200 The bold little troublemaker

Damien

What was that?

The room shook violently, a deep rumble rolling through the palace walls like something massive had slammed into the ground far away. The heavy oak table rattled hard under my hands. Dust trickled down from the ceiling beams in thin gray lines. Everything trembled for several long seconds before the shaking finally eased and the room grew still again.

I stayed exactly where I was, seated in my high-backed chair. I raised one brow slightly, scanning the chaos. The elders seated across from me looked terrified. Their faces had drained of all color, turning a sickly pale. Their eyes darted around frantically, up at the ceiling, over to the walls, down at the floor, as if they expected the whole palace to come crashing down on them. Their hands gripped the edges of the table so tightly that their knuckles stood out white.

Behind me, Jason shifted his weight. I could feel the sudden tension radiating off him. He frowned deeply, his body going rigid as he scanned every corner of the hall, one hand hovering near the hilt of his blade, ready to draw at the first sign of real danger.

One of the elders swallowed hard. His voice came out shaky and thin. “W-what is going on?” He glanced around again, eyes wide with panic. “Was that an earthquake… or are we under an attack?”

Another elder shook his head quickly, though his entire frame was still trembling. “What are you saying? Under attack? We can’t be under attack. Who would dare attack the Crimson Pack, our alpha pack? Do they

have a death wish?”

A third one nodded in agreement, sweat already forming on his forehead. “Right. It is not possible. Nobody would dare attack the pack… but what was that just now?” He paused, lowering his voice like he was afraid to say it too loudly. “Even though it was a little far, I can feel a powerful oppressive aura. Is something in the pack?”

The elders exchanged nervous glances.

I didn’t speak right away. Instead, I leaned back slowly in my chair and tilted my head just a little, watching them in silence. My cold blue eyes stayed calm, almost bored as I observed their trembling forms. They always reacted like this when they faced me, shrinking back, bodies shaking as if I were the real threat in the room. It had stopped surprising me a long time ago.

I glanced at the large clock on the far wall for the fifth time that hour. The hands were moving far too slowly today.

Just like yesterday, I had left the Warrior Rite and returned to the palace to handle pack matters. Normally, I only showed up on the first day as a formality, then left the rest to Yara and Kauis while I focused on real duties here. That was how things had always worked. I didn’t need to linger. But things were different now.

Lately, I kept finding excuses to go back to the training grounds. Whenever I had even a small window of time, I caught myself heading there. And right now, sitting in this meeting, I couldn’t stop thinking about going there. I couldn’t wait to return.

I couldn’t wait to see her again.

Jason had noticed the shift in me. He hadn’t said anything directly yet, but I could see the questions in his eyes whenever he looked at me. He knew I was acting differently, making decisions that felt strange, breaking routines I had followed for years. It didn’t bother me the way it probably should have.

I had never been the kind of man who let things eat at me, especially not when I could control them and simply chose not to. I wasn’t the type to deny myself something I wanted. I wasn’t about to start now.

Especially not with her.

I still didn’t fully understand why she was affecting me like this. She was just one woman, bold, defiant, and

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2001 The bold little troublemaker

somehow always pushing back against everything I represented. I wasn’t used to noticing anyone this way. I wasn’t used to my thoughts drifting back to the same person over and over, or my body tensing with

anticipation at the idea of seeing her again. It irritated me a little, this pull I couldn’t quite explain. But ignoring it felt even worse.

All I knew for certain was that I wanted her. And I was going to have her.

My voice finally cut through the heavy silence. “I called you here for an important meeting. You will all be entrusted with a critical matter.”

Every elder turned their heads toward me at once. Their eyes met mine, and just like always, they instinctively leaned back in their seats, bodies trembling harder. That familiar fear flashed across their faces, as if they were staring straight at something dangerous.

One of the oldest elders swallowed hard, lowering his head in a deep bow. His voice came out respectful but shaky. “Thank you for entrusting this matter to us, Alpha Damien. We will do our best to make sure you’re satisfied with whatever you want us to do.”

I didn’t say anything. I just sat there, my cold blue eyes resting on them calmly.

Jason stepped forward from behind me. He handed each of the elders a document, one by one. They took the papers with confused looks, glancing at each other as if trying to figure out what was happening.

One of them muttered under his breath, “This is the first time the Alpha has given us something to do in a long time. I wonder what it is.”

Another nodded slowly. “It’s probably very important. The Alpha is a rational man. We don’t need to worry about anything.”

They started whispering among themselves as they opened the documents. At first, small smiles appeared on their faces, like they were pleased to finally be given a task directly from me. But those smiles dropped almost instantly.

