Chapter 179

Chris

I made my way through the crowded banquet hall, scanning the room for Patricia. The air was thick with the scent of perfume and the low hum of conversation, making it difficult to concentrate. I had been searching for her for the better part of half an hour, and I was no closer to finding her—as if she was actively avoiding me.

Finally, getting a bit desperate, I approached a group of young women in the hopes they might know where to find her.

“Excuse me, ladies,” I said, putting on my most charming smile. “I’m looking for Patricia. Have any of you seen her?”

One of them, a blonde with a knowing smirk, pointed toward a far corner of the room. “She’s over there, Alpha Chris. Although I doubt she’ll want to talk to you.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as if I didn’t already know the answer.

Another girl, a redhead, chimed in, “Well, after the whole bachelorette thing... let’s just say she wasn’t thrilled.”

I nodded, suppressing a sigh. So it was as I thought. “I understand. Thank you for your help.”

I made my way over to where a slender brunette in a deep green dress stood alone, nursing a glass of red wine. As I approached, I saw her face harden, her grip tightening on the stem of her glass.

“Patricia,” I began, but she turned away from me with a huff.

“I have nothing to say to you, Alpha Chris,” she said coldly, her voice barely audible over the ambient noise of the party.

But I persisted, keeping my voice low and earnest. “Please, Patricia. I just want to apologize. Can we talk somewhere more private?”

She stood silent for a moment, her eyes fixed on a point across the room. After what seemed like an eternity, her posture softened slightly. She nodded, allowing me to lead her to a more secluded area of the room, near a large window overlooking the barren landscape outside.

“Patricia, I’m so, so sorry for making you feel slighted at the bachelorette ball,” I said once we were alone. “It was never my intention to hurt you or your family. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

For a moment, Patricia just stared at me, her eyes searching my face as though looking for some hint of deception. Of course, she found none—because I was being utterly, sincerely, genuine.

Finally, Patricia’s hazel eyes flicked past me and landed on her father across the room. Alpha Bernard stood alone, as he had been for most of the evening, staring out the window with a glass of whiskey in his hand.

The lines on his face seemed deeper than ever, his shoulders hunched under an invisible weight. A woman who I recognized as his wife stood not far from him, looking as though she wanted to talk to him but knew it would be useless.

“If you can get my father to open up to me again, maybe I’ll consider forgiving you,” Patricia said hoarsely, sipping her wine.

“Sorry,” I said, cocking my head, “open up to you?”

Patricia nodded. “He’s been so cold lately, not just to me but to my mother as well. It’s like living with a stranger.”

I frowned, concern creating deep furrows on my forehead. “Why? What happened? He seemed... different when we arrived, but I assumed it was just because of the infestation.”

Patricia sighed, her shoulders slumping. “It did start when the beetle infestation began. He became distant, withdrawn. But when he had to cut down the redwood tree... that’s when he really shut down.”

I felt my eyes widen at that; so they had cut it down after all.

“Could I… see it?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.

The slender brunette eyed me warily for a moment, considering, before she finally nodded and set her wine glass on a nearby table. “Very well. Let’s go.”

We made our way through the crowd, nodding politely to guests as we passed. I could feel eyes on us, curious glances and whispered conversations following in our wake. As we reached the doors leading to the garden, Patricia paused.

“What I’m about to show you... it’s a big deal for our pack,” she said, her hand resting on the door handle. “Please don’t say anything cruel.”

I nodded solemnly. “I’ll be kind. I’m only curious.”

She pushed open the door, and we stepped out into the cool night air. The garden, once lush and vibrant, was now a shadow of its former self. Bare patches of earth where trees once stood dotted the landscape, and the vibrant flower bushes had been pulled out from the roots. Patricia led me down a winding path, past wilted flower beds and empty fountains.

Finally, we came to a clearing. In the center stood an enormous tree stump, easily ten feet in diameter. Even in the dim light, I could see the pain in Patricia’s eyes as she approached it.

“This redwood has been cultivated by generations of men in our family,” she explained, running her fingers along what remained of the dark reddish bark. “The care of it is always passed down to the current Alpha. It’s been a symbol of our pack’s strength and longevity for centuries.”

I ran my hand over the rough surface of the stump, feeling the deep ridges and grooves of centuries of growth. “And your father had to cut it down because of the infestation?”

Patricia nodded, quickly wiping away a tear that had escaped down her cheek. “He tried everything to save it. I’ve never seen him work so hard at anything. But in the end... he had no choice but to cut it down. The branches were decaying and falling off, and the beetles had infested the trunk so thickly that it was making them spread to every single tree, flower, and shrub in a mile radius.”

“Goddess,” I groaned, shutting my eyes for a moment. “That sounds awful.”

Patricia grimaced. “The ground around the stump was thick with beetles. It was disgusting.” She shuddered. “He had no choice but to cut it down, and no one blames him. But I think by doing so, he feels like he’s failed as an Alpha. He feels he cannot protect the forest, and thus he cannot protect his family or his pack.”

I was quiet for a moment, my brow knit in thought. The weight of this loss, for Patricia, for Alpha Bernard, and for his wife, was palpable. To lose a tree that was older than any of us combined…

But then, suddenly, an idea struck me.

“I may be able to help,” I said, turning to Patricia. “I promise you, I’ll find a way to get through to your father.”

Patricia shot me a disbelieving look. “Really? You think you can help?”

“I’ll do my best.” I paused, reaching out to touch Patricia’s hand. She stiffened slightly, but didn’t pull away. “Will you forgive me then, if I can do it?”

She thought for a moment, chewing her lower lip, before she finally nodded. “If you can do that, then I’ll forgive you. But it won’t be easy.”

As we made our way back to the banquet hall, I scanned the room for Ava. When our eyes met across the room, I nodded slightly, indicating I wanted to talk. She excused herself from a conversation and made her way over to where I stood by the bar.

“Well? How did it go?” she asked quietly, her eyes darting over to Patricia, who had been whisked away by her friends—no doubt to gossip about whatever we had just been discussing.

“It’s… complicated,” I said. “I’ll fill you in, but first, what did you find out about the infestation?”

Ava glanced around before speaking, her voice low. “It’s strange,” she began. “Apparently, nothing is getting rid of these beetles; I talked to a forester, and even he said that nothing helps. It just keeps spreading and spreading, and it started about three months ago.”

My frown deepened. “That’s awfully close to the time our blight started.”

Ava pursed her lips. “I know. And the similarities are... unsettling. What about you? What did you learn from Patricia?”

I quickly filled her in on my conversation with Patricia and what I learned about the redwood tree. As I spoke, however, I couldn’t hide the tiny smile on my lips; the pieces of my plan were still settling into place in my mind.

“You have a plan, don’t you?” Ava asked, recognizing that gleam in my eye.

“I think I might. But I need Leonard’s help.”

I pulled out my phone and quickly typed out a message to Leonard:

“Leonard, I need you to send a package to Crescent Moon via overnight courier. Inside, I want you to place…”

As I typed, Ava watched curiously, quietly sipping her champagne. I would fill her in later, once it was set in stone—but for now, I could only grin as my fingers flew across the screen.

Before hitting send, I added one last line: “And Leonard… Hurry. We need this package by tomorrow.”