Alpha's Fate (Black Moon Saga Book 2)

Chapter 3-3: The Meeting of the Alphas

Jonah stands and surveys the room before speaking. “Well, as you know, assuming that I don’t fail to defeat this old man tomorrow, I’ll be the new Alpha of Tall Pines. And I know that we’re not in quite as dire of a situation as Hidden Moon, Alpha Clayton, but we could use this to all our advantage. We’re both close enough and far enough that Tall Pines could make a good choice as a base of operations …”

“Base of operations for what?” Alpha Clayton interrupts.

Rather than getting irritated about being interrupted when he was about to explain, Jonah uses the question as an opportunity to have some fun with his reveal.

“Well, for war, of course,” he responds. “Rather than waiting around for Black Moon to strike, not even knowing where or when they plan to do so, we’ll take the fight to them.”

The other Alphas all start talking at once, some excited at the prospect, but most worried and thinking Jonah is already proving to be an entirely too green, overly ambitious young Alpha who doesn’t know what he’s asking of them. Jonah looks out over the room and without even meaning to, projects his Alpha aura over them, which immediately silences them. They seem stunned by the power they just felt from him, and he seems stunned because he doesn’t know how he just did what he just did.

“He’s not even Alpha yet,” one of the men who has yet to speak blurts out. He had stated his name as Alpha Raymond when he was renewing his pledge.

“You’re an impressive young man,” Alpha Clayton compliments Jonah. “For future reference, it’s not the best idea to challenge a room full of Alphas. Save that for your pack. But I’m guessing that wasn’t intentional. You shouldn’t even be able to do that, yet.”

“Noted,” Jonah replies. “I do apologize. And you’re right, it wasn’t intentional. But now that I know I can do that, I’ll work on it.”

“Alright then,” Alpha Clayton accepts with a chuckle. “I admit I’m intrigued. I'm also glad that such an enthusiastic, powerful young Alpha is on my side. And since I am right on the brink of having to declare war myself, I’d love to know your thoughts on how we should proceed. For what it’s worth, I do agree that Tall Pines would be a better location from which to do this. It’s not so close to Black Moon that they can keep an eye on what we’re up to.”

“Exactly,” Jonah agrees. “And I’m sure one thing you’re all wondering is what exactly I plan to do once we invade Black Moon. The answer is two-fold: We need to take out that witch, and we need to take care of Alpha Preston. He can’t be left in power, or we’ll end up right back here eventually. We’re not looking to weaken him and leave him licking his wounds long enough to give us a breather. We need to eliminate the problem entirely. I personally won’t settle for anything less than him and his brother in chains.”

“In chains? Someone needs to rip his throat out for all the suffering he has caused,” the man next to Alpha Clayton, presumably his Beta, demands.

“I said I wouldn’t settle for anything less. I’m fine with anything more,” Jonah quips, and a few of the men laugh with him.

“I would argue that the problems are three-fold,” Tian interjects cautiously, wondering if it is a good idea to speak out now. He doesn’t wish to undermine Jonah’s authority, but he feels it needs to be said. “But that’s only because I have inside knowledge from my time with The Council.”

Jonah turns to him with curiosity. “Alright, Tian, I’m listening,” he responds.

Tian continues explaining, “My former colleagues have received intel that Black Moon is also working with some vampire nests, and these are vampires who have not tempered their dark nature. I would argue that dealing with them is a third problem we need to focus on as a major objective. Their influence can be just as problematic as the witch’s.”

“How many nests?” the Alpha from the far side of the table, Alpha Zane, asks.

“At least two,” Tian answers. “I have been in touch with many of my contacts and am pleased to report that I can offer the support of at least a dozen vampires who would be willing to fight on our side. I’m still working on the witch problem. She is presumed to be a very powerful witch, and it will take some number of witches and warlocks to effectively neutralize her.”

“Ah, so that’s why you’re here,” Alpha Zane says. “I wondered about that. I still don’t know how I feel about working alongside the very creatures we condemn Alpha Preston for allying himself with.”

“Which is a reasonable perspective, except you fail to differentiate between good and evil, benevolent and malicious,” Kylie speaks up to counter his argument. “When it comes to the good, law-abiding, benevolent vampires and witches, we need them. I’ve seen with my own eyes how easily a powerful witch can wave her hands and say a few words and lock away a werewolf’s wolf aspect, effectively neutralizing him. Just for starters.”

“Scary thought,” one of the men comments, but her attention is on Alpha Zane, so she doesn’t see which.

“Indeed. And I just had another,” Alpha Clayton adds. “Once we capture Alpha Preston and his brother, assuming we succeed in that, who takes over in his place? It’s a large pack, nearly as large as all of ours put together, and we don’t know how loyal his people are. Merging that pack into ours will be a nightmare. And letting any of his people take over just seems too risky, or as Jonah said, we could just end up right back here.”

