Page 52 of Ruthless Reign

I nod, understanding his concern. "I'm staying here," I answer. "This is my home—at least for now. I'm going to help protect it."

"Then I'm staying too," Maverick shoots back without hesitation. "Besides, if Nyx is the one that Orson wants, then it only stands to reason that he will follow where she is."

"How confident are you with that?" Lex asks in a serious tone. "Because Orson will probably do the unexpected. We don't know for sure that it's Nyx he is after."

Frowning, I glance over to Cade for his input. I'm surprised to find his head down, scanning over paperwork. When he senses me looking, his eyes dart up, smiling. "Don't mind me. I'm just looking at this map that you guys have drawn up."

"Of the territories?" I ask, remembering how we tried to pinpoint and distinguish any patterns between the packs that had disappeared.

He nods. "You have written here that there's a curve."

"That's right," Alpha Daxton says. "But nothing prominent in terms of order. We were starting to investigate if the White Pack vanished by unrelated means to the celestial events."

"Well, maybe not the order," Cade starts, frowning. "But there's certainly another pattern forming."

We all stare at him with perplexity, wondering what we missed. The furthest we got before things went south was looking into nearby packs that could have potentially had it out for the White Pack—presuming they weren't sucked into theoblivion by the universe. Alpha Kingston was little help when we asked—only grumbling that everyone had enemies.

"What do you see?" Lex questions, eyebrows furrowing.

Cade circles his finger around the paper. "Territory invasion, perhaps? It's hard to say but even though the disappearances are sporadic, it's leaving large patches of unclaimed land. And they are all centering specific packs."

"Kingston did say that the White Pack was considering expanding their territory," Maverick notes with a frown. "If another alpha got wind of that, then they would want to put a stop to it. But to make them vanish completely? That's insanity. They would have to have a strong motive to go to such an extent—especially if they intended for this to be the end result."

"Wait," I interject, holding my hand up. "Are you saying it's entirely possible that one pack intentionally wiped out another, not just for the land, but to spark mass fear? Essentially making other packs think they were disappearing on purpose like the Great War… andstarting a new war?"

The idea that someone would intentionally start a celestial war is even harder to comprehend than packs sending out hunters. But if what they are saying is true, that a pack intentionally started it—they are the reason for the hunters. And even worse, they are the reason that the universe had to take matters into its own hands to restore balance.

"It's possible," Cade says, and my heart sinks at how somber he looks. It's the most crestfallen I have seen him and for some reason, I hate it.

"It makes sense," Maverick replies lowly. "A domino effect. All they had to do was make the first move, then sit back and watch everything crumble around them as other packs scramble."

I shake my head. "But how does that make sense? If someone wiped out an entire pack, wouldn't the universe instantly be like 'You're bad. Bye' and obliterate them?"

Lex looks over at me, deep in thought. "Not if they weredefendingthemselves in the first place. If what Kingston said is true, and Thom was trying to start a territory war, a pack has every right to defend their people and land. And if he pissed off the wrong person, it's possible that they used it as an opportunity to start this mess. Then, other packs would send out their hunters, tipping the scales. Their own actions wouldn't even come into question."

"And once other packs start disappearing, territory would be up for grabs. It would be unclaimed," Cade adds.

Alpha Daxton runs a hand across his face. "Terra nullius? It's certainly an easier alternative than entering into a war with a pack. They would just have to wait until the pack vanishes, then there would be no one to stop them from taking over the land and expanding."

"We need to look back at our notes. Which packs were we going to look into regarding the White Pack's disappearance?" Maverick questions, turning to Alpha Daxton.

He flicks through some paperwork, pausing when he finds the right one. Eyes scanning over it, his expression hardens, putting me instantly on edge.

"Which ones?" I ask, dreading the answer.

Looking up, he locks eyes with me as his voice darkens. "Wyatt's neighbors—the Moonlight Pack… and the Seventh Circle."

Chapter Twenty One

Nyx

I promptly excused myself from the meeting after the unexpected grenade dropped and detonated in our faces.

I know I'm supposed to be strong, and apparently some amazing future mediator—sarcasm intended—but the realization that Alpha Orson is an even bigger asshole than we imagined meant I needed to call for a time-out.

Thankfully, the alphas were fine with me stepping out, and I called Lena, asking if she wanted to have lunch. It's been so long since we were able to hang, and right now, I need some normalcy more than ever.

It's been one explosion after another. Just when I start to get a handle on one thing, something else blows up in my face. It's no wonder that alphas are cranky all the time—Cade being the exception. Dealing with this is exhausting. Not only physically, but mentally too.

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