Chapter 25

Y/n's POV.

My fingertips trace the folded edges of the book hidden deep within the shelves. The binding looks weak and frail as if the pages could turn to dust at any moment.

I had spent the last few hours reading about the history of the Blood Pack and how it compares to the Shadow Pack. Nothing too surprising showed up. Just a few contradictions between dates and who actually won previous battles.

Not much complaining can be done, I'm sure our textbooks are filled with just as much bias as these books.

My eyes stop at a small journal, nearly crushed between the other books. Carefully, I slide it out flipping to the first page.

₳ ₦Ɇ₩ ₲Ɇ₦Ɇ₮ł₵ ₥Ʉ₮₳₮łØ₦ Ⱨ₳₴ ฿ɆɆ₦ Đł₴₵ØVɆⱤɆĐ ł₦ ₮ⱧɆ ₮Ɽł₳Ⱡ ₱Ⱨ₳₴Ɇ₴. ₴₱Ɇ₵ł₥Ɇ₦ 5924 Ⱨ₳₴ ⱤɆ₱ØⱤ₮ɆĐ ₮Ø ₴ⱧØ₩ ₴ł₲₦₴ Ø₣ ₳₲₲ⱤɆ₴₴łØ₦ ₳₦Đ ĐØ₥ł₦₳₦₵Ɇ ØVɆⱤ ₮ⱧɆ Ø₮ⱧɆⱤ ₴₱Ɇ₵ł₥Ɇ₦. Ⱡ₳฿ ₩ØⱤ₭ ₩łⱠⱠ ฿Ɇ ₵Ø₦ĐɄ₵₮ɆĐ ₮Ø ĐɆ₮ɆⱤ₥ł₦Ɇ ⱠɆVɆⱠ₴ Ø₣ ₮Ɇ₴₮Ø₴₮ɆⱤØ₦Ɇ ₳₦Đ ₴Ø₥₳₮Ø₮ⱤØ₱ł₦.

My eyebrows furrow at the strange language and wording. This document must be really old judging from the wording and condition of the book. I flip to another page.

ⱧɎ฿ⱤłĐ ₴ɄⱤVłV₳Ⱡ Ɽ₳₮Ɇ₴ Ø₦ⱠɎ ₴ⱧØ₩ 15.7% ₴Ʉ₵₵Ɇ₴₴ ₳₦Đ Ø₦ⱠɎ 7.3% ₣ØⱤ ₦Ø₦-₵₳₦łĐ₳Ɇ ⱧɎ฿ⱤłĐ₴. ł₮ ł₴ ₳₴ ł₣ ₮ⱧɆ ⱠɆ₱ØⱤłĐ₳Ɇ ₳₦Đ ₣ɆⱠłĐ₳Ɇ ₳ⱤɆ Ʉ₦₳฿ⱠɆ ₮Ø ₳₵₵Ɇ₱₮ ₮ⱧɆ...

I turn the page only to find a large tear in the book. Leaning past the shelves, I observe everybody else in the palace library paying no attention to my movements. Taking the book, I carefully slide it into my bag and walk outside of the library.

Yoongi and Jungkook need to see this. It's unlike anything I've read before. Briskly, I walk down the corridors towards our rooms, bowing to the few servants that pass me by. Just as I am about to take the first step down the stairs, I hear a door slam shut beside me.

I look back at the door, my foot hesitantly hovering over the step.

My mind is playing tricks on me.

I place my foot down, but I hear another thud against the door and a soft gasp barely noticeable through the walls.

My eyebrows furrow. I definitely heard something the second time. Tracing my steps back, I stand in front of the door.

I carefully press my ear against the stained wood

...

...

My eyelids snap open and roughly I slam the door open.

"The hell—" growls a voice.

A deep rumble resonates within my chest, my fangs inch out with animosity. Donghyun leans on top of a desk while a curvy she-wolf straddles his lap.

A new feeling of revulsion bubbles inside of me, "Are you kidding me? A servant?"

The Delta groans in distaste, shoving the she-wolf off and putting his shirt on. "Maybe you should mind your own business, Alpha."

An array of bites and hickeys trail down his neck and his hair is disheveled in a ridiculous manner. He roughly shoves his shoulder past mine and walks out of the doorway.

