Alphess: An Angel of Death

The Conclave

The days before the Conclave were busy. Forty or so miles south of us was the bustling city of Anchorage. They were all so pretentious, it surprised me they would even come to Anchorage, despite all it had to offer. The scenic area did provide the perfect spot for the Conclave to meet – large enough hotels and meeting spaces to appease the Highborns, with enough natural landscape around for the wolves to blend back into the background to avoid human suspicion. But it wasn’t Prague, Dubai, New York City, even Miami like it had been previously. There were no multi-million-dollar hotels here that hosted celebrities and the top 1%. Maybe they were finally humbling themselves a bit.

I did larger loops that direction on my nightly excursions, getting a feel for the land and for the building that the Conclave was set to be held in. They appeared to be using a run-of-the-mill hotel. Nothing terribly fancy, about 8 floors tall with slate gray stucco covering the outside. It was pretty unassuming for the normal Highborn way. There were, however, nice gardens attached to it that provided extra space outside of the ballroom. I inspected those rather closely, hoping that they would be large enough for hiding in. I was luckily not disappointed. The east-facing garden was a giant greenhouse, sprawling out for at least 100 yards. It was adorned with beautiful tropical plants that towered over me, some so fragrant it made my nose hurt. There were flowering plants and tall trees with thick vines that roped around their trunks. Large elephant ears and giant ferns dotted the floor. There were greens and purples and pinks and reds; a tapestry of beautiful color. The hotel had somehow curated a miniature jungle inside of this place and nestled at the heart of it was a gigantic fountain that fed small little streams that wove across the grounds. Multiple boardwalks were nestled amongst the plants for guests to walk along and admire their surroundings or to peek around for the birds that also lived there. Multiple times on my expeditions, I found myself getting caught up watching a duck and her ducklings float along one of the streams. The air inside the greenhouse was thick and damp, and with so many different types of plants, it made it difficult to track a scent. The sound of the fountain and flowing water, plus all of the chirping of the birds, made it loud enough to mask sounds like footsteps or rustling underbrush if you were far enough away. I was even afraid I may get lost in there.

The hotel itself was placed in a relatively difficult spot for us. It was smack in the middle of Anchorage, making a getaway out to the forest and mountains difficult. We’d have to utilize a lot of the city to get lost in, so I made sure to map out a lot of different routes. I used a lot of side streets and small alleys, finding secrets of the city that would hopefully help. Even the sewer system did not escape my curious wanderings. It was disgusting to be down there trotting next to a steaming river of…. well, s**t, but the putrid scent definitely covered tracks. The only problem would be that that smell lingered, which meant coming back above ground could prove dangerous. All I could do was hope we outwitted anyone trailing us or could fight our way out of a problem.

-x-

            The night was young, the ballroom bursting with wolves from all over the world. The room was packed with Alphas, Betas, Deltas, pack council members, and young members of the pack looking for their mates. Most often, the youth were somewhere in the middle of the hierarchy. Albeit still considered ‘lowborn’ for not having the good sense to be born into wealth and royalty, they were just regular wolves with no outstanding debts to their pack and no rank of any importance. Rankings in the wolf world consisted of the Alpha and his mate (the Luna) being first, then the Beta and his (on rare occasion her) mate, and the Delta-mate pair. These made up the High Royal Court of the pack, making the majority of the decisions and laws for any individual pack. Then there was the pack council, consisting of members that oversaw various things like education, territory and alliances, medicine, and even childrearing. They were considered to be within the Royal Court, serving the High Royals. They were positions that each new Alpha would assign or could be trained for (like the pack doctor). They could also be lost or stepped down from with relative ease. And finally, there was the General, or the war leader, and his battalion. He trained the elite warriors of the pack, wolves that would go through a ritual to forsake any potential mate in favor of protecting and serving the pack. The battalion warriors would never feel the tug of the mate-bond, which meant they rarely had a personal weak spot within the pack. It made them all the more willing to fight and sacrifice.

            Usually, Highborns were betrothed to one another. Alpha children to other Alpha children, Beta children to council member offspring or Deltas, and so on. Those falling in the middle had a larger pool of which to find their mate in, and on occasion would find themselves mating up in ranks. Omegas, the lowest of the lowborns, were nearly always mated to one another as well. Or, sometimes, they would fine their mate in the human world. It always interested me why these pairings were the way they were. Growing up, people told me it was the Moon Goddess’ way of keeping tradition - keep the packs’ leadership within the same bloodlines and to help foster alliances between packs. But my rise to an Alphess challenged tradition in every way possible, and the Moon Goddess still bestowed her gifts upon me.

