Chapter 5
Chapter
Five
The Alphas would make sure to put me in my place and wouldn’t give their favorable votes to me without me earning them.
After taking a deep breath in, I exhaled loudly, the anxiety tightening around my chest like a rubber band that threatened to snap at any moment. Not only did I want to survive this meeting, but I also desired to earn favorable votes and the respect of the Alphas.
My chest ached, so I distracted myself by looking around the manor's interior. I darted my gaze over the high ceiling with crown molding, shiny chandeliers, heavy curtains, and colorful area rugs. Mom’s touch was evident in the selection of the decor—the furniture with heavy wood oak and leather couches in the open area close to the foyer.
I was the first one in Dad’s boardroom. I used to play here as a child, and Dad often held meetings with me sitting on his knee until my mother stormed in and plucked me out of the room filled with tension. The golden rule was not to interrupt the grown-ups.
The same coffee scent hit my senses as I first walked inside.
The carafe of black life-saving liquid sat on a rectangular long table against the wall.
My stomach was knotted, but I hadn’t eaten since yesterday.
Even though I didn’t have an appetite, I forced myself to eat the protein bar I selected from the table.
Four large square lights hung above a large circular wooden table with a hollow middle where a flower vase rested. Mom’s presence exuded in the decor even though she refused to attend these meetings.
While Dad was the fierce leader, Mom complimented his style with soft touches and traces around the manor. She chose to be involved with the well-being of the pack members and asked Dad to run her policy changes during the meetings.
I would have to describe Mom and Dad like a canvas and a calligraphy pen. They couldn’t be separated, and where one was lacking, the other filled in.
I drew in a deep breath.
Unlike my parents’ relationship, the Alphas’ meetings were like the battlefield covered in minefields that exploded at your feet. Mom chose to discuss any kingdom issues with Dad directly in the safety and privacy of their bedchamber.
I didn’t blame Mom for her way of running away from the politics, but I knew that if I wanted to see a change in the kingdom, I had to be here, fighting it over with the Alphas and winning their favor.
The chewy bar stuck to my teeth, and I ran my tongue over them. After tossing the wrapper in the trash bin, I sat on the leather seat where Dad usually sat. There was no throne and no head to the circular table. All Alphas and the King held equal votes.
Dad’s round table wasn’t as big as the one in Arthurian legends from the books I studied, but it carried the same meaning. When seated, no one could claim precedence over the others, even the werewolf King.
I ran my hand over the cool smoothness of the conference table. I crossed and uncrossed my legs. The kinks in my neck were achy from my weird position on Hayden’s hospital bed. The morning sunshine glared through the window and into my sensitive eyes.
I took another deep breath. It was my first official all Alphas meeting, and the first thing I hoped for was that none of the Alphas had learned about the dark witch’s ultimatum to choose between my mates and my sacrifice.
Because if they knew, they’d give me a hard time. I was sure the Alphas would find something to torment me about. Dad used to say that it was their job to argue all points so the best decision would emerge—the one that would benefit the kingdom and not a particular person.
I understood Dad’s point, but how would I lead a meeting if the Alphas fought me every step of the way?
I took yet another deep breath, leaned into the leather chair, and called on all my courage, just like when I was eighteen and I joined Dad and his men at the annual winter hunt. I hoped this meeting didn’t end in the same way as the winter hunt with a werewolf dying because of me.
The King and Torin walked in first. They’d cleaned up and had fresh clothes on. Torin’s cut eyebrow was healed entirely, and he didn’t seem injured as he walked confidently behind Dad.
Dad smiled at me as if he’d forgotten last night’s ordeal with the dark witch.
Torin glanced at me to check if I was okay, then slipped into his stoic icy mask reserved for the kingdom. The King was not particularly pleased with him, and learning that Torin was my other mate would not help Torin’s case to be more accepted in the kingdom.
For now, I would have to keep away from Torin. But I would tell Dad the truth, and I owed it to Torin. Since I had two mates, they both held equal potential for the spot of the King.
Just like a knight from King Arthur’s legends, Alpha Torin had a seat at the Round Table. Although, I was sure Dad and the Alphas wouldn’t see it that way.
The remaining four Alphas marched in and took their places. They didn’t look surprised that I was in attendance, as Dad must have told them I’d called the meeting and briefed them on the dark witch’s promise to destroy us with her army.
Mark sat across from me with a knowing smile. His light-blue jeans and white T-shirt with some football team logo made him look like a jock. He sat sprawled on the chair as if about to watch a movie.
Something about how Mark had watched Torin through squinted eyes at the Salem graveyard and how he’d continued to scowl at him now ticked me off, causing my stomach to churn.
“Everyone is in attendance,” my dad said, “so we can start the meeting Princess Breanna called to discuss preparations for Cordelia’s wrath on the kingdom.”
I brushed my fingers over the golden material of the bracelet. I felt responsible for Cordelia’s promise to come to the kingdom, but I had to make the Alphas understand how much more powerful she would be if she possessed the jewelry.
But it all depended on how much the Alphas trusted me and how much I could change their opinions.
Before I could open my mouth, Alpha Mark spoke.
“If the Princess just hands over the magic bracelet to Cordelia, then the witch surely won’t cause us damage and take lives,” he said while giving us a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
A cold shiver sliced over my spine. So that was how it was going to be? He’d quickly forgotten who’d saved his life. This meeting would be longer than anticipated.
