The Alpha's Lifeline

~Chapter two~

They arrived at the meeting hall a few minutes later, it was silent outside... And all that could be heard was the crunching of stones beneath their feet. The entrance to the packhouse was fairly grand and was a bustling centre of activity. There was a sense of community.

Rylan walked behind his father with Brody close beside him. The doors were already open to the meeting hall, on the right-hand side of the hub, but the halls were empty as William led them through to the room he knew had been prepared for this meeting.

A few large security guards appeared, they were doing patrols on the ground floor and stopped the men to check their identity. They continued through the corridors.

Rylan's father opened two large doors and the room was full of people as they entered. Elders, pack warriors and leaders alike, all waiting to hear the news from their Alpha.

"Welcome." William spoke loud with an open chest. Rylan tried to sit down and his father gestured for him to stand beside him.

"We are here today to discuss the transfer of leader. As I have already mentioned to the elders, we will be transferring the role of alpha to my son, Rylan. This has been a long-awaited day, and we are very proud of Rylan, and I'm sure he will do great in his new position. Now let's talk logistics."

They all took a seat. This news was no surprise to Rylan, he knew his mother and father had been pushing him the last few weeks, more than they ever had before. He was going to be Alpha, it had always been his destiny, there were just a few bumps in the road to get there.

They exchanged information and details for longer than Rylan was expecting, this really was a serious meeting, He got up to stretch, his insides feeling uncomfortable. He started to sweat, his clammy hands held onto the cabinet beside the meeting table, steadying himself.

"... and the paperwork for the cells needs to be transferred to the right accounts for Rylan by next week." His father paused.

"Rylan...." He looked at his son with concern. The other members glancing over at their new alpha, struggling. Maybe not the best first impression. Brody stood up and passed him a glass of water, which slid down his throat in a few gulps.

All of sudden, Rylan's head jerked backwards as he struggled to keep control over himself. He groaned out in pain.

He managed to gain control and quickly took a few breaths, "I need a moment." He muttered quickly turning back to the door and rushing out of the back entrance within seconds, Brody running after him.

Rylan collapsed onto the floor as soon as he got outside, breathing quickly and trying to control the beasts inside of him, the stones on the ground dug into his hands harshly. His lungs going straight into shock.

"Mate" His wolf finally spoke, and his eyes widened. "Shit" he muttered. He put his head in his hands.

Brody climbed down the fire exit stairs and stood behind him. He mind-linked someone before placing a hand on Rylan's back.

"Dude, breath," Brody said quickly, making Rylan sit back onto his heels.

"My mates here." He said through gritted teeth. Brody nodded, did he already know?

His father ran out of the room with a few of Rylan's team. They were used to having to help Rylan gain control and had come up with a treatment plan for him that was working most of the time. Brody took a case from one of the support team and slid out a syringe, it had a green liquid that look like it was nuclear.

Brody had called backup just in case, he knew Rylan's wolf and vampire sides were extremely strong and could easily take over and hurt his mate.

"I apologize Rylan, I knew she was here, but I didn't know she was so close. Come and meet her, it might calm you mate. Her name is Adeline"

Adeline, his mate... He growled lowly and held onto his neck, trying to stop himself from feeding off of anyone. His vampire side still strong in his body.

She was only just indoors. He could sense it now his other forms were emerging.

"Are you going to shift?" Brody asked but Rylan couldn't talk, as his breathing increased. His whole body was shaking, he wasn't breathing...

"Do you need the serum, Rylan?" Brody held the syringe to his neck, waiting for confirmation.

The commotion had gathered quite a crowd, when a young lady walked out to see what was happening. Adeline appeared at the door with her parents a close behind her, she smiled slightly, nervously taking a few steps forward, and pinching herself to stem her excitement.

As much as this was exciting, she had been briefed on Rylan's condition, she knew she couldn't get too close. She was a tall young lady, with curvaceous hips and a small figure. She wore a sun dress in yellow and had her hair in loose waves over her shoulders. She was nervous.

Brody watched Rylan carefully, not blinking. As soon as he saw Rylan's head turn and his fangs drop down, he injected the liquid into his neck. Brody wasn't going to let this first connection turn red with blood.

He calmed down instantly, his fangs retracted and his body untensed, collapsing back onto the floor was a thud. He held himself in a ball, catching his breath.

"I need to go for a run." Rylan muttered, his muscles were tensing again as he fought to protect his mate, from himself. Her scent was overbearing, he has never felt such a euphoric feeling, blood pumping through his veins. His wolf hadn't been this active in months.

"Rylan, don't walk away from this." His father knelt down. "Please try to introduce yourself."

"Please, I'm sorry. He turned his head to her, avoiding eye contact, "I don't want to hurt you."

"I trust you." She whispered, but he could hear her. She didn't know him, and yet their mate bond had already formed between them, they were soul bound now.

"Please don't do this," William pleaded.

He began to strip, taking off his blazer and throwing it into the car, unbuttoning his shirt. "I need some air." He told him. "I'm sorry" Tears streamed down his face now as he became more overwhelmed.

"Why don't you just... Introduce yourself." His father suggested but Rylan shook his head quickly, making no eye contact with Adeline.

"If I don't leave now, I'm going to bite and feed off of her, and that's not how I wanted to make my first impression. I'll run home." He took off his shoes with urgency and looked up at Brody, who was talking to Adeline, feeling slightly jealous.

His father gave up and left him be, Rylan shoved off his trousers and shifted quickly into his wolf form, running straight into the forest beside.

"Was that my fault?" Adeline asked quietly.

"No, he wasn't prepared for that."

"What was... That." She asked.

"When he can't control his other sides, he goes into a type of shock where he can't breathe, it's just a side effect of all the stuff he's been through. The injection sort of paralyzes him for a few seconds and takes him out of the shock." Brody explained.

"He'll go off now and feed so that he doesn't hurt you."

Everyone went silent for a moment.

"I'll go in and talk to everyone, then we'll head back to the house." William told them, before walking back into the building. Adeline bit her lip, looking worried.

"It's not your fault, this happens all the time... His vampire side is much stronger than him now when he gets control, his wolf is pretty strong too... He has a hard time controlling them, it's nothing you've done. He'd rather not hurt you."

"Yeah but it's still my fault he ran off." She mumbled, looking down.

"It isn't. This is his way of coping with it, ever since he has been home, he vows to feed on animals or blood packs rather than us. He hates hurting people really; it is just sometimes he can't control it. He'll be fine later... Come on, you can come back with us, I'm sure you have more questions..."