The Alpha's Gift Bride

Chapter Six

Five hours ago…

Clyde entered his office and shut the door behind him. Then, he walked to the coat rack at the corner of the large office and hung his coat.

He had just finished a three hour long meeting with the pack elders. Not only was he tired, he was worn out.

He walked to the swivel chair behind his desk and settled on it. There was a heap of files lying on his desk. They were reviews he needed to attend to regarding the affairs of the pack.

Clyde lifted his hand and massaged his temple lightly, feeling obviously stressed out. But, he had to do his job.

He picked one of the files and opened it to read. However, just then the door opened with a bang and a familiar figure skipped in.

It was Leanne, Clyde’s sister. She was putting on a red banquet dress that hung down her toes. There was also a cloak attached to it from behind draping over her and trailed after her as she walked.

Clyde looked up at her. When he saw her appearance, he heaved an helpless sigh. He leaned back and folded his arms before asking, “How many times have I told you to knock before entering?”

But, the girl didn’t reply. In fact, she acted as tough she didn’t hear him.

She walked over in her trailing regalia and posed in front of him. She flapped the broad shoulders length sleeve of her dress towards him and smiled mischievously.

“What do you think of my attire?” she asked, disregarding the helplessness in his voice and the obvious frown on his usually cold face.

Clyde looked her over without a word. He seemed obviously resigned and used to her ways.

“Leanne, I’m busy. We can do this later.”

But, she shook her head in disapproval.

“No way. We’re doing this now. I have to know how I look before wearing it to the ceremony.”

It was only then Clyde remembered that there would be a coming of age ceremony that day. It was the first one held by the pack so it was treated with utmost importance and everyone was preparing for it.

But, he had been busy dealing with the issues that were prevailing recently and it had long skipped his mind.

“Brother…” Leanne called out when she saw that he had zoned out on her. She stomped her feet and approached him, giving him a snack on the forehead.

At that moment, she looked like a rebellious kid that deserved a spanking.

Clyde glared at her rubbing his forehead lightly, “Damn it.” Then, he inched closer and asked seriously, “Leanne, do you not fear me at all? Everyone calls me a cold and ruthless man but you dare to hit me. Do you think I won’t beat you up?”

He looked serious. His expression was drawn and he kept a long face.

But, this only looked hilarious to the girl. She burst into laughter, hitting her chest as she laughed.

“Brother… fear you? What’s there to fear? No matter what I do , you won’t punish me because I’m the only family you’ve got. You can’t bear to make me cry.”

She laughed even more as she said this, twirling around in her red dress. Clyde looked at her and sighed, obviously resigned.

But, she was right. She was the only one left he could call family. After all that happened that year, he could remember well how life had been for both of them. The things he had to do to protect both of them.

He couldn’t even bear to let anything bad happen to her.

Leanne grinned before saying, “I’ve answered your question. Let’s talk about my dress next.”

Clyde looked her over casually and answered perfunctorily, “It’s good.”

This instantly made Leanne’s expression fall. She outed and poked at him.

“You’re deliberately making fun of him. It looks ugly, right?”

Clyde released a small smile, obviously finding her antics funny. Then, he said, “It looks good but a little showy. Don’t you think you’re dressed a little excessively? It’s just a coming of age ceremony.”

But, Leanne shook her head seriously.

She held her temple and said, “Which is why, I have to make the best preparations. It’s only a one time thing so it has to be the best.”

Then, she stood up from the sofa she was sitting on and added, “I’ve got to prepare. See you later.”

Before Clyde could answer, she opened the door and left, disappearing down the hallway.

After she left, Clyde sat quietly for a moment. His head was lowered and his fists were clenched tightly.

A few memories flitted through his mind. He could hear the screams, the shouts and plea for mercy. As he thought, his mood depressed and a heavy aura hung around him. His eyes were red and scary.

This internal tussle went forth for a few more minutes until he suddenly lifted his hand to his heard. It was as though he wanted to block the loud noise ringing in his head.

Eventually, he stood up from the chair and paced around the room for sometime, looking extremely tense and anxious. He continued this motion for more than two minutes before walking towards the door.

He turned the knob and the door sprang open. Almost immediately, all the guards standing guard in front of the door turned to look at him simultaneously.

They were all scared silly by how red his eyes were. One of them even blurted out subconsciously, “Alpha…”

Clyde glanced at him without a word before walking out of the office and passed by the towards the hallway. As he walked, he came across several pack members.

As he walked past them, they subconsciously made way for him staying far from the man. His face was cold and he had a fierce expression on his face that scared people several meters away.

But, Clyde wasn’t in the mood to care about their reactions. He was tense and frustrated. He tugged at the collar of his shirt constantly in a bid to release stress.

He left the surroundings of his office and strolled around the entire pack, coming across several pack members along the way. He finally halted at the doors of a large building.

The building was tall and large. There were several guards standing guard around it. The place was surrounded with tight security.

Clyde beckoned to one of the guards. The guards walked over and bent over, “Alpha.”

But, Clyde didn’t look at him. He gestured towards the closed doors and asked, “Has anyone entered today?”

The guard shook his head. “No, alpha. No one has entered except you.”

Clyde looked at the guard silently for a moment before retracting his gaze. He looked at the tower for a moment before retrieving a bunch of keys from his shirt pocket.

He walked to the lock and inserted one of the keys into it. Then, he turned the key casually. The lock clicked and the door creaked as it opened up.

The man returned the key into his pockets before stepping into the large hall.

The hall was large and wide. It had a medieval setting. The walls were tapered with ancient Roman curtains and they had all Nolan stripes on them. A long and wide red colored tapestry was spread onto the entire floor. There were also two statues of lions at each end of the room.

A pulpit was erected gallantly in the middle of the hall. There was a small cylindrical shaped glass tube on it.

There was nothing unusual about them but it was evident from the blue colored streak of light that dazzled round the glass, glowing beautifully around that part of the room, that they were not ordinary.

Clyde walked into the hall. His steps were light and steady as he walked through the door.

He strode towards the pulpit quickly and his steps were quick but steady. Then, he peered into the glass and when he saw the tiny blue colored stone lying in it, he heaved a sigh.

Then, he moved away from the glass. There was nothing wrong with the gem. There was nothing to worry about.

The security around the gem wasn’t lax and it was especially tight. Not even a rat could go in. The only thing was to prepare for the ceremony.

He took another look at the glass before turning to leave the hall. He walked back to the doorstep. But, as he took a step towards the door, he had a doubtful feeling. Immediately, he turned to look at the gem and saw that it was still glowing.

There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it. But, why was he feeling so apprehensive as though something bad was about to happen?

He gave the gem another look as though he was deliberating before walking back towards it. Then, he opened up a mind link that connected him to his beta.

He opened up the glass and picked the gem before saying through the mind link, “Lucas, I need you to do something.”

Almost immediately, a male voice sounded back in his mind.

“What’s that, alpha?”

Clyde opened his palm to look at the Stone in it. The gem glared back at him in its beautiful color. “Where is the most abandoned place in the pack?”

Lucas who was at that moment dealing with some important matters of the pack felt his forehead crease due to the unusual question the Alpha asked. But, he still answered regardless.

“It’s the dump yard behind the pack house. No one goes there.”

“The dump yard?” Clyde asked.

“Yeah,” Lucas replied. “Is something wrong, alpha?”

Clyde paused for a moment before answering, “There’s nothing wrong. Go on with your duty.”

Then, he disconnected the mind link