Chapter 3

***Two Weeks Ago*** 

Shit shit shit. I was going to be late. I had been searching for a book or really a journal from Alpha Killian, three Alpha King’s ago. I finally found it, but I had been so deep in my search, I didn’t realized it was ten minutes past the High Council meeting that was supposed to start. I raced through the long corridors the castle and up the stairs before turning into a door.

I fumbled with it before I finally got it open and closed it behind me quietly. The main floor of the High Council had their seats behind a long table. From what I understood, the old High Council used to have robes they wore but now it was just formal attire. There were seats surrounding the high chairs and table. Those were for any onlookers, people who had come with the parties requesting an audience, or people like me who worked with or for the High Council.

Rarely did I sit on the main floor. Usually, I sat in the balcony above. From below, you couldn’t see anyone sitting up in the balcony. Not unless you moved to stand at the railing. The balcony had two doors to get into it, but the three rows wrapped around three sides of the room, save for the main doors.

I sat behind the High Councils seats, in case I needed to step up and speak as Alpha King. It also allowed me to listen without people knowing I was listening.

Settling into a seat, I noticed that they were speaking to a vampire couple and I was glad I didn’t miss anything werewolf related. The couple were asking permission to start a new coven. Normally, that wouldn’t need the council’s approval but apparently the size of it, they wanted to make sure the High Council knew. Since the fiasco with the BloodHunter coven, large covens were typically looked at with a suspicious eye.

“You have worked out the land in which your coven will stay?”

“Yes, High Councilor Jessica. We have made the arrangements and have made sure that no one will be dealing with the human population in the city over.”

I smiled. If they were going to make the sale, High Councilor Jess was the person to start with. She took over one of the vampire seats when there was the shift in power. It happened before I came but Grandpa and Mom explained that the old High Council were out for themselves most of the time. They didn’t care who was hurt in the process. Mom, Grandpa, Dad and few other prominent people saw to the shift in power. Whether it was forcing an early retirement or death. Either way, the new council I respected and they handled things fairly. They would also be more apt to help when someone needed it.

The meeting continued and there were another four different requests. Apparently, there were six today in total. After the first one, I had opened my book and started to read. It didn’t seem like anything was going to be crazy today.

“The final one will be here in twenty minutes. We will take a break until then.” High Councilor Mark, a werewolf and a previous Alpha, declared.

I leaned back in my seat and buried my nose deeper into the journal. It was fascinating. Alpha King Killian took on the war with the Vampires. The BloodHunter coven wasn’t as well known or at least the name wasn’t well known, so it just felt more like it was a war against all vampires. It was him though that realized it was a select few. He actually helped in making peace with the unrelated vampires, one of them being Grandpa. His choice to not view everyone as one lump group saved not only his pack but also the werewolf race as a whole.

We nearly lost half of our kind during those beginning years of his reign. The history books were quick to list his achievements but I was more interested in his personal journals. I knew it couldn’t have been easy and I was right. His personal journal was riddled with the pain he felt for his kind. His subjects that were being killed when he felt powerless to stop it.

“Earth to Vale. Anyone home?”

I looked up and nearly jumped out of my seat. “Goddess, Jess. Don’t scare me like that.”

“You are the only werewolf I know who would be so into a book that you wouldn’t notice a vampire walking up to you.”

I rolled my eyes and set down my book. “Why am I being graced by your presence, High Councilor?”

Jess rolled her eyes. “You were late today.”

“Yeah? And? I didn’t miss anything important.”

She took the book out of my hand and I growled. “What’s so interesting about some stuffy old book? You know, we could make history, you and I.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me and I shook my head.

“No thanks. While I’m sure you could tell me about how you lived three hundred years ago, I’d rather you not talk with your mouth full.”

Her jaw dropped and she went bright red. “Vale Everfell! If your mother could hear you, I wonder what she would say!”

I laughed. “Nothing. She can’t talk, remember?"

Her face paled and her jaw dropped further. “Vale!"

Shaking my head, I tried to control my laugh. “Her joke, not mine. She’s more crass than I am. She used to derail my dad so bad when he would slip up.” I mimicked my dads voice. “‘Why can’t see what I’m trying to do?’ ‘Because I can’t see you, nitwit.’ His whole argument would go out the window.”

Jess laughed. “Christ. I don’t think I could have handled it.”

“Seriously though, what are you doing up here?” I looked at her seriously.

Jess was beautiful. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and if you ignored the face that she was over four hundred years old, she was a man’s dream. As a horny teenager stuck inside a castle full of mostly old men, Jess and I had fooled around more than once. But she wasn’t my mate. She was someone I considered a close friend, but never anything more. She never asked for more either.

One drunken night, she had confessed that she would never fall in love again. After watching so many people die over the hundreds of years, it finally scarred her enough that she refused to have any meaningful romantic partnerships. A friend and a fuck buddy was all she could handle. Something I was more than willing to provide.

