An Alpha’s Revenge

Chapter Six

Eleanor’s POV

After I had gone through the buffet line, which had so many more options than I was used to, which made me hate Alexander just a little, I scanned the room for an empty table. The kitchen was massive. It was an open concept layout with a buffet of food on one side and then the rest of the space was filled with round tables. The far wall was floor to ceiling windows and had the most beautiful view of the backyard. Clearly someone had paid a lot of money to landscape the backyard. It was terraced into four sections. The farthest one being huge canopy trees creating shade over two of the four sections. Then the start of a waterfall surrounded by beautiful flowers and bushes. The snaking river that connected to the small pool of the waterfall flowed from the second section into the first, which ended into a giant pool. The pool was equipped with diving platforms, a water slide, and a well placed trampoline. I was sure summer parties were crazy here. Other trees and flowers were positioned around everything to give an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere.

With the kitchen beginning to crowd, though, I tried my best to block out the noise. Would it kill anyone to just eat in silence? Did everyone always have to talk so much?

This is why people say you’re anti-social.

I’m an introvert, Rae. There’s a difference.

Uh huh, sure.

There is! I’m here eating, aren’t I? If I was anti-social, I would’ve had Angel or Ryan bring my breakfast to me. Instead, as an introvert, I’m just sitting here alone. I don’t actively avoid all people, I just sit by myself and judge them from afar. Accept the difference.

Okay, but it doesn’t make you any less boring then.

Hey! I take offense to that! I’m totally loads of fun.

Oh sure, you’re a real hoot. A true party animal. So crazy the police are called to tame you.

You know, Rae, sarcasm is not becoming on you. I huffed at her. I can be fun.

Well I’ve certainly never seen it, and I’ve been with you the longest.

Well I’ve never seen it. I mimicked Rae’s words in a mocking manner. Whatever Rae. At least my idea of a good time isn’t murdering cute, innocent bunnies.

I felt Rae chuckle at me and found an empty table. I briefly wondered where Angel and Max were, but then decided not to contact them. I didn’t want to know what they were doing. Instead, my thoughts drifted back to this morning, and I shuddered. I was shoveling the remaining scrambled eggs on my plate into my mouth, trying to forget the events of the morning, when I felt someone sit next to me. A wave of smoky embers filled my nostrils. I gulped loudly.

“Alex,” I said, turning to him.

He met my eyes and flashed me with a brilliant smile. “Good morning,” he said, and then leaned into me. “I didn’t get the chance to ask if you slept better,” he added quietly. “And if you’re okay. I saw Charles coming out of your room, um, not that it’s any of my business.”

I nodded slowly, memorized by his eyes and scent. His tight black tee was not helping me focus. “Uh, yeah, I’m okay, I guess. Charles was,” I paused, wondering to myself why I felt the need to justify myself. “We just had some unresolved issues we needed to take care of.”

“I’m really glad to hear that,” he continued and tucked a lock of his long hair behind his ear. “I would hate for you to have negative memories during your stay here. And if he’s bothering you, I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

I laughed quietly. “Oh? And why would that be?”

“Your opinion matters, and if you don’t want him around, I'll make sure to keep that from happening,” he replied solemnly, looking at me intently.

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?” I asked, my suspicions rising. “I told you on the stairs, I don’t need a savior. I’m not some damsel in distress that needs a big, bad wolf to save me from a bigger, badder wolf.”

“That’s not what I mean, Eleanor. I just,” he stopped and took a breath. “You shouldn’t have to be around a guy if you don’t want to be.”

“Thanks, but like I said, I can handle it myself. I’m a big girl, ya know.”

Alexander gave me a small grin. “I can see you can handle things yourself. I just want to help.”

I frowned slightly as thoughts flew quickly around my brain. “You could have any of these she-wolves, Alex. Honestly, most of them are glaring at me right now, and I’m just simply talking to you. Why are you wasting your time with me? ” I gestured around the room.

Alex’s face darkened. “Eleanor, I don’t care-“

“Excuse me,” a loud voice boomed. “Would all the alphas please make their way into the main meeting hall. We will begin in five minutes.”

I scooted my chair back and looked for a trash can to throw my plate away.

“Here, let me,” Alex said, reaching for the plate.

“Oh,” I said, pushing it toward him hastily and bumping his hand with mine.

Sparks exploded under my skin at the touch, and I stared at him in confusion. His eyes met mine, and grew darker. I quickly pulled my hand away, mumbled a “thanks” and ran toward the door to the meeting.

“Wait-” I heard Alex call behind me.

I rolled my eyes as I grabbed the door handle and flung it open. “Not again,” I growled to myself.

I did not need to deal with this. I saw Charles race after me, but I ran into the building and hid in the corner. What in the actual f**k was going on? I heard Charles arguing with one of the guards in front of the building and then stomped away. I let out a deep sigh.

Rae? Do you know anything? That is freaking me out.

Agreed. Maybe we can ask some of the elders for information. Or we can ask Lania. She may know something and give us a woman’s insight.

