Ultima Trials

Tabled Conversations

Hayden’s POV

It was well into the night when Gloria and Randall left. Mav passed out from the excitement, and though I could feel the pain radiating from Cam, he never let it show. As a woman, I knew that Gloria knew.

I was exhausted and didn’t have the energy to do anything besides lay down and sleep.

When I woke up, I was on the bed, next to Mav. I looked around the room and noticed that Cam was nowhere to be found. The bond let me know that he was safe, so I gathered my stuff for these stupid meetings. A much-needed shower was all I needed for my day. My hair needed a good wash and my legs needed to be shaved. After I was smooth and cleaned, I stood in front of the mirror. I had one pep talk I had to give myself every year.

I hated coming to these things, honestly. Being in the Luna room, no one wanted to talk to me. I wasn’t allowed in the Alpha room, but I wasn’t taken seriously as an Alpha anyway. So, I dressed however I wanted to. Most of the Luna’s wore really flashy dresses, but I wasn’t a flashy dress person. I also wasn’t a pantsuit person. So, I wore a navy-blue pencil skirt, with a shimmery black tank top, and a navy blazer. My heels matched my shirt. After doing my make-up and blow drying my hair, I pulled it into a high ponytail. I wanted to show my mark. The mark of my mate would legitimize my right to Alpha.

I gave myself the ‘You are strong, you are Alpha. You are the rightful Alpha, even if your older brother should have been here with you’ speech. I hated that I had to give myself the speech, but I needed to. Arms wrapped around my waist; Cam’s warm scent put a smile on my face.

“You are strong. You are exactly where you are supposed to be. Here.” He kissed my cheek.

Cam was dressed in black slacks with a navy-blue shirt that was tucked in. His black hair looked like he ran his hands through it with water and called it a day. Stupid men and their stupid hair.

Before going downstairs to meet the rest of the Alphas, Cam checked on Mav, who was telling Gloria about the last three weeks he had spent with Black Storm. A lot of that was recounting the same stories he had told the night before, but Gloria hung on every word.

I could feel that Cam was still pissed about being lied to for his entire life. He didn’t look at Gloria, who’s eyes darted back down to the ground. She knew Cam was upset, and with Alpha’s it was usually best to let them want to talk about it. Cam kissed my forehead before we walked downstairs. He grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers and we both took a deep breath.

The chatter in the dining hall ceased completely. Even the forks stopped scraping against the plates. It was silent. All the eyes fell on Cam and me. Though I respected myself as an Alpha, the respect of other Alphas was lacking. My head drooped to the ground as I stared at my feet.

Keep your head up. Cam’s voice soothed my head.

I picked my head back up and locked eyes with my mate, who put a small smile on his face and found us a table that was empty at the end. Something in Cam shifted as he held out a chair for me. Instead of letting me sit in it, he quickly sat down and pulled me into his lap. I giggled as he nuzzled his nose into my neck.

Breakfast was spent with Cam showing possessiveness over me, without being gross. His arms stayed wrapped around my waist and his face only came out of my neck to take bites of food. We could both feel eyes watching as the runaway/dead Alpha cuddled with the Alpha Female with the largest pack. The whispers were low enough to be whispers, but not quite enough to not be heard with our enhanced hearing. Even Noah’s snarls were barely audible. The pack members that had believed Cam was dead had slowly begun to trickle into the dining hall, further pissing Noah off. He ran his pack on fear instead of mutual respect like an Alpha should, and so the pack members trickled in and out slowly before completely ignoring Noah all together.

The icing on the beautiful pissed off cake that was Noah, was when they all began to bow to Cam. He didn’t mean to, but Jersey began to release their aura and the entire Silver Star pack bowed in submission of their Alpha. The rest of the Alphas all turned to look at Noah.

“Alpha Noah, why is your pack bowing to another Alpha?” Alpha Mattias of Ravenscove asked.

Ravenscove was one of those packs that kept themselves to themselves. Mattias kept his pack out of the way of everyone and everyone out of his pack. After losing his Luna during a rogue attack a few years ago, he never wanted another mate. He was one of the few Alphas that didn’t care if I was in the room or not, he just wanted to get it over with.

“He is not their Alpha. I am!” Noah growled.

Jersey snarled and pulled me behind him, “You are no one’s Alpha.”

Noah growled and rushed, but the growl coming from the Ultima wolf stopped every wolf.

“I do believe this is a meeting of peace, and that Alpha Noah doesn’t look like peace.” Randall Wixx stood with a raised eyebrow.

“You might be an Ultima wolf, but do not come onto my land and order me around.” Noah snarled.

Wixx slowly stalked towards Noah and towered over him before moving so fast his hand blurred. Wixx’s hand was wrapped around Noah’s neck and his feet were dangling in the air. Not even a breath could be heard as Wixx stood.

“I might not be your Alpha, but I am an Elder. Mind your tone with me pup, before I find even more reason to kill you where you piss.”

Again, the faint smell of urine filled the air. Mattias snorted before shifting to look back at Camden and me. The rest of the Alphas looked at us again before Garrett from Silver Lotus in Tennessee stepped in front of the Alphas.

Questions were asked, all revolving around how Cam was still alive. Randall dismissed the group to the Conference Hall. It was a single building behind the packhouse. Cam said it was used for mating ceremonies and pack runs. He hadn’t seen it used since Noah came around.

Cam kissed my forehead, “Get that land, Alpha.”

I rolled my eyes, but Mira whined that we would be separated from our mate. I watched as he walked into the smaller hall which was the Luna’s.

“Let the games begin.” I whispered.