I didn’t like where Mark was heading with his statement. The Alphas could argue that the issue of giving the bracelet to Cordelia had to be voted on since it affected the entire kingdom. I wouldn’t be able to do anything once they voted.
I cleared my throat, channeling as much determination in my voice as I could.
“The bracelet is mine. There is a reason it was given to me,” I said in a steady voice, but my heart pounded against my chest.
I felt like I was sitting at this meeting with no clothes on. The Alphas’ supersensitive hearing would not miss my racing pulse even though I plastered on a sickly sweet smile.
Mark tapped his fingers on the cold surface of the table, and I wanted to kick his shins under the table.
Parting my lips, I was about to remind him of the reason my bracelet was given to me when Torin spoke.
“The bracelet belongs to the Princess. And the dark witch will attack us regardless. Now or later, Cordelia must have planned an attack at some point,” Torin said while looking at each Alpha but not me.
My insides warmed as I realized that Torin stirred the conversation away from the fact the magic book belonged to me.
The only way to prove my connection to the book, which led me to discover the bracelet, was to expose my left inner thigh to convince the Alphas that my birthmark matched the daisy wheel symbols on the book cover.
My fingers twitched as the urge to brush Torin’s face surged.
I intertwined my hands and nodded. “I fear that if Cordelia gets what she wants, she’ll use the weapon against the werewolves anyway, and she’ll be more powerful.”
“Are we to hand it over to her without a fight?” Torin spoke again, averting his gaze from me. “Later, she will demand something else.”
In the same way that a calligraphy pen was an extension of my body, the bracelet felt like part of my identity, as if it had always belonged to me.
Dad adjusted his position in the creaking chair. “The dark witch will fight us anyway, so we need to prepare for the war with her and her army. It’s inevitable.”
He dropped his hand on the table with a thud, marking the end of the conversation about my bracelet.
Letting out a small sigh, I thanked the Fates for ending this issue before it went for a vote. I was about to take a deep, calming breath when Mark’s gaze fell on me, and he leaned forward over the table.
“Before we continue, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the Princess for saving my life,” Mark said, his smile growing too wide to be genuine.
What had gotten into this man? He seemed…different. Did something happen between the time I met him in London and now?
I darted my gaze between Mark and Torin. From time to time, Mark would glance at Torin with a strange intensity I didn’t like. It became clear that Mark had an agenda I didn’t know about, but I planned to find out what it was since I wanted to receive favorable votes from everyone.
“I’ll be forever grateful for risking your life to save mine, Princess,” Mark said, his voice bothering me.
Dad’s lips tugged at the edges, and his eyes radiated pride. The King unquestioningly trusted his Alphas, except Torin, with his daughter’s life, which made my stomach twist painfully. Dad was way too trusting with his Alphas.
I could feel that Alpha Mark was up to something with every cell in my body, even if Dad was oblivious to it. Did Mark bring up me saving him from the vampire’s torture because he wanted me to brag about myself? To make a fool out of myself?
But as soon as the older Alpha sitting on Mark’s left side cleared his throat, it struck me. Taking a sharp breath, I realized what Mark was doing. He highlighted how recklessly the human Princess acted.
I was in so much trouble.
“I’m thankful that Alpha Mark escaped unharmed with the help of Princess Breanna,”—Alpha Henry’s dark-blue eyes aimed at me—“but her actions were hasty.”
And there it was.
The man who spoke was about Dad’s age. He’d been with Dad the longest. His gray temples made him look wise.
Alpha Henry was from the Wolf Pride pack in the South.
He looked like one of my least favorite professors from college.
His black pants and white dress shirt under a white cozy cardigan gave him a nerdy look.
Dad frowned at his Alpha, glancing at me, but remained quiet. Dad often said experience was the best teacher, and I had a feeling he was letting me handle the situation on my own—a teachable moment from his viewpoint.
I didn’t like how Alpha Henry talked about me in the third person when I was at the meeting, but calling him out on his rude behavior would not earn me brownie points.
“Princess Breanna’s number one priority should be to save herself first. If captured, she’ll put the entire kingdom in danger. Our enemies will use her to get what they want,” Henry said with a serious face.
I sucked in a sharp breath and then exhaled loudly.
“I understand your point, Alpha Henry,” I said. “But you forget that any Alpha, even the King himself, could be captured and—”
“But the chances of this happening are small because we are werewolves, Princess,” Henry said, his words like an arrow that struck my weakened heart.
I took a deep breath before I lost my temper.
“As I was saying, Alpha Mark got captured and tortured by the vampires in London. Not me.”
Alpha Henry cleared his throat again and tapped his fingers on the smooth table.
“I didn’t mean it offensively, Princess. I was simply stating a fact,” he said.
A frosty mask had descended over Mark’s face, his features as rigid as a marble statue, while the other Alphas nodded. I had no idea what Torin was thinking since he sat still and serious.
It dawned on me then that the Alphas would never accept a human Queen with no strength of any kind. They would always perceive my actions as reckless rather than brave because I was born of the wrong species.
Mark’s brown eyes suddenly locked onto Torin’s with so much intensity that it sent an icy shiver skittering down my spine.
“Alpha Torin, what do you make of the Princess’s behavior in the nightclub in London?” Mark asked.
Was he trying to bait Torin into revealing his emotions or provoking him into losing control? And if so, why?
My heart pounded in my chest like a drum while I held my breath and waited for Torin’s response—one I prayed wouldn’t involve his transformation into a vampire or slamming his fist on the table.