After staying for another day at the Lumiere Pack, we left for our pack. We also invited Alex and Bentley to come to the Blood Moon Pack two days later to officially discuss the collaboration.
Finally back at the Blood Moon Pack!
The first thing I wanted to do was check on Angel, who was in a bad condition that day after getting drunk, poisoned, and injured.
I knew that Angel had been rescued by Francis. But a few days had passed and Angel must have been almost well enough.
But when I asked Derek where Angel was, he was silent.
What happened to Angel? Had something happened to her? My heart sank.
"She's fine. There's nothing to worry about. There's just one thing I need to tell you," Derek said as he saw my worried look.
What is it? I mind-linked and looked at Derek suspiciously with a bad feeling in my heart.
Derek cleared his throat and said, "She'll be with Francis from now on."
What? What do you mean? Won't she come back after she got her body back?
I didn't understand.
"Erika, prepare yourself for what I'm about to tell you," Derek said seriously, looking me in the eye.
Hearing that tone, I knew what I was about to hear was definitely bad news.
"Remember when I said that Angel's punishment was unusual? You asked me what I meant. Now I can tell you. Angel no longer belongs in our pack. She will belong to the West Ford pack."
I couldn't believe my ears. But Derek's tone and expression were serious. He wasn't joking.
Why? I couldn't understand.
Angel deserves a harsh punishment for what she did on Blood Day. It was Francis who begged me, saying that Angel was his mate and asking me not to punish her. Then he asked me to allow him to take Angel away later.
Mate? How could that be? If they were mates, how could Angel not know it? I interrupted Derek.
"Calm down, let me explain. It has to do with Francis' gift. You see, Francis can disguise his identity. It is a thorough disguise and even his mate could not recognize him unless Francis marks Angel. It is impossible for him to reveal his identity just for Angel. He needs to find a way to bring Angel into his pack so they could get to know each other. Now that Angel is recovering in his pack, Francis will not let her come back," Derek said.
What does that have to do with punishment? I asked.
"She did something wrong and needed to be punished. We gave her to the West Ford Pack and she knew nothing about it. That’s her punishment.”
Why couldn't she have been told beforehand?
"Erika, this is what Francis wanted. Unlike us, he is not a very strong fighter. His special gift dictates that he has to keep a low profile and can’t reveal the secret easily.”
So even when Angel recovers, she’ll find herself unable to come back, right? I mind-linked Derek.
"Yes, Francis will explain it to her. It's between them."
But I'm Angel's teacher and I can't accept that you just left her there. I mind-linked him and just walked away even though he tried to stop me and defend his choice.
Two days later, Alex and Bentley would come over and talk about cooperation. Francis wouldn’t come over, but it would be the cooperation between the three packs.
Early in the morning, I drove around the border area waiting for Alex and Bentley.
Even though we hadn't seen each other for two days. But I was already missing them.
"Erika!" they hugged me excitedly. After a small chat, I drove off. They followed me.
Derek was already in the conference room. He had spent the last two days working with Francis. I didn't join them because I didn't want to see Francis. So I seldom talked with Derek over the last two days.
I was still a bit upset about what had happened to Angel. So I went straight into the meeting room, pulled out my chair, and sat down at the far end of the table from Derek, without looking at him the whole time.
Derek looked up, saw I wasn't sitting next to him, and frowned. The next second he got up, walked over to me, pulled out his chair, and sat down.
His sudden presence and his unmistakable Alpha vibe made my heart beat a little faster.
Alex and Bentley sat opposite us, along with a few people from their pack whom I didn't know. The meeting began.
The aim of the collaboration was simple. We needed to get rid of Richard and then capture and torture Baron.
Alex said, "Richard contacted me again last night, still talking about working together, and I pretended to agree."
Derek nodded, "Have you agreed on a time and place yet?"
"Not yet. Richard has become very cautious since you last followed him. But he won't wait for a long time. He can't wait to make his move to kill both of you."
Derek said, "OK, then we'll wait for him to contact you. When you meet, we'll just kill him."
"What about Baron?" I typed on my laptop. I didn't care about Richard anymore. He wouldn't live long. Now I'm dying to grab Baron and interrogate him. I had a feeling he must know a lot about me, even more than I knew.
"We'll get him after we kill Richard," Alex said.
"Or we could do both at the same time," Bentley suggested.
"Of course, we can do it all at the same time," Derek said.