Soooo sorry for the late upload! A lot has happened. Well I hope you enjoy! Thanks for your patients :).
Chapter 9
Andrew's POV
"Well, this is nice." Meredith commented.
We were inside the small hotel, waiting for the meeting time. We didn't have to meet until 8 PM and it was only 6:30. I was sure we weren't the only ones who have already arrived but I didn't want to be mingling around. This was no mans territory. Hunters could be around the area as we spoke.
"It's comfortable." I replied distractedly. I was keeping all my senses around the area, making sure no Hunters were around.
Meredith seemed to understand and decided to keep her comments to herself. I felt slightly guilty that I was ignoring her when in reality I wanted nothing more for her to talk to me but at this moment, I just needed her safe.
I wanted Meredith to be extremely comfortable and almost debated on getting the pent suite but thought otherwise. We didn't want to bring attention to ourselves and the best way to do that was by getting a normal room closer to the exit than most.
There were two guards who were sleeping in the room to my right and another two to my left. Zach and another guards were in the room across from us. Even with all the security and escape planned out I still felt tense.
Meredith lightly sat on the edge of her bed farthest from the window while Val was already fast asleep on the pillow. I would have been perfectly comfortable with her sleeping on the same bed as me but I figured she wouldn't enjoy it as much, so I bought a room with two beds. With her holding my hand today, I felt more than pleased that I did.
I fought back a smile and kept my face hard. My number one concern was her safety, I even bought room service for her to eat inside of here instead of going out. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, even with all the precautions with the meeting and guarding, I didn't feel safe. Something just felt.. off.
Meredith and I spent the rest of the time in our room. I insisted that she rest up for a bit but she declined. I couldn't help but admit that I was nervous. I've never been to a convene with all the Alpha's and Beta's, not even as a child. The convenes were always kept top secret that not even soon to be leaders were allowed to come and it was extremely rare to have guest.
I've met a lot of Alpha's or Beta's personally or a few at a time, but all of them at once plus all the Royal bloods in the same room, I just couldn't dream of it back then. Now that I was dealing with the real thing I couldn't stop worrying. Questions of what could go wrong kept running through my head:
What if I ruined the Crescent name?
What would William do?
Would Meredith be okay?
No matter how many times Zach or the other members tried reassuring me I could stop pacing the hotel room. We were to leave in 20 minutes and the whole time I was up and moving. Meredith was painting her nails looking as though she didn't have a care in the world. At this moment, I wished that I felt like that too.
"Will you stop your pacing Andrew? You're causing a drift." Meredith said, checking out her nails and blowing on them slightly.
I sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to relax my tense muscles; I needed to calm down. It didn't look good to be nervous at a meeting. Some of the Alpha's weren't always the best ones out there. Some were greedy, and would do anything for more land and power. If I showed any signs of weakness, I was sure one of them would take that opportunity to prepare an attack.
A light 'meow' brought my attention down to my feet. I looked down to see Val purring and rubbing herself against my foot. I felt my lips tug upwards to a small smile. Gently, I nudged Val with my foot, letting her know that I was thankful for her action.
"Why are you so nervous anyways?" Meredith asked curiously.
I had to admit, I was happy that she was so curious in the first place. I was hoping it meant that she was starting to accept me again and deep inside she cared. We didn't speak of her holding my hand in the car but I was definitely still thinking about it. I just hoped she was too.
"This is my first convene." I admitted sheepishly.
The corner of Meredith's mouth twitched upwards a bit. "Really? Not mine." She replied smugly.
I felt my eyes widen slightly and a grin form on my lips. "You've been to a convene before? A Werewolf convene?" I double checked.
I knew that occasionally there would be special guest at convenes such as other Witches or maybe other creatures but that was rare. I've never actually lived to hear about one. Most were simply rumors or stories told throughout the world. Most gatherings amongst separate creatures were private.
Meredith nodded, that smug smile still on her face. I chuckled at how cocky she looked. She looked so proud compared to how nervous I probably looked.
'We should get going Alpha.' One of the members told me through the mind link. I was guessing Zach was getting things ready downstairs if he wasn't the one who messaged me.
'Okay.' I replied back, blocking off my mind link. I needed time to get my mind together and I didn't want disturbances.
I tried giving Meredith a smile though I was sure it came out more of a grimace. "Let's go." I said nervously.
Meredith gave me a quick grin before jumping to her feet, startling a sleepy Val. I got up too, picking Val up from the ground. I was slightly shocked when she cuddled in my arm but I made no reaction to it. I did however, almost drop Val when Meredith grabbed my hand and started tugging me towards the door.
