ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ 21
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ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴇ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴ ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴄᴄᴇᴘᴛ, ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ ᴡᴇ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ʟᴇᴀʀɴ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴡᴇ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ʟᴇᴛ ɢᴏ.
...Lucas
A whole week had passed before I had been able to tame my alcohol and anger addictions. My wolf had been furious with me the entire time, ensuring that I got it all out of my system before facing the other Alphas again. He didn't want us making a fool out of ourselves, especially when it had taken so long to build up our reputation and the reputation of our Pack's.
As each day passes, I crave Melanie more, with every fiber of my being, even though I know I won't be able to do anything about her situation, not until the day of her Mating Ceremony. Neither my wolf and I want to wait until then, but we have to. If we lose control at all, we are supposed to be chained and detained.
I bend forward and cradle my head in my hands. With the war prep going on full-time and the loss of my mate, I hadn't slept in a whole three days and it's now catching up to me. Each and every tiny sound bothers me, enraging both me and my wolf. Our mind was hyperaware of every little thing. So when my office door is gently opened, we can't help but hiss and pull our hair at the sound. "Alpha?" A meek voice inquires and I raise my head to meet the eyes of the male I had in charge of all of our mail. I assess his figure and notice the dark blue envelope clutched tightly in his left hand.
"Yes?" I raise an eyebrow at the terrified werewolf, inclining my head slightly to show that I give him permission to enter my office. He dashes to my desk, drops off the letter, and runs away, quietly shutting the door behind him. Was I that terrifying that pups in my own pack were terrified of me?
I shake my thoughts away and turn to the odd-coloured letter, its giant white cursive letters almost blindingly bright compared to how dark my entire office is. The writing is unfamiliar. The only letter I'm currently anticipating was Gabriel's, since his pack was the closest to Caine's 'territory.' I quickly tear it open, a sense of dread filling my entire being. My wolf brings himself forward, so that he's opening the letter right alongside me.
As we read it through, confusion replaces the dread we feel. 'What does this mean?' My wolf roars, pacing back and forth as he retreats into my mind. Neither of us know the answer to his question. I slam my hands down onto my desk at the fact that I am so unknowledgeable. My office doors fly open with a crack as they slap the wall beside them. Jeremy storms into the room, in attack position. Once he realizes there's no threat and his eyes fall onto my shaking figure, he's quick to storm over and check me for any injuries.
"What the fuck is this?" I growl, shoving the wrinkled paper in my hand into Jeremy's face instead. My Beta takes the possibly cursed letter from my hand and his eyebrows knit in confusion as he reads it over. I know, I know, we should've checked the unknown letter for any hidden magic or tricks but I was impatient and I was expecting news on my mate, not this.
He looks up and his eyes meet mine. "I don't know, man. Why are the witches getting themselves involved?" Jeremy places the note from the Coven of Thirteen on my desk, the handwritten words facing up toward us. "What do they have to do with our war?" We both fall prey to our dark and worrisome thoughts for a second before we snap out of them. This was my mate, his future Luna whose fate we were thinking about. Why did she have to get caught up in all of this, when I was trying so hard to push her away and keep her safe?
"We might have to go to El Centro to find out. The meeting's only five days away. A day before the Mating Ceremony." I murmur, tracing the large words on the invitation. What was the meaning of this? What did they want from us? Why must both me and my people go there while Caine and his people would be there too?
"That's risky!" Jeremy exclaim, a frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. "Who knows what will happen there? The witches will be in control. We could be walking into a trap and all of our high ranking wolves could die!" Witches never picked sides in wars and when they did, it never turned out to be good for either sides.
"Don't you think I understand that? That I thought of that?" I snarl, flashing my canines at Jeremy and at the incredulous tone he used with me. I hold back my wolf from lashing out at my Beta. Did he think we were an incapable Alpha? I hope not. For his sake.
Jeremy, realizing why he enacted such dominance-displaying behavior out of me, was quick to make things right. "I apologize, Alpha, it's just that the witches are unpredictable. They could have some tricks up their sleeves. They always did in the past."
"Which is why I'll have to look more into this meeting. I'll have my sources check further into the details." I huff, bringing my head down to rest in my hands. "It just doesn't make any sense. It's just before the Mating Ceremony. It has to be planned and coordinated. But why?"
