Page 107 of Caged Between the Beta & Alpha
“Of course I have!” I stated before my frown faded away, and I realised what he meant.
He nodded with a small smile. I had never seen a stupid forearm size shaft in there…. yes, he was big, but not that traumatizingly big…Fuck, Liam, you’re so dead!
I was still fuming, and Taylor breaking into snickers every few minutes didn’t help.Goddess, I can’t believe I fell for that. Urgh, I’m so angry right now.
Liam had mind-linked not long ago to ask everyone to report to the packhouse meeting room. Taylor, Nina, who had come to my room with more vases, and I walked down the stairs together.
“I wonder what it’s about...” Taylor murmured.
“Maybe they found something?” I suggested as we entered the large hall that was extremely full.
“Maybe.” Taylor glanced around at the number of pack members that were gathered here. From my quick estimate, I thought two-thirds of the pack were there…
I saw Liam standing there at the head of the room, talking to Zack. Well, mind-linking… Liam was just nodding, his arms crossed with one hand on his chin. The frown on his face made me realise that he was still very much cold towards others, although, at times, I saw him bring those walls down.
More people crowded in. Taylor and I made our way through the throngs of people until we reached the front and I realised that there were no children there. Uncle El was there, but Aunty Red wasn’t, and neither was Damon’s mom.
“I know you all probably have a rough idea of why I’ve called you here. However, with one more murder taking place, I think we need to put down some more measures. Initially, I didn’t want it to come to this, but my hand is being forced, and, as much as I hate this, if push comes to shove, I will put everyone under Alpha command to weed out the killer,” Liam said, his eyes flashing dangerously. “Three people have been fucking killed already. This isn’t a joke, so I’m going to put some drastic measures into place.”
Everyone was silent as some exchanged looks. Others were worried, whilst some waited to hear what he meant.
He turned, and his cold cerulean eyes met mine. His gaze raked over me, making my stomach flutter before our eyes met for a fleeting moment, and he turned back to the gathered pack members.
“I won’t hide the fact that every member of this pack, including myself, my Beta and my Delta, have been cross-checked. Those who have alibis that are absolute will be the ones I’m putting on guard duty from now on. I know some of those accounted for are not warriors, but they will be given charge of the surveillance.” A ripple of murmurs and uncertainty rushed through the room, and I frowned. That would drastically cut patrols by a lot…
“I know this isn’t ideal, however, it comes down to the fact that anyone could be the killer. They could be in this very room with us, finding this a fucking joke... if you’re here then I’d like to say something. “Liam continued, “I will find you, and when I do, you’re going to fucking pay. For every person you have killed and hurt, directly and indirectly, you will pay for your crimes.”
A wave of unease crossed the room. I saw a few people glance at one another. Fear… un-trust against onceanother… that was beginning to seep into the pack…
“The rest will be put under strict curfew. I don’t care if you have jobs, work, or whatever to do, at eight in the evening, everyone is to head home. If rules are broken, I will start putting fucking electronic tags on people, and I fucking mean it. Dismissed!” Liam said coldly, about to turn away.
A murmur of shock crossed the room and even Damon and Zack looked at Liam in surprise. It was clear they weren’t expecting that part. Uncle El frowned deeply. I felt someone needed to give the people some hope. Liam was about to turn away when I quickly rushed forward.
“Wait! Li- Alpha, can I say something?” I asked. He turned back, frowning slightly as I stopped right in front of him.Oh, I will bust you about the stupid forearm thing later, but right now these people need some light.
“What is it?”
“It’s about the last death,” I said quietly.
He frowned and nodded. Those who had been about to turn away stopped. I looked at the group and gasped when Liam lifted me onto the table that stood behind them. A few people chuckled and I glared at him. I’m not that small! Well, now I was a foot or so taller than him and I had a good view of the room…
“I know everyone has things to do, I also know we are all feeling super scared and worried… I am too... but it’s okay to feel that way. I won’t take too much of your time.” I began playing with my fingers. “The last victim was my mother, Kimberly, or as most of you knew her, Kim. I was the one who found her body.”
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the room. I even saw a few suspicious looks but I didn’t mind. It was human nature to look for something or someone to blame. It was our way of coping with things.
“I know things look rough now, but I promise things will get better. We will find the killer, and although the measures are harsh,” I said, looking at Liam. I was not going to sugar-coat the truth. “They are there for a reason. To protect us and our people. That’s all we can do right now, and I’m sure we will get to the bottom of this soon enough.”
Many nodded, I felt the worry from them ease slightly. Damon gave me an approving smile and nod, Uncle El was smirking ever so slightly, and Zack nodded in agreement to my words. I looked at Liam, who was observing me with an emotion in his eyes that I couldn’t read. He stepped closer to the table, but I jumped down before he could even lift me down.
“I need to talk to you about something,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. He cocked a brow and nodded.
I’ll be stopping by tonight.
Okay,I said, my stomach fluttering.
I turned to Zack and Damon, looking at Damon. He deserved better... I would talk to him the next chance I had because he did not deserve this, at all.
“Nice speech, Luna,” he said with a wink.
