The night before I had collapsed on the bed from being so tired from crying, but when I woke up I was surprisingly comfortable, my eyes felt heavy as I slowly opened them to come face to face with Macy. She was sound asleep and snoring softly, I smiled slightly at her unconscious self before moving closer to her, careful to shift slowly so I didn't wake her. She had listened to me whine for hours last night without even saying one word of complaint, it had been a while since we'd had some time alone together like that and I felt bad for turning it into a therapy session with her rather than a chance to just watch a movie together or something more enjoyable. It reminded me though of how amazing she was, now that she was in my life I didn't know what I'd do without her in all honesty, this experience would be so much more difficult without her help.
I laid there beside her for a while longer before kissing her forehead then getting up to brush my teeth and hair, if Macy didn't get up soon I'd have to wake her up myself since we didn't go to sleep till about 1 in the morning it was already 11:00 and it'd take some time for us to get ready, it also was about an hour drive to get to Riley and Bethany's pack territory. I walked downstairs to the kitchen to make some breakfast before a soft knock sounded at the door, I sighed lowly praying it wasn't another problem being thrown onto my plate, especially Jasper or Mark declaring a fight I didn't think I could handle that right now after last night. As I neared the door though the smell of flowers swept over me and I immediately knew who was at the door, although I wondered why she was here right now. My mother was standing on the porch, looking at the camp before seeing me open the door, she looked at me with that familiar, loving smile.
"Hi mom, why are you here?" I shook my head quickly, regretting phrasing it like that,
"I mean I'm just surprised that you're here after... how last night went" My tone dropped halfway through the sentence,
"Well your dad wants to talk to Macy at some point soon to talk that out, he really was ashamed of himself for acting the way he did," she paused as I let her inside,
"But you know your father" she made a disapproving yet loving face at the ground,
"He doesn't know how to confront anyone when it comes to personal matters so that's why I'm here" she looked at me.
"Well I'm fine with it but Macy may want him to ask her himself, she's asleep right now though so we'll have to find out later" I walked past her into the kitchen to finish cooking breakfast, she followed behind me.
"Don't you have a pack meeting in a few hours?" she asked while sitting down at the table, I could tell she was referencing to Macy not being downstairs yet,
"Yeah, I'm going to wake her up soon to get ready if she doesn't wake up on her own" I grabbed a skillet from one of the cabinets while speaking,
"Who is going to watch over the pack while you're gone?" I stopped what I was doing, I hadn't even thought about who would watch over the pack while we were gone. I tried to brush it off, thinking quickly of someone who was capable enough just to keep watch over things for a few hours,
"Um Mike can do it, he's experienced enough to take care of things for a little bit" Luckily my voice stayed steady,
"Doesn't he lose his temper pretty quickly?" My mom asked. That was true, he did lose his temper a bit easier but I decided to reply with something she couldn't disagree with,
"I think they can handle a temporary Alpha who is a bit hot-headed, they dealt with one for the last 51 years" My mother chuckled,
"That's true, but although your dad is a bit... rash. He was a good Alpha, who knew when to draw the line and keep his members safe"
I didn't disagree with her, my dad was a great Alpha, even is he had his flaws but every Alpha did, no matter how perfect we wanted to be for our packs we couldn't be expected to do everything perfectly and always have a cool head.
"Do you want some eggs?" I asked, looking over the countertop at her,
"I'm alright, I made Erebus and I some french toast and bacon this morning" she smiled cheerfully,
I nodded before continuing to cook,
"Hey... Why don't you let me take over while you're gone to the meeting?" her voice was cautious, I stopped, surprised at her for asking that before looking over at her once again,
"You want to watch the pack?" I raised an eyebrow at her,
"Of course I do, I love watching over the pack and being able to be around them. An afternoon watching over everything wouldn't kill me and I've done it before for your dad when he had to go out for a while, and if something goes wrong I can just ask him for help" she stated, her tone changing from careful to surprisingly casual. The members loved my mom, especially the pups, and I'm sure it would be really nice for most of them, if not all, to have her back as the leader, even if only for a few hours it'd probably ease their minds from the tension that had built up over the last few weeks with everything going on.
"Yeah, I think that'd be a good idea" I responded, smiling at her, she clapped her hands together excitedly,
"Great! I can't wait" It made me smile a bit more at her reaction, I was glad she wanted the chance to watch over the camp again.
We spent a few more minutes in light talk, Mom going on about the house they lived in, she loved it more then me I swore, it had a huge flower bed in the front yard that she tended to every possible second it seemed. Soon enough though, I heard the stairs creak and looked over to see Macy groggily walk around the corner, her bed head was crazy this morning as her hair looked like a pile of weeds, sprouting out every other which way. I stifled a laugh and she looked at me with a grumpy smirk,
"Well good morning Macy" my mom giggled, Macy's eyes grew wide before she whipped her head to look at my mother sitting at the table,
"Oh uh good morning Miss Layla," she said anxiously, rubbing her hand behind her neck, her expression scrunched to one of regret, most likely over not looking in the mirror before she came downstairs or putting up the effort to fix her bed head before she came down. Although I thought it was quite adorable as I'd never seen Macy look this unpolished before, that was before she looked over at me with a, "Why didn't I know she was here?!" look. I shrugged and returned to putting our breakfast on the plates as she walked up behind me, I turned around to look at her with a plate in hand she was looking at me with a fake glare. I smirked casually and handed her the plate while kissing her cheek before taking my own plate to the table to eat, Macy begrudgingly followed suit and sat down beside me.
