The smart security guard was in a black and white suit. His dark shoes were so admirably shiny that I could almost picture my reflection on them as we approached him. He had something like a small Bluetooth speaker hung on his left ear. As we neared him, he opened the single door for us and nodded his head twice but didn’t say a word. He watched us as a curious K-9 dog would. He didn’t even consider it appropriate to at least take away his eyes from us as he pried on us like strangers.
Drake nodded back to him too and then turned to me, smiling. “Ladies first or do you want to grab my hand?” Drake asked, politely.
I smiled. I grabbed him by his arm. “We walk together,” I told him.
As we took a left turn down the hallway, we met another security guard. His short physique gave me the impression that he might be a raucous man. He had round cheeks and he was almost at the same height as my shoulder. He looked big though but older- probably early in his fifties. I had no idea that the convention venue would be this heavily guarded. It never occurred to me. I must admit, it made me nervous at some point but it would have been more brazen if I had gone there alone.
The security guard gestured with his hand to the left. We took the left turn without saying a word or acting funny. We emerged into the end of the hallway which had double doors. They swung inwardly when Simon pushed them. Then one last security guard manned this area. His face looked naturally disconcerted. He looked tall but scrawnier than the last two security guards we met. Immediately the door opened and the scrawny man saw Simon, he jabbed him on his chest- unprovoked, though wasn’t hard enough to cause trouble or make a scene.
“Identification please!” he told Simon.
Drake and I now emerged. The scrawny man looked at us and immediately withdrew his hand from Simon’s chest. “Alpha of the Blood Moon,” he quoted excitedly and bowed. “My respect!”
“Why did you stop him?” Drake asked, his voice sullen.
“Oh!” the guard mumbled. “Didn’t know he came with you. Didn’t mean to disrespect you.” He made way for us to enter. “You are welcome, make your selves comfortable.” He looked up at me. “And you too, damsel.”
Drake released his hand from my grip and leaned forward to the guard. He placed his hands on his collar softly and started arranging it. Honestly, there was nothing I see there that needs an arrangement. “What’s your name, gentleman?” Drake asked him.
“I told you, I mean you no harm. There’s no need to drag this on.”
“That’s not what I asked you. Let me reiterate,” Drake said. He gave him a pat on his left cheek. “I asked you, what’s your name?”
“I go by Jessie but you can call me hitman.”
Drake smiled again and immediately frowned. He buttoned up Jessie’s white long sleeves to the last one. “I admire your balls, Jessie. The way I see it, I think they are huge,” Drake said softly. He tightened up the collar, making it impossible for Jessie to breathe properly. “I think you shoul-”
I grabbed his arm and tightened my grip. “Let it slide,” I said, interrupting. “We’ve got a lot to do.”
Drake looked at me and that was when I knew he was dead angry. He tried to control himself but his eyes had almost changed into a feral freaky blue. I don’t think he would have stopped there if I didn’t call him to order, if I didn’t stop him on time. He looked back at the security guard. “I think my woman just saved your ass,” he said, smiling. “I will have to listen to her. See you around.”
I think now I had seen it with my very own eyes that the Blood Moon’s Alpha, Drake, was not just feared but respected too. It’s one thing to have a man who is feared. And then it’s another thing to have a man who people feared but has great regard for his woman. I think I had settled with the latter. If Drake didn’t regard me, he wouldn’t have been able to stop harassing the guard. I am a lucky young woman, I guess. I have heard countless stories of Alpha’s rejecting their mates and abusing them but mine was doing the opposite. Lovely.
“Sometimes some elements need to be reminded of their place,” he said.
“It shouldn’t be constantly.”
“But discipline matters, my Luna.”
I grabbed him by the arm. “That’s inarguably true but there is a difference between discipline and threats. In this case, you had done more of the latter than the former,” I said. “Sometimes overlooking things would create room for fewer enemies and open door for more positive energies.”
“But-”
“Hush,” I said, and he hushed. “Let’s get inside.”