I stand there, slightly in shock. The she-wolf bows her head towards me in apology while brushing away her messed up curls, clearly embarrassed by the situation I caught them in.

A sarcastic scoff leaves my lips, "Figures.." I mumble.

As I leave the room, Donghyun just so happens to be traveling in the same direction as me. I stand a couple meters away from him, but I can't help but strike up an amusing conversation.

"So do you normally fuck around in the palace? Or is it just my lucky day that I happen to catch you in the act?" I smirk silently while I descend the stairs, but he doesn't respond. I only happen to catch a frustrated grunt and the slight tightening of his jaw.

"Don't be so cross, Delta. Although, I did just cockblock you—"

He grumbles to himself, "Fucking hell, you're so obnoxious."

"You know I'll take being insulted over those absurd compliments from you any day," I couldn't help snicker in victory.

He huffs bitterly, not in the mood to continue our banter. We pass by a few more corridors eventually leading to the point where we turn different paths.

A rushed voice approaches from the direction Donghyun is going.

"Tighten border security and double the number of guards near the North and East district. I don't care what the locals will say, this is a serious matter." Luna Seoyeon and another wolf hurriedly make their way through.

"Luna Seoyeon!" I call out.

She stops letting a sigh filled with agitation, "Not now, Y/n."

My eyebrows furrow with concern as she ignores me and tries to pass by. Like a reflex, I pull her back by her arm, my fist clenches because of my uneasiness.

"Seoyeon what happened?" I stared right into her eyes insistent on knowing.

She tugs are arm away from my grip, "Two of our messenger wolves have gone missing outside the pack and there have been a few sightings of rogues trying to cross the border." Seoyeon pats down her sleeve, trying to remove the wrinkles I caused from my grip.

My jaw drops slightly before closing shut, "Where were they heading?" The fire in the lamps placed symmetrically down the hallway seemed to burn brighter than before.

Donghyun casually leans to the side observing our exchange.

"Y/n, I don't have time for this. I need to talk with the Betas," she calls the other wolf, "Prepare the meeting room as soon as possible. I want all the high-ranking Deltas there as well."

"Luna, where were those wolves going!"

My breathing is erratic and my eyes burn velvet red, complimenting my sudden outburst.

Seoyeon's golden eyes surface in response to mine, "West."

My glare falters as I shake my head in disbelief.

"They were heading west towards your pack."

———

I stand in the back corner of the room thinking silently to myself. Even though the Luna is quite adamant in keeping the issue confidential, a few of the higher Deltas and the Betas allowed me to stay during the meeting.

My nails dig into my palm leaving a burning sensation in my hand.

"How valid are these sightings? Rogues tend to pass by every now and then, how is this any different?"

My foot constantly keeps tapping against the back wall as I suppress my desire to act now. The sun is falling soon and my wolf desperately wants to do something instead of aimlessly lolling around.

"Are you discrediting my sources, Delta? I'm not surprised considering your lack of attention for your own district. No wonder those illegal fights keep happening in the East District—"

They bark at each other and eventually, a Beta has to intervene.

"Enough of this! Regardless of the validity, we need to take extra precaution and double border patrols." Jongyul steps forward between the two wolves, "As for the two messengers, a search party will have to be sent."

Luna Seoyeon interjects, "We don't have the resources to send a search party. Doubling border patrols already places a strain on our number of trained wolves we have, and we can't forget to dispatch more guards to the hunting grounds."

Many Deltas murmur in agreement, easily disposing of the two missing wolves. Oh, how badly I wanted to voice my opinion, but this is not my pack. It isn't my place to interrupt here.

"We can't just leave those wolves out there," Seungri speaks up. The other wolves turn towards him and the Luna slightly huffs to herself.

His eyes glance towards me, "They were carrying important information regarding the alliance between Blood Pack and Shadow Pack. What if they're alive. We can't just leave them out there to fend for themselves." I acknowledge Seungri and he nods back in agreement.

The Luna exclaims, "Who will go—"

"We won't be stretching any resources. I'll take some wolves in training for a few days and we'll be back as soon as we find the two missing wolves," Seungri reasons.

"Bold of you to assume they're still alive..," a Delta in the meeting room retorts.

Snarls fill up the chamber and I try my hardest to quiet down my own wolf.