"My mom's going to take over watching the pack while we're gone," I said, taking a bite of eggs,
"Oh right, how much time do we have to get ready?" she asked,
"About an hour and a half, so plenty of time" I replied calmly, she nodded but I noticed she started eating faster than usual.
"What are you both going to wear?" my mom asked excitedly,
"I'm wearing a long black gown dress, Macy's wearing a.... Uh, blue tutu dress" I chuckled, Macy frowned at me,
"Oh I'm excited to see them" she smiled, I nodded enthusiastically before taking mine and Macy's plates to the sink. Once I was finished my mom was already nearly out the door,
"I'm going back home to take care of my flower bed, I'll be back later before you both leave" she waved goodbye before disappearing out the door. Macy walked up behind me,
"In a rush much?" she chuckled,
"Psht, as I thought, she loves those flowers more than me" I replied sarcastically while turning to look at her, she smiled slightly at me for a millisecond before she seemed to remember something suddenly,
"Why didn't you tell me she was here! I look like I just got out of a war zone barely alive" her tone was fake mad as she threw her hands up in the air dramatically, I rolled my eyes at her.
"It's really not that bad, my mom doesn't care what you look like, and also how was I supposed to know you'd come down when she was here I was too occupied cooking your breakfast to notice the sound of you coming downstairs" I defended blankly, she frowned
"Well, you'd think Miss Big Bad Alpha would be able to multitask cooking while listening to the things around her" she huffed, crossing her arms sassily,
"Nobody's perfect Miss Big Bad Luna" I responded smugly while walking around her to go upstairs, surely enough she followed right behind me.
"Big Bad Luna? Yeah right, everyone here knows I'm pretty harmless"
"So you're saying..." I paused to turn around on the top stair to look down at her,
"I'll just always have to protect you?" my tone dripped with fake mockery
"Mm- Uh- No!" she responded shakily giving me a little glare
"Well that's what it sounded like to me" I turned around to walk into our bedroom letting the smirk on my face grow.
"You are so full of yourself" she huffed, her tone dropped, she'd given up with trying to win this little conversation we started up.
"All thanks to you" I picked my dress out of the closet and began to walk out but Macy stopped me as she was standing in the doorway of the small room,
"What's the supposed to mean?" she asked with confusion rather then sass
"It's all because I have such a beautiful and gracious mate that I'm like this now" I leaned forward while I spoke to make sure our noses were brushing against each other. Macy blushed profusely and sputtered out,
"That, That's not a- Uhm" I smirked widely at her before walking past her to lay my dress on the bed neatly.
"Well you're awfully prideful this morning" she pointed out, I was in a pretty boastful mood this morning for some reason, maybe it was just the excitement of going to my very first meeting.
"Hmm" I replied with a slight shrug while admiring the dress,
"Are you going to get a shower first?" I asked while turning towards her,
"Sure," she said before walking into the bathroom, I walked back into the closet to grab the black heels I'd be wearing with the dress then set them down beside the bed.
~~~~~~~
Macy ran her finger over the top of my eyelid to wipe away some smudged mascara then smiled at me. She looked so beautiful in the dress with her hair curled and the perfect amount of makeup on, though she still looked amazing not wearing any as well. She took a step towards me so we were not even a centimeter apart before giving me a chaste kiss, I set my hand on her cheek delicately before we pulled away from each other. Her eyes sparkled with happiness at me before she bounced out of the bathroom, I checked myself in the mirror once more before following after her to go downstairs. The familiar voice of Nichole rang through the living room as I took my last step down the staircase and saw her and Macy talking beside the front door, she was wearing a ruffled dark purple gown that hugged her frame tightly and her hair was in a long braid. She looked up at me and smiled,
"You look beautiful Belle!" her voice was filled with excitement,
"Thank you, you look great as well" I replied,
"Should we get going?" Macy asked while already starting to grab the doorknob,
"Yeah, but my mother said she-"
"She's outside," Nichole said quickly, Macy didn't hesitate to open the door and go outside, Nichole and I gave each other a knowing look before walking out as well.
My mother was standing beside the small limo that was complementary transportation for Alpha's when a big meeting like this was happening, my father, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen, I felt a twinge of disappointment go through me at that.
"You all look so beautiful!" she clapped and gave Macy a light hug,
"I hope everything goes well for you tonight" her voice gave off a hint to something we all were nervous about. The fact that I was going to be the only Alpha there with a same-sex mate and just so happened to be the new Alpha of the most dangerous pack in the states.
"We hope so too," I responded casually,
Nichole walked over to the other side of the Limo and slipped inside while Macy opened the door and paused to make sure my mother was done talking. I nodded at her and looked at my mom while she got inside the car,
"We'll be back soon enough" I tried my best to smile without showing her that I was really nervous, but she seemed to see right through me as she hugged me and I gratefully hugged her back.
