24 Acting Alpha

Nathan Murrows was in a great mood today. In a day or two, he would have what he wanted. What could be better than that? His newly appointed Beta, Jason, entered his sight as he knocked on the door of his study. He beckoned to him.

"What is it?" He asked.

Jason lowered his head before saying, "There has been a minor hiccup in the plan."

Nathan's face distorted before he forcibly calmed himself. 

"Tell me what happened."

**********

It was 8 o'clock in the morning, and the sky was bright with sunny, clear skies. The former second elder and now acting Alpha, Owen Mallas, got dressed to head to the Ariti house. He had a job to do for his benefactor. 

Two days ago, the Beta from the Moon Lake pack asked him if he wanted to take over his pack. He wasn't a fool, so he immediately refused a few times until Jason told him that they wanted Salana and planned to get rid of the Alpha to make it easier. He then jumped on board with both hands. It wasn't too difficult on an emotional level for him either. Why wouldn't he? Being king of a small city was infinitely better than serving an emperor.

The Alpha trusted him implicitly and would never suspect that he would try to kill him either. He only had to cover his finger in silicone, touch the poison, and then touch the Apha's hand. On his way out of the office, he also seized the opportunity to "shake hands" with the Alpha's brother, the first elder. Generally, only two salt grains' worth of this poison was enough to kill a human in ten minutes, but he was dealing with werewolves, so he doubled up on the doses and averaged the times so that it would kill them in roughly an hour, when he was safely away.

This special poison he got from the Beta was called Batrachotoxin. It kills by interfering with the channels in the cells of muscles and nerves, jamming them open so that they don't close. That in turn leads to heart failure. Best of all, it looked completely natural and was undetectable. If they hadn't died on the same day, no one would have known, but regardless, he wouldn't have been suspected. He went home, peeled the silicone off his hand, and meticulously washed them both. He carefully put away the remainder of the poison he had in a hidden compartment in his wall. It was never certain when it might come in handy. 

He spent the rest of the day cleaning and tidying, keeping himself busy until he finally heard the news. 

Knock! Knock! Knock!

He counted to five and opened the door. 

"What is it?"

The boy looked as though he was choking back tears. Owen was celebrating in his mind, practically chortling in glee. On the outside, however, he maintained his poise, looking at the boy, confused.

"What happened? Is there anything I can help you with? " He asked gently.

"I-It's my g-g-granpa," he choked out.

"Your grandpa?" Owen was genuinely a bit confused now. What did his grandfather have to do with anything? Wait.

"Who is your grandpa?" 

"The f-first elder, he died. T-t-the Apha is in a c-coma. T-they were p-probably attacked, "he finally finished saying while stuttering through it. 

"Oh no, quickly, take me to them. How could something like this happen? Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank goodness. Why couldn't the Alpha die immediately too? Damnit! But no matter, it will happen sooner or later. He was so excited. The Beta was right.

He went to the clinic in the center of the town and looked in on the Alpha. Hehe, the bastard is indeed dying. Thank goodness, he thought. He'd have to use more of the poison if he was getting better after all, and he wanted to leave it for emergencies.

They immediately convened a meeting and it was decided that as all the adults in the Apha's line except for his son were dead, the second elder would assume the role of acting Apha. He humbled himself, vowing to find out who committed the heinous act and left with tears in his eyes. Anyone who saw him would think he was truly broken-hearted by the Alpha's situation and the passing of the first elder. When he got home, he immediately locked the door and leaned against it. 

"And scene," came a voice in front of him, clapping as he walked forward. "What a capable actor you can be when you need to be, but don't forget what we need from you. The Alpha will officially die by tomorrow. Get it done the next day. "

"I have no issues holding up my end of the bargain."

"Good," said Jason, "I would advise against double crossing us. I'll see you the day after tomorrow, after you go to them, then. "

The next day, the Alpha really died. Owen was now truly impressed. Everything went the way he said it would. What a scary person, he thought. 

The day after, as promised, he headed to the Ariti house. He saw Dr. Cirillo heading back from there. 

"Good morning, doctor. How are you?"

"Good morning, acting Alpha," he replied half-heartedly. 

Owen froze. Acting Alpha? Was it necessary to call him that with that tone? He shook himself and continued.

"I see you went to the Ariti house."

"Wonderful observational skills you have there, acting Alpha."

Owen's eyebrows twitched. Why was his mouth so venomous? Couldn't he reply like normal people would? He complained in his heart. 

"I hope everything is alright with them. What did you go for? Whom did you treat? "

"You may be unaware of it since you have never particularly... ... fancied education, acting Alpha, but there is something called doctor-patient confidentiality, so I am not at liberty to say. If you choose to, you can ask them yourself. In any case, it wasn't as though you'd be welcomed. Have a great morning, acting Alpha. I'll be on my way now. " Dr. Cirillo left without a backward glance. Want to talk to him when everyone with sense knows you're backed by the Moon Lake Clan? Want to get information to feed back to them? Ha! Not from him.

Owen was depressed. When did he not fancy education? He just wasn't the best at it. Was that his fault? He heaved a sigh and shook himself up. He should do what he came to do. When he got to the Ariti house, he saw a huge sign. It read, "No visitors accepted unless specifically invited under the 14-day bereavement law."

No wonder Dr. Cirillo said what he said. They knew he'd be coming and adjusted themselves to suit. Now he needed to report this matter to Jason. He would certainly not be happy.

CRASH! The sound of a clock shattering resonated through the house. 

"YOU IDIOT! A waste of my time! How did they know you'd come, huh? Why didn't you go immediately yesterday? Now look, they have fourteen days. If anything untoward happens within those fourteen days, what happened to Cyrus would be nice compared to what will happen to you. Remember that. " He said, walking out into the darkness. 

"I'll let you know what the new instructions are when I get them."

For the first time since he started this, Owen wondered if he had made the correct choice to jump ship.