My Beta agrees, slumping down onto one of the chairs in front of me. "WAIT." The silence ceases with Jeremy's exclamation and with wide eyes, he abruptly stands up. I can imagine the light bulb, lit, above his head, the way they show such ideas in cartoons. "Alessandra. Do you think it has anything do with her? She is a witch after all." I can understand where his sudden realization comes from but from what I know, Alessandra has been banished from the Witch Society years ago. I tell Jeremy this and he frowns, sitting back down. "Have you spoken to Leo?" He inquires. I shake my head at him and he advises me to talk to him about Alessandra's appearance and the Coven's invitation. "He's a warlock. He'd know." Jeremy says before he leaves me alone in my office to go for dinner with his mate.
Mate. Someone I may never have. I sigh and choose to go speak with my magical friend later. Exiting my spacious office, I walk down the lonely hallways and up the stairs to my floor where I then go straight to my room. The room that should've been Melanie and I's shared room. After a quick shower, I lie down in bed in my boxers, thinking about how I never understood what I had until I lost it all.
I finally fall asleep restlessly, horrible thoughts creeping into my dreams from the darkest depths of my mind.
I must have barely fallen asleep for a few minutes before my eyes shoot open. I'm panting hard, recalling the dream I just had. Except it wasn't a dream, it was a projection caused my a witch. A dream, but one that was shared by another supernatural being; a witch in this case. Quickly sliding off of my bed, I ignore the fact that I'm only in my underwear and I run out of my room and down the stairs, to my office, where I had left that letter.
When I reach my desk, I flip over the letter, as per the witch's instructions from the projection. And there, on the bottom right corner of the back of the letter, is a tiny note, meant for my eyes only. It read,
ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴇꜱꜱ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ. ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴍᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ ᴄʜᴜʀᴄʜ ɪɴ ᴇʟ ᴄᴇɴᴛʀᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴀᴛʜᴇʀɪɴɢ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɴ ᴅɪꜱᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀꜱ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏʀɪᴢᴏɴ. ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴄʀᴜᴄɪᴀʟ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴀꜱ ᴡᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ɪᴛ.
*-*-*-*-*
The days after I received the invitation, I had spoken to Leo and he assured me, once more, that the witches had no alternate plans. My source in the Coven of Thirteen also quenched my fears. So now knowing that there could be a benefit to the werewolves involved in the war, I had gone ahead and called Adora, the Coven leader to tell her we'd be there. She, in turn, informed me that Caine would also be joining us and that he'd requested a plus one. Curiosity and confusion had enveloped me as soon as I heard this. Could it be...? I had thanked Adora and cut the call, falling deep into thought. Would she want to ever see me again after what happened?
Back to the present- I'm currently getting ready for the meeting after letting only those I could call close alliances in my pack know about what was going on. All of the men required to be there had agreed on going with me. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Yet I still have an uneasy feeling about tonight.
"'Ey Cap'n, they're all waiting for ya down by them docks." Logan, my Gamma pronounces in a weird tone. I raise an eyebrow at him. He switches to an annoying, whiny voice. "WhY are yOu so sLoW?"
I don't reply except I do chuckle at his antics. I needed that more than anyone will ever know. "I'm done. Let's go." I murmur after a few moments of silence, leaving my house and stripping out of my formal attire to shift. Another couple of long minutes later, we arrive, panting heavily, to the docks. Adora had told me there would be a witch here to magically transport us to California. I was hoping she was messing around with me because I didn't particularly enjoy such transport. There had to be an easier way to get to El Centro within an hour from Montana.
My hopes were immediately squashed when I saw a portal being prepared for us by a young, teenage male. I shift and slip into my clothes before fixing up my hair. I want to look somewhat decent, especially if Caine's plus-one ends up being Melanie.
Logan, being his usual confused-about-everything self, asks what I'm doing rubbing my head like that and when I tell him, he laughs uncontrollably before saying, "Fixing your hair? Man, you're-" He snorts before laughing again. "-making it look like ruffled up-" Another crazy chuckle erupts from him that has him clutching his sides as his face turns red. "-messy sex hair." He coughs and tries to hide his next words underneath the sound. "Sex we know you've never had."
I lightly slap the back of his head with narrowed eyes and he gasps dramatically, complaining about how I have mortally wounded him. I roll my eyes and give him a witty comeback that could properly rival his own teasing comebacks.
