Chapter 142: Chapter 142

/Aiden's POV/

To distract myself after the near depressing talk with my father, I decided to visit the training ground. I silently leaned against a tall pole while observing the guards shoot with a bow. Their targets were dead birds carcasses strapped up in a low hanging stand, and the goal was to hit either three or four within a few minutes.

Crossing my arms together, I watched as one of the guards shot an arrow—with the wrong technique, of course, it missed and flew feet away from striking any bird. I could sense the tension in the air that vibrated in waves from the guard from being observed. With the war looming over us, we had no choice but train.

I felt sick to my stomach as I watched him completely mess up the whole process.

"Try again!"

I rolled my head lazily and sighed with defeat. When another arrow came flying away from a bird carcass, I slumped my shoulders and pushed off the tree. Slowly I trudged over to the guards, their brows raised in confusion about my behaviour.

Raising my hand, I motioned for the guard to lower his bow. "Always remember that posture is the key. Your legs are slightly bent, and you're leaning back too far. Stand straight," I placed one hand on his chest and the other on his back to show him the correct position.

"O-Okay, Alpha." He shakily murmured.

"What are you doing?" I heard a familiar sound. My head snapped up, slightly startled at the intrusion. No one ever seemed to disturb me while training but my beta. Liam stood, leaning against one of the white pillars holding up the ceiling with his hair was slicked back.

"Training." My bones were still tingling with the exhilaration from all the weight lifting I did a while ago, sweat clinging to my brow.

After talking with Liam, I asked the beta to take a much-needed break. He had been running all morning and also terribly missed his mate. She's not back yet. I shuddered at the situation, especially now that Rose's pregnant. The thought of sending her away even for a day terrified me and made my wolf whimper.

The beta tentatively stepped inside, eyes perusing the room with an admiring look on his face. His lip quirked upward as his eyes slid over the guards training in the corner. Shaking his head, he quietly pulled me away and sat down on the bench on the right, careful as though afraid to ruin the ambience.

The wrinkle between the betas brows had deepened, but his eyes were set to his left like he was pondering something with care. Taking a deep breath, he finally met my gaze. "Damon and Ria are here to see you. I asked them to wait in the council room."

The breath knocked out of my lungs at the mention of Ria, my former best friend. She was almost successful in sabotaging my relationship with Rose. I held grudges for a long time, and this would be one of them. Even though she apologised in the past before leaving, it meant nothing.

"W-What? Why are they here?"

"I don't know!" Liam huffed. "You should go and talk to them. They are waiting."

"You should have made some excuse."

"Aiden Damon is not your enemy."

"I know that." I let out a sigh, rubbing my hands over the face. What did I do to deserve this? As if my problems weren't enough already. Ria was not someone I wanted to talk with, but I had no choice.

"Then don't treat him like one. He is here to see you talk with you. Go now!"

"Alright, alright!"

Dragging my feet out of the training ground, I rushed to the council room.

***

I pushed past the door and stepped inside, two heads snapping at me. Under their intense gaze, I walked along, watching as Damon closed the distance between us. I cleared my throat, opening my mouth to greet him when he punched my arm.

"Ow..." I winced, palming my side as I glaringly met my friend's eyes. "What was that for?"

"For keeping me in the dark, you idiot! How can you do that?!"

I blinked at him, confusion marring my face, eyes flickering towards Ria for a second, who hid her smile. The beta appeared healthy, skin flushed, and the light reflected off her ring.

"I know all about the war!"

"Oh." I breathed. "How did you find out?"

"I have my ways. Still, I cannot believe that you did not tell me anything, Aiden." The Alpha made a wounded noise, his lips twisting. "Do you not consider me a friend anymore? Is that what it is? Ever since I heard about the war news, I could not catch a wink of sleep."

"It's true." His mate chirped from behind.

"Like an outsider, I had to find about it through my guards."

Ria stepped forward in my direction, causing a lump to form, body stilling in the spot. The beta also expressed her disappointment for being kept in the dark. She's not a pack member, so technically, I was not obliged to tell her, but still, I played along. Her eyes were still glinting with something, though, as she spoke and part of me felt like we were back in the old days. The other part, significantly smaller in size but just as ferocious, embraced the pinch in my stomach that appeared each time and reminded me we could never go back to being friends anymore.

"You both continue talking while I go see Rose. It's been a long time....." The beta looked at me as if silently asking for permission, to which I contemplated. Will my omega be happy to see her? Quite the opposite.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Damon flickering his eyes between us, so I nodded.

Her face lit up at that, a slight, impish grin spreading on her lips. She quickly excused, and I internally prayed that Rose would not get angry at me later.

As soon as she closed the door, I turned to Damon and explained everything that went down. He was supportive and heard me out, promising to get his pack guard on the border right away. There were talks of Reece leading the pack now that their Luna was injured and in the enemy's pack. It was possible that he expanded his army by recruiting the rogues and small packs.

"So they can strike anytime, huh?" I let out a exhale, shoulders slumping in defeat and slouching in the chair. My mind was suddenly playing a collection of pregnant rose, my hospitalised mother and bedridden father slides. At least for their sake, I need to secure the pack.

"Yes. I am sorry, Aiden." Damon patted at my side, his mouth twisting.

"Don't be. We are going to win this." I said, fingers curling into fists, a glint in my eyes.

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted us, my head tilting towards the door to find Liam. The beta fumbled, droplets sliding down the side of his face, hands clasped together and chest rising and falling as if he ran all the way here. He ran up to us, bending and catching up on his breath.

"Slyvie...they found her."

Chills ran down my spine at those words, body stilling in the spot. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth, a lump lodging in my throat at those words. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Damon standing up from his chair, the sound of legs scraping echoing around the room. Black spots danced in front of my eyes, vision blurring and the background noises fading for a few seconds.

I did hate Slyvie for fuelling my abandonment issues and never wanted to see the omega again but not this way. Never this way.

"What do you mean found her, Liam?"

The beta wheezed, swiping a hand over his forehead. "Slyvie is unconscious, so I had her admitted to our pack clinic. The guards found the omega a few miles away from our border."

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I regained my voice, standing up from the chair. A relieved sigh escaped my lips, knowing that she was being treated in our Pack clinic. Blinking at the beta, I parted my mouth, a sudden realisation coursing through my body. "So we can see her, right, Liam?"

"Of course. But not now. Why do you want to see her now anyway? She's still getting treated by the doctors. They promised to give me a call later."

"Not now but soon. I am sure once Slyvie regains her consciousness she can tell us about her attacker. There's a high possibility that they must the same person who attacked my mom and Rose."

"Yeah! Could be." The beta hummed under his breath.

"Let's go then!" I turned to look at Damon, who nodded his head.

***