The Empath’s Pack

Preparation

Dawn woke up to an empty house. She couldn’t remember what happened outside the fight with Carmen. She pushed for her connection with Alarick. She noticed he was at the pack house. She felt so stiff, but rejuvenated in a way. She often didn’t need to sleep. Something must have happened during the battle.

*Alarick! I just remembered that Carmen’s eyes went Epsilon. Is she okay?*

She noticed a pause for the response. *Are you okay? Do you remember anything else?*

*No everything okay? I didn’t hurt anyone did I?*

She had heard the pause once again. *No everyone is fine. Carmen didn’t make a full transition. She still has her humanity. Rest for the rest of the day. I’ll pick you up after I’m done with all the paperwork today.*

Dawn was about to argue, but thought better about it. Maybe now wasn’t the time to press the issue. She could tell he hadn’t told her the full truth. Dawn knew that Alarick would tell her if it were important though. She made her way to the kitchen to find some blood.

“That is odd. I thought I would of needed at least one blood bag for the blood I lost yesterday, but I’m not hungry. Maybe I miscounted?”

Her words made her wish she could remember what happened. Dawn didn’t want to wait until he came for her late, but knew that if she didn’t grab a bag and take another nap that she would be having a bigger issue than what he had to tell her.

*Just relax, mate. I can feel how tense you are from the pack house. I’ll be back soon.*

Alarick needed Dawn to relax. Her stress was making him stressed. He didn’t need anything added to the issue at hand. He had to transfer Carmen through to the council. In turn also had to let them know about her Epsilon incident. She would understandable be trained and corrected harder for that information. Alarick didn’t let it slide though since it involved the safety of his mate and pack.

“She is all packed, Alpha.”

Alarick looked up to Veta. “Thank you. Marshal has volunteered to take her to the airport and travel with her. I still have to call Alpha Waters.”

“I’ll leave you to that, Alpha.”

He rubbed his eyes and dialed. “Walter! Yes it is good to hear from you as well. I am calling once again about Carmen.”

“What did she do now?”

“Challenged my mate to her title of Luna.”

He could hear the sigh that followed. “Well that is new. What happened?”

“She was beaten. My mate is a council member and challenged her on the terms if she lost she would go to the council. However, that isn’t the only grievance. She also shows signs of being on the verge of Epsilon. The council has pushed up the meeting date. She will be pushed to them as of tomorrow morning. Council member Marshal will be delivering her, himself.”

Alpha Waters sighed, “I understand though I wished it hadn’t come to this. I will inform her family. Thank you alpha, congrats on your mate and we will see you soon.”

Alarick sighed. Now that Carmen was taken care of he needed to focus back on the gathering and ceremony. He also didn’t know how Dawn will feel with what she had done the night before. He wasn’t a hundred percent on it himself. He had remembered her biting into him. She had managed to only take enough blood to heal, but had started pulling all of his clothes off. She had fed off him in many ways last night.

He was surprised he was awake. The mark had taken a lot out of him. His body was really making itself her feeding source. He wanted this time to get through his thoughts and take care of pack business before the gathering in two days. He had to still send out a few emails and needed to verify the plans with Veta.

Loveta walked in with a notebook and sat across from Alarick. He looked up over his computer. She smiled, but remained quiet while he finished the last two emails. He had finally finished the task and stood heading to the door.

“Ready Alpha? Let’s go over the venue.”

They walked to the large ballroom in the pack house. It had been cleaned and dressed for the event. The large chandelier sparkled as the centerpiece for the dance floor. There was a bar off to the side and tables against the fair corner for on lookers. Everything looked perfect. They had the stage setup for the band that would play and the side setup for them and the royalty that would be attending.

They continued to the dining hall. It had resembled a great hall with its head table and the many long tables across the floor. Each had centerpieces with candles littered about. They had already placed all the plate ware and utensils for the dinner. He noted the banners of their pack symbol throughout the decoration. Loveta led him to the kitchen to review the menu. It would be a five course meal featuring filet mignon. He had specifically requested for him to serve Dawn. This way he could show possession and commitment. It would also allow him to bring blood for her and her family.

They walked the pack house making sure all the rooms for the Alphas were prepared. They got into Alarick’s Jeep and headed to the pack’s closest hotel. There would be many people staying at all the hotels, but this one would house the betas and gammas. He wanted to make sure everything was in perfect order. He had asked Dawn’s family if they needed a home, but Lord Byron said he had one near here. He smiled to himself about all the work they had done in such a short time.

“Anything else?”

Veta nodded, “I have Dawn’s two dresses in the office as well as your casual and formal wear.”

Alarick smiled, “fantastic. Did Theo and Serenity get everything finished for the run?”

She nodded, “of course. Tammy has also prepared extra rooms at the hospital just in case. I increased the patrols and asked Marshal about his return. He will be back before the run. Tomorrow night a few Alphas will be arriving early. I have scheduled time for Luna Dawn and you to greet them.”

“What about Tala and Taika? They have been awfully quite the last two days. That is very unlike them.”

Veta stood. “I think they are feeling the pull.... you know how they have dreaded finding their mates.”

Alarick nodded he did know. Taika and Tala had always been together. They even had the same school schedule. They had both turned eighteen three years ago. They were still young in wolf years, but were now old enough for their mates. Tala cried her whole eighteenth birthday. They actively avoid others outside the pack. Now that he had his mate, he knew they were more anxious than ever.

“What about the item I asked you to grab?”

She smiled holding up a small black box, “it’s perfect, trust me Alpha.”