The King of Wolves

Chapter 3 - The Meeting

I feel the blood drain from my face as the air gets sucked out of my body.

DEREK? Is he the King? No way, it can't be! Why would the King of Wolves be walking around the grounds at 6:45 in the morning? And uninvited. Or was he invited?

I start to feel panicked.

A million questions race through my head, and I see stars.

I struggle to suck in a much-needed breath of air, gasping a little.

"It's him.." I trail off, my voice barely even a whisper.

I didn’t think anyone would hear me, but Soph never misses a thing.

She snaps her head to look at me, her eyebrows squished together in confusion.

"Hey, what's your problem?” She pushes. Her tone quickly changes when she sees the fear that must be written all over my face. Dammit.

I'm usually so good about hiding my feelings. I don't know why this caught me off guard. Of course, it makes sense.

I’d never seen that man before, and even if I don't know every member of the pack, they all know me, being an omega to a Beta and all. After it was discovered, it was all anyone could talk about.

Man, wolves love their gossip…

Sophia pokes me in the leg, bringing me back to reality.

"Helllooooo… Care to fill me in?"

"Later." It’s all I can manage, the oxygen still severely lacking in my body.

Am I going to pass out?

I do my best to get my breathing under control.

In, out, in, and back out again.

Sophia turns away from me, seeming to accept my answer for now.

At the front of the room, Alpha Maddox is joined with the Beta and Gamma as Derek takes his place on the right side of the lineup.

"I know this is not our usual time and place for pack meetings, but a few things have come up that need to be addressed immediately," Alpha Maddox booms across the room.

"As you can see, we are joined this morning by a guest from the North Kingdom, Beta Derek."

I can relax a little, knowing that I didn't have a run-in with the King this morning, but the knot in my stomach flips at the mention of the North Kingdom.

We aren't a small pack, and we aren't weak either. However, we aren't really in the King's party circle and don't typically get visits like this. Only Alpha Maddox and Luna Amelia were invited to his Alpha Ceremony a few years ago when he took the throne.

Sneaking a glance around the room, everyone seems shocked at the news. As whispers break out, there are more than a few confused and worried faces among the crowd.

"There is no need for concern, everyone,” Alpha continues, "It seems that news of our recent attack reached the ears of King Caspian. I just wanted to let you all know that he will be arriving this evening. Tomorrow, Luna Amelia is planning a pack dinner here at the packhouse gardens. Everyone needs to pitch in and show the King our Night River Pack hospitality.“

Silence falls over the room, everyone digesting this new information. The tension makes the air feel thick, with a slight buzz of excitement.

A warrior in the front calls out, "But why would a rogue attack mean the King is visiting?"

"It's just routine," Beta Jackson answers matter of factly, his face giving nothing away. “And he decided to ensure our pack is okay after losing such a strong warrior.”

I snort before thinking and quickly cover my mouth, my eyes flying down to my knees. It was much louder than I anticipated.

I can feel eyes burning into me. I slowly peek up to find several faces looking at me in disgust.

I look around, trying to avoid the stares.

After removing my hands from my face, I play nervously with the ends of my hair, twisting them around my finger.

I sink lower in my chair.

I would really love to disappear. So much for sitting in the back unnoticed.

The whispers begin to pick up in the room, the pack starting to get restless from the news. Alpha Maddox clears his throat, seeming agitated.

You can feel his aura seeping into the room, trying to calm us down. Everyone falls silent, bringing their attention back to the pack's leaders.

He turns to Beta Derek and gestures forward, signaling him to address the pack. He nods and pushes his chest out, flashing a dazzling smile and winking to some of the females in the front row.

They let out squeals of delight as he begins.

Typical

"I know this may seem out of the ordinary, but I can assure you, it's anything but. King Caspian wants to be a fair and just King," he says, clapping his hang together in front of him, "and the best way to do that is to get to know the kingdom's territory. He knows we haven’t traveled this far away from the north in some time. And yes. When I told him you had lost a valued member and warrior, he wanted to pay his respects in person.”