She had met my mom a few times over the years and while I know my mom knew about us, she never said anything about it. Mom was particularly open when it came to relationships. My dad was very firm on the ‘don’t fuck with anyone outside of your mate’. He said it wasn’t worth it and may ruin your relationship with your mate in the future. Mom had little to say though. She would smile and just say the heart wants what the heart wants.

“I think the last group is a pack thing. I know it’s something the previous High Council handled that’s now biting them in the ass but it might be something you’ll need to take care of.”

I nodded and sighed. “I guess I’ll hold off on reading then.”

She sneered. “Sorry to interrupt your time, your majesty.”

Turing to leave, I leaned forward and pinched her ass. She squealed and I winked. “For the majesty comment.”

Jess huffed and slammed the door, making me chuckle. I leaned over the railing to watch her stomp her way back into the room and sit down, crossing her arms over her chest. Rolling my eyes, I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. There was still another couple of minutes before the last group came in but if I restarted my book, I’d get lost in it.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I looked down at the text. 

Grandpa: Reach out to your mom tonight.

Me: What’s up?

Grandpa: I can’t talk right now. In the middle of the meeting. Just do it.

Me: Alright. Alright. 

The doors opened and two werewolves walked in. Naresh stepped up, making me sit up. I could feel him on edge, feel him start to pace and growl. There was an anxiousness and a nervousness that crept out of him and into me.

'What is is?'

'Something. I feel…something.'

My eyes narrowed, the floor below having my full attention now. High Councilor Mark was the one who spoke first.

“Alpha Ezekiel, Beta Leo, welcome to the High Council.”

My eyes roamed over the Beta first. He was taller and even built bigger than his Alpha. It was shocking actually. Rarely would an Alpha have a Beta bigger than him. I know my dad made an exception with Gamma Hector. He wasn’t taller but he was bigger and was the only one who could even last against my mom for more than five minutes.

The two were dark, tanned, with black hair. Beta Leo, though, was short buzzed hair. He looked like he had been in the human military. He wore slacks and a dark green button up shirt. There was a scowl on his face and it looked like he had a serious case of resting-bitch-face. His hands were clasped being him as they stopped in front of the Hough Council.

Next to him, his Alpha maybe topped out at 6ft. He wasn’t as built but he definitely was well defined. His hair was long, braided in the back and some of his hair was wrapped in thread, giving it shocks of color here and there. His eyes were dark. From this distance, I couldn’t tell the exact color but they were mesmerizing. He had a scowl on his face as well, brow furrowed. Even his hands were clenched. However, looking at his face, the scowl looked off. The lines on his face were someone who smiled often, not frowned.

He was wearing a white button up shirt, with turquoise jewelry around his neck.  My guess was he was in his late twenties, maybe early thirties. He had scars that were barely visible but it looked like he at least knew his way around a fight. They were not the most dressed up group to come in, but they were eye catching.

“I would rather not be here, but it seems I was left with no other choice.”

My heart hammered in my chest. Naresh growled louder, his pacing picking up. The Alpha’s voice washed over us and I felt goosebumps cover my body.

'What is going on? Naresh?'

He just rumbled and continued to shift, not able to sit down.

“State your case, Alpha.” Jess nearly growled.

“About seventy years ago, an Alpha by the name of Christian Darkry was brought before the council with crimes against his race. What he did was awful and deserved far worse punishment than what he receive.”

I was enraptured by his voice. Sitting on the edge of my seat, I watched him. He was shifting where he stood, as though a nervousness had settled in. His voice didn’t waver as he continued.

“The High Council decided that he would be put to death and his pack would be stripped of their name, their territory, and their rights.”

Another werewolf on the High Council, Julian, cleared his throat. “We don’t need a history lesson, Alpha Ezekiel.”

I grabbed the armrest of the chair. It cracked under my strength as I kept down the growl that was directed toward Julian. My eyes widened as I realized what I was about to do.

'Naresh, the hell…?'

'Mate?'

'WHAT?' I choked out a cough.

Naresh seemed unsure of himself though. Our confusion was only interrupted when the Alpha continued.

“I only give the history lesson because no one here was on the council back then. For better or for worse.” This earned him a few growls. He continued though. “His grandson, Derrek Darkry has decided that his Grandfather was wronged. He’s built himself a pack out of rogues. Some are remnants of the old pack, others are ones that have joined him in his crusade. However, they have decided instead of requesting a territory for their new pack, they are planning on taking ours.”

This time, the Beta spoke up. “He has been a plague. Attacking our borders, stealing our she-wolves and sending them back, raped and with child. He’s given us an ultimatum that if we don’t hand our lands to him, he will kill everyone in our pack and take over by force.”

“We aren’t a big pack.” Alpha Ezekiel stepped up after his Beta was done. “But those lands have been passed down from generation to generation of my father’s. It is sacred land to us and it’s not a lot but I will not abandon it when this was never our fight to begin with.”

I was struggling. What the hell was happening? Naresh was inconsolable and just staring at the Alpha made my heart hammer on my chest. All I wanted to do was jump down from the balcony and walk up to him. Smell him. Take him in my arms and crash my lips into his. Fuck.