Alpha's Fate (Black Moon Saga Book 2)

Chapter 3-2: The Meeting of the Alphas

Visitors start arriving steadily after lunch the next day, with Alpha Mitchell and Beta Timothy out front to greet and welcome them all. In total, the guests include the Alphas and Betas from nine packs, and they come from all over Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. Kylie and Adam watch the new arrivals from the window of their guest room that overlooks the front of the house, though they can mostly only see the vehicles approach and catch glimpses here and there of the people moving about.

Adam turns to her with an excited smile, his eyes alight. “That’s my nephew down there,” he announces. “Apparently, one of your Grandpa’s allies is the Redwood Pack. My nephew is their Beta.”

Kylie grins with amusement when it occurs to her what Adam meant by something he said awhile back. “So, when you told me Alex chased some guy across the country …”

He smirks, having forgotten that he phrased it that way. “Her mate, yes, who was at that time their Beta. Their son took over the position last year. One of his good friends has been Alpha for a few years.”

“Well, this should get interesting. When was the last time you saw him in person?”

“I think he was in junior high then. It’s been a little bit,” he chuckles, obviously excited to see his nephew after so long.

As it gets closer to the agreed upon meeting time, Adam and Kylie make their way to the conference room where Alpha Mitchell has decided to host the meeting. Tian is already waiting outside the door for them and smiles as he sees his friends approaching hand-in-hand.

“Ready, Kylie?” he asks as he reaches for her to give her an encouraging embrace before the others arrive.

“As ready as I can be, not knowing how any of these guys are going to react. I just hope I can manage to keep my emotions in check,” she responds, returning his hug.

“Adam, put your hands on her shoulders,” Tian directs him, and Adam does as he suggests. Tian takes Kylie’s hands, similar to how they do in training. “Let’s take a moment here to focus on things that will help you feel calm, confident, and centered. Then, you’ll have an easier time in there coming up with the memories and feelings you might need in a pinch.”

They work on preparing her for a few minutes, and as their attention is focused elsewhere, Jonah joins them and stops to watch.

“I can sense you, little brother,” Kylie informs him without opening her eyes.

“Man, that’s freaky,” Jonah comments, surprised because he was trying to be especially quiet so as not to disturb her. “So, is this how you guys activate her brain powers or whatever you call it?”

Kylie giggles and opens her eyes to look at him. “That’s not what we call it, though we should start. But no, Tian was just helping to calm my nerves and encouraging me to prepare some things to fall back on, should I need to relax myself in there,” she explains.

They don’t have a chance to discuss it further because others can be heard making their way down the hall. Tian gestures to indicate that they should enter the conference room and find their seats. Alpha Mitchell already instructed them about where they are expected to sit.

Jonah will be at the head of the table with his grandfather and Beta Timothy, and Adam, Kylie, Tian, and Nate all have seats along the wall near the head of the table. Four Alphas and their Betas will sit on either side of the table with the final Alpha and Beta at the far end.

Kylie is pleased when she realizes she has a decent view of the other chairs from where she is sitting. She intends to observe and see if she can get a sense of all the guests and whether they’re trustworthy.

As the others file in, for the most part they are too busy chatting with each other to pay much notice to the group clustered at the front of the room, though some do notice and give them curious glances.

When Adam’s nephew enters the room, he does a double take and a wide grin breaks across his face. He makes his way over to where Adam is seated, and Adam stands to meet him.

“Uncle Adam!” the younger man greets his uncle as he embraces him. “I did not expect to find you here. So good to see you.”

“You too, Micah,” Adam says as he breaks away from his hold and gestures to Kylie. “And this is my mate, Kylie.”

Micah reaches forward so he can shake Kylie’s hand and she smiles up at him. If he thinks it’s odd for her to be there, he doesn’t let it show.

Adam continues, “I was planning to come out to see you and your Mom so you guys could meet her soon, but I definitely didn’t expect this either.”

Alpha Mitchell enters with Nate, Beta Timothy, and the remaining of the assembled guests, and Micah makes his way to his seat. Adam returns to his seat next to Kylie and takes her hand in his, telling himself it’s to soothe her, but truthfully, he is just as anxious as she is.

Once everyone is seated, Alpha Mitchell calls the meeting to order. Since he does not take a moment to allow the guests to introduce themselves, Kylie gets the sense that they all must know each other already. He does spend some time explaining in more detail why he has assembled them together, namely to announce that his grandson will be taking over his pack, and remind them all of the way strange things keep happening to the packs in their region, emphasizing how many of the smaller ones have ceased to exist over the past couple of decades.

