The Scarlet Witch

Chapter Thirteen - The Alpha's Return

Dimitri and Cody pull up to the pack house, each letting out a sigh of relief. Both were exhausted after a four-hour drive and were just happy that they could finally get out of the car. Cody got out of the passenger seat and went around the back to pull out their suitcases. Dimitri followed behind Cody, after turning off the car, grabbing his suitcase from Cody and leading the way to the front door. Walking into the pack house, Dimitri could already sense that something was wrong. He stopped an omega who was walking by and asked if they could bring his suitcase to his room. Dimitri went off, in search of his wife, trying to catch the scent of his grandfather or sister, who he was sure had to be accompanying her. It was at this moment that the fact that Amaranth didn't have a scent hit him. He had never really thought about it before, mainly because there hadn't been a time yet when he had to search for her. But it was something that he pushed in the back of his mind to examine later.

Dimitri finds the trio in Amaranth's office, now fully furnished and decorated. Blood red couches, a cherry wood desk, red transparent curtains, a black area rug, and her artwork hanging on the walls. Bella and Bruce are lying on one of the couches, Bella with her head on Sophia's lap. Alpha Damon is pacing while Amaranth is sitting at her desk, watching him, anxiously chewing her bottom lip. Bruce is the first to notice Dimtri and Cody standing in the doorway. As he moves off the couch to greet him, Amarnath turns her gaze away from Damon, and towards the doorway. She lets out a breath as she gets up and runs to Dimitri, crashing into him as she wraps her arms around his waist. Dimitri immediately hugs her back, planting a kiss on her head. Bruce jumps at them as they move across the room over to Amaranth's desk. Cody takes a seat on the second couch, as Dimitri sits down in Amaranth's desk chair, pulling her onto his lap.

"So, why is Alpha Damon pacing like that?" Cody asked, sneaking a glance at Alpha Damon who was still pacing.

"I'm thinking," Alpha Damon answered. "The movement helps."

"What are you thinking about?" Dimitri countered.

"We were paid a visit by the Midnight Moon Pack yesterday. We're not sure what they wanted." Amaranth said, her gaze going back to the pacing Alpha.

"They claimed that they were here to meet with you, but wouldn't simply go away when they were told that you weren't here," Sophia chimed in.

"I didn't have any plans to meet with that pack. I haven't even decided if they should be invited to Amaranth's Luna Ceremony," Dimitri announced, resting his chin on Amaranth's shoulder. "I have nothing to say to them."

"Well, you shouldn't worry. Amaranth made it clear that they don't have an open invitation to show up here whenever they like," Sophia smirked.

"Yes, she did make it clear and set a clear boundary. I was rather proud of her," Alpha Damon paused his pacing to smile at Amarnath, who offered a small smile back. "But I can't help but wonder what they wanted out of meeting with you. They didn't counter by asking to meet with me, which would have been a good strategy. So that shows they really wanted to meet with you, or even Cody, as they asked for him."

"Maybe it was because we are younger, still new to our roles. They probably thought they could take advantage of us. Who exactly was it that came?" Cody said.

"Michael, April, Melanie, and Jacob," Amaranth answered.

"Beta Simon wasn't with them?" Dimitri questioned, to which Amaranth shook her head no.

"That's another thing that has me thinking. 'Why wasn't Beta Simon with them?' 'Has Jacob named a Beta yet?' There are too many questions drawn from what should be a small, meaningless interaction," Alpha Damon explained. "It has my mind racing."

"Yeah, it does lead to some questions." Cody agreed. "Especially since this is the first interaction we've had with them since Jacob and Melanie took over."

"And it's not like they don't have people around them that know how these processes work," Sophia voiced. "I can't get the smug looks that they had out of my head. It felt as if they thought that they were better than us or this pack. That they thought they were totally within their right matching over here and demanding a meeting with the Alpha. This is one of the oldest packs in this area, it outranks their pack and they think that they can demand things from us. I mean come on!"

"Maybe we should tell your father and Alex about this." Amaranth whispered to Dimitri, though whispering was pointless, everyone could hear her with their heightened hearing.

"Yeah, we should. They have already asked about that pack, so it might be best to report to them any weird activity as it occurs." Dimitri announced, with a nod at Cody, who went to Dimitri's office to send out that message. "But let's try to put all of that on the back burner for now. We have a Luna Ceremony scheduled for next week. How are things going with the preparations for that?"

"Everything is set! The last of the supplies arrived yesterday morning. The RSVPs that had to be mailed out have been responded to." Amaranth smiled. "All that's left is my dress, which is supposed to get here in a few days."

"Is it safe to say that the Midnight Moon Pack is not invited?" Sophia asked.

"Yes, it is most definitely safe to say that," Alpha Damon answered before Dimitri could. "Them inviting us to their induction ceremonies was a power move. They weren't aware of when Dimitri was coming back from that trip. For all they knew, they would have had that event with Amaranth still not being allowed to leave their grounds. We don't have to nor should we stoop down to their level of pettiness. Plus, the invitation might lead to their already big egos getting bigger."

"I agree. And the likelihood of them not trying to make this event about them is little to none. Especially Melanie, she made it a point to mention the fact that Amaranth wasn't the Luna of this pack yet yesterday." Sophia scoffed. "I wanted to punch her so badly when she said that."

Amaranth smiled, leaning back into Dimitri's arms. She was happy that he was back. Happy that he was here to help with dealing with the surprise visit that happened yesterday. Happy that he seemed just as excited about the Luna Ceremony as she was. That he cared, though he hadn't given her any reason to doubt that he did. But old habits die hard, and the same goes for old insecurities. Dimitri has been a permanent fixture in her life for the past three months. There is no sense that he plans on abandoning her, and although a part of her wanted to keep her guard up, she can't help not doing so. She can't keep herself from giving in to the calmness that she feels when around him. The sense of safety and contentment that she had never felt with anyone else, not even her mother.

As the conversation continued in the room, Amaranth was in her head. She received various forehead kisses from Dimitri, who could tell that she had zoomed out. He, too, was basking in the calm feeling that he had with her in his arms. He thought back about her lack of scent, making a note to research about it. A smile made its way to his face as he thought about the Luna Ceremony, one more step towards Amaranth being his. His wife and soon his Luna.