The loud sounding of Leo's alarm almost gives me a heart attack as I jerk up, falling off the bed and landing with a "thud" on the ground. When I landed, I'd pulled the covers down with me and my actions had stirred Leo. He growls lowly while still asleep despite his roaring alarm.
I walk over to the alarm on his phone, pressing the stop button before it wakes others on our floor. As I prepare to wake him up, I stop briefly to admire his sleeping position. He was laying with his head resting on his bent arm. His muscles were prevelent and his beard had made a slight appearance.
I smile to myself before tip toeing to the bathroom and shutting the door as quietly as I can. Karim and Imad would be here in an hour for their first breakfast at the pack house and I want to make it memorable. I also still need to inform Leo of their joining us for breakfast. His opinion of whether they are welcome or not really will not matter to me, but it wouldn't be fair for me not to tell him at all, especially since he has such a dislike towards Imad.
Once I was done showering and freshening up, I walk back into our bedroom to find Leo already awake and putting on a t-shirt .
"Leo, good you're awake" I smile
He turns to face me " We have a meeting with some neighboring packs in a couple of hours. I was going to ask yesterday if you want to come along, but we were a little distracted last night" he said with a smug look
I blush tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear awkwardly "What would I be doing exactly?" I ask confused as to what my role would be at the meeting
"Nothing, just sit and look pretty" he says I stare back at him, my face clearly showing my distaste of his words.
He laughs at my reaction and draws me in for a gentle kiss on the forhead "I was kidding. I want you to get a sense of what goes on behind the scenes of a pack. We'll be discussing alliances , territory, finance, safety, boring topics really"
"That honestly doesn't sound too fun, but I'll be happy to join you. Am I allowed to contribute to discussions during the meetings?"
He looks at me skeptically "What exactly do you have in mind?"
I think about telling him how I intend to discuss the advancement of omegas, but I'm afraid it might be a sour topic, so I just shake my head "I just meant generally, am I- as your mate, allowed to speak at these meetings?"
He gently places his hands on my hips and draws me near to him. " Of course you're allowed to speak. There would be no reason for you to come otherwise" he leans in trying to kiss me again this time on the lips, but I pull back.
"What is it?" he asks, I could see he took offense to my action
"You haven't showered or brushed your teeth yet have you? "
"I bathed in the guest room next door, you know you occupied the bathroom for over an hour right? "
I look at the clock and it confirms his allegations. I hadn't realized I'd been in there for so long. " I'm sorry, I guess I lost track of time" I said feeling guilty for having made him go next door
"Do you normally take that long in the morning?"
I shake my head "No, I just had to do.. stuff " that was likely the dumbest thing I have ever uttered.
He raises his brow amused "Stuff?" he chuckles and kisses my forehead before walking over to the closet to put on the top half of his navy blue suit. "Amira, I saw every part of you last night, so stop being so reserved" he says chuckling, while putting on his tie
A knock sounds on our door, thankfully interrupting our discussion.
I quickly skip to open the door to find Cora standing impatiently and seeming annoyed- as always.
"Our meeting isn't for another two hours, is something wrong?" Leo asks Cora, surprised to see her this early as well.
She sashays into our room, as if she owns the place and begins looking at herself through the large mirror pinned to our wall. "I came to let you know there is an issue downstairs " she says as she runs her fingers through her hair and fixes her dress.
"What issue?" Leo says casually putting on his shoes. I staring at their interaction and fight the urge to speak out against my dislike of Cora's barging into our room. I was even more upset that Leo had said nothing about it, as if she visited his room like this frequently.
"Some omegas said they were invited to eat with us by Amira" she says turning around and staring at me with arms crossed. "Their presence is making everyone uncomfortable and they refuse to leave unless seen by Amira"
Leo turns to me questioning the truth of Cora's statement "What is she talking about?"
I immediately felt guilty for waiting this long to tell him but I didn't think it would be an inconvenience to everyone. There was certainly more than enough food to go around, so I don't see what the problem is. "I invited Imad and Karim to start having meals with us. It's not a problem is it?" I said my tone softening as I sensed Leo's rising anger.
