The Royal Scroll
Daniel was standing guard outside the Alpha's office while the Alpha was doing God knew what inside. It had been almost an hour now and Daniel felt so bored standing idle that he could feel himself getting drowsy. There were a hell lot of things he could be doing as the beta of the pack. Instead, Alpha James had asked him to guard his office while he was being pleasured by one of his mistresses.
Alpha James had a big appetite when it came to his bodily pleasures and everyone in the pack knew that. Luna Paige could only do so much for him and had now left him to tend to his needs as he saw fit.
Daniel whose back was once straight had now leaned back to rest on the wall and his eyes closed as he tried not to cringe at the noises coming from inside. The doors of the office were sealed shut but he could still hear the people inside very clearly.
"I'm going to get sick." Daniel whispered to himself and decided to take a walk in around the corridor to drive away the sleep and to drown out the voices. On his third round of the corridor he suddenly bumped into a guard, something in the guard's hand jabbed into his side making him wince.
"Beta Daniel!" The guard exclaimed steadying himself, looking at the beta with wide eyes. He seemed to be breathless as if he had ran here.
Daniel looked at the guard quizzically not understanding what was the haste.
"I was asked to deliver this to the Alpha." The guard informed trying to stay calm but failing. In his right hand was a scroll, deep red in colour with gold-coloured baton. If one looked closely one could see small details such as the quality of the cloth and the imprint on the fabric. It was a royal scroll and for a pack receive one was considered monumental.
It took a second for Dan to realise he had stopped breathing. Drawing some oxygen into his lungs he rushed back to the office with the guard following after him. Pushing the door open he stepped in to have the remaining oxygen leave his lungs. Alpha James stood there butt-naked with his back facing the door.
Oh his poor eyes! Daniel exclaimed in his head horrified. His life would never be the same again. The surprise of receiving the scroll made him forget what was going on inside.
Startled by the loud thud of the door, Alpha James hurried to cover himself. The woman under him promptly got up and walked to the more private corner of the room to get dressed.
"What the fuck, Daniel!" Alpha James fumed glaring at Dan. Seeing Daniel not giving him a response he turned to glare at the guard who stood at the door looking nervous.
"Forgive us Alpha but this matter requires your urgent attention." The guard bowed to show submission bringing the scroll forward with his hand facing upwards.
James who was about to snap at the poor guard again stopped when he looked down at the scroll and realised the gravity of the situation. This was not the time to fool around. The red colour of the scroll seemed to induce a sense of dread in him as his face looked a bit pale. After staring for a few more seconds, he took the scroll from his hands and unfolded it. As the Alpha read what it said the dread he was feeling turned to delight. He read it two more times to be sure, just in case he missed something. Alpha James couldn't stop but grin from ear to ear.
"Go and assemble everyone in the field. I will address the pack in ten minutes." James ordered the guard who was standing with his eyes on the floor. The guard bowed once again and left the room to do as ordered.
James bounced back to his table and took some parchments out of the the drawers. He informed Daniel what the papers contained and asked him to complete the paperwork by tonight. While James was giving instructions to him, Daniel was lost in his own world. His brain was still trying to process what he had seen just a few minutes earlier. All he wanted to do was take his eyeballs out and wash them with soap before putting them back in.
"Daniel! Are you paying attention?" Alpha snapped at the boy before handing him the parchments. That seemed to bring him back to the present and he quickly grabbed them with both hands.
"Take them with you and hurry back." James ordered as he waited for him to leave his office. As soon as Daniel exited he pumped his fists in air as if he had won a lottery. While mentally celebrating he realised the urgency of the matter and hurried to adjust his clothes and look presentable.
Daniel placed the parchments on his table and stood there staring at them. He wasn't sure what was going on but the Alpha looked rather pleased after reading the royal scroll. He looked at the huge stack cursing about how he would have to stay up all night for this and then hurried back.
As he reached the office James was already out and was headed towards the door with the scroll in his hand. Daniel trailed behind him with quick steps, he was curious about what was going on and why was he of all people supposed to do the paperwork. Isn't it the Gamma's responsibility? But he couldn't argue with the Alpha.
