The elevator doors opened onto the 13th floor and Lord General Cullen Arnauk stepped out into a room full of people. As he looked around he figured that the whole of the pack, including those who weren't residing in the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh were gathered. Most everyone was staring at him expectantly. Those who weren't staring at him were staring directly behind him at Aislinn.Aislinn had watched Cullen's face turn from passionate heat to emotionless stone as the elevator descended from the penthouse. He had been completely silent from the moment they stepped into the elevator and now as they walked into the room she could see the reason why. I've never heard of a pack of wolves this large, she thought as she looked around at the room full of people.Cullen didn't say a word to her. He simply passed through the crowd and she followed along behind. She hoped that he would give her some direction when it was needed. The people in his way stepped aside to let him pass. Aislinn noted
Aislinn gratefully followed Rissa out of the great room and down a different hall into another room. The room they ended up in looked like a library. There were tons of bookshelves and tables and chairs. There were a number of sitting areas with couches and armchairs arranged together in confidential little nooks. Several people were already in the room. They looked up and watched as the small group of women entered and headed for chairs. Aislinn wondered if there was a single room on this floor that wasn't full of people."How many are in this pack anyway," Aislinn asked with a bit more emphasis than she intended.Rissa ushered Aislinn to one of the big couches and they all sat down. "I don't know exact numbers. It started out a lot smaller. Most packs are a lot smaller. But Lord Arnauk is, well, good at leading. There aren't many other packs this large mostly because there aren't many alphas that can control this many people. Lord Arnauk seems to come by it naturally. Not to mention
Aislinn was speechless. Her brain was trying to grasp what Rissa had just told her. Rissa continued in the silence. "But really the men around here, especially Lord Arnauk refrain from any number of things if they aren't serious about a woman. I mean take Lord Arnauk for example." Rissa thought she'd approach things a little differently. She figured that there really wasn't any way all of the mating stuff had happened. But everyone knew Lord Arnauk's normal habits. If he had taken her up to his room there had to be more to it than the two of them just having a nap in his bed. She reeked of him. "Lord Arnauk never takes women to his room. He almost never takes all his clothes off. He tends to like women who are strong, intelligent, and show as few signs of remaining interested in him as possible. He never sleeps with the same woman twice in a row. He tends to make it short and sweet with as little affection in it as he can manage. He's always on top, usually with the woman on her hands
Meredith's eyes virtually bulged out of her head. "Have you no respect for Lord Arnauk? You've no right to use his name."Aislinn looked over at Rissa, who was wincing a bit and looking at her as though Meredith was right. But Rissa was keeping her mouth shut on this one. "Well," Aislinn said, "he told me to use his name. What? You slept with him and you never earned the privilege?"Rissa leaned in conspiratorially. "You didn't tell me you could use his name."Aislinn shrugged. "What's the big deal?""No one but a few of the elders get to call Lord Arnauk anything other than Lord Arnauk or General. He's the alpha Aislinn," she said as if Aislinn had missed something very important about the word alpha."Okay, but I'm new at this. I don't get all the rules here. I just do what he told me to do. He's never once told me to not call him Cullen. And frankly if I slept with someone," she added looking at Meredith incredulously, "and he didn't let me use his first name, I wouldn't be continu
"I can only guess that this Rafe person had something to do with why none of us cared that Jenna disappeared. According to Aislinn he was standing there watching us all and no one questioned his presence or the presence of his men and they were there as well. Aislinn said that distance from Rafe has a lessening affect on his abilities. I for one am feeling it necessary to question not only my own actions that night but things that I observed on the way in that were unusual as well. Now that you've mentioned those questions you brought up, Terrick, and I don't know about anyone else, but I seem to remember strange greenish bonfires. I'd say that the bonfires may have had something to do with it as well. Right now I have quite a few questions that still need answers. So I can't do more than tell you all what I have and attempt to arrange for additional solutions. Aislinn was only able to shed some light. But she is for the most part ignorant of the finer details. Rafe seems to want some
Keith sat down across from him and waited until Cullen had put the first spoonful of food in his mouth before blurting it out. "So while we were in the meeting Aislinn got into a brawl with Meredith and forced Meredith's submission." Cullen virtually choked on the mouthful of food and Keith chuckled at his accomplishment. "Oh that's not the end of it. I guess she made a complete fool of Meredith in the process. It wasn't even a close fight."Cullen wiped the food from his mouth and looked at Keith as though he had grown a second head. Keith grinned from ear to ear. "I take it you didn't know she was capable?"Cullen cleared his throat. "The closest I ever came to finding out if she could fight was when she told me she had previously beaten up her asshole boss from the bar and once I snuck up on her and she managed to kick me hard enough to knock me backward several feet." Cullen thought about that as he said it.Keith nodded. "Well from the sounds of things she may very well be alpha
"Why are all of you so stuck on how exactly we had sex? I don't get it," Aislinn glared at her. "And it's none of your business." Cullen stiffened and Sarah gave him a harsh glare at that."On the contrary. They're stuck on it because what the alpha does with his women is everyone's business." Celia grinned. Sarah had to hold Cullen back as the face off continued. Celia leaned in closer to Aislinn. Neither woman was willing to drop her gaze from the other for an instant. "Did you bite him back? Taste him?" Aislinn didn't answer. "No? Shame. I would have. Did he do it on purpose? Did he tell you what it means? Do you have any idea what it takes to be the alpha bitch?"Suddenly Celia stopped. She tilted her head and her eyes looked over Aislinn's shoulder and stopped on the three elders that had been watching. She smiled broadly. "Have you come to make sure I didn't hurt her?"Aislinn wasn't sure if Celia was trying to distract her so that she could attack or if there was something that
"I did catch the sarcasm," Aislinn responded. Keith just stood there watching and waiting with a goofy grin on his face as if something great were about to happen."Ailinn, that was Sarah. She's one of my best friends and for all intents and purposes, she's in charge of the women. There are too many in this pack for me to deal with all of it myself. At some point you'll have to spend some time with her and get your position around here straightened out. But with the rest of the complications at this point I think it best if that waited."Aislinn nodded. "Alpha female," she said earning an impressed look from Cullen. She looked at Keith quizzically as he just stood there looking amused. "Is there something growing out of my forehead?" She asked Cullen.He shook his head and glared at Keith, who only returned an unimpressed look. "Have you actually met Keith?""That first night we met. At the bar.""Yeah," Cullen breathed out. It was all like a bad dream now. "Well, this is Keith. His a