“And I just thought it was high time that we all got together to remind ourselves of the pledges we made to one another when we joined the Northwest Regional Alliance. If and when any of us finds ourselves in need of aid, the others will come if called. It’s a pact we all made, and a promise I for one intend to keep,” Alpha Mitchell declares to all in the room.

“And we appreciate and respect that, Alpha Mitchell,” the man three chairs down from him interrupts him. “It is comforting to know that you have secured the future of your pack,” he gestures to Jonah, “and I congratulate you on that. But I have to say, and it’s possible that I speak for many of us with this, I have to say I fear that our alliance won’t mean much in the end. What good will any of us do the others when Black Moon unleashes their witch on us?”

“Something I have been wondering myself,” the man across from him agrees. “Hidden Moon territory sits regretfully close to the ever-expanding borders of Black Moon. Many of my patrols report their warriors coming almost close enough to be trespassing into the border region of my territory, and I fear they may be testing us, maybe even scouting us, trying to get a feel for what sort of resistance we might be able to put up. You’d better believe that I have been on the verge of calling for help from my allies, but I have held off. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m passively declaring war on Alpha Preston, phoning in help from my allies though no threat has been openly declared. I also don’t want to give away too much, cluing him in about what other packs Hidden Moon works with.”

“Alpha Clayton, it concerns me to hear that,” Alpha Mitchell replies to the last man to speak. “Just know that if you were to call, we would come, but I do appreciate your prudence. Black Moon are bullies, and it’s possible that the only goal right now is to make you sweat and give away whatever cards you have held up your sleeve.”

“Yes, that’s the assumption I’ve been running with,” Alpha Clayton agrees.

Many of the other Alphas give their input as well, mostly agreeing with Alpha Mitchell and offering their sympathy and vague promises of crisis support.

Kylie’s attention has been drawn to the man sitting at the far end of the table, watching and tuning into how he reacts to her grandfather. Initially, he seemed bored by the conversation. He only started showing any interest when Alpha Mitchell started speaking of what has been happening to other packs, and Kylie expected him to be as disturbed as the others. Yet, as the other Alphas have been sharing their concerns, she is unsettled by the vibe she is receiving from this man. Though outwardly his expression is indistinguishable from the others, inwardly it feels like he is amused, and possibly even gloating. She continues to study him as he prepares to speak.

“It’s such a shame, what has been happening to other packs. I genuinely hope Hidden Moon isn’t next on the list,” the man says sympathetically to Alpha Clayton. “Dark Woods would gladly stand with you as well,” he promises.

Kylie is impressed by how outwardly he does seem to share the others’ thoughts and feelings about the matter, but she is still getting a sense that he is being deceitful. She turns her attention to the man next to him, the Beta of the same pack, and tunes into him. He seems nervous and on edge, and she wonders if it’s because he knows his Alpha is up to no good.

Grandpa, that man on the end isn’t what he seems, Kylie attempts to mind-link her grandfather, hoping they share enough of a bond that it will succeed. She doesn’t want to have to make a public display of her abilities.

She is frustrated when she realizes that her grandfather has continued on with the conversation as though he has no idea what she is trying to tell him, and switches plans.

I’m about to do a thing that is going to make me look like a freak, she mind-links Adam to warn him and make sure he has her back. He squeezes her hand firmly as though he doesn’t want to let her go, but she gives him a look that conveys how important she thinks it is. She sends Tian the same message, and he turns to her and nods.

She rises from her seat and carefully makes her way to the other end of the room. As she gets closer to the man, she becomes more certain of her suspicions. He isn’t paying attention to her at first, but once she gets within a couple paces, he turns his gaze on her.

“Are you lost, sweetheart?” he asks her with equal parts amusement and irritation. It irritates her just as much that he used the same pet name Adam always calls her, but she ignores that.

Him acknowledging her presence put a stop to the conversation going on around them, and she decides now is the time to speak up. Now or never, as she notices the worried and somewhat annoyed look her grandfather is giving her. She knows if this goes sideways, he might be inclined to dismiss her. She wasn’t supposed to do or say anything yet as per their previous agreement.

“No, but I think you are,” she retorts, hoping that being snarky with him isn’t the wrong choice. “This is a meeting for the Northwest Regional Alliance, not allies of the Black Moon Pack.”

She hears some gasps and chuckles from behind and beside her but keeps her focus on the man in front of her. She can also smell the fear and anxiety his Beta is feeling in addition to being able to sense it. The Alpha, though, never wavers. Not outwardly, at least. Internally, his cockiness seems to have waned some and she can detect the slightest hint of anxiety.

