Chapter 10

Golden Moon Pack – Alpha Gregory’s Bedroom Gregory POV I reclined on my bed, a satisfied smirk playing on my lips as I watched the omega hurriedly dress up. After she was done, she stood at the door of my room, her gaze lowered downwards as she waited for me. Sighing, I opened the drawer beside my bed and counted off some wads of money, which I threw in her direction. I watched with a smirk as she bent down, picking up the money as fast as she could before slipping out through a side door. Omegas were weak, but they were the best fuck mates anyone could ask for. Closing my eyes in relish, I tried to remember what I had planned for tomorrow, hoping I could also catch a few winks of sleep before dawn. But just as I was about to slip into sleep, a knock on my door had me squirm. Deciding not to ignore it, hoping whoever was knocking would get tired and leave eventually, I placed the pillow over my head and closed my eyes tightly. But once again, my peace was shattered by the insistent knocking. Cursing, I sat up wondering who it was before Vanessa’s voice called through the heavy oak door. “Father? We need to talk. Now!” I sighed, pulling on a robe before walking over to the door, which I opened. My daughter brushed past me, her nose wrinkling slightly at the lingering scent of sex in the air. Her eyes narrowed at the rumpled bed and my dishevelled appearance. “Dad?” she said, with disgust in her tone. “Is now the time for this? Didn’t you promise that you’d stop sleeping with these servants? When are you going to learn that...”. “Vanessa!” I called sharply, my expression hardening, “Watch your tone. What I do in my private time is none of your business. Now what was so urgent that you couldn’t wait until morning?” I saw her struggle for a moment... I knew she wanted to cuss out, but decided against it. Making a big production of spraying the air with the room freshener, she sighed and spoke again. “This is no time to celebrate, Father. We cannot afford to be celebrating until we’re sure Lily is dead, which she isn’t,”. She took a deep breath. “Lily is still alive, Dad. I’m so angry right now because how in the name of the moon does that girl keep escaping unscathed?” she growled. My eyes widened for a moment as I searched her face, looking for signs that she was joking, but after a few seconds, she didn’t even crack a smile. She was being serious. “How can she be alive?” I asked. “Explain,”. She rolled her eyes again and sighed, “The leader of the rogues was trying to reach out to you; they called you several trying to see if there was a way you could delay Lily, but of course, you were so busy tending to your desires that you forgot that we had more important things to do,”. “Vanessa!” I called out sharply, “Haven’t I warned you about using that tone with me? Do you want me to ground you?” “You dare not, father,” she scoffed, placing a hand on her hips as she gave me a defiant look. “We’ve talked about business before pleasure every damn time. You tell me this every day, but you always do the opposite of what you preach.h It’s so frustrating, and if I don’t say, you won’t stop. So please... whenever we have pressing issues, it would be good if you try to concentrate for a few hours,”. “Fine!” I shook my head. “Now tell me why she’s still alive,”. “The rogues we sent after her... they sort of lost her,” Vanessa reported, a hint of fear creeping into her voice. “She crossed into Alpha Kai Ryker’s territory, and you know how he is with rogues. So, he sent his warriors after them. He said he lost a good number of his men, and that means we would have to compensate him for that,”. “I see!” I stroked my beard as I thought about the entire situation. After a few minutes, I burst out laughing. “Is that all?” I asked my daughter, who was staring at me with surprise on her face. “Then we have nothing to worry about,”. “Nothing to worry about?” she stared at me in disbelief. “Dad, Lily is still alive! She could ruin everything we’ve worked for, and you say it is nothing to worry about?” I waved my hands dismissively, nodding. “Yes. You see, Kai Ryker is known for his... aggressive ways of handling trespassers. Just like he hates rogues, he hates people showing up to his pack unannounced and without proper permission. If Lily had managed to escape the rogues, she wouldn’t last long in his territory. If my guess is right, she would be in their underground dungeon now and will be killed by the end of this week if she doesn’t confess to being a spy. So, don’t worry, he’ll do our work for us,”. “And if he doesn’t?” Vanessa Press, ed. “We can’t take that risk, Father. We need to be sure that he’ll kill her. For all we know, she might have escaped from his pack to another pack. I considered her argument for a few minutes, deciding it was valid. Then I nodded. “Very well, I’ll send an emissary by dawn to Royal Hunter’s pack – Alpha Kai’s pack. They would go under the pretence of expressing their concern about rogues being spotted in the region. From there, they can confirm if he apprehended any or if she’s there,”. “That sounds like a good idea,” she nodded, seemingly satisfied. “Let them leave at the first light of day. So that if she isn’t there, we can start looking for her in other packs. I’m going to bed now, I’m so tired,”. I nodded and placed a kiss on her forehead before she turned to leave. At the door, she paused and turned back to face me. “Dad,” she said, her voice low and cold, “Remember you said you did everything for mom,”. The words hung heavy in the air between us. I could feel the accusations in her words as well as the salient threat. Without waiting for my response, she left, closing the door firmly behind her. Finally, alone, I fell into silence as I went over Vanessa’s words again. Wondering if I was living up to her expectations. I moved to the bookshelf in my room and pulled out an old, leather-bound album. With trembling hands, I opened it to reveal a picture I hadn’t looked at in years. It was a picture of a beautiful woman smiling straight into the camera, her eyes filled with love and warmth as she cradled a baby in her arms. The baby – Lily- gurgled happily, one tiny hand reaching for her mother’s face. I traced the features of the woman with a gentle finger as memories came flooding back. Even though the woman was not my Luna... thoughts of hthoughts er still haunt me till today. Pulling out the picture from the album, I murmured her name. “Evelyn!” For a moment, I allowed myself to remember... but then my expression hardened once more. With a growl, I pulled a lighter from my desk drawer and held the flame to the corner of the picture. I watched as the fire slowly consumed the image, erasing the smiling faces of both mother and childwhile I watched on with cold detachment. As the last part of the picture crumbled into ashes, I murmured. “Lily, you won’t be needing this anymore,”.