On the 165th floor of the Silvercrest Enterprises Tower, from which the whole city could be seen, Siel was still listening to the end of Vince’s story. The last rays of the sun came through the glass wall and painted the other white walls on the sides of the chamber a yellow/crimson hue when Ma’Heron arrived. And with him, was Myron.
“Hello, Myron! M, it’s nice to see you both again. I wish it was under better circumstances.”
The Gamma nodded silently and respectfully at the Luna.
“Hello, Siel! Wow, your first meeting as part of the pack! Are you nervous?” Myron said cheerily, which is his usual out-of-work self.
“I am, just a little bit… no, I’m actually… very… nervous.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll do great. It’s more of an introduction for you, so you don’t need to worry much. We’ll be here for you as well.”
Myron had been her guide since day one, and, besides her mate, she was happy to have him around during this momentous occasion.
“Thank you, Myron, that is really comforting,” Siel replied, finally smiling.
“And you, M? You’re too quiet today. Even for you,” Vince said as he slapped his Gamma’s shoulder in a brotherly greeting. “I know that things are really hard for you right now, but we’re about to end this. I’ll push for the soonest possible date so you can have your mate back with you again ASAP. I promise.”
“Uhhh… Thanks, bro, it’s just that…”
“I was reporting about the day Raquel, the warriors, and I went to the Crescent Moon territory to try and retrieve Alexia.”
“Oh, wow… I’m sorry.”
Siel looked from one comely man to the other, trying to understand their conversation without asking more about such a sensitive topic.
“It’s ok, you can ask,” Ma’Heron said almost sweetly, as he read her facial expression.
The Luna nodded, but she could also see his true emotional condition which was reflected on his face. He was devastated. Even looked older than what she remembered from not so long ago, when she was at the packhouse during the early part of the new year.
“Well… What happened when you looked for her, Myron?” Siel finally asked, breaking the silence.
“We did find her,” Myron said with a flat tone. “We managed to cross the border by midday, so we had to be very careful. Only four of us would go in, and the rest would stay as a backup in case we needed a distraction to escape. We got closer to one of the four towers in the packhouse, and that’s when our senses started to catch voices.”
The youngish-looking man paused while looking at the brooding lawyer with concern. Eventually, he continued when the Gamma nodded again.
“We heard someone yelling, ‘Scream for me, Alexia, scream my name!’ at the top of his lungs.”
Ma’Heron looked down, his jawline tightening as his hands curled into fists. He wanted to walk away but he hadn’t heard the upcoming part of Myron’s story yet, and he willed himself to stand firm.
“We knew it had to be Abner, so we tried to get closer. The tower is absurdly tall, but it was also located at the very edge of their territory, near the forest. Raquel decided that since she was the lightest, she would try to climb up. She didn’t stay away too long and when she came back down, she was in tears. We assessed the possibilities of getting Alex out, but, as if he knew that we would try, there were large numbers of guards on patrol. Without an assault team, we won’t be able to get her out of that packhouse without provoking another war.”
By then, Siel was already tearing up.
“I’ve asked Raquel many times what she saw that day, but she would look at me, her eyes would well up, and then she would leave. I think that’s the answer enough.”
Silence reigned, and it was the Luna who broke it once again.
“I promise you, Gamma, if there’s anything a simple human like me can do to get her back, I will do it.”
M smiled at the courage that the young 5’4″ woman in front of him was showing. “Thank you, Luna.”
“Would you let me hug you?”
M looked quizzically at her first, then at his superior behind her, “Alpha?”
V nodded; a soft smile on his face. Siel and M hugged…
Then they started to cry together for the Gamma-Female who was missing.
* * *
After a few more minutes, the Elders arrived, along with the challenger.
Vince decided that his Gamma should be waiting outside in case his presence was required, and to avoid unnecessary confrontations with Abner. He then welcomed the Elders as they started to talk and mingle with him. He then noticed Siel, who was a couple of steps behind him. V grabbed her hand and gently pulled her closer to him.
Meanwhile, after she was drawn to V’s side, the Luna was taking careful note of the Elders. Three men, all in black suits, and one regal lady who was wearing a dressing skirt and blazer.
They look pretty young to be called Elders. All of them are in great shape too.
There was also another guy who, for the way the group behaved, she easily perceived as Abner. This was the first time she ever saw him, too. He was wearing a dark gray, three-piece suit with a white shirt and a deep blue tie.
Ok, enough observations. I’m going to just look at V now, especially since he’s wearing my favorite black suit! Oh, come on, Siel, this is a very important occasion! Focus on the meeting! I know you can, even if you don’t fully understand this yet. This is something you have to learn if you want a life with this hunky, good-looking guy who is now standing by your side!
“By the way, Vince, the lady who is with you… who is she?”
Finally, one of the elders noticed her and found her presence unusual. His question was soon echoed by another… “Is she staying for the meeting?”
Don’t blush, Siel, please. Behave like a grown-up and responsible mate.
“Yes! Please allow me to introduce her. She is Siel Camden, my mate,” V said full of pride. “Elena, let me introduce you to Elder Melo, Elder Stephen, Elder Demian, and Elder Jenna.”
“I need no introduction, thank you,” Abner interrupted V as he approached Siel, took her hand in his, and kissed it. “I am Alpha Abner de Jaager from the Crescent Moon Pack, at your service, Miss Siel,” he crooned smoothly as he straightened up from his small bow.
Don’t cringe, girl, don’t let your man down!
“Pleasure to meet you, Alpha Abner,” she replied with the most genuine smile she could give him. “And very pleased to meet all of you Elders, as well.”
V was indeed proud of his Luna, but it wasn’t the only thing he was feeling at that time, no thanks to his wolf Roth… Oh, I’m gonna kill him, V! Let me kill him right now!
I told you, Roth, Abner is just trying to get to us. We have to stay calm, especially for our mate. We can’t let her be in the middle of a conflict just because Abner’s an asshole. Relax, M will take care of this bastard!
“Ladies and gentlemen, let’s take our seats so we can start. Come on, mate, sit here,” V requested, pulling out a chair that was right between him and Elder Melo, the very one who asked who she was.
“Thank you, V,” she replied with a wide smile.
After everybody sat, and one of the Omegas took coffee orders for all those present, Myron stood up and started an introduction on the topic.
“Good evening, everyone, welcome to the meeting. The topic today, as you probably know already, is the requested challenge of Alpha Abner de Jaager from Crescent Moon Pack. He is challenging Alpha Vincent Riegel of the Silvercrest Pack, for the title of Alpha, and for the lady that is currently under his… custody, Alexia Denar.” “Alexia Van der Meer,” corrected Abner, to the astonishment of all the people in the room. The damn nerve…
I know, Roth, but he will try and provoke us as much as he can until we attack him. We can’t give him what he wants. At least, not yet.
“Alexia Denar,” Myron continued, “who is the marked mate of the Silvercrest’s Gamma, Ma’Heron Denar. Alpha Abner’s allegations state that there was an arrangement between him and the late Alpha of what was the Dark Forest Pack back then. This was before Ma’Heron and Alexia met, and therefore he and his pack were directly affected and Crescent Moon took years to recover. Now that their recovery is completed, Alpha Abner requests that, and I quote, ‘all that was supposed to be mine should be given back to me’, end quote.” Myron paused, then inhaled deeply as if what he had to say was particularly disturbing.
And it was…
“In connection with that, since the Dark Forest pack was merged to the Silvercrest pack after Alpha Alexia gave her rights to Alpha Vincent, he maintains that he too has rights over the Silvercrest Pack.” The room fell silent for a moment.