Once we arrived at the conference center, Anderson stated that the Alpha said we had a meeting with the Alpha King. We followed him to where the meeting was taking place. We arrived at the location for the meeting, Anderson knocked on the door and waited for the ‘come in’ to open the door for us.
I was surprised to see the European Alpha King, Princess Sophia, Beta Yared, Alpha King Matthew, Beta Walsh, Alpha Richard, and a few others I didn’t know sitting around a large table. We bowed as soon as we entered per protocol.
“Ah yes, Delta Troy, Delta Heir Melanie, and Anthony, please come in and have a seat. We need to have a conversation about the contract and Doyle Kessler,” declared Alpha King Matthew in his diplomatic voice.
“Yes, Alpha King,” we chorused together as we all came over to sit down at the table where we were told to do so.
“Congratulations Melanie on your win today. I don’t remember your wolf being that big before. She is just as beautiful as I remember though,” praised Alpha King Friedrich.
“Thank you, Alpha King Friedrich,” I replied with a blush covering my cheeks.
“Yes, I noticed that too. Your wolf did seem bigger today than she was just a few days ago. Maybe it’s because you mated with Anthony. Anthony, what rank were your parents in your pack before they died?” inquired my Dad.
“I’m not really sure what their rank was. I was only 11 years old when they died and I had to go live with my mother’s parents, and grandparents at Crescent Moon,” explained Anthony to everyone in the room.
“So, you aren’t originally from the Crescent Moon Pack? Is that Correct?” inquired Alpha Richard to Anthony.
“No Alpha, I’m not. I’m not sure what my birth pack’s name is. I’m sure my grandparents can tell you,” Anthony replied a little taken aback by this line of questioning. “Why, is this important?”
“It seems you come from a line of ranked wolves. That is why when Melanie mated with you, her wolf became bigger than she was originally,” explained Alpha King Matthew to everyone present.
Anthony squeezed my thigh under the table to let me know it was ‘okay.’ ‘It doesn’t change a thing, my love. I’m not going anywhere. You are still my mate and you are still going to be your pack’s next Delta,’ decreed Anthony.
‘Thank you, my love,’ I cooed to him with a smile.
“Okay, now then, we need to discuss Doyle Kessler. He has been spotted in this general vicinity. We are going to keep a tight reign on Delta Troy and you Melanie to ensure nothing happens to either of you. Understood?” declared Alpha King Matthew.
“Yes, Alpha King Matthew,” we chorused together.
I put my head down in my hand and shook it. I couldn’t believe all of this was happening right now. How did this person get so close to the Royal Pack?
“Melanie, what are you thinking? You seem to be upset or frustrated?” inquired Alpha King Friedrich.
“Yes, Alpha King Friedrich I am frustrated or rather upset at the moment. I’m just trying to think how Doyle Kessler got so close to us. But then again, he wasn’t on our radar until yesterday. I just feel useless at the moment. If I was at my ‘normal’ job, Dad and I could have called in reinforcements to lockdown the facility like it was Fort Knox …” It was then that Dad and I looked at each other and we just smirked at each other like why didn’t we think of this sooner?
“What are we missing Delta Troy? Care to let us in on the little secret?” Alpha King Matthew demanded.
“Melanie just said it. We should have called in our reinforcements. We have a whole cadre of people who could have found him in no time and we didn’t even think about it,” explained Dad with a sheepish look on his face.
“Namely because it wasn’t our operation to begin with Dad. Speaking of which, what did Colonel Thompson want? He called just as my match was about to begin. He seems to be doing a good job distracting us from Doyle Kessler. Are we sure, they aren’t working together?” I mused out loud to no one in particular.
“I wonder. Hmm. Colonel Thompson called to inform us that somehow the entire operation had been blown wide open. The family has been compromised. Their locations are a bust. They have to withdraw and the whole operation is a mess. He’s blaming you Melanie for the whole debacle,” Dad explained to everyone in the room.
“Somehow I’m not surprised. He’s made a lot of mistakes in this operation. They’ve been careless and have not remained invisible like they were supposed to be. Are our people okay? Did any of them get hurt?” I inquired of my Dad.
