Adams' POV

"You have been invited to be a witness at the wedding ceremony between the Silver Crest pack and the Green Forest pack . Both are marrying their children off to each other to seal the alliance between their packs," Ronan, my royal Beta, reported as he walked into my office with a pile of documents that needed my attention.

"Oh! The two are forming an alliance?" I asked with a raised brow, and my Beta shrugged. "I was just as surprised as you are, considering the bad blood that was between them previously. But then again, the rogue activities in their territory have increased in recent years and even in the past three months, and I'm guessing they have finally realized they have a mutual enemy that needs to be fought together," Ronan explained.

"When is the wedding? Am I attending as a guest or as the Alpha King to witness their union?" I asked as I went back to reading the mountain of files on my table. I could never get a break from work, no matter how much I tried. Before I could finish one, there was another waiting to be attended to.

"It's next week. And you are invited, as the alpha king, to sign the cooperation between the two packs," Ronan replied as he handed me the invitation that was sent with my name on it.

"That quick? How long has the preparation been going on? Are those two getting married? Why would I need to sign a cooperation agreement? It's not a merger," I asked curiously, and Ronan shook his head with a complicated expression.

"They aren't mates." He replied.

"I'm not entirely sure what is going on here either. Beta James and his wife were executed just a few days ago under the charges of treason and collision with an enemy pack, and according to the information I got, James' only daughter was Raider's mate, and he had just broken off their bond the day of her parents' execution. What a heartless fellow; he could not even allow the girl to mourn her parents properly," Ronan cursed, and as I sat back into the chair, my curiosity piqued.

I could already see the politics at play from the little information he had given. It was obvious there was a large trap being made around the Green Forest pack , with River being at the center. As the Alpha King of the werewolf race, I have seen and experienced all sorts of schemes amongst other Alphas and even amongst the ones I call family, enough for me to recognize a scheme at its early stage.

'However, what was the goal? To have more land?' I mused. 'Silver Crest has more territory than the Green Forest, so that should not be their motivation, but is there something we are missing? Maybe something bigger?'

"River is being played," I stated, and Ronan nodded with a mixed expression.

"I also share the same thought. There is no way all that happened can be a coincidence; it smells too fishy. First, James was plotted against. They were obviously removing the threat, and now they are marrying their daughter into the pack—planting a spy," he recounted calmly.

"I can guarantee there has been no Alpha as blind as River in all history. He could not even see through such a minor scheme," he sneered, his eyes filled with contempt and ridicule.

"And I also found out Alpha Fred of the Silver Crest pack had been meeting up with your second brother recently. So I'm guessing they are planning something together, and to get it, they needed Green Forest or River out of the way; that's just my opinion though," he added.

Being reminded of my second brother, my face grew cold, and a low growl escaped my lips. "I was getting suspicious that Ben had been a little quiet recently. I guess he has been busy trying to build forces against me, but does he think having both Silver Crest and Green Forest together will be able to deal with me?" I gritted out in annoyance, already losing my cool, that the idiot of my brother was going to be causing more trouble for me to clean up later.

“We don't know his exact plan yet, so we can't tell whether he needs both of them together. There is another possibility that he wants to use them to get rid of the rogue in that part of the kingdom and then use them to raise his influence amongst the people. Either way, we just have to be prepared for a counterattack.” Ramon advised, and I let out a sigh.

"I will be attending the wedding in a week; prepare everything needed," I instructed.

"Alright, I will try to find out more about the happenings between those two in the meantime," Ronan replied, and he began to make his way out of the office.

As he reached for the door handle, he turned back with a mischievous grin. "Your mother will be back next week, and she's saying something about finding the perfect wife for you. I don't know what that is, but good luck, bro," he winked and left, and I let out a deep, frustrated sigh.

†‡†

"Let's welcome the Alpha King, King Gregory Adams!" The host announced this as I stepped into the large banquet hall of the Greenforest park. Cheers of applause and whispers of praise accompanied every step I took as I made my way to the front of the podium, where my seat had been prepared.

"Thank you for honoring our invitation, your "Majesty." Alpha River smiled as he led me to my seat, where the rest of his people were already waiting. They all bowed, showing their necks in submission, as I took my seat at the head of the table.

"I'm glad I could celebrate such a happy moment with you all," I replied monotonously, acknowledging each one of them with a slight nod of my head. Pretending not to know, I looked around and frowned.

"Why is your beta not here to welcome me? Am I not important enough for a guest?" I growled lowly, and they all went tense. River stepped forward with his head bowed. "I'm sorry, but the pack no longer has a Beta." My mind trailed off, and I shut out every voice around me as my wolf began pacing back and forth in my head.

He growled while trying to fight for control as a peaceful yet intoxicating scent of bloodstained rose drifted into my nose. The people around me tensed up as they noticed the change in my demeanor.

I stood up and hurriedly followed the trace of the scent to the back of the banquet hall, where the scene that assaulted me left my blood boiling over.

"How dare you fucking lay your hands on her??”