Confession

Standing behind the crowded room, Kieran was amazed by the number of wolves that were present. That was his first time seeing the whole pack in one room and it wasn't what he had expected. It was no wonder they didn't hold the pack meeting at the pack house and was holding it in an abandoned underground hall which seemed like their actual meeting hall. It was big enough to accomodate a thousand people. The pack members gathered there should be nothing less than a thousand.

From where he stood, he could hardly see the Alpha who was busy addressing his pack. He stood at the very top with Tessa and his Beta beside him. Everyone wondered why the Beta was wearing an eye patch, but after listening to him and the Alpha speaking, explaining their encounter with a member of the Black Lotus, they understood but also wondered just how strong the enemy was for him to be able to take on two of the strongest Betas in the pack and inflict such damage.

Kieran couldn't spot Derek anywhere. He wondered where he was and what he was up to. They had arrived earlier to the Alpha's house when Tessa received the call from Vee. He left the motel with Tessa and followed her home. He saw how worried she was and didn't want her to drive in that state. He had the opportunity to see them and the state they were in. they looked pretty beat up. Though they were recovering their stamina and strength a little faster but their wounds were healing slowly.

Tessa and Vee helped clean and dress their wounds. Kieran's dislocated arm was healed already but not his stomach. After hearing about their encounter, the Alpha immediately called an emergency meeting. One hour later there they were, gathered and listening to him. Back at the Alpha's house was the last time he saw Derek.

"Who are you searching for?" Vee whispered into his ear.

"Man-bun, I can't see him up there with the others" Kieran replied.

"Yeah he never left home. I think he's still too weak to move so much. You know he lost a lot of blood" She explained. She knew that was a lie, Derek was pissed, hence his absence. Seeing Kieran come into the house, Tessa got him angry. That told him for a fact that they had been together.

"I see" He shifted his eyes back to Tessa. He thought about what happened back at the motel. He couldn't make sense of it as that was the first time he felt something like that. It scared him. He knew something was definitely going wrong inside of him and the problem was Tessa. He had spent too long in that town, with her pack and with her. 'It was time to leave' He thought to himself.

"You've all heard what the Alpha said. This isn't a threat to be taken lightly. We fought just one of them and got our asses handed to us easily. This is a testament to their strength. That is why we are increasing patrol around the borders and its going to be rotated with no gap. Everyone should be at alert. We wouldn't want to be caught off guard anymore. Our defense should be tighter now more than ever while we plan for offense" Beta Maynard added to what the Alpha had said.

He hadn't expected things would take such a turn. He knew from an informed point of view that it would be hard to take down Silas but he didn't think it would be so easy for them to be defeated. Granted they didn't know about his special visual prowess, but he didn't think he would be losing an eye. Now that he knew his special power, The Beta knew going against him next time would be much better than now.

***

The Alpha stood in the main hall with Beta Maynard beside him, both of them staring at the main door which was going to be opened very soon. "How is the eye?" Alpha Darius asked. He knew the enemy was definitely strong if his right hand Beta encountered him and came back missing an eye. Beta Maynard was his right hand man not just because of how strategic he was and how loyal but because he was the strongest in the pack after himself. Only an Alpha could take him down.

"It is healing but slowly as expected"

"I see...and you say he has the ability to control your wolf?"

"Yes. He could control when you retract your claws and bring it out, forcing your wolf back in or forcing it out. If we knew that beforehand we could have come up with a Plan to counter it, upping our chances of defeating it together" He explained

"True" The Alpha nodded. "At least now we know the abilities of two of their members. This Silas and his controlling ability, and the one who attacked Alpha Damon, who has the ability to control wolves and turn them into his personal army"

"Yeah...they do have some disturbing and troublesome abilities" Said the Beta.

"Why do you think Alpha Damon decided to send his twins instead of just one Beta like we all did?"

"If I have to guess, then I will say for safety reasons. He might think our pack is the safest right now for them seeing as we are the largest and have the strongest manpower. One fourth of his pack was slaughtered by the attack of just one member of the Black Lotus. I would do the same for now if I was him also" Beta Maynard explained

"That makes sense. Our Betas should be arriving the various packs right now too" Said the Alpha just before the large steel door creaked open. "They are here...where is Tessa anyway?"

"I think she is with Derek"

The Alpha sighed, staring at the visitors as they were approaching. He stared at the twins as they got closer. They were much matured physically than he had imagined. They were still kids since he last saw them. He had to remind himself they were age mates with Tessa. "Welcome to our pack" The Alpha announced as they stopped in front of them.

"It's an honor to meet you Alpha Darius" Nate bowed slightly with respect.

"Yeah" Cassie added nonchalantly, joining in the bow.

"Welcome to our town and home. We'll take you where you will be staying in the meantime. Let's hope this chaos would be over soon and everyone dispatched to our various packs, including yourselves" Beta Maynard said with a smile.

"Yes sir" Nate nodded with a smile

Cassie scoffed with disdain. She would rather be home even if it was up in flames. She loosened her tied up red hair, letting it fall freely to her back. "I will like to go now. I am pretty tired from the journey" She stated.

