Chapter 20

Leo’s P.O.V.

“Wow,” Elise stares at me as I come out of the bathroom dressed in the suit that they wanted me to wear to the council meeting.

“Do you know how to tie one of these?” I ask, frustrated with trying to make it look normal. The last time I wore a tie I was fifteen and in court waiting to find out where I would live next; the damn thing was a clip-on. I keep flipping the ends over one another and Elise comes over giggling.

“Come here, I’ll do it for you.” She grabs a chair and stands up on it so she can reach me properly and ties it with ease. Before she lets go of it she pulls it towards her, bringing me with it and she kisses me. The sparks run through me and I wrap my arms around her and lift her off the stool, never letting her lips leave mine. I can’t believe how insanely lucky I am to have her in my life. I never imagined I would ever find anyone.

When I set her down she’s breathless and I can’t get the grin off my face. Gideon keeps yelling at me to mark her, but I don't have any idea what he's talking about, he threatens to take over and just do it himself.

“Okay, lovebirds, we have important stuff to do tonight,” Lucas says as he knocks on the open door and comes in. “Leo, Roman has asked that I prep you before our meeting. He and Anna are already in the board room getting set up.”

I’m nervous about this meeting, I have no idea what to expect, and honestly, I still haven’t quite come to terms with everything.

“We will be introducing you tonight as Alpha Prince Leo Heroux, son of Alpha King Augusta and Luna Queen Aria Heroux. They are going to have many questions, and I want you to be truthful in your answers, with exception of who your wolf is. We initially thought we would keep the fact that you two are mates a secret, but in the end, we determined that would be pointless. One look at you both and it’s obvious you are meant for one another.” Lucas leans against the counter, and he looks so confident. I wish I felt that way.

“Gideon, we can’t have you come forward tonight. Your ability to come forward in human form is not something we want to let anyone else know about.”

Tell him I understand. [Gideon]

“He says he understands,” I say.

“Just be yourself, Leo. Everything will be fine and I’ll be right beside you. Okay?” I think Lucas can sense my nervousness.

“Roman and I will handle most of the questions anyway. Come on, we should get going.” He walks out the door and Elise and I follow him. The closer we get to the board room the more uncomfortable I get. When we enter I just stare around the room, it’s massive and the walls are painted navy blue. On one wall there are at least twenty tv screens, and when I look down at the white boardroom table I notice that every seat has a small camera in front of it.

“Most of the members will be remote this evening,” Roman says as he joins us in the room. “Don’t worry, Leo, we are right here for you.”

The more they tell me not to worry the more nervous I get. I still feel like a stranger here, and this new world feels foreign to me. There is a small part of me that misses my old familiar life. I admit I miss the comfort of knowing exactly how every day was going to go, and I miss Frank. There are nights when I can’t get the sight of him lying on the ground out of my head and the heaviness of knowing that he died protecting me is hard to deal with.

He knew you were special. He loved you, Leo. If given the choice he would do it again. It is not your fault. My only regret is not getting to meet him. [Gideon]

“Don’t you look handsome,” Anna walks in and compliments me as she sets some papers on the table where she will be sitting. “Elise, you’ll sit beside me, and Leo can sit between you and Lucas.”

“How many are joining us tonight?” Lucas asks.

“All but two will be joining tonight. Lux and Centori had their baby this morning.”

“Oh, how wonderful. We need to make sure we send something over.” Anna says sweetly.

“Elise darling!” A woman enters through the doorway and she is a striking figure nearly as tall as the door frame. She’s wearing a long white coat that has silver beads around the collar and a silver dress that looks like it’s painted on. She is incredibly thin with silver hair that is braided down her back. She beams a smile at Elise, curling her lips back and revealing what looks like fangs. Elise jumps from the table and gives her a huge hug.

“Odette! My gosh, you are stunning as always!” Elise is clearly very excited to see this person, but once the silver-clad woman sees me she doesn’t take her eyes off me, and it makes me extremely uncomfortable.

“My goodness, it’s uncanny.” She walks toward me, studying my face, and she stares a hole right through me. “It’s remarkable, they could be twins.”

“This is Leo, Leo this is Odette. She is the ruler of the Northern Vampire territories.” Elise introduces us and I can feel that I am starting to sweat nervously.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” I say humbly and with a slight bow.