Dad was a fantastic warrior and figure in our pack, but I never thought the King would come because of him.

He’s probably just double-dipping. Saying he is paying his respects when he just happened to be nearby or something.

The rest of the meeting is boring, so I tune it out, knowing that I probably won't be allowed to participate fully in any celebration.

If I do, it will only be to work.

Jessica would find a way to make sure I wouldn’t enjoy myself.

As the meeting finishes, I feel Alex pushing into my mind again.

Wait, where was Alex? I didn't see him at the conference. Wasn’t he with Gamma Will?

Hey Alex, where are you?

Sorry, I had patrol this morning. Gamma Will filled all the warriors in.

Well, that's weird, considering there were plenty of warriors in this meeting… I trail off. What aren't you telling me?

My brother doesn't usually leave me in the dark about pack business, even if some think I shouldn't be allowed to know, feeling I would break and give away secrets if we were attacked.

I roll my eyes internally at the thought.

I can feel him hesitate through the link, but he's still there.

Alex, what's wrong? I push softly.

I don't know yet, but something isn't adding up.

Meet at our spot? I ask hopefully.

See you there in five.

The room is nearly empty, just a few people lingering back, chatting amongst themselves. It's primarily unmated females hoping to get a moment with the King's smoking hot Beta.

I stand up to make my way out of the room when I spot Jessica making a beeline for me. I inwardly groan, knowing she is going to cause a scene.

Why does she have to be such a b***h all the time?

"I thought I told you to stay silent?" she scathes, loathing dripping off every word.

I don’t have the energy to deal with her. Before I manage to say a word, Sophia pipes up.

"Hey, Jess. Why don't you take that stick out of your ass, huh? It's not a good look. “

She walks up and drapes a tanned arm over my shoulders, making a kissy face at Jessica.

Oof, she is not gonna like that. Jessica can dish it but definitely cannot take it.

A red rage creeps up her face as her jaw strains to contain her temper. Jessica huffs and stands straight, smoothing her hair before flipping it over her shoulder.

"Oh well, I'm sure Beta Derek heard your little remark and will tell King Caspian all about your disrespect." Her nose scrunches in anticipation of my humiliation.

I keep my face emotionless as my annoyance bubbles, and a growl grows deep in my throat.

When it comes to Jess, I have to keep my cool. If I don’t, she twists the story and drives the wedge deeper between the pack and me.

"I guess we can't expect too much from an omega like you," she says, smirking, and promptly whips around to leave the room.

"Don't listen to her, Ana. You know she's just trying to get under your fur.” We watch Jessica's retreating frame.

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Sophia rubs my arm softly.

I know she just does it to get a rise out of me, but her words still hurt.

Suddenly, Sophia starts furiously smacking my arm while gasping like a fish out of water.

I open my eyes and groan. "Ouch, Soph, that hurts. Hey, can you quit it?"

I shrug away from her and grip my arm. She's not even paying attention to me, her eyes locked elsewhere.

I follow her gaze and land on Derek. He's talking to some females at the front of the room but is looking our way.

These girls are clearly unmated as they bat their eyelashes and push their chests towards him, trying to capture his wandering attention.

Sophia reaches out, and death grips my forearm as he excuses himself from the surrounding group, despite their protests.

"Ana, I think he is coming over here,” Sophia breathes. Anxiety is washing off her in waves.

Oh, please, no.

I honestly don’t feel like talking to Beta Derek again. I can’t tell if he creeps me out or not, and I’m not really in the mood to find out.

"Soph, I gotta go, my brother wants to meet-" She grips my arm tighter, making me stop short.

"Well, Alex is just gonna have to wait.” Her teeth clenched, a sweet smile plastered on her face.

I look up, and my eyes meet Dereks. That knot in my stomach makes itself known again.

His eyes seem different this time, though, a pale blue instead of the dark black they were earlier this morning. Interesting.

My inner wolf perks her ears up in anticipation.

"It's so lovely to see you again," Derek’s voice almost purrs. He stops in front of Sophia and me.