One crazy, nauseating drop through hell later, we were standing at the entrance to an old building in hot, humid California. I had no doubts that it would be completely different on the inside. Witches were always known to be classy and deceptive. The doors suddenly fling open, exposing the lush and fancy interior.
"Ah! Welcome! I'm Adora and I'm pleased to finally meet you." A young woman, about twenty, states, grabbing my arm and pulling me inside with a sly wink. I quickly shake me arm away with an uncomfortable smile. My wolf was growling at the contact in the back of my mind, saying how he doesn't want any other female's touch but his mate's. My men follow me, their eyes solely focused on Adora's hands, especially after she grabbed me. They didn't know about my secret meeting with her before today. I clear my throat once we're inside and I realize there's no need for them to be glaring so viciously at her.
A familiar, alluring scent floats through the air, picked up by my sensitive nose. I avoid the temptation to close my eyes and follow the scent like a lovesick puppy. It was the exact aroma I had been craving for so long and now that I was within reach of it, I realize I cannot mess up this meeting by rushing to my mate and marking her. My wolf would never settle for anything less than a fresh mark on her neck. I hiss as I struggle to hold him back and keep him away from our mate. She would never forgive us for forcibly marking her.
'MATE.' My wolf exclaims excitedly, wagging his tail around. It had been a while since he had properly spoken to me and to say I was relieved he hadn't left me would be an understatement. He had only ever solemnly scolded me since Melanie disappeared. Jake pushes forward with more determination but I hold him back with just as much.
The woman in question stands quietly in a corner beside a disgusting mate-stealing man who's talking seriously with a male witch. The pair turn as they comprehend that I've arrived. Melanie's eyes snap toward me, a frown tugging at her soft, red lips. Her eyes are lit with happiness that she tries to conceal with her frown. I'm glad that she doesn't hate me, the proof being her joy at the sight of me. My eyes scan her body for any harm and I almost loudly sigh in relief when I see nothing. Just her same, teasing little body adorned with a dress too tight and too short with a dipping neckline. I avert my eyes from her cleavage and scowl at the ground once I see Caine's arm around her small waist.
Jeremy stifles a chuckle beside me and I growl lowly at him in warning. He straightens up immediately, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Logan and him share a few words through the mind link, I'm assuming, because Logan seems to share whatever Jeremy's thoughts were right now. I scowl some more. Logan walks toward Melanie.
And that's when all shit lets loose.
Caine immediately growls out loudly, snarling at my approaching Gamma. He pulls Melanie behind him with his claws out, digging into her full hips. She cries out in pain, wincing at every movement made. I snarl at her affliction, my claws and canines extending on their own, every part of my body itching to protect our other half. I jump forward to grab Logan but he sidesteps out of the way and continues his way with his eyes on the prize. I don't attempt to pull him back again, the distracting scent of Melanie's blood now thick in the air.
My eyes snap to Caine's claws and I fight back the desire to rip his hands clean off his body for hurting my little mate like that. But I can't do that. I had committed to the no-fighting rule and that was that. We weren't attacking anyone, even though Caine's posture was threatening and poised to attack at the moment. I don't know what Logan's two brain cells are up to right now, but I guess I'll have to wait, like everyone but Jeremy, to find out.
'Watch your fucking self, Logan. You can't attack anyone here!' I mind-link him to ensure he hasn't lost it. I don't want Melanie to be caught in the cross-fire. She should've never been here to begin with. I wish I could go back in time and take away my attack on my mate's pack and all of my harsh words. I couldn't just announce that she's my mate and take her away from her home. I had to pretend to hate her and take her as a war prize instead, so no one would suspect that she's my mate. A certain rat inside my pack and her pack finding out had ruined my whole plan to keep her safe from harm's way. I had a lot of enemies, of which one is now using her against me, and others who would not hesitate to do the same.
'Copy that. So how about that little potted plant over there?' He jokes, turning around to send me a smirk over his shoulder, along with a wink. I roll my eyes and mentally flip him the bird. He finally reaches Melanie, across the room.
I don't even need to use my heightened hearing to tell that everyone's holding their breaths to see what he does next, including Melanie and I.
Thought? Did this chapter move too fast? Because I needed the plot to pick up a little. Hope you guys enjoyed the long chapter!