"Quiet!" Luna Seoyeon pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration, "If you believe the wolves are still alive, Beta Seungri, you are free to gather a search party. But, keep in mind they haven't contacted the pack's mind link since they left our borders."

A sigh of relief escapes my lips.

Seungri bows in gratitude, "Thank you, Luna."

The Luna huffs in annoyance before continuing the meeting.

It takes a few hours of planning and organizing to increase border security around the pack. All that needs to be taken care of is the execution. There is talk of a curfew, but the threat is not serious enough to have a unanimous vote.

"Seungri," I walk up to him, just as the meeting ends, "I'm joining the search party."

He looks at me for a second, "You're not going to let this go aren't you?" We walk out of the chamber to the hallways.

"I trust in my pack that their borders are secure, but the contents of the letters those wolves were carrying were extremely important. Something isn't right, Seungri. I need to know what really happened to them."

"Look," He stops in his tracks, "I can't stop you. The Luna mentioned rogues acting up near the border before. We may find nothing out there." His lips earnestly form a thin line.

"I'm aware." From the corner of my eye, I see Jungkook waiting for me. Taking a step back, I slightly bow towards Seungri, "I meet you at dawn with the other trainees."

He sighs in acknowledgment, "See you, Y/n."

Jungkook treads beside me as we walk back to our rooms. The sunset glimmers as purple and pink hues shine on the golden walls of the palace. From outside the windows we already see a new group of guards being sent past the Inner City walls.

"How long will you be gone?" Jungkook silently brushes past me, still thinking over all the details of the meeting I had told him earlier.

"It won't be more than perhaps three days if we keep on track. I'm worried about the younger wolves joining us. Rogue fights can be deadly." My mind wanders, thinking about the journey tomorrow and if we will be able to reach the missing wolves in time.

Jungkook hums in concern, "You don't want Yoongi and I to come?"

"No," I reply, "It would be too risky for us if my suspicions are correct. I need you guys to stay here and look out for anything strange."

"Yes, Alpha." An encouraging smile forms on his face. The corners of my lips curl up, but the daunting journey still rests on my shoulders.

Only time will tell what happened to those wolves and what will happen to the rest of this pack.

AU Fact: Hybrids ar̸͎͝e̸̠̔̚ ̸͚̭͍̋̐̽a̴̱͘ṇ̷̤̾̄c̵̲͍̬͑ỉ̴̧̲ě̸̥̦̅͝n̴͔̈̐ͅţ̶͔̉͝ ̸̟̺̲͝c̵͖̮͚͘r̸͔̋ḛ̸͛̿a̶̱͋͐͝t̴̗͛̓̚ủ̴͔͍̃̈́ṙ̵̟̈́̑é̴͙͕̺̈s̶͉̞̒̇͝ ̶̮̜̝͌̑̉k̴̬̦̉ň̶̤ỏ̶̳̪̬̏͝ŵ̶̮̂n̴͚̞̓ ̶̝̣̭̊t̵̺͉̳͘ó̶̬͈ͅ ̴̘̹͙̄͠b̵̮̉ẽ̶̞̫̤ ̸̡̜̞̋t̷̲̖̗̄̈́ḧ̶̫̜̻́̓e̶͓͎̐ ̵̝̃͆f̴̬̊i̴̞̣̳͊̒͠ȑ̸͔̣͕̇̈́s̸̢̒t̵̲͔̜͛̽̅ ̴̞́̐͝ů̴͚͔̒̕n̸̺̊̌̑í̸̖͆̈́o̶̬̔̊n̸̞̆͆ ̵̖̹̬̉̈́ḅ̶̞̑̃ë̸̳ţ̸̱̯̉̇̈́w̸̳̝̫̍è̶͉̙͉̀ẽ̴̙n̸͔̻̤̓͑̾ ̸͇̇́m̷͓̗̰͐̽â̴̻̑n̶̜͔̈́́̇ ̴̯̜͛a̷̝̋͘n̷̰̹̻̿̋d̴̨̟̗̍͋ ̶̗̙̣͆̐a̷͉̾͆n̴̻̉̽i̶̪͂m̶̥̐͆ả̷̭̮͑̓l̵͇̐͛.̵̞̯̹͋̔

Thank you for reading! ;)