Written in bold letters across the top of the page were the words.

Famine Preparation.

The elders paused, staring at the words in confusion. They looked up at me, their eyes meeting mine for a brief second before they quickly looked away again, as if my gaze burned them.

The oldest one bit his lip nervously before speaking. “A-alpha… famine? Is there famine in the pack? Why do we need to prepare for famine?” His voice trembled slightly. “There are no signs of famine in any part of the world. Or are there any signs of famine?”

All of them turned to look at me then. Even Jason. He stared at me with the same confusion in his eyes. None of them understood why I was suddenly concerned about something like famine when there was no indication of it anywhere.

I looked at them for a long moment, my fingers tapping slowly against the wooden table. The sound was soft but steady in the quiet room. Finally, I spoke, my voice lazy and unhurried.

“Someone told me that.”

Everyone blinked. They stared at me with wide eyes, their faces filled with pure shock, like they couldn’t believe the words that had just come out of my mouth.

One of them, still clearly stunned, said, “Impossible. Alpha Damien believed the words of someone just because they told him? How is that possible?”

Another elder leaned forward slightly. “That is not even the question you should be asking. You should be asking who that person is. Who would make the Alpha of the Crimson Pack, the man who trusts almost no one, believe that there would be a famine? Not only that, he even made a plan to prepare for it in the pack. That person must be dangerous.”

My lips curled up slightly at the corners. My eyes flashed as the thought crossed my mind.

Dangerous? That was an understatement

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She was different from everyone else. She did whatever she wanted without caring about consequences or who stood in front of her. She didn’t care that I was Alpha Damien. She looked at me with those fierce eyes and spoke her mind like it was nothing.

They were right. I had always been a rational man. I didn’t do things unless there was a clear, logical reason. I never acted on blind faith or someone else’s word. But this time, just because she said it, I believed her immediately. There were no questions, or demands for proof. I had simply started making preparations. The elders began whispering among themselves again, forgetting themselves for a moment in their shock. Their voices overlapped in low, hurried tones as they tried to make sense of what was happening.

The elders were still whispering among themselves, their voices low as they tried to process everything. My fingers had stopped tapping the table. Instead, I ran my hand through my hair, pushing it back from my face, and tilted my head slightly as I looked at them.

“Keep your mouths shut,” I said, my voice calm but firm.

My crimson eyes flashed for a brief moment. A small wave of my aura slipped out. The elders instantly went rigid. Their bodies started shaking harder, the whispers dying in their throats.

“That is enough,” I continued, leaning back in my chair. “I have made my decision. The plan written on the document will be followed. That is all. Leave.”

The oldest elder bowed low immediately, his forehead almost touching the table. “Yes, Alpha Damien.”

The others followed right after, bowing quickly before they gathered the documents and hurried out of the room. Their footsteps echoed down the hall until the door closed behind them.

I watched them go, my expression unchanged. When the last one disappeared from sight, I turned my head toward Jason, who was still standing behind me.

“Go to the rite. Find out what happened. I know you’re worried about your brother.”

Jason looked at me. For a second, it seemed like he wanted to say something, maybe ask why I was suddenly preparing for a famine that made no sense, or question the strange tremor from earlier. But when he met my firm gaze, he swallowed whatever was on his mind. He nodded once and bowed respectfully.

“Yes, Alpha.”

He turned and left the room, the door clicking shut behind him.

Now the hall was completely empty. Only the faint sound of distant footsteps remained before fading away.

I placed my hand on the arm of the chair, resting my face against it for a moment.

“Stop hiding and come out, Phoenix,” I said quietly, turning the chair around to face the large window behind

There, sitting casually on the wide windowsill with a smirk playing on his lips and a handful of berries in his hand, was Phoenix in his human form. He looked completely at ease, as if he hadn’t just been eavesdropping on a private meeting.

“We meet again, Alpha Damien,” he said, his voice smooth and amused. “The only werewolf that can destroy a god.”

He smiled wider, popping one of the berries into his mouth before continuing. “Oh, you’re not the only one now. Another powerful person has been made.”

I stared at him for a long moment, my crimson eyes narrowing slightly. The words hung in the air between us. Another powerful person. My mind immediately went to her, the bold little troublemaker who had somehow shaken things up without even trying.

I didn’t speak right away. Instead, I just watched him, waiting to see what else he would reveal. Because if Phoenix was here, showing himself like this, it meant things were shifting faster than I had expected.

And for the first time in a long while, I wasn’t entirely sure where this path was leading.

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