“The pleasure is all mine.” She says and then turns to hug Roman, Anna, and Lucas. “Where are you sitting Leo?” She asks and when I show her she takes off her coat and claims the seat directly across from me.

Two men walk in shortly after and they are both dressed in jeans and a suit coat. They too have a striking look to them, one has black hair that is slicked back and the other is his complete opposite with wavy blond hair.

“Hunter, Eli, what a pleasure to have you here in person. It’s been a long time.” Roman hugs each of them and they bow their heads to him immediately after.

“Leo, I’d like you to meet Eli and his husband Hunter. They handle much of our trade business in the north. Eli is Odette’s son.”

I greet them and they stare at me too, like I have a growth coming out of my face. “Leo, it is our honor to meet you. Your father was an incredible man. I respected him greatly. I must say it’s a bit like seeing his double looking at you.” Eli says before making his way to his mother and embracing her. Hunter follows and Odette seems to be very happy to see them.

Several more join us in the room, and the screens on the wall start to turn on as individuals show up on them. The room is buzzing with greetings and conversations, and I feel like I’m suffocating. It hits me that they are all here because of me and I have no idea what I’m doing. The weight of it all doesn’t seem real.

"Don’t worry Leo, everyone is here to help,” Lucas says, once again sensing my unease. “Just say hello to everyone and again, remember to be yourself.”

“I think everyone is here, we should get started.” Anna comes over and prompts us to take our seats.

All of the screens light up once everyone is sitting, and I am as nervous as I have ever been, my leg bouncing like crazy as I try and keep myself looking calm. Elise grabs my hand under the table and gives it a squeeze assuring me that she is right there with me.

Roman’s voice booms throughout the room as people settle.

“Thank you all for coming. Tonight we have two items to discuss. Our scouts have returned from the south, and as we feared, Alpha Eric has taken things too far. But, before we provide all of the details, I have some fantastic news. I would like you all to meet Alpha Prince Leo Heroux, son of Alpha King Augusta and Luna Queen Aria Heroux.”

I look at each of the screens and there is a mixture of shocked faces, some are clapping, and others look as if they have seen a ghost.

“H-hello, it is an honor to meet you all.” I stutter out, sounding unsure of myself.

Everyone immediately starts talking at once, firing questions at me until Roman once again quiets them all down.

“Now, now, calm down. Leo has had a very difficult time adjusting to all of this. As we all know when Alpha King Augusta was killed by Eric, he forced Luna Queen Aria to marry him. What we didn’t know was that she was pregnant at the time. She kept it hidden and upon his birth, she asked a southern coven to put him in hiding for fear that Alpha Eric would kill him. Leo has lived his entire life as a human, with no knowledge of our world, or who he is. As you can imagine it has been quite a shock for the boy. But, you will all get your turn to introduce yourselves. Perhaps we start with our Fae Leaders.”

I turn my attention to the screens and a couple in the center starts to talk.

“Alpha Prince Leo, I am Murry and this is my wife Alo. It is a true honor to meet you.” The pair have matching red hair and bright blue eyes. They look at me and it almost looks as if they have pity me.

“Alpha Prince Leo, my name is Avery. I am the Queen of the Northern Fae territories. May I ask a question?” She asks, brushing back tight wild curls of red hair away from her face.

“Yes, of course,” I reply nervously.

“How old are you?”

I go to answer, but Roman jumps in before I can.

“Leo turns eighteen in three weeks, and before you all ask, yes he has his wolf. The poor boy thought he was going mad the last few years as Gideon, his wolf, started to make himself known.”

There is whispering between everyone, and Fae Queen Avery laughs. “My goodness, you poor thing. Not knowing what was going on in your head.” Her laughter softly stops and she shakes her head. “How difficult that must have been for you.”

“Leo, the Fae handle all of our agriculture here in the North. They are a powerful people, with the biggest hearts you could ever want to find.” Anna says, and they all nod to her in respect.

“Perhaps we go next to the Covens,” Roman says, and I look to the screen to see who starts talking next.

“I am Carmen and this is my sister Izzy. I govern the magic of Abjuration, protective spells. Izzy here is responsible for Divination. Those with this magic can cast their mind’s eye across the world to other places, and even locate lost objects.”

Izzy smiles. “I am constantly being asked by Lucas to find his car keys.” Everyone laughs as she continues. “There aren’t many of us left, but those of us in the North swear our allegiance to you.”

My head turns quickly to a woman with jet-black hair and skin that looks as if it is pigmented with sapphires.