My eyes widened as I stared at our entwined hands. After the car ride she didn't touch me again and I did my best not to be disappointed and respected her space. I figured we were going back to before just without the coldness between us. I never thought she'd actually hold my hand again.
I felt my nerves lessen when I realized that I had my mate with me. I smiled at the thought of no longer being alone, no longer having to feel jealous towards other mated couples. Even a simple touch was able to make me feel complete.
When I stepped out of the car doors I felt more confident than I did before. The only time Meredith let go of my hand was when we had to enter and exit that car. Other than that, she allowed for us to hold hands. We didn't talk during the car ride, we simply let the silence take over. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence or an awkward one at that. Instead it was peaceful, a type of silence that brought a smile to my face.
I looked around discreetly while walking up towards the steps of the old building. They weren't seen, however I knew there were other Wolves from other packs in the shadows, taking guard. My guards had already taken their positions along the perimeter of the area.
Even though everything was silent -except for the crunching of leaves from our feet- I knew people were inside the building. You could almost feel the power radiating out of the building from all the Alpha's and Beta's inside. Meredith was at my left side with Val in her arms while Zach was on my right, his body tense. I kept my posture looking relaxed though I was anything but. I wanted to clench my muscles and growl at anyone who even dared to try and hurt Meredith but that showed weakness, and I couldn't afford to show those signs.
Meredith gave my hand a light squeeze. More than anything she looked relaxed. She even had an extra bounce to her step and a small grin playing at her lips. I couldn't understand what had her so excited. I didn't know if it was because she was seeing all the Alpha's and Beta's or if she was just excited to be in a convene -which I highly doubted-. She had already told me she was in one before, I was sure she didn't care to be in one more.
We walked into the large wooden doors that were almost broken. To anyone who was simply walking by or stepped inside this building would think that it was an abandoned or haunted house. But walk deeper in and you'd know that this house had secret passageways that led underground.
Zach cracked the floorboard open, gesturing for us to go first. I wanted Meredith to be protected by both of us so I decided to go in first followed by Meredith closely behind me. Once Zach closed the passage door Meredith lit the worn out torches on the walls.
The passage was dark until the flames lit up. The floor, ceiling and walls were hard stone that have been here since the olden days. We went down the steps, our footsteps echoing off the walls. With every torch we passed the flames would go out. I could tell Meredith was doing this to keep our passage darkened for anyone who wanted to enter it though I doubt anyone could. With how many guards there were outside, I would honestly be impressed if they made it to the front door.
Getting to the bottom took less time than I thought it would. I would figure since Meredith was wearing heels, she would have slight difficulty walking down the stairs. Instead, it was Zach and I who were having the difficulties and Meredith who was walking without a care in the world. Something told me that she used magic somehow but I made no comment.
I stared at the large metal door in front of me, blocked by two guards. The insignia of the double dragon on their black outfits were the only thing that had me trust them. On their left chest, was the image of twin dragons twisting around one another, their heads ending up in opposite directions.
Their faces were blank, their hands were behind their back and legs about shoulder width apart while dressed in all black.
"Crescent Moon." Zach said in a hard tone. It wasn't a threatening tone but it had enough force to let them know he was a Beta.
The guards regarded us each one by one, taking in our faces closely. They didn't even question Meredith's presence. Instead they inclined their heads in respect and stepped aside allowing us entrance.
Zach didn't hesitate to walk towards the door and open it. Right before he did, I glanced at Meredith and gave her a smile, thanking her silently for her support.
In reply, Meredith winked at me, her grin becoming impossibly wider. I still couldn't understand what had her so excited to be here. I would think she would put up a fight not to come here instead of insisting.
The door opened and I entered, keeping my head held high. Conversations hushed once I came in, the other leaders curious as to who else arrived.
I glanced around and noticed all eyes were on Meredith. Some looked shocked while others simply looked curious or amused.
I looked back at Meredith, ready to give her an apologetic expression only to be shocked by her excited eyes and wide grin.
"It's Meredith." I heard someone gasp audibly.
It was then that I realized why she was so excited to be here. I shook my head and smiled down at my amazing mate.
Meredith just loved being the center of attention.
So sorry for the late upload guys~ I'll try to keep my uploads regular but no promises. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though it was a little boring lol.
No music this time :/. Didn't feel like any song really went with this chapter.
Comment and vote if you'd like~ Thank you for reading :)! It means a lot!!