Chapter Nine: Party Poopers
1580 Words
Ella’s POV
A loud sound, this time a siren, suddenly blares before his fingertips could reach my mask.
“Is that another one of your traditions?” I ask.
Alden’s brows furrow immediately. His hand freezes midair while his sharp gaze scans the ballroom. Around us, the guests begin murmuring in confusion as the cheerful atmosphere dissolves almost instantly.
The siren continues to scream through the estate like some kind of omen clawing through the night.
“No,” Alden mutters as he slowly lowers his hand away from my face. “That’s the signal for—”
The grand ballroom doors suddenly burst open.
One of the Bloodmoon sentinels rushes inside looking completely out of breath, his clothes stained with dirt and streaks of blood.
“Alpha!” he shouts desperately. “The western fences have been breached!”
The entire ballroom erupts into chaos.
“What?”
“How the hell did that happen?”
“Who breached it?”
The sentinel swallows hard before delivering the next blow.
“We have hostile forces inside the territory!”
Now that gets a real reaction.
Several guests immediately step away from the dance floor while others begin shouting questions over each other. Even some of the Alphas who were acting relaxed earlier now look visibly alert.
For the first time tonight, Alden actually looks tense.
Cassius suddenly appears from the crowd and quickly strides toward us. His eyes briefly flick toward me before leaning down to whisper something into Alden’s ear.
I don’t miss the way Alden’s entire expression darkens afterward.
“I’ll handle this,” Alden says coldly.
Then he turns toward the ballroom guests.
“Everyone stays inside the ballroom until further notice. My men are already securing the estate.”
A scoff immediately comes from somewhere in the crowd.
“You’re telling us your territory got breached during a gathering full of Alphas?” Cedric says sharply. “That’s one hell of a security failure.”
Several others begin voicing their frustrations too.
“How does something like this even happen?”
“You invited us here and your borders collapse in the middle of the party?!”
“This is irresponsible!”
Alden slowly turns toward them, and the temperature in the room seems to drop instantly.
“It would be far more irresponsible on my part if I allowed whatever’s outside those walls to walk in here and make a feast out of my guests.”
That shuts everyone up.
“Now, kindly excuse me while I deal with these party poopers.”
Without that, Alden motions toward Cassius and several of his men before striding out of the ballroom.
The massive doors slam shut behind them.
Panic settles in the crowd of guests trapped inside this spacious ballroom. Not even some of the Alphas could appear unbothered by such blatant threats outside these four walls.
A few moments later, Zane finally returns carrying two glasses of champagne completely ignoring the wary whispers of the people around us.
He hands one to me before glancing around the tense ballroom.
“Well,” he says casually, “did something interesting finally happen?”
I take the champagne from his hand and smile before taking a slow sip.
“We’re yet to find out.”
**
Alden’s POV
“How many are they?” I ask as we make our way across the estate grounds.
Norris, one of my Deltas, immediately falls into step beside me. His face is pale beneath the moonlight and his breathing is uneven from running.
“We can’t get an exact count yet, Alpha, but…”
“What?” I snap impatiently.
Norris swallows hard.
“There are enough of them to crush three patrol units and rip through reinforced perimeter fences.”
Son of a b***h.
Silo, one of my Gammas, rushes toward us before bowing his head quickly.
“The intruders are already inside the territory, Alpha. We think that they’re spreading across the perimeter and waiting for an opening before they strike again.”
I let out a slow breath through my nose, my gaze sweeping across the black tree line wrapped around the estate.
Fuck. They could be anywhere. Hiding just beyond the mansion grounds or maybe farther out in the residential complex where my people live.
Why? Any werewolves should have left a scent, and I have the sharpest to detect them.
Cassius walks beside me with his hand resting near the weapon strapped against his side.
“You think it’s the rogues again?” he asks grimly.
“Let’s hope that’s the case.”
Because if it isn’t, then this night is about to become far worse.
Because if it isn’t rogues, then somebody far more dangerous just walked straight into my territory.
