The One Who Came

Chapter 20

"Oooo yes!" Alex shook with excitement. "It's been ages since someone challenged us." Karter noticed Alex's hands were shaking and that's how much he was thrilled by the idea. The Omega was dying from worry about his mate and Alex was cheering at the possibility. Karter glared at him and turned his gaze to Ivan who was smiling at his Beta.

"Alex usually accepts the challenges for me." Ivan declared when he saw Karter's displeased expressions.

"Yeah because there hasn't been one Alpha who was up to your standard." Alex scoffed and the mood lightened immensely.

"You know there were a few." Ivan elbowed him and looked at him smugly. 

"So what should we do?" Killian asked.

"Dad?" Ivan was honestly confused and he knew that everyone should contribute to the decision.

"You should put a hold on the meeting with The Council, send them a letter to postpone it." Lucas said and the Elder hummed and nodded in agreement. 

"I'm confused." Killian commented which brought the attention of everyone. "Why are we not going to the headquarters? Maybe they can help, they have the resources and the authorities." 

"They can turn the situation of on us, son." Lucas answered. "They might treat our pack harshly to get the information out or in the worst-case scenario, they can use Karter as a lab rat." Karter stilled at the remark. His eyes went wide as he looked at his mate with worry. Ivan looked concerned but not surprised, which indicated that he considered the possibility. "This is an unexplainable situation so we shouldn't disclose anything until we get the answers."  

The Alpha placed his hand on Karter's in assurance. "I won't let anything bad happen to you." He whispered but Karter knew many ears picked it up. "If we don't go there to confirm their suspicions, they can't do anything to us." Everyone understood the reason but Alex and Killian still looked unsettled. Their pack has never gotten an invitation to the headquarters so both wolves were excited about that 'achievement.

"About the meetings..."

"I'm thinking of..." Ivan lost his words. "A press conference?" Ivan finally said. "We should be honest about the situation but say that we are getting close to comprehending it. Maybe, visit a friendly pack from the list to erase some suspicions." Ivan said but his voice was hesitant. "I'm not that sure though..." He trailed off, massaging his temple with one hand. Karter squeezed his other hand as he could sense that the matter was complicated. 

"We don't have to make the decisions now, take a few days to think it through." Lilly, an Elder said and Lucas verbally agreed. 

"But I like the idea of a press conference. We can disclose whatever we want, without questions, and it can buy us some time to figure out other problems." Lucas expressed.

"That's a good idea." Another Elder said. "But I still think that you should take some time to think it through." She added.

"We'll do that, Patricia." Ivan confirmed and turned to Alex. "Assign ten more wolves for patrol just as a precaution. There were way too many rogue attacks than expected. I don't want any members to get harmed in a time like this." Alex nodded and jotted down the detail like he was doing since the whole meeting. "I think we are done for today?" Ivan said and stood up which made everyone else stand as well. "Thank you for coming." Ivan went to Lilly's side and helped her to get up from her seat. He kissed her hand and greeted the rest of the Elder until they left. 

"I'll be with dad, Alex, and Killian for some time to discuss the situation further." He said as he walked toward his Omega parent. "Papa, take care of Karter for the day, get him acquainted with the Luna duties, please." Ivan kissed his papa on his head and helped Karter up. "Take Jonathan and Quint anywhere you go, and I don't want to hear any complaints." He quickly added when his papa opened his mouth to argue.