While I was lazily staring ahead, a cup of very strong coffee in my hand, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the representative from the Iustitia pack. One of the last persons I wanted to see right now. The main virtue of Iustitia members is that they value honesty and justice above all. Well, I was a liar and a fraud.

Can you understand that combination wouldn't work?

"You are miss Devoe, right?" An older man with a kind face smiled at me softly. 

I nodded in an answer. "Yes, sir, I am. I'm sorry to say this, but I only know that you are the representative from the Iustitia pack. I'm afraid I cannot remember your name," I told him politely.

As he shook my outstretched hand, he introduced himself. "I am Quinten Montgomery, you can call me Quinten, not Sir. It makes me feel even older than I already am." 

I chuckled at his request. "Alright," I said with a soft smile. "You can call me Livia." I was surprised at how nice this man was. 

"I must say that I was very impressed with you at the start, Livia. Winning the intelligence competition at such a young age is quite the accomplishment." 

"Thank you, Quinten," I replied, though I was a bit cautious now, as it seemed he wasn't done talking yet.

"All I can say for now is that I am impressed with how you have managed to deceive everyone so far, Livia. It is obvious you have not won the intelligence competition in the Fortis pack by yourself, as I can't believe no one in your pack is as smart as the average Sapientiae member." 

Yep. There it was. The exact reason Iustitia and I would not get along. 

"Don't worry," Quinten added when I prepared myself to turn around and walk away. "Your secret is safe with me. Everyone has their secrets. In the Sapientiae pack there are more than you can imagine. Knowing who to trust while we are here is crucial, as more and more of the representatives are getting suspicious." 

I didn't reply for a while, just breathing in slowly, processing the information he had just told me.

"How did you know?" 

"I am from the Iustitia pack, and although I am the smartest of my pack, I definitely belong there. I appreciate honesty, and am therefore more than able to detect lies and secrets. It became clear to me quite quickly that even though your intelligence is as great as any of us here, your knowledge leaves a lot to be desired." 

I only nodded. I had seen enough series about political intrigues to know that this was not everything. People never kept silent without a bribe. Never. "I assume you want something in return for you to keep silent?" 

Quinten smirked. "Maybe I was wrong, maybe you do have more knowledge than you let on. But no, I don't need anything in return. For now, at least. Soon, however, you will find that I might need your favour in a quite important matter. I expect that in return for my silence, you will help me in any way you can." 

I nodded. "Of course, mister Montgomery." 

"Splendid. Now, I believe we are ready to go to ImmunovaGen, if you are still up for it?" After these words he just smirked, turned around and walked away. Even though he looked old, he was not one of these kind elderly people, those who give you food and won't stop feeding you until you're round and fat. No, he was one of those power lusty werewolves, those who only cared for their station, influence and power. 

And now he had someone to blackmail. Me. 

I sighed before following the group to the bus that would bring us to the outskirts of town. I had a feeling this Quinten Montgomery was going to be a problem. 

***

"Now, before we will wrap this up, I have one more thing to show you." The director of the research institution ImmunovaGen was a rather small man. He was no taller than 1.65 metres, with long, blond hair that he had put in a low pony tail to keep it from freely falling over his shoulders. "Follow me please, then I will show you the hallway of Alpha's." 

He didn't explain anything, as he hadn't explained anything this entire day. All day long he just assumed that every single one of the representatives knew everything there was to know in his field of research, which was gene therapy in immunological diseases. He had rambled on all day about lymphocyte cell subsets, major histocompatibility complexes and BALB/c mice, never once clarifying what he meant. 

Which made it awfully boring for me, so to say. I didn't like him at all. It wasn't even the fact that he assumed that we were the smartest people in the world – because let's be honest, the other representatives were – it was something else as well. Maybe it was the atmosphere he created, maybe it was the way he looked, but I just couldn't stand the man, who was smaller than me. 

Did I mention he wasn't tall at all?

Like sheep in a herd, we all followed the shepherd to this so called 'hallway of Alpha's' the CEO was so proud of. 

From the side, I took a glance at Willow, who had been even more frustrated with the man than me. It had been from the moment we entered the building, until, well, now. She was brilliant at lying, considering she managed to keep her true nature from her own brother, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not hide her disgust for this man. Or maybe she just didn't want to.

As soon as we entered the 'hallway of Alpha's,' I understood why. It was a gigantic room, beautiful and obviously very costly. Large portraits of all the Alpha's in history were displayed, each combined with tables and posters that contained their research. Literally every Sapientiae Alpha in existence was granted a prestige place of honour in this room. Except one. 

Vir didn't have a portrait, nor did he have a display of his research. It was as if he didn't exist in this room. 

"Excuse me," someone asked. The woman from Fidem obviously had the same question I had. "Why is the current Alpha, Alpha Vir not included?" 

As soon as she even mentioned his name, the director's face became dark and disgusted, as if Alpha Vir was a cockroach that needed to be removed. "Only the most prestigious leaders of time will be included in this room," he said. "The current Alpha has not proven to be extraordinary, he has not published any substantial research, nor has he proven to be a good leader. He hasn't earned his spot here. And I doubt he ever will."