“I’m Yuki, I govern the magic of Conjuration, the ability to create matter, creatures, and even bridges to other realms. It is an honor to meet you.”

The next person looks like a child, but then quickly morphs into a bird and then into an older man with a beard.

“Knock that crap off Giles, show the boy what you look like so he doesn’t accidentally kill you in battle because you don’t look familiar,” Yuki yells at him and the others laugh again. I stare at the screen and see him transition to a fairly ordinary guy, slightly balding, heavy set, and quite normal looking.

“Giles,” he says pointing at himself, “Transmutation is my responsibility.” He fidgets with his hands waiting for the next person to go.

“My name is Tuli and this is my husband Shen. I govern the magic of Illusion, and Shen governs the magic of Evocation, his people can manipulate things like fire and light. It’s quite fascinating really.” The two look at each other and then to my surprise they just start making out right there on the screen in front of everyone.

“Ahem,” Roman interrupts the pair, “Not the time you two. And let me be clear, it is NEVER the time during a council meeting. My apologies Leo. There is also a couple that isn’t here, Lux and Centori just had a child,” the room erupts in cheering, “Lux governs over the magic of Enchantment and Centori is the keeper of Necromancy.”

Roman continues and turns his attention to the screen again.

“The remaining are of our kind and leaders of the northern packs.”

It’s not hard to notice a distinct difference in their looks. The pack members are all massive, much larger than the others, and they look intense.

“I am Alpha Silas and this is my wife Luna Kanza. We are from the North Wind pack. Tell me, boy, what makes you think you can rule the south? You have no experience to do so.”

“Silas, give him a chance.” his wife quiets him down, but I can see it in his eyes. I can see it in all of them, there is doubt and I don’t blame them.

Several more introductions come. There is Alpha Xander and Luna Jacey from the Northern Moon pack, Alpha Emmett and Luna Ka from the Northern Pines pack, Luna Lomasi from the Northern Flower pack, and Alpha Takoda and Luna Rai from the Northern Thunder pack.

I will never remember all of their names.

I am also introduced to the remainder of the people in the room, all from the vampire territories. Amber, Esme, and Louis. I notice that each group has very distinctive characteristics, and they all have specific duties to the territories. They seem as though they have known each other for a very long time.

“Are there any immediate questions we can answer?” Roman asks and everyone starts talking at once. “One at a time, please,” he says.

“Where are your adoptive parents? The ones who raised you?” Odette asks.

“I don’t have any. I was passed from one foster home to another until I was moved to a group home in the city.” The questions keep coming, and the more this group finds out about me, the more their expressions change. Sad gasps and comments about how tragic my life has been start to irritate me. Nearly all of them now look at me with pity in their eyes, and I hate it. I can’t stand another minute of it.

“My life hasn’t been easy,” I stand and face the group, my hands shaking slightly, “But I won’t allow you to feel sorry for me. I’m going to need help navigating my way forward, and I don’t know if I’ll live up to my father’s reputation, but I’m going to try. Eric has my mother, and he’s kidnapped my only friend. With or without the help of this council I plan to find them. I pray that within me there is the same wisdom and courage that my father had. But please, do not pity me, help me instead. All I ask is that you guide me so that I may know my father through you, and perhaps I can lead as he did.”

The room is so quiet after I stop talking that it is almost deafening. Odette stands from her seat and bows to me. “I pledge my allegiance to you, Alpha Prince Leo, out of respect for your father my territories will help you in any way we can.” While she is talking the rest of the people in the room stand and bow as well. When I look up at the TV screens, they also are standing and bowing their heads.

“Now, let us move on to an update on what has been happening in the South. I’m sad to say that Eric has gone too far...”

Roman and Lucas update the council on what’s been happening, and the conversations get heated as anger erupts around the room toward Eric.

Nearly an hour into the meeting, Roman is quiet for several moments, and then quickly jumps from the table.

“There’s been a breach. Someone's crossed the perimeter.” He quickly puts his coat on and dashes for the door. Lucas follows him and Eli and Hunter swiftly exit with them. I don’t think twice and stand up to join them, but Anna grabs my arm and stops me.

“No, Leo. You are not prepared for what could be out there. Whatever it is, whoever it is, they are most likely here for you.” She turns to Elise and hands her a key from around her neck. “You know where to go,” she says, and Elise grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room as the voices on the screen erupt into a commotion.