[Avira]
It took me longer than usual to complete cleaning out the rooms in the quarters. My heart was heavy, and so were my feet, and my entire body at large. I couldn't stop my thoughts from drifting back to the Alpha's crown which was sitting on the chair in one of Beta Maverick's room.
While I cleaned, I thought of ways we could return the crown before Alpha Demian would noticed...
What was I saying? Didn't the warriors mention the missing crown to the Beta? It only meant that Alpha Demian was aware of the missing crown which could only mean doom for the pack member who had taken it. In this case, Beta Maverick and me.
I thought instead of ways to put the crown back with out being seen but it was pointless. It was daybreak already, and news of the missing crown had travelled round so that every member of the pack was aware, and on the lookout for anyone who could be in possession of the crown. Maybe I shouldn't worry too much about the crown. Maybe I should trust that Beta Maverick had a plan. He had to, it was the only reason he didn't seem bothered that I could think of. But I couldn't help being worried.
Although I had nothing to do with the missing crown, I had a feeling that it would be tied to me eventually. I felt that I would be punished along with the Beta if he was caught. Maybe it was because I was the Beta's ward and a non-member of the pack or maybe it was one of the pack' many barbaric laws that the sin of one, affected every member of his household. Perhaps the maybes are pointless. Didn't I suffer the same fate in the pack that was supposed to protect me?
I shook my head slightly to push the thoughts aside, I have succeeded everyday for the past three years now to keep that experience and the memory of it buried deep inside me, and today wouldn't be an exception. I dragged my heavy feet from the main house, and headed for the kitchen after cleaning out every room. It had taken me over three hours to get the rooms clean, and it had nothing to do with the state of the rooms. I have cleaned the rooms in worse states before and within a shorter time.
Beta Maverick was outside, covering the holes in the compound. His swift movement suggested fear than it did haste, and his fear only made me more afraid. Not even his position as the pack's Beta would save him from Alpha Demian's wrath if he finds out.
Once I got to the kitchen, I brought out the dishes that needed to be washed, and started work immediately. My daily routine of sneaking food into my system did not appeal to me today. My heart was heavy, and I didn't feel like eating anything. The thought of Alpha Demian's crown which was in one of the Beta's room drained the fun and enthusiasm which usually accompanied my little acts of rebels against the pack.
I tried to distract myself by paying attention to the dishes but my mind just wouldn't be distracted. It always found a way to drift back to the crown and to the throne which I could picture in my mind's eye to be in ruins.
I imagined Alpha Demian stripping the Beta of his position, and the others coming together to kill us both so that when Beta Maverick screamed my name from outside the kitchen at that moment, my first reaction was to stop dead on my tracks while my heart hammered heavily against my chest.
I did not resume breathing until Beta Maverick's voice registered in my head. I left the dishes, and still breathing hard, I went to him. He was under the tree, at the spot where the rocking chair used to be. The broken pieces of the rocking chair had been gathered in a heap, and pushed to a corner so that there was enough space for him to stand in the spot.
"I'm leaving for the Alpha's quarters," Beta Maverick informed me, and even though I was both afraid and surprised at the same time, I kept a neutral expression. I was surprised that he was telling me, and with a light tone. I was scared that he was going to the Alpha's quarters. What if Alpha Demian saw through him, and discovered somehow that he was the rogue Wolf.
I wanted to ask the Beta what he intended to do about the crown but then there was a pending punishment I was yet to receive, that I could receive in the slightest slip so I kept my mouth shut, and watched as Beta Maverick hurried out of the quarters, towards the Alpha's.
As I returned to the kitchen to resume the dishes, I wished silently that neither of us would get into trouble as a result of the Alpha's crown which regrettably was now in our possession.
I rushed through the dishes, and eyeing at the heap of laundry before me with so much disinterest, I repeated my earlier resolve in my head I would do laundry tomorrow, not today.
Then I heard it.
The unmistakable sound of the Alpha's gong which usually indicated an immediate summon of every member of the pack.
Although I had expected it, the sound still managed to cause me to shiver. I know why Alpha Demian had summoned the whole pack, and what he was going to address, and I knew how involved I was in the whole thing, even though I was not directly involved.
The gong went off for the second time, about two minutes after the last which showed the urgency with which the summon was being made. Usually, it takes about five minutes for the gong to go off the second time, and about ten minutes after the second time for it to go off the third and final time. I pushed myself up, and headed for the main house to get dress just as the gong went off for the third and final time.
The gong has sounded less than a minute after the second, and like the others before it, it was louder than usual, and held so much anger.
I hurriedly changed into a black sleeveless gown. It was easy to wear, and the the I laid my hands on. We might begin the hunt right now if Alpha Demian so pleased, and with my current state, I was ready for a shift.
With so much haste, I stepped out of my room and strolled out of the main house after putting on the dress, and headed for the Alpha's quarters.
As I expected, there were other pack members hurrying down to the palace, all of them with a confused expression about them which was no surprise.
None of them knew about the Alpha's missing crown or the throne which was in ruins now, so the sudden summon was bound to stir up confusion among the others.
As usual, none of the other pack members tried to initiate a conversation with me, none of them acted as if they could see me even, and more than ever I was relieved. Now was not the time to socialize with anyone, not when I could sense danger lurking around.
But someone was staring at me so intently that I could feel the gaze from behind me. I continued my walk without turning to see who it was. There was no point turning around, whoever it was, could go to hell for I care.