Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Cardinal conference, the mother of all gatherings amongst the twelve wolf tribes, was held annually at the Goddess' Crescent, also known as the great wolf's headquarters. Every year, all pack members would gather there for the grand event which involved performing an ultimate sacrifice to honor and worship the Moon Goddess.

That was a very crucial sacrifice that no tribe dared to miss out on. Everyone could not attend of course, but the law stated that every single tribe must be represented on the sacrifice ground, and even though the Lotus Pack members did not really had the chance to attend, a representative from the pack should join in the ritual. The Beta of the Lotus Pack, Beta Valledor, was usually the one to represent and had been doing it for a few years.

Amongst all the warnings and proceedings of the great sacrifice of the cardinal conference, only one wolf tribe dared to flout the rule of representation, and that tribe was none other than the great Silver Pack. The greatest of all tribes. Some even said that they were greater than the Goddess herself, since they did not deem themselves low enough to mix with the other eleven tribes to perform the sacrifice at the conference. They did not attend, nor did they send representatives, but no one dared to challenge them about that. The reason for that being the great Alpha of the Silver Pack, Alpha Damian, who was strong, ruthless and feared by all the other packs. Before the rogues attacked, the Silver Pack was a normal tribe, no different from the other packs, and they also suffered from the attack as much as the other packs. But after Alpha Damian took over, the pack started having countless victories against the enemy and they prospered. No one dared to stand against them.

That year's conference was to be graced with an opening event, an Alpha marriage between the Princess of the Lotus Pack and the Alpha of the Night Shadow Pack. The next day, an annual sacrifice was going to be offered to the Moon Goddess at the ritual grounds. All Pack leaders had been gathered for the great event of the wedding and then the sacrifice.

Everyone knew that the Lotus Pack would not survive another war single-handedly. That was why they needed to join forces with a mightier pack in order to keep possession of their territory; a marriage between the Lotus Princess and one of the mightiest pack leaders would lend the needed support. But the marriage would no longer happen because it had been called off by the Lotus Princess.

"We have arrived, Princess." The driver calling her interrupted her thoughts. Then she realized she was so lost in her thoughts, not even realizing that the driver had been calling her.

"Oh! Um, sorry. You don't have to wait for me. I'll come home myself," she said with a smile, and then alighted the vehicle. She had a complex feeling as she gazed up at the tall skyscraper in the Goddess crescent's estate. She walked into the building after the car drove off.

When the wolves who were wandering near the reception realized that the Lotus Princess had arrived, little murmurs and whispers were heard and they began exchanging conversations amongst themselves. Miranda could clearly hear the conversation because of her enhanced senses thanks to the Alpha bloodline that connected her. She could clearly hear two Omegas gossiping about her in the background.

"Psst. Hey, isn't that the Lotus Princess? What is she doing here?"

"Didn't you hear? Tomorrow marks the beginning of this year's cardinal conference, and it's her wedding with the Night Shadow Pack's Alpha that will grace the opening."

"The Alpha of Night Shadow Pack? You mean Alpha Walden? Wow! It must have taken a lot for him to agree to marry someone lowly like the Lotus Princess. But wait! I thought he'd already chosen his Beta's daughter as his mate?"

"I don't know. He values her more than the Princess, but maybe he simply wishes to help the Lotus Princess as the pack has nothing left apart from their few elite troops. They've been reduced to the lowest. I even heard that the pack mates have lost their privileges to attend the cardinal conference for a couple of years now. Only one member of their pack is allowed to be given a reservation because of the law of representation."

"That explains why no one sees them around here. No one would even want to be associated with the Lotus Pack, not with all the bad luck they are having."

Miranda felt uncomfortable hearing the gossip surrounding her. She felt the need to close her ear and to shield off any other sound coming to her ears. In order to distract herself, she went to the front desk to ask about the whereabouts of the Beta.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes?" The lady politely answered her as she hung up the phone she was speaking on earlier.

"I'm looking for Beta Valledor. He's the representative from the Lotus Pack for the conference this year."

"Oh! Yes, I think he mentioned he was expecting someone. Let me place a call to his room."

The receptionist dialed the landline number in his room number but he did not pick it up. She hung up after a few unsuccessful attempts.

"I'm sorry ma'am. I guess he isn't in his room. Please wait while I confirm with my other colleagues about his whereabouts."

"Thank you," Miranda nodded and went to sit down in the waiting area. The only problem of waiting there was that her ears picked the gossip from the two Omegas again.

"I honestly feel so bad for them. Their Princess is getting married and her people cannot witness the occasion."

"The cardinal conference committee is discriminatory. Speaking of the privileges, there is a pack that does not care to always abuse them, the Silver Pack. They deem themselves so high and mighty, refusing to pay their respects to their creators by not attending the conference. Every year, they refuse to come, nor do they send any representatives. And that Alpha of theirs doesn't care about abusing the traditions."

"Shh. Be careful of what you say about him in public. All the other packs fear Alpha Damian. He is ruthless and kills mercilessly. You can never know if he has spies lurking around here."

"I cannot help but speak the truth. The Silver Pack is inviting the wrath of the Goddess by ignoring these customs every year. One day, they'll pay for this."