Upon reaching the open field, he could see almost all of the pack members were gathered and were chattering among themselves. When they saw the Alpha arrive, the murmuring went down. Alpha James stepped up on the six inches wooden platform and faced the pack.
"Silence!" Alpha James commanded and raised his hand which held the scroll, showing it to every member of the pack. Many were confused as well as curious about what it was while others looked with wide eyes. Not everyone had the privilege of knowing what a royal scroll looked like or what it meant.
"I feel honoured to share this with everyone of you that our pack is chosen for the next Royal Assessment and Selection of Warriors." Hearing this the pack cheered and were overjoyed as it was indeed an honour for a pack to be chosen by the Royal Pack for the rare event. He gave it a moment to sink in and then continued, "The royal officials are arriving tomorrow at noon. Before that we must make sure to be well-prepared for their welcome."
Daniel stood on the left side of the platform with Johnathan, the Alpha's son who was the same age as him. While on the right side stood the Gamma of the pack and the Lead Warrior who were older and far more skilled and knowledgable. All five of them stood facing the pack where the higher members of the pack stood on one side and the lower ones on the other. All of them together forming a semi-circular shape around the stage.
"Every member will be assigned to different teams and they will carry out their designated tasks." As Alpha James carried out the rest of the instructions Daniel wondered which team would be assigned to him. He soon realised that paperwork was his designated task and that no help would be provided to him. Ah shit! He cursed to himself.
Once the orders were given and everyone scattered with their teams, the only ones remaining were the five men. Alpha James turned to look at his son Johnathan and placed both hands on his shoulders, "They will be here by noon, make sure you are on your best behaviour. This is a great opportunity for you to prove yourself in front of the pack."
"Why do I need to prove myself, Dad? I don't have to prove anything to the pack." John replied rolling his eyes at his father.
James tightened his grip on his shoulders, "Do not disappoint me, son. This maybe a chance for you to impress His Highness and get on his good side." Saying this he let go of him without giving him a chance to reply and turned to talk to his friend, the lead warrior. Johnathan was a spoilt kid with no responsibility towards his family or the pack. He was still immature and had a lot to learn. But the one at fault was James himself as he was the one to spoil him and fulfil his every demand.
Johnathan walked aside Daniel with his hands in his pant's pockets. "His Highness? How will I impress him when he won't even be present here? Will he?" He asked turning to face Daniel who quickly shook his head. The King never visited a pack for these minor tasks, only his men went to handpick warriors from the chosen packs.
"Well it's still a great news and calls for celebration, let's go for a drink." He offered but Dan immediately rejected saying that the Alpha had assigned work to him that needs to be completed today and parted ways.
Daniel had locked himself inside his office and was going through the parchments that contained the details of the each member of the pack but was very disorganised. All he needed to do them was arrange them systematically. He was sad that he had to do this all by himself and was going through them with concentration as if he had to memorise the details. In reality, it was the easiest work and could be finished in a few hours.
While Daniel was busy with the paperwork, others were preparing the guest quarters of the pack house which were reserved only for occasions like this. The pack was methodically working and assisting each other in beautifying the surroundings, getting necessary supplies and setting up the possibly required equipments on one side of the field.
Everyone had finished their work by the nighttime and after reporting to the gamma they headed home to get some sleep. No one could be seen on the streets of the pack. By midnight everyone had gone to bed except for Daniel who was sitting behind his table that was covered in pile of parchments. His head rested on his arms which were placed on the table as he slept. He was supposed to have competed the work by now but instead he was sleeping.
An hour passed, Daniel who was still asleep suddenly remembered about the work he was supposed to complete and woke up startled. The force of which gave him a sprain in his neck. "fuck!" Dan exclaimed holding the side of his neck in pain. If it was any other day he would've gone to bed, leaving the work for the next day. But today was not any other day, with this thought he got back to his work while massaging his neck with his other hand.