"Of course. I will take you to your temporary apartment and when you've rested we'll invite you over so you can fill us in with what happened to your and the message your father has for us" Beta Maynard pointed out before leading them away.

The Alpha watched on as he led them away. Sending Betas to each pack was liking signing a contract concerning joining forces together and forming an alliance against a common enemy. It was to ensure trust and avoid betrayal and also to keep ahead with the plans. This happening was telling him how real things were getting. He sighed and began heading for his quarters.

***

Tessa continued staring at Derek who had his back to her. She could sense his emotions and they were higher than they have ever been. He was so angry that he was avoiding looking at her in her eyes. She knew why he was angry but didn't think he would be that mad, so mad that he was practically fuming. "Where were you?" He asked again. She had been avoiding answering the question 'cause she knew it would just set him off more. " You were with him, weren't you?.....he was the reason you left so early? The reason you practically jumped out of bed, leaving me there alone isn't it? Am I wrong?"

"I..."

"What is it Tessa? What is it about him that's got you this way?" He finally turned to face her and she immediately saw the rage in his eyes. Rage for her or probably Kieran. "You barely know him, he's a weak Omega but still you now pay more attention to him than you do to me. We are supposed to be together. Its always been you and I" He explained, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"I am sorry...it's just...."

"Do you love him?" He asked, cutting off again.

"What?" She stayed at him too stunned to speak. She wasn't expecting he would ask her that.

"DO you love him?" He reiterated

"I...I..."

"Your hesitation says a lot"

"I didn't say anything" She argued with pleading eyes.

"Exactly" He replied, picking up his jacket. "You have to choose right now. It's either me or him. You choose to be with me and never see him again or you choose him and you lose me" He gave her an ultimatum and began walking toward the door.

As soon as he walked past her, her voice stopped him. "Derek..." She called and paused, feeling a tear run down her eye. "I can't do this anymore" She confessed. She didn't want to be that kind of person who would kick you while you were already down but she didn't want to keep hurting him and setting him off always. Their relationship has always seemed forced to her. The kind that ends in something like a contract marriage.

Growing up together, she loved him. More like a close friend. So when he confessed his feelings for her when they were older, she was afraid to hurt his feelings and to pretend that her heart forced her into thinking that love was a romantic one. Shes been trying to learn to love him just as much as he did love her since then. But instead, now with Kieran in her life she was experiencing and feeling something new.

"I am not choosing him over you and I don't want to lose you either but I don't think I can do this anymore, hurting us both" She explained.

"Understood" Was all he said before exiting the room.

Tessa knew she just did the one thing she's been avoiding for years, and that was hurting him. She knew it would be best to give him some space at the moment so as not to make it worse. She knew just how dangerous his anger could be.

She walked over to her bed and sat down at the edge, wiping the tears off her face. She had avoided what just happened for years but now she just did it. As much as she would like to think it was a personal decision she made solely by how she felt, she also knew at the back of her mind that Kieran was one of the reasons, the reason that pushed her over the edge.

Tessa kept on wiping off the flowing tears. She felt terrible, sad and guilty. She sniffled, tilted her head up toward the roof to try and stop the tears from flowing. Few seconds after she did, she heard footsteps fast approaching. She swiftly brought her gaze back to the door just before Vee rushed in. "Hey! Are you okay" Tessa asked with a cracked voice.

"He's leaving" Vee blurted out, looking a bit out of breath.

"Who?"

"Kieran" She replied immediately.

"What?!" Tessa jumped to her feet with a scared look clearly visible on her face.

"After the pack meeting, I dropped him off at the pack house and that's when he told me he was leaving town. That he had overstayed more than he planned to. He said I should promise to tell you after he was gone so you shouldn't be worried..." Vee paused when her friend breezed past her, making a beeline through the door. She quickly ran after her.

***

Vee gave a sigh of relief when they arrived at the pack house in one piece. With how Tessa drove, she thought they were bound to get involved in an accident. She parked and jumped out of the car when she saw Kieran who was just about leaving. He stood in front of the pack house, watching as Tessa approached him. She decided to just watch from the car so as not to interrupt.

"You were just going to leave?" Tessa blurted out, stooping in front of him. She was clearly pissed and scared. "Without so much as saying anything to me?....you're just going to leave after everything?"

"We both knew I was going to leave soon" Kieran finally spoke with a serious expression.

"When we first met you told me this pack peeked your interest. That I did. You can be a member of this pack. You can stay, you don't have to leave" She explained, her eyes welling up again.

"You don't even know me Tessa" He pointed out, wondering why she wanted him to stay so much.

"Well I want to"

"Why?"

"Because I think I am in love with you" She blurted out.

Kieran stood speechless with widened eyes. He was too stunned to speak. Vee gasped, amazed at her friend's confession. She wasn't expecting that but she felt excited for her.

"I think I am in love with you Kieran....so don't go" Tessa said calmly and softly, staring directly into his eyes with tears running down hers. "Please" She added softly