“What is the meaning of this?” one of the other Alphas demands. She has a vague sense that it might be the Alpha that Beta Micah, Adam’s nephew, accompanied to the meeting.

She turns to him and meets his questioning gaze. “This man isn’t what he seems. He finds all the talk of this alliance and the way you all have each other’s backs to be entirely boring and uninteresting, and his interest was only piqued once the conversation shifted to the hardships and misery Black Moon has inflicted on other packs.” She turns and points at the nervous Beta before continuing. “And this man knows that he and his Alpha do not belong here and is nervous about you all figuring them out. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” she taunts the nervous Beta, and tries to control her glee when his mouth drops, and he gapes at her.

The nervous Beta sits forward in his chair and stammers, “H-how do you know that?”

“Quiet, fool,” the questionable Alpha grits out under his breath, but even he seems visibly shaken.

“Alpha Byron?” Alpha Mitchell questions. “Do you have anything to say about that?”

“Yes, I think I do,” Alpha Byron responds, his agitation plainly evident now. “I think I would like to know who the hell she thinks she is and why we are letting her run our meeting. I would also like to know what you plan to do to put her in her place. She disrespected an Alpha and made baseless accusations against me. That cannot go unpunished.”

Kylie takes a moment to calm herself because she can feel her own temper starting to flare. She glances back at Adam and he gives her his best encouraging smile, though she can feel the anxiety there. Then she looks to Tian and he is also smiling his encouragement. She draws from the calming and confident imagery they practiced before the meeting and steels her resolve to see this through.

Alpha Mitchell rises from his chair and meets the steely gaze of Alpha Byron across the table from him, calmly yet forcefully stating, “Who she is is my family, and I will not have you disrespecting her, especially when I have a feeling she may be right about you.”

Tian clears his throat and chimes in, “I could put the matter to rest right now if you wish.”

“Are there any objections to having my friend here dig out the truth of it?” Alpha Mitchell asks the room without missing a beat.

Alpha Byron objects, of course, but most of the others seem to want to figure out where his allegiances lie.

The Alpha to his right does protest, “Is this really how we should be conducting ourselves, falling back on vampires to determine our allies? That would make us no better than Black Moon with their witch.”

Kylie tunes into him to try to get a sense of whether he protests because he is as shady as Alpha Byron, but she determines that he seems to just be concerned as he says. It is a fair point, she’ll give him that, albeit a misguided one. A benevolent vampire and a malicious dark witch cannot even be compared.

“It’s ridiculous that we’re even discussing this right now,” Alpha Byron asserts. “If this is how you will treat your allies, then I’ll take my allegiance elsewhere.”

He gestures for his Beta to follow, and the two men storm out of the room. No one seems to want to make any move to stop them.

After they leave, the Alpha who protested vampiric involvement turns to Kylie and says, “Although I am not a fan of the idea of having a vampire intervene, I do find it suspicious that he decided to leave just now. Are you certain of what you said?”

She nods. “Positive. I am as certain of that as I am that you did not protest on account of being in cahoots with him,” she explains matter-of-factly.

The Alpha smirks at her appreciatively. “Honestly, I’ve never liked the guy,” he comments, which earns some chuckles and agreement from around the table. “I don’t know how you do it, but I believe you. And now I find myself wondering if I can borrow you for some of my meetings back home.”

He earns more laughter with that comment, and some of the tension in the room seems to dissolve.

Alpha Clayton speaks out again, “I don’t disagree that he seemed suspicious, and frankly always has, but I would also like to point out that if he wasn’t already working with Black Moon, he probably will be now. And between Dark Woods and Black Moon, my own Hidden Moon territory is surrounded on three sides by potential enemies.”

“Well, then I suppose now is as good of a time as any to tell you all why my granddaughter is here,” Alpha Mitchell segues into the discussion Kylie has been waiting for. “But first, I need to know with absolute certainty that the men who remain here are real allies who we can all depend on to get through these troubled times.”

Kylie observes carefully as they go around the table and renew their pledges to protect and support each other in times of crisis and war. As far as she can tell, the rest of the men seem to mean what they say. If any had been questioning their alliance before coming here, they seem to have renewed their resolve to stand by each other now. Alpha Mitchell looks to her once they have all finished, and she nods her approval.

“Alright, well, now that we have all of our formalities out of the way, I’m going to turn this meeting over to my grandchildren here,” Alpha Mitchell announces. “Jonah and Kylie have some ideas about what to do about our Black Moon problem.”