"Cora, can you give us a minute" he commands, Cora leaves seeming satisfied at the tension she has introduced.
"You shouldn't have done that without my consent" He says tone suddenly shifting to a calm one.
"Karim's wolf isn't developing properly because he is malnourished, and Imad has been having financial issues..he's a good friend of mine so I want to help." I say quietly shrugging.
"His financial problems are none of your concern. I'll allow them to eat with us this once, but this will not be something that occurs regularly. Omegas do not eat with people of higher rank, I'm sorry Amira, but thats how things work in this pack" he says sternly
He waits, expecting me to say something in response but I just stare back at him in disappointment. I won't say this, but I was beginning to fear that I had made a mistake last night.
"I'm taking your silence as compliance then" he says , grabbing his car keys and stuffing his wallet in his pocket. He seems annoyed, which irritates me because if anyone was to be annoyed right now, it should be me.
Ignoring him completely and walking away , I make my way to the dining area aiming to resolve whatever was going on downstairs.
I find Imad and Karim standing near a wall corner. Their heads made a turn in my direction as they saw me, and their soft smiles warmed my heart.
"Hey" I say giving both of them a hug before pulling away. "Are you alright?" I ask, wanting to hear exactly what happened from Imad directly.
Imad rolls his eyes and leans in closer to me, speaking quietly so only I can hear his words "I'm sure you already know but, thanks for the offer to help, I appreciate it" he smiles and leaves and Karim quietly follows.
I sigh, running my hands through my kinked hair as I hear Leo enter the dining area. As he enters, the Alpha and Luna along with Cora and the rest of the of their colleagues gather together and begin having what seems to be a private conversation.
The fact that I was the only person excluded from the conversation made me begin to think back to what Leo's mother had said about me before. I'm starting to believe that the division within this pack was due to more than just ranking.
As I walk closer to them aiming to join in, they immediately pause their conversation and collectively stare at me in confusion. I stand under their glares uncomfortably, it seems they are waiting for me to say something, likely confused as to why I am near them in the first place.
Leo leaves the group grabbing my hand and escorting us to our ride outside without uttering a word.
"Which pack are we meeting with?" I ask trying to break the silence in this awkward car ride. Things were becoming odd with him again.
"You'll know once we get there" he says quickly and focuses his attention back on his phone. He's texting vigorously pounding on his phone screen noticeably angry.
"How long is the drive?" I ask trying again to start up a conversation again.
"We should be there in 50 minutes" he says again passively.
"Leo.." I say
"Yes Amira?" he won't catch my gaze
"Are you alright? Are we alright?" He finally turns to me, putting on a fake smile. "I'm fine"
I hated when he looked at me the way he's doing now. First when I asked him other his mother's comment and now.
"Okay, we should talk about earlier. I didn't intentionally invite them without speaking with you first. I was going to before Cora did, but it had slipped my mind until then. I'm sorry. I'll inform you next time before I invite someone over" I say nervously hoping he would accept my apology. I really hate it when he's upset with me, my wolf hates it even more.
Leo's eyes seem to soften and before I notice his actions, he wines up the tinted window separating us and our driver to give us more privacy. Immediately after, he gently places his lips on mine, kissing me passionately. My heart begins racing as he pulls me nearer to him. Although the feeling was ethereal, I was nervous. My palms were sweaty so I refrained from touching him so I wouldn't wrinkle his suit. My hands had been resting on my knees, but I could sense his hunger grow. I hadn't noticed when he had unbuckled my seat belt so now I am sitting on his lap. One of his hands rests on the small of my back, while the other holds my chin straight. He ends our kiss with a light feathered kiss on my nose before pulling back and smiling.
"I'm guessing that means you forgive me"I say
He pecks my lips one more time and smiles "How could I stay mad at you, and I think we're here" he says gently shifting me from his lap
By the numerous cars already parked outside, I assume we arrived a little later than everyone else.