Noir stirs violently beneath my skin at the thought.
“Finally,” he growls with excitement. “Something worth sinking our teeth into.”
I suppress his enthusiasm immediately.
Calm down. This isn’t the kind of fun you think it is.
A dark chuckle rumbles through my head. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
I step forward and let my wolf take over.
Black fur rapidly spreads across my skin as my body enlarges into the massive form of my black wolf. Beside me, Cassius has also shifted into his gray wolf. The others follow suit, their wolves emerging one after another.
I throw my head back and release a thunderous howl across the territory. The others answer instantly, a chorus of snarls and howls ripping through the night before we charge toward the direction of the destroyed fences, tearing across the estate grounds with enough force to shake the earth beneath our paws.
Truth be told, the perimeter fences look nothing like the fortress walls I poured millions into years ago.
Five-meter electrical barriers now hang in twisted ruin across the estate grounds. Thick metal wiring is ripped apart like cheap rope while steel posts lean sideways into the dirt. Some sections are completely flattened while weak sparks flicker uselessly from broken cables.
What the f**k did this?
No ordinary rogues should be capable of tearing through reinforced barriers this easily. My worst assumption is being proved right the more I inspect the surroundings.
Noir snarls inside my head as we race past the destroyed perimeter.
We continue running through the estate grounds while keeping our senses alert for movement. The deeper we go, the stranger the silence becomes.
Then suddenly, bushes near the training grounds rustle violently.
Cassius immediately bares his fangs beside me. We charge toward the sound. Several others charge alongside me as we burst through the bushes ready to rip apart whatever’s hiding there.
But instead of intruders, we find Nico. One of my Gammas.
He’s sprawled against the ground completely naked with ropes cutting harshly around his wrists and ankles while a filthy gag is shoved into his mouth. Bruises cover most of his body.
Did they do this to him?
Cassius quickly tears the restraints apart with his teeth while I yank the gag from Nico’s mouth.
Nico immediately chokes on air before scrambling upright in panic.
“Alpha!” Nico gasps desperately. “They’re heading toward the mansion! They’re planning to—”
Nico’s head jerks violently before blood sprays across the ground. His body collapses instantly.
Cassius’ wolf form lets out a choked snarl that unmistakably sounds like, ‘what the f**k?!’
Every wolf around me erupts into snarls.
I whip toward the direction of the shot near the tree line closest to the residential complex. My growl rips violently from my throat as I charge forward with the others right behind me.
But by the time we reach the trees, there’s nothing there. And I can’t scent a f*****g thing!
A loud explosion suddenly tears through the night.
The force rattles the ground beneath our paws hard enough that several wolves skid across the dirt before regaining balance. I whip around toward the source of the blast just in time to see fire erupting from the eastern wing of the mansion.
Thick smoke rapidly climbs into the sky.
Fuck. The east wing!
The ballroom sits inside the main wing directly connected to the east side through the central halls. The fire hasn’t reached it yet, but if those flames keep spreading, they eventually will.
A vicious growl rips from my throat as I whip my head toward three Sentinels behind me before jerking it sharply toward the mansion. They immediately understand the order and sprint ahead toward the main wing to secure the guests still trapped inside the ballroom.
The rest of us charge straight toward the burning east wing.
By the time we reach the mansion grounds, flames are already pouring from the library windows. Burning debris crashes from the ceiling while smoke rolls across the marble entrance halls. If we don’t stop this soon, the fire’s going to swallow the entire connecting wing.
Cassius growls beside me as we force our way through the ruined entrance.
The heat inside is brutal. Through the smoke, silhouettes slowly emerge from deeper inside the library. I count through squinted eyes. There are at least fifteen of them.
Massive wolves step through the smoke one after another.
Werewolves? But their bodies appear larger for ordinary werewolves. Some are nearly the size of me—an Alpha. And there’s some strange, almost rabid glare in their eyes.
What the hell are these things?
- Writer
