The Trials of the Jinx

The cold breath of November is clinging to the forest, with a few snowflakes beginning to fall. Every animal begins to turn into their dens for their long-awaited rest, all except the wolves. They have work to be done. Packs from every part of the country are preparing to send out their alphas, their leaders, to the Meet. Tension filled their forests like a fog, but none as much as the Beau forest. Six alphas sharing a common living area for three days is enough to raise hairs but add onto that; their betas and a few warriors, and you would have to consider leashes. But it needs to be done. Every five years the peace treaties are revised and other important matters, such as rogues, other supernaturals, convicts, etc., are discussed as well. The fresh coffee aroma wafts into Sandor's office as his mate enters. Black curls with streaks of silver tumble into her face as she places the tray on the coffee table.  "Ayla, you are my salvation," Sandor muses.  "I know.” She glides along the hardwood floor, as she moves to stand behind her mate. She bends down, and leans against the leather chair for support, before slipping the lobe of his ear between her teeth to nibble it. A low rumble bursts from his chest, making her smile. She slowly moves her hands over his body, feeling his muscles twitch beneath her touch. He tips his head back so he could see her eyes. It is like looking at the fresh green grass after a storm. He can easily gaze into her eyes for the rest of his days and be contemptuous. He jerks up by a sudden knock on the door. Sandor lets his nose guide his eyes to find his beta standing behind the door. He leans back into the chair, his mate eager to wrap her hands around him once again.  "Come in, Jeremy," Sandor sighs. The sturdy man that enters has his long chestnut hair pulled back tightly in a low ponytail, exposing his hooded onyx eyes. He punches a fist to his chest before greeting the two. "Alpha, Luna." Sandor signals Jeremy to take a seat. Unlike Ayla, his movements are quick and harsh. He sits down across from Sandor, his body barely making contact with the chair with her spine as straight as an arrow. Ayla pours each of them a coffee and hands the cups to them, getting a quick thanks from the men. "The guard detail is ready and the border patrol is at full capacity with no issues detected so far," Jeremy informs us. "Good, let's keep it that way." Sandor takes a sip and savours the warmth that spreads through his body. Though wolves tend to have a much higher core temperature than humans, the snowy weather does push even their limits. "The condos are prepared, and the maids and chefs have their orders as well," Ayla adds, curling her fingers around the cup, enjoying its heat as well. "Thank you. I know these past few weeks have been stressful, but it is almost over, then we can enjoy the holiday season." “Have you heard anything new regarding the recent abductions?” Jeremy asks me. I shake my head. At first glance, it seems like a runaway case, though they have been reported in multiple supernatural territories and even among humans. The circumstances are just too similar to ignore, but with no evidence to suggest foul play, no progress has been made. “I don’t like the fact that there have been no reports this entire month. If this is some sort of mass abduction, they might be waiting for something,” Jeremy says, tapping his finger against the rim of the cup. “Do you think they’d attack during the meet?” “I hope not, but I’m sure every alpha will have their territories locked tightly during the next few days,” Sandor replies. “Would they be bold enough to attack here?” Ayla chimes in. “They’ve had plenty of practice working their way through secure territories during the past year. What if they are waiting to make their big announcement?” Sandor frowns, but Jeremy is the one to ask; “What announcement?” She shrugs then answers; “Look what we can do.” The thought is unsettling, and he can see the blood drain from Jeremy’s face as well. They didn’t think their pack would be on their list with all the extra manpower coming in, but Ayla raises an excellent point. Sandor’s heart begins to beat faster, which Jeremy notices because he is up in seconds, ready to take his orders. “I want scouts sent out in every direction to give our borders a heads-up in case of an attack. We are too thinly spread to enhance security, but at least with a warning, we can send the necessary help to the weak link.” Jeremy slams his fist to his chest and is almost out the door when Sandor calls out. "One more thing, I need you to make sure no one wanders off." His brows furrow. Sandor looks at Ayla, then back to him, worry etching into harsh lines on his forehead. "Our pack may accept and love my daughter, but these men might not be so kind." “No one will get near her,” he replies in earnest. The door shuts behind him, and Ayla gives a frustrated growl. “Those damned idiots. We were once frowned upon and ridiculed by others, now they want to do the same to people like her.” She folds her arms across her chest, her eyes darting in every direction. Sandor can’t help but feel guilty, he knows it's neither his nor his mate’s fault, but he still feels like he failed his family.  Ayla sees the distraught look on his face and immediately softens her features. “It’s not fair,” she whispers. “I know.” “But,” she continues; “We can count ourselves blessed that our daughter is battling this with full force and a smile on her face.” He nods before adding; “I just wished she didn’t have to.” Ayla walks over and climbs into his lap, pulling him into a tight embrace. Sandor looks at her, as tears begin to pool in his eyes. Ayla leans down, brushing her lips against one eyelid, then the other. "Don't let Kelaya see those tears," She says with a smirk, inches away from his face. He lets out a low chuckle, knowing full well he'd receive a not so gentle punch from his daughter. She may look like a ball of cotton, but those icy blue eyes can shoot daggers when someone sees her as anything less than a warrior. Sandor pats Ayla's knee, then gets up with a grunt, placing her into the chair. "Right. I'll just make sure everything in the boardroom is set up. I don't want to be getting emails on how our chairs were lumpy or the projector failure was less than desirable." *** The pack's office building houses boardrooms and offices where pack members can work without interruption. During the Meet, however, the entire building will be off-limits. Sandor doesn't want any prying ears wandering about. He doesn't want misinformation spreading around and causing panic. When, and if necessary he will personally inform the pack regarding any threats they need to be prepared for. He finds Kace in the boardroom, talking to their technical specialist. Kace is barely thirteen but eagerly wants to follow in his father's footsteps. He wants to know how everything works and has become somewhat of an annoyance to some of the higher-ranked wolves in his pack with all of his questions. Sandor asked him to rather start at some of the more blue-collar jobs to learn the intricate details that make the pack run so smoothly and work his way up from there.  It seems Jonas is his next victim. Jonas is a hardworking man but thrives when left to do his job alone. Sandor appreciates the quiet diligence since he knows he can count on his discretion regarding pack matters.  Jonas hides his irritation well, but Sandor knows his son and knows Jonas and the two will not make a great pair.  "Jonas," he greets. The man stands and slams his fist to his chest, as he hears his alpha approach. He is a slender man with pale skin and his red hair trimmed short.  "Alpha, everything is set up and running smoothly. I tested it myself and can guarantee it won't fail." "I don't doubt that," I say with a smile. "Kace, leave the man be. He has work to do, and I have a task for you." He perks up, practically jumping with excitement.  “I need you to run through the building, top to bottom and make sure every room is locked, I don’t want any neighbouring packs snooping around.” He slams his fist to his chest, just like any pack member would do when given official orders from the alpha then runs out the door. Sandor has ordered all members that use office space to lock their doors, as well as, the other boardrooms, but just to be on the safe side he sent Kace to double-check. It is going to be crowded from tomorrow and he did not want to have unnecessary warriors looming around to keep an eye on the visitors. He looked around the boardroom, it has a large oak table with enough chairs to seat every alpha and beta, and a few chairs have been placed along the walls for their warriors, though they will most likely be tasked to observe the area. The office building was built specifically with these types of meetings in mind so that they can keep the politics on the outer edge of the territory and the pack can go about their daily activities without interruption, and for the next three days, this was critical.