"We're late" Leo says confirming my thoughts
He takes one of my hands and leads us inside. Everyone was already seated at the extended business table once we arrived.
Clearing his throat at our arrival, Leo leads us to our seats at the head of the other end of the table. The noises and chatter in the room begin to simmer as everyones mood changes to that of a serious one.
"Since everyone is here, I'll start with introductions" Alpha Jaxon announces
Directing our attention to the couple at his right he says "Mavin and his mate Rebecca of the Darwin pack, are our neighbors from the North" the couple smiles and provide a wave as a greeting to the rest of us.
Gesturing to his left Jaxon says "Gerald and his mate Lisa of the Devrow pack are another one of our neighbors" they similarly return a smile
Lastly, he points at the couple seated next to Gerald and Lisa "Last but not least, Christopher and his mate Meghan of the Snow pack" we all bow to welcome them
Jaxon continues on introducing each person sitting at the table. Present were a few people I've never formally spoken to, so I was unaware of their names but I've seen them around Leo regularly.
"Finally, my Beta Leo and his mate Amira" I hear Jaxon say, I begin to shrink as everyone turns their heads in our direction. I hate attention, especially when sitting in a room full of people that aren't too particularly fond of me.
Leo notices my uneasiness and subtly takes my hand to comfort me. I smile back to him in gratitude feeling my nerves calm instantly.
Like Leo had warned, the meeting was a little stale. After sitting and listening to Leo and our Alpha talk alliances with our neighboring packs for four hours, I was becoming tired. Before coming, I'd hoped we'd discuss more things relating to our pack alone but we've spent the more time talking about how to protect ours and our neighbors territory from rogues. Of course that was an important topic but my concerns were more with how the omegas of our packs couldn't afford healthcare and how most were living in poverty despite working harder than any other ranking members in our park. Just thinking about the conditions of my people made me upset, I now had an opportunity to speak out against these issues and have yet to do anything. I feel I am failing them.
As I hear the rattling of chairs, I notice the Alphas getting up and saying their goodbyes. I release a breath of air, taking this as a signal the meeting was finally over. I too stand up, grabbing my handbag in the process, I was more than ready to leave.
Seeing Leo stand from his seat I get up, and make my way to the door immediately. I was hungry, tired. I know being Leo's mate might make my attendance to these a requirement but, I'm sure I could convince Leo otherwise. If all that would be discussed was rogues then I definitely do not need to attend these meetings in the future.
As everyone exits the door, I follow aside Leo until we reach our car. I open the door, hop inside and wait for Leo to do the same. When I notice he's not entering the car, I lean out from my seat to find him surrounded by his group of friends, which included Cora and her friends that accompanied her to the diner the day Leo we met.
"Are you coming?" I ask, coming out of the car to stand beside him
Everyone halts their chatter and turn to stare at me , waiting for Leo's answer
Gently grabbing my hand and pulling me aside, Leo has guilt written all over his face.
" What is it?" I ask worried
"Nothing.It's nothing serious."
"Oh okay, then lets go home" I say to him, still wondering why we were still here. We could have already been ten minutes into our drive.
He stills momentarily "A few of us are going to some bars since it's been a long week. We'll probably also go bowling afterwards. So I'll be out late.."
"That sounds fun, I'll just go grab my things from the car" I say, ready to head back to my car to grab my purse before my mate holds me back.
" You don't have to come" He states quickly. "What I meant was...I didn't think drinking or going to bars was your type of outing" he says lowly
I may have not attended college, but I wasn't an idiot. It was clear he didn't want me coming with him, and it hurt.
"I've never been to one, so I can't say. But it's fine, I'm tired anyways, I'll just go home" I say, heading to the car before any other words can be exchanged. I made it inside and locked the door before the first teardrop fell from my eyes.
"take me home please" I say to the driver before our car leaves the parking lot.
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Finally updated. If you guys liked this chapter, vote and leave a comment! I'll update quicker.
Also, sorry this is unedited, so there you might find some grammatical errors in here. Feel free to comment where the mistakes are made and I''ll fix them later.
Thank You All !