"I wish dad had come" I whispered,
"I know... But even though he's not here you know what he expects of you" she paused to look at me,
"Be brave, you are the rightful Alpha of this pack no matter who your mate is and you will not back down to anyone who disagrees with that" her voice was so confident it surprised me.
I nodded before getting into the car, as we drove away I stared at the window at my mother before she was out of sight then directed my gaze into the direction my parent's house was as we drove away and wondered what my dad was thinking right now. Macy put her hand over mine and I looked up at her, she was smiling at me which lightened up my mood a bit more,
"Belle look!" Nichole exclaimed, she was pointing at the window I was just looking through, I turned my body around slightly to see a large black wolf running a few feet off the road beside the car. His tongue lolled out of his mouth slightly as he bounded beside the car in long strides, trying desperately to keep up with the vehicle, I watched him for a minute before I realized it was my dad's wolf, I gasped allowed in surprise and happiness while staring at the window at him, he wasn't focused on me though, his sight was set in front of him. He continued sprinting until he skidded to a stop at the edge of a ditch. He looked up at the car for a moment before lifting his head to the sky and howling, although it wasn't the words I'd originally hoped for, it was plenty enough to fill me with an overwhelming amount of confidence and happiness.
————
The limo pulled to a stop in front of a huge mansion, it kind of unsettled me since our pack house wasn't nearly as big as theirs nor as fancy but that was because dad didn't want to show attention to ourselves any more than we already did from the reputation the pack held. The air grew heavy in the car and I could feel Macy and Nichole holding their breaths, part of us was so excited for this meeting while another feared the worst. I lifted my chin up as our driver opened the door, he reached out a hand for me and I took it while giving him a small smile, which he returned before helping Macy out of the car while Nichole went out the other side. We stood there side by side for a quick moment as if we were all exhaling at the same time and reminding ourselves we had to stand for the most powerful pack in the country, even if we didn't follow all of the... regulations. I refrained from taking Macy's hand, just for now at least, before walking toward the house, Alpha's were scattered across the front lawn, mingling with one another but a good number of them quieted down at the smell of power and danger, the smell of Erebus. But instead of him, I stood there. Some seemed a bit shocked, I could see why as you went from this daunting man to a girl who looked almost nothing like him, the only thing my dad and I had in common physically was we were both taller than most our gender. I wanted to cower from their piercings gazes in all honesty, I wanted to go back and squeeze the last bit of confidence I could get out of my parent's words. But I couldn't, not anymore, it was time for me to own up to what I was now and be the Alpha everyone needed me to be.
So I kept walking, proudly, keeping my gaze on where I was going, I knew I was being a bit colder than I actually was deep down but right now I didn't want to show anyone my warm side, my mother's side, I wanted them to only see the confident, powerful Alpha. The crowd became nearly silently, and they stared until we reached the front door, as we walked some took a few small steps back to make sure we had plenty of space to get to where we were going. I had nearly forgotten that Macy and Nichole were with me but they had followed closely behind I realized as I turned around to look at them both, Macy smiled at me nervously while Nichole had her eyes on the crowd. I sighed quickly before going into the house, and sure enough there were even more people then there was outside and all eyes were on me again, I didn't know where I wanted to go, I needed to find Riley and Bethany so I could introduce myself to the Alpha's who were running this meeting but I was too prideful at the time to ask anyone where they were. So, I headed toward the kitchen, or at least to where the smell of food was coming from, hoping they would be there, someone stepped in front of me though. My wolf immediately rose up and I snapped my attention up to the person, ready for a fight, but it was someone I knew, Riley, my heartbeat slowed and I quickly changed my demeanor and smiled at him.
"Good evening Alpha Belle" Riley greeted, reaching out his hand for me to shake,
"Same to you Alpha Riley" I replied, taking his hand in mine, making sure to squeeze a bit but not too tightly as I gave it a light shake, something my dad had told me to do years ago.
"And who are these two?" he asked, I could hear the little spark of confusion and curiosity, wondering why I had two females with me.
"This is my Beta, Nichole" I gestured to her and she shook Riley's hand with a polite nod,
"And this..." my thoughts went straight to pausing but if I paused that would show hesitation and this isn't something I should hesitate about.
"Is my mate Macy" I said a bit too quickly, Macy smiled a genuine smile at him but didn't initiate a handshake,
"It's nice to meet you both" he was serious and sincere, I could tell it wasn't just a cover-up of the real hatred he had about us being mates, he was really okay with it.
"I'll eventually introduce you to Bethany whenever I find her," his voice was so kind it almost made me lose my cool, since I had been so afraid of the other Alpha's hating us only to find that the first one we meet is totally okay with it,
"I'm looking forward to it" I responded with a small chuckle.
Riley said something else after that but before he even spoke the first word, something clouded around me, a smell that made me want to make a face of disgust and filled every part of my body with a feeling of pure hatred. I knew that smell, I knew it because no matter how long she had been around my dad and no matter how much they wanted to get rid of that awful stench of that man, my mother could never entirely free herself of him. Alpha Micheal.