His eyes never leave mine as he bends down to grab my hand.

He knows what he’s doing. He’s toying with me.

He brings it to his lips, laying a soft kiss on the top, lingering just a little too long. A sly smile spread across his face, and he side-eyes Sophia, her eyes almost bugging from her head, mouth hanging open.

Oh, geez.. here it comes…

"Wait, you know him?" Her mouth hangs open, eyes shooting between Beta Derek and me. Her jaw snaps shut as she turns to glare at me.

People are starting to notice our interaction. Crappppp.

"Uh, well… not exactly," I say, shifting uncomfortably under her stare.

I look anywhere but in her direction.

“We bumped into each other this morning when I was heading home after my run with Alex.."

I need an opportunity to escape this conversation.

"Speaking of which, I actually need to get going; my bother is waiting for me." I try to pull my hand away, but Derek grips it tighter.

Noticing the panic in my eyes, he chuckles and lets me go, standing up straight.

"Too bad. I was hoping you'd introduce me to this fine woman next to you," Derek coos seductively, turning his full attention to my best friend.

I take a step back, getting ready to make a run for it.

"This is Sophia Lockheed, my best friend…." Sophia snaps out of her trance at the mention of her name, bats her lashes, and shakes her hair a little. She turns her head to expose her unmarked neck.

Great, it looks like she's got this under control.

I roll my eyes and turn to take my leave.

****

A few minutes later, I push past some bushes behind the packhouse and spot Alex. He is pacing back and forth, lost in thought. His head snaps up as I step into the clearing.

"Morana, I've been waiting forever. I don't have much time today to d**k around."

Yikes, either he's still mad at me, or he's really upset over something.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I got caught up with Jessica," her name coming out like poison, "and then Beta Derek came over to me-"

"Beta Derek came over to you?" His body is rigid, and his eyes are wide with surprise.

"Yeah, he's the person I ran into this morning on my way home after Gamma Will called you to the Alpha's office." I start playing with my hair again, feeling like a child who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

He scrubs his hands over his face and pushes his dark, tussled hair out of his eyes.

Sighing, he says, "Look, I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm pretty sure this is not a casual visit."

My forehead wrinkles as my eyebrows push together in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I c**k my head to the side.

"Beta Derek was asking a lot of questions about the rogue attack. It seemed like he was trying to fish for information without saying something. And then I overheard other warriors talking before I got to Alpha Maddox's office that we aren't the only pack attacked in the area."

"So? It's not like lone rogue wolves are unheard of." I let out a snort.

"No," he continues, "but I have this feeling they think the attacks might be connected somehow."

I gasp, my hands covering my mouth to muffle the sound.

"What? Why?"

"Think about it. Dad wasn't supposed to be on patrol that night, but he was. Alone. And even if he isn't Alpha Maddox's Beta, he still had beta blood. He should have been able to handle a lone rogue who just wandered onto our territory. Something doesn’t add up….” He looks like he wants to say more but doesn’t.

The blood leaves my head in a rush making me feel light-headed. s**t.

It seems like there are more pieces in play than we thought.

But there's so much we still don't know. Maybe the King will bring some answers with him.

"There hasn't been anything to happen like this in the Northern Kingdom in decades! The southern maybe, but all I've heard is how much of a jackass the king is."

Alex's eyes harden. “As I said, I don't know much else, but I just have this gut feeling." He looks off, thinking again, his hand coming up to rub his chin.

He looks tired, eyes sunken and skin ashy. I haven’t seen him look like this in a while.

"Maybe we should head back to the packhouse. There isn't anything we can do right now, so we'll just have to be patient."

Alex grunts and runs his hands over his face again. "I know, you're right."

"Luna Amelia will need help to prepare the grounds for his royal highness," I say, giving a little curtsy. A giggle escapes me, and Alex gently pushes my shoulder, my gesture working to bring him out of his head.

I can tell he's still worried, which makes me worry, too.

We may not be the Beta family anymore, but it's in his blood, and his gut is usually never wrong.