Finally, we stepped inside the large auditorium. It was really a beauty. The floor was painted red- red rugs covered the whole surface from one end to the other. Red long curtains covered the backstage- which was around five feet away from the surface.
Super large chandelier lights hung on the ceiling about six to ten feet apart, giving the room an ornate feeling, the composition of beautiful primary colours complementing the space. Executive red-looking seats circled the whole auditorium, filling out the shape of the whole room- which was circular in this case. There were a lot of gents and ladies sitting down comfortably in their seats. Most ladies wore the colour red up and down like I did which made me ask myself this question: was it the colour of the day? I could almost tell without much difficulty that we were surrounded by Alpha werewolves of various packs and their Lunas. Mixture of different scents oozed everywhere including that of Lunas during their heat period.
Well, this whole thing was just unprecedented. The fact that Alpha werewolves had agreed to have a common team, a medium that brings them altogether gladdened my heart. Since recorded history, it had been very difficult and sometimes, close to impossible to bring our kinds together for a common goal. There had been fighting, assassinations, packs rivaling against each other, sharp increase in rogue werewolves when such matters were brought up- you can kick me in the ass because I don’t know why. But not anymore, except very few who had trailed the path with our long-standing enemies- vampires. They have finally understood that a family without unity could be penetrated by infidels which might bring the unit to a halt. This was relatable to my own family too. My father preferred working with others than working with his own. I knew I had a fair share of the big blame but again, believe me, I have tried my best within my power to build up that harmony between us, but my father kept on destroying the little efforts I made.
“My Luna,” I heard Drake say.
“Uh,” I mumbled, shivering.
“Are you alright?”
“O-of course. I am alright.” I lied. I was thinking.
“No, you are not,” he said. “I know exactly what you are thinking.”
“What?” I said, frightened. How could he possibly know what I was thinking? I would take my chances. He was probably lying, I thought. “Tell me what I am thinking.” I forced a smile on my face.
“Babe,” he said. He took my hand and placed it on his chest. “What do you feel?”
I snorted. “I feel nothing,” I said softly. “Except your heartbeat.”
“Exactly. My heartbeat.” He breathed. He let go of my hand. “My heart could tell when you are troubled, Pretty. Ever since I marked you, it had never remained the same.”
“You feel that too?” I asked quietly. I didn’t want Simon to get distracted. He was still entertaining his eyes from the things in the auditorium he was probably looking at.
“Yes.” Wow. Our mate bond was very strong. I thought I was the only one who could feel his presence more, the only one affected by the bond.
But hey, I wanted to be sure. “Back to what we are saying. What was I thinking?”
“You are thinking about your father, Pretty. I know you are hurt and you probably want to see him.”
Goodness! I felt like crying. I didn’t know how on earth he was just so right about what he said. I wasn’t sure if it had been an effort of luck or the effort of the mate bond like he said. One thing was sure; he was right. I was hurting. I needed to see my father to at least know how he was doing. I didn’t just have a good feeling about him since I saw Mr. Rudolph alone at the convention. It was morally right that my father should be there. He wasn’t the kind that takes events like this lightly. He’s a very serious individual so it was incredibly difficult for me to diffuse the situation by finding a good reason why he wasn’t there. “It hurts to say but you are right,” I admitted. “But what can I do? I am confused, Alpha.”
“Call him,” he suggested.
I narrowed my eyes. “What? On the phone?”
“Of course, bonehead. What were you planning to use before? A satellite?”
“Funny,” I said. “Truth is, I never had plans to call him. I don’t know, I am scared. I don’t know why.”
Drake placed his right palm on my cheek, it felt warm. “Believe me, don’t be. He will gladly pick your call.”
I tried to force a smile. “Thank you,” I said. I reached for my purse and began searching for my phone but didn’t see it. Where could it be? “Fuck!” I remembered.
Drake eyed me wearily. “What? Have you lost it?”
“Not exactly,” I said. “I think I left my phone on the armchair when I was rushing to meet you.”