“I suppose this is the part where we tell you the other part of the plan,” Jonah redirects the conversation. “You’ve all met my sister, Kylie. She intends to challenge Alpha Preston for her birthright. When she wins, Black Moon will be hers.”

His declaration is first met with silence, before finally some of the men start to chuckle awkwardly. Alpha Zane is the first to speak.

“I like you, Kylie, and I appreciate this ability you seem to have to sense people’s intentions, but you’re going to have to work a little harder to get me on board with this one,” he tells her.

“Alpha Preston is my father,” Kylie begins to explain. “My biological father, after he kidnapped and r***d my mother, his true mate, whom he later rejected. As his only child, and an Alpha at that, Black Moon is rightfully mine after him. I intend to challenge him outright. Your armies just need to get me to him, and maybe take care of my uncle.”

“Kylie, Alpha females make exceptional Lunas, your grandmother is a testament to that, but they are not meant to rule as Alpha. Assuming you can win the challenge, his people won’t respect you, and they won’t follow you,” Alpha Zane explains to her gently.

“I’m not just any Alpha female,” she persists, rising from her seat. She hears Adam suck in a breath, probably anticipating an explosion. “I would love for you to just take me at my word on that, but I can already sense that you won’t. Now, I heard your warning about keeping your aura in check in a room full of Alphas. Understand that what I’m about to do, I can’t control. But I feel like you need to see it. You need to feel it. And it’s not meant as a challenge, so control your wolves,” she cautions them all.

“Kylie, don’t,” Adam urges her. “This is a bad idea.”

“No, I think she has the right of it,” Tian disagrees with him. “If we expect an army to follow her, their leaders have to believe in her first.”

“What is she doing?” Alpha Mitchell asks, concerned because Adam seems so against it.

“She’s shifting,” Jonah tells him. “She’s going to let them feel her power, which is greater in wolf form. We learned this the hard way when we tried to have her join Spirit Moon. She shifted, and the whole pack bowed down to her in submission and respect.”

“Well, this should be interesting,” Alpha Clayton comments. “Where do you plan to do that in here?”

Instead of responding to him, Kylie hops up on the table and begins removing her shirt and shorts. She leaves her underclothes where they are and lets Mirabella take control, quickly transforming into her wolf. The table shakes and some of the pens and papers on top of it scatter, but no one seems to notice because they’re too busy admiring Mirabella once she stands before them.

It’s a good thing she warned them ahead of time, because almost all their wolves become restless and agitated when they feel her power filling the room. She walks the length of the table, appraising the other Alphas and their Betas, before turning around and making her way back to where her brother is seated. She notices that Nate was unable to resist the urge to submit, and he is bowed respectfully as before. She hopes the other Alphas notice that as well.

There isn’t a lot of space for her to maneuver in the enclosed room, but she manages to hop down from the table and trot out into the hallway, where Adam meets her with what is left of her clothes. She quickly shifts back and dresses, then stands on her tip toes to give him a quick kiss of reassurance.

When she returns to the meeting room, her brother is laughing with Alpha Clayton and her grandfather looks over at her appreciatively.

“Kylie, Alpha Clayton was just telling me how much he admires your tenacity,” Jonah informs her with a smirk.

“Really? Was that how he worded it?” she retorts, eliciting chuckles from around the room.

“In all seriousness, Kylie, I think we all underestimated you,” Alpha Zane admits. “I do wonder, though, how you plan to challenge your father while pregnant.”

Kylie looks down at her emerging baby bump as though considering it for a moment, and then back up at him.

“Well, gentlemen, would you say you might need about this much time to get your men ready?” she holds her hands out away from herself to measure about as far as she expects her belly to grow throughout the pregnancy.

“Yeah, I’d imagine we’ll need about that,” Alpha Zane agrees with a smirk. “But Alpha Clayton, do you think you can hold on that long? Which is what, a couple more months?”

“I’m going to have to,” Alpha Clayton answers. “We are going to need some time to prepare our warriors, amass supplies, finalize plans, and so on. And if she’s how we intend to handle the people of Black Moon, well, we don’t have much choice. We can’t send her in pregnant.”

“But she is the one we’re backing for this, are we all agreed?” Jonah probes for confirmation. All answer affirmatively, some enthusiastically so.

They spend some more time taking account of how many warriors each pack expects to provide, developing training plans, and so on. Nate is finally called forth for his input, and Kylie watches proudly as her dad showcases his ability to strategize and plan. She knows he probably won't stick around to see this through completely, but she appreciates how seriously he seems to be taking his role in getting it started.

Once all the planning discussions have concluded, Alpha Mitchell tips back in his chair and appraises the room approvingly.

“This went so much better than I expected,” he declares to them all, nodding as he makes eye contact with each Alpha around the room. “Thank you all so much for proving yourselves to be dedicated and trustworthy allies. And if you feel like sticking around until tomorrow, you are all welcome to be there to witness the long-awaited rise of a new Alpha here at Tall Pines.”