I watched from one of the tables in the lobby, perched just outside of the ballroom. Their flashy clothing and smiles lit up the room, their chatter nearly giving me a headache. I was careful to observe everything around me, analyzing the rooms despite having done so many times before today. The ballroom faced south, with two double doors flanked with giant potted ferns serving as the main entrance. There was maroon-and-cream carpeting, something that was supposed to resemble a Persian rug I’m sure, that continued in from the lobby and traced around the edges of the room, with a giant hardwood dance floor in the middle. Big circular tables were placed along the edges of the room, allowing for at least 10 people to seat comfortably around it. The room was lit up with purple and blue up-lighting, the tables adorned with big flower bouquet center pieces and fine china. There was a bar along the west wall, with a line already zig-zagging between tables. At the far north side of the room was a small stage with the DJ. On either side of the DJ were two more doors with ‘Exit’ signs above them. Those doors led to the service hallway, which would take you to either the catering wing or the loading dock. I was most interested in getting to the loading dock – it was a pretty easy shot from there to disappear for a while into the garden. But I couldn’t go that way, so I had to go the round-about way.

            The lobby was small, with just the concierge desk, a few cream-colored sofas and a couple dark oak tables. To the west was a hallway that would lead you to the gym, vending machines and a conference room. To the east was a hallway with bathrooms, the elevator and the employee-only door that could lead me right into the catering wing. I’d have to cross through the prep stations, the entirety of the kitchen and out into the back hallway. Then I could head to the loading dock. My mind traced the route over and over again, searching for any uncovered spot I may have missed; any secret entrances or exits, paths too easy to bar, paths not easy enough to bar.

I watched all of the young wolves mingling, some of them growing ecstatic as they caught of a whiff of their new mate’s scent. That was one thing I was glad for – I could mask mine. I didn’t do it to avoid finding a mate, I did it to avoid getting caught or leaving any traces. Most Alphas, and some Generals, were able to mask their scent; not unique in any way. I’m not entirely sure why the Moon Goddess gifted it to us. Maybe some hold-out from times long before now to help with hunting or war. It doesn’t matter; it comes in handy for me.

I glanced at the time; still had five minutes before the girls were to be in place. Good, because for some reason I couldn’t keep my eyes off of the room. Something about this particular year of the Conclave made me hungrily survey the room, looking for something. But for what, I didn’t really know. How many times had I come to these gatherings, and how many times did I watch in disgust? What was it about this year that had me almost wishing I could join the festivities? Highborns seemed to have a propensity for the glitz and glamour of it all, having spared no expense on the night. They rarely did, instead offering their guests steak, swordfish, salmon, risotto, truffle pasta, you name it. They always had an open bar with the top-shelf choices. Even the tablecloths were expensive, surely to be silk or some other equally as ridiculous but expensive textile. Honestly, the idea of it all made me a little sick. They laughed it up here, acting as if there were no cares in the world. Spending money on an event that degraded their young to marriage-pawns and gave Alphas an excuse to get plastered. Did real politics even happen here? Were alliances even really made, or was it just an excuse to party? There were real problems out there, dark secrets and dozens of wolves fighting for their lives and yet…those that could do something about it partied and did nothing.

Hayden, we’re in place. You ready? I was jolted out of my thoughts by the sound of Taryn’s voice in my head through our mind-link.

Roll call. I never liked to make a move without checking in with everyone, no matter how much I trusted Taryn to report to me.

In position. Sasha and Jaime.

All clear. Lydia.

Good to go, boss. Vanessa and Nora.

Great. Hold for my signal. I heard the assent from the other minds. Perfect timing, ladies. The doors of the ballroom were pulled shut as the main event officially started. I waited a heartbeat before getting up, going over to the bathrooms. I made sure it was empty before climbing on top of the sinks’ marble countertops and pushing open the paneling of the ceiling. I pulled out a duffel bag and replaced the ceiling tile. I’d planted the bag a week ago in one of my sweeps of the area, along with various other items we’d need to pull off this heist. I walked back toward the ballroom doors, looking around the lobby. It was luckily empty now aside from the two guards loitering near the doors. The first time we hit up the Conclave, the Highborns were so pretentious that there were no guards or anyone posted anywhere. That had been a cakewalk – just an easy in-and-out. But, they’d upped their security since then. I’d heard rumblings of it after we’d pulled off our first heist. Pack leaders were extremely unhappy and demanded retribution on those who did it – penalty of death. But, of course, three years later and we weren’t caught.