I nodded and found my seat at the giant round table in the room. Resting on the table and in front of each chair was a blue folder with a name tag that had our names printed on them. Thankfully Alexander’s wasn’t near mine. I was sure I could deal with another mate bond discussion. I waited for the other alphas to seat themselves as they began pooling into the room. This was going to be a long meeting, and I needed to clear my mind and focus.

“Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for making the trip out here. I know it can be a bit far for some. And thank you to Alpha Alexander and the Blood Moon Pack for hosting this year,” Elder Scott said, officially starting the meeting.

A polite clap sounded, but died quickly. These meetings were the worst and very boring.

Elder Scott continued, “I'd like to start us off by going around the room and stating whether your borders grew, shrunk, or remained the same as last year.”

Alexander stood up, and I saw him staring at me from the corner of my vision. I pretended to be interested in my folder’s contents. “My pack has grown, and now my borders touch Alpha Eleanor’s. No war or hard feelings. I signed a peaceful contract, their alpha retired, and I incorporated the pack into my own,” he said and then promptly sat down.

The next alpha stood and made his own statements, and I felt my thoughts drift off. I just couldn’t understand how this could happen. How could one person have two possible mates? Perhaps I had simply imagined the tingles when we touched. Yeah, that had to be it, right? I’m not special. I’m a nobody. This is the kind of s**t that happens in books and movies, not real life. I didn’t have superpowers, and I sure as hell wasn’t the main character in anything. That had to be Angel. She had the looks and was the extravert. Things like this happened to women like her. I grappled with the idea that anything out of the normal could happen to me. Something terrible had already happened to me. I had met my quota, and I didn’t want any more drama.

“Alpha Eleanor,” someone coughed.

I looked up and everyone was staring at me. My face began to turn red as I stood up from my chair.

“Oh I’m sorry, Alpha, are we interrupting your day dreaming with our boring meeting?” Alpha Robert said smugly.

A few others laughed. That guy was seriously the worst.

I cleared my throat. “Well, Alpha Robert, your monotone voice could loll a hungry lion to sleep, so I’m not sure you’re one to judge.”

I got more laughter than his comment did and felt proud.

“My pack has not claimed any land nor has lost any since last year. We have stayed the same,” I said and sat down.

Being one of two women alphas in the room certainly had its challenges. I glanced around the room and saw that Robert was glaring daggers at me. I returned his look with a fake smile and listened to the remaining alphas spew their land data. After everyone was finished, Elder Scott got up again.

“Okay, now with that out of the way, we can start the real business. Over the next couple of days, we will be discussing alliances and rivalries, resource distribution, and other agenda items. Would the alphas like to vote on what to discuss first?”

I watched as everyone instantly began murmuring to one another. I didn’t care one way or another. I had very little to add to these. I had to bide my time until I could strike, but until then, these were practically useless to me. For the last five years, since I officially took over my pack, I mainly just sat back and watched the drama, preferably with popcorn. It was truly amazing to me how these men had the biggest egos. I mean, they had to have mircopenises with the way they fought each other and overcompensated for everything. They must all drive those monster trucks too. I rolled my eyes as I listened in on the two men next to me. I didn’t even bother looking at their name cards. They were arguing over how it was a waste of time to vote on the agenda instead of just diving into the meetings.

“Order! Come on, alphas. Let’s come together to begin the process. Order! Order!” Elder Scott shouted over the ruckus.

I smirked at the situation. The room began getting louder. Chairs scraped back, and I heard a few shouts. This was ridiculous. An actual fight broke out at 9 o’clock in the morning. How men had ruled for this long truly baffled me in times like this. I made eye contact with Lanie, who was also sitting quietly in her chair. We shared a knowing look and began laughing.

“You fucker! You punched me!” someone shouted.

I turned and strained my neck to see. Where was the popcorn when I needed it? I saw more alphas join the fight.

“KNOCK IT OFF! EVERYONE! SIT THE f**k DOWN AND ACT YOUR f*****g AGE!” Alexander roared.

Though he couldn’t command us with his alpha voice, he yelled with enough power that the fight immediately ended. The alphas began sitting down.

I couldn’t lie to myself, that was really hot.

You can’t lie to me either, honey.

Elder Scott tentatively stood in front of everyone once more. “Thank you, Alpha Alexander. I think perhaps we should take a small break and reconvene in an hour. Let everyone cool off and let their frontal cortex take charge again. I would like to vote on the agenda item we will be discussing before we leave though.”

Silence filled the room for a few minutes before finally Evan stood up. “Let’s discuss the use of unauthorized rogues.” He looked right at Alexander.

He gave a cold stare back to Evan. “Sounds like a riveting conversation.”

“I second that agenda item,” Robert chimed in.

Elder Scott clapped his hands together. “Two in favor of rogues. Any against?” he paused for a moment before continuing. “Perfect. We’ll start there in an hour. Please, everyone meet back at 10:35. Thank you.”

I watched as most alphas immediately stood and headed for the door. One thing was for sure, I wouldn’t be bored by the next meeting.