Chapter Two
1059 Words
A second Alpha?
Jennifer's POV
I woke up and stared at the ceiling in my room, my eyes tracing and memorizing the patterns on it and the walls too.
I'd been able to get away from the stranger yesterday and just like I'd thought. He wasn't a member of our pack.
Worst case scenarios, could have been a rogue wolf and I would have been brutally murdered.
There was a knock on my door and my mother came in with a tray. She still had that worried look on her face since she'd seen me yesterday.
She'd heard the news and had been in shock too. Everyone in the pack was talking about it.
That was even worse than Mark rejecting me.
“I brought you breakfast Jennifer”.
“I'm not hungry Mom”, I replied monotonously and turned away from her to blink back my tears.
I heard her drop the tray softly on the table and sink into my bed next to me.
“Jen baby”.
I said nothing, the tears rolling down my cheeks now.
“You have to eat. You can't keep hurting forever”
“Mom, I want to be alone”.
She didn't say anything and silence reigned for a while.
My wolf purred softly acknowledging that I didn't have to turn my mother away because of those motherfuckers.
I sat up slowly and turned to face her looking like the absolute mess I'd always been.
I almost laughed at the thought.
Sophie, of all people Sophie.
My mom held my shoulder and touched my cheeks with another one.
“You need to eat”, she said firmly.
“I'm not hungry Mom”
“Jennifer Thanes. I didn't raise you to waste over a man…
“Oh please Mom”, I replied tiredly and stared at the soup she'd brought.
“He doesn't deserve you Jen”, she said softly.
I looked up at her, my eyes pooling with tears.
“You walked out of that meeting with your head held up high. Like the very nobility you are. Never forget that”.
There was a loud knock on the door and we both looked at it and then glanced at each other.
My mother went to answer it. It was one of the Alpha's imperial guards.
“A courtesy message from the Luna”.
My mom took the letter from him with a false smile and closed the door.
Then she held the sealed message over a candle making sure it was burnt to ashes.
That felt satisfying.
She walked towards me and took her seat next to me.
“So come on, ea….
There was a loud bang on the door again and I swear I was already irritated.
I got down from my bed and headed for the door, swinging it open.
It wasn't the guards. It was our neighbors, Ms. Linda and Rosalina. They were as white as a sheet.
“You're still here? Haven't you heard? Everyone had been summoned impromptu to the great hall”.
I froze. That only happened during rare and special occasions and for every single person to be summoned.
Something bad was about to happen.
I didn't even think straight, I burst out of the house and down the road, my mother calling out to me in the distance.
*************
The hall was already packed when I ran in, short of breath. Everyone was murmuring and sharing whatever it was with the person next to them.
Mark and Sophie sat on the high chairs that were specifically meant for large crowds like this. They would be able to sit over everyone and command reverence.
I'd once fantasized about sitting there, next to Mark.
I blinked, willing away that thought. There was a session going on and I needed to hear it
I worked my way to the front. Suddenly a hush fell over the audience.
A man walked into the hall, flanked by two other wolves. He wore glasses which made him look a bit weird and nerdy but his aura and stance screamed wolf.
He was an Alpha.
“Alpha Cade. We weren't expecting you, my deep apologies”, Mark said with a stoic expression.
He stared at Mark with no hint of emotions in his eyes but he still smiled pleasantly.
I pushed to the front line so as to get a better view of what was happening.
“Of course you weren't. I know, it was intentional”.
Mark's jaw tightened and he glanced over at one of the pack elders before continuing.
“So to what do I owe such surprise?”
I looked at Alpha Cade, he seemed pretty familiar but that was highly unlikely. I'd lived in Solna all my life and knew everyone here.
Meeting someone else from another pack, especially an Alpha was pretty far fetched.
I could feel the tension simmering in the room. Whatever this Alpha came here for, it was for no fun or pleasantries.
Isn't karma a b***h?
“Three of your men crossed into Fort territory eleven days ago. You've had them under pack protection since."
A murmur arose from the crowd and Alpha Cade just took a quick glance at the audience and immediately another hush descended.
"That's an internal matter—"
"It stopped being internal when they crossed my border."
He took a couple of steps towards Mark and I noticed that Sophie was staring appreciatively at him. She gave him a once over and I could see her fiddle with her fingers the way she did whenever she found anyone “hot and attractive”.
Ugh, to think I never knew what she was capable of. You disgust me Sophie.
"I'm here to discuss consequences."
Mark’s fist clenched on the seat and he glared back at Cade.
"What kind of consequences?” Mark asked, his gaze fixed on the man before him.
My heart skipped two beats, whatever this was, it was no small matter and if it wasn't handled properly we'd all suffer the consequences.
I swallowed at the thought of the “consequences”.
Alpha Cade's eyes turned cold and ruthless and he fixed his gaze on Mark.
"The kind that reminds people where lines are.”
- Writer