I snuck up behind the first wolf, leaping onto his back and pressing my fingers of one hand against his carotid arteries. He gasped, trying to throw me off. I pressed down harder, occluding the vessels that supplied blood and oxygen to his brain. The other wolf whirled around and came for me; I lashed out at him with a clawed hand, connecting with his jaw and sending him stumbling. Just enough time for the one beneath me to conk out. I jumped down as he began slumping to the floor; that extra bump on his head from his fall should help keep him out long enough. I turned my attention back to the second one, who was angrily coming toward me again. I lifted up onto my tip toes in anticipation, waiting until he swiped at me before ducking and slamming full-force into his body. We bowled over and I pinned him down, clamping my hands around his neck. He wriggled beneath me, easily sixty or seventy pounds on me. But my body was pure muscle and pure fighting instinct. My legs locked onto him and even when he started to bowl us over, I yanked us back up and pressed a hand to his chest to further push air out of his body. I leaned down to snarl in his ear.

“Stop moving, and I won’t kill you. Keep it up, and you’ll meet the Devil.”

Fear flashed in his eyes just before it was lights out for him too. I hopped up, grabbing the bag and pulling out heavy chains. I snaked them through the door handles and locked it, effectively locking the doors from the outside. I dragged the bodies into the bathroom to hide them before heading to my next position. I knew that they had probably alerted other wolves inside the venue through their own mind-link, which meant there was only a limited amount of time before we had wolves in pursuit. The chains on the door just helped give us extra time.

Phase one done. How’s everyone holding up? I asked.

Moving into position. Sasha reported. She’d be driving one of the cars.

Doors locked. Taryn reported. She had the other side of the ballroom, ensuring all points of exit were blocked. She’d head to her next station between the loading dock and the garden. As my best warrior, she’d be helping head off anyone who happened to be coming after us.

We’re ready. Nora and Vanessa were poised in the garden for delivery.

Finally, there was Jaime. I heard a Good to go from her. She’d be driving the other car that was nestled a few blocks up.

I looped around the east hallway again, ducking through the ‘Employee Only’ door after a quick glance around. I didn’t smell, hear or see anyone. Coming in hot. I reported, dodging my way through the kitchens and back out into the service hallway. I could hear the music and the uproarious din of the party on the other side of the wall. I passed both of the other exits of the ballroom, hearing no struggle to get through them yet. That was good news. I ducked down the other back hallway and paused a few feet from the door to the loading dock. I crept up and peered out of the narrow rectangular window.

What I saw there I expected but was still no readier to see it. It repulsed me. Lined up along the entire floor of the loading dock were giant kennels. Much like dog crates, but reinforced and much sturdier. Inside each of them were she-wolves of varying ages. Anywhere from 14 to 20, every single last one of them looking malnourished and abused. Even from here I could see the purple bruises sprouting along their skin, the gaunt look in their eyes, their exposed and protruding collarbones. This is what the Auction was – the literal selling of teenage girls (and the rare boy) from various packs around the world. It could be guaranteed that all of them were from lowborn families, most of them in the ‘omega’ category. These lowborn wolves were born into servitude, often the chefs, housekeepers and handmaids of the pack and Highborns. Omegas were often in debt in some way to the pack, born weaker than the others and made the perfect scapegoats for pent-up aggression. If they refused to work, or if they failed to hold up to their working potential, they were punished. Severely.

 The families would sell off their youngest - or sometimes their only - in order to make some money, or to pay off a debt. I can only imagine they had hopes that in doing so, they would provide a better life for their child. It was a way to try to give them a higher status than they were born with. I hoped that the parents didn’t know the abuse these girls suffered in the weeks leading up to the Auction. If they did, and they still allowed it to continue...it made me sick to think about. These children were sold, and they were taken to a ‘training’ camp. It was supposedly marketed as a crash-course in Highborn etiquette, education and trade skills. In reality, it was more like a concentration camp. Just looking at them told you their story – they had been abused by the people that were supposed to give them a better life. They had been lied to, their dreams stripped away, and their humanity degraded. These young girls would trade hands tonight from whomever had kept them isolated and weak to a new pack. The highest bidder would take home their prize, and I nearly vomited thinking about that life would be like after that. If the child was lucky, it was just more life-long servitude in the kitchens or as a housekeeper. But I knew the truth, as much as I hated to admit it to myself. Alphas didn’t need to buy more omegas to stock their working staff. They needed someone to warm their bed…or rather, wet their d**k. The reality was that many non-mated (and even some mated) Alphas or Betas would buy these girls as concubines and mistresses, forcing them into submission and s****l slavery. And when they were done with them, they would toss them out or kill them like the trash they saw them as. I only wished I could have gotten to them sooner, but no matter how hard I tried, I could never catch wind of where this place was. Instead, I had to make peace with getting them out of this wolf-trafficking ring and nursing them back to fighting shape.