“Thankfully, no. No one got severely injured. There were a few minor injuries. But getting back to the family and our overwatch people; they are pulling out. At present, they are on their way back to our location. They should be back in two days and ready for the debriefing in three days. Alpha King Matthew, would you like to attend the debriefing meeting with us?” inquired my Dad.
“Yes, I would love to hear how this operation went south so quickly and how he plans on saying it’s Melanie’s fault. Mainly, because it’s not her fault. King Friedrich, would you like to join us for the meeting as well? You might like to see our girl in action. She’s a sight to see with these humans and how she handles them. She doesn’t take disrespect from them,” praised Alpha King Matthew.
“I’d love to join you for that meeting. Melanie has certainly grown into a fascinating young woman. I can’t wait to see her in action. Now, about Doyle Kessler. What kind of reinforcements can you bring in for a day or two? That’s all you have left of the tournament, right King Matthew?” questioned Alpha King Friedrich.
“Yes, that is correct. What kind of reinforcements can you provide? How many and what kind? Are we talking wolf only or wolf and human?” questioned Alpha King Matthew.
“It would have to be Wolf and Human Alpha King Matthew. We would bring in our expert forces,” Dad announced with a proud smirk on his face.
“You don’t mean … ‘the Elite Force’ do you Dad?” I exclaimed as I beamed at his proud response.
“Of course, I do. With your permission Alpha King Matthew, I can have The Elite Force here within 30 minutes and have your pack secure. If Doyle Kessler is already here, we will find him,” declared my Dad proudly.
“Make it happen, Delta Troy. Just out of curiosity. How many individuals are we talking about? I need to make sure we have enough housing for them,” questioned Alpha King Matthew.
“The Elite Force consists of 350 individuals,” replied my Dad.
“Very good. Beta Walsh, make sure we have rooms for these individuals prepared for them,” demanded Alpha King Matthew.
“As you wish, Alpha King,” replied Beta Walsh.
“Melanie, it appears tomorrow you will compete against your pack mate Melissa in the championship round for top female warrior,” announced Alpha King Matthew.
“Really? I wonder who is going to come out on top tomorrow? Hmm?” I mused more to myself than to anyone else in the room.
“Melanie and Melissa often change rankings of best female warrior in our pack. It should be interesting to see who wins tomorrow,” chuckled Alpha Richard.
“This should be a good match to see indeed. I can’t wait to see it. Let’s adjourn our meeting. Delta Troy, why don’t you and Melanie coordinate with Beta Walsh and head up the search for Doyle Kessler? I can have him meet you in Melanie’s suite to discuss the finer details. Does that sound like a good plan?” suggested Alpha King Matthew.
“Yes Alpha King, it does,” chimed in Dad.
“All right. Meeting adjourned. Everyone, enjoy your evening,” declared Alpha King Matthew.
We all stood up and started to file out of the meeting room. I was happy to be leaving the conference room. I wanted to change into better clothes than what I had on. Also, I was hungry. I wanted something to eat like chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream my go-to snack when I am upset or frustrated. I definitely needed my go-to snack.
‘Anderson or Noah, I need my go-to snack and plenty of it. This has been a stressful morning. Maybe have a whole chocolate cake ready and a half gallon or gallon of chocolate ice cream delivered to the suite, please. Also, we will be having guests join us in the suite to discuss the search for Doyle Kessler so be ready,’ I advised them in our link.
‘Yes, Delta Heir Melanie. We will be ready. We have ordered your lunch and dessert. It will be delivered to the suite soon,” advised Anderson as he escorted us to our suite.
Upon arrival at our suite, Anderson entered and cleared it. Then, we were allowed to enter the suite so we could prepare for our expected guests and lunch. I immediately went to the bedroom to change into business casual clothing. Lunch was being delivered when I came out into the living room. We ate our lunch while we waited for our Elite Force to arrive. Before anything else could happen, I cut the chocolate cake and enjoyed the chocolatey goodness to help soothe my frustrations of the morning.