“How do we want to play this?” Holden asked.
“A bit late for strategy.” Griffen sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I say we play it as us,” Caspien said looking down at me.
“I can do that,” I smiled at him, I could.
We rolled to a stop outside the packhouse.
“Are we expected?” I asked Caspien.
He shrugged, “I think I might have mentioned we would be stopping by.”
“Now this really will be fun,” Cali had a wicked glint in her eye.
I shook my head and got out of the car after them. We stood in a line at the front of the packhouse, this was a bit awkward, were they really not expecting us?
The door flung open, and I almost jumped. Nolan’s dad came out, and his eyes widened. He cleared his throat and brushed off his pants slipping back into his familiar Alpha mode. “Prince Dracos, Willa.” He said.
“Luna Willa, now.” Caspien’s deep voice rumbled.
Hugo’s eyes widened slightly, “Congratulations, Willa,” He smiled at me, and I wanted to believe it was genuine, “Luna Willa.” He corrected.
“Thank you, Hugo. It just happened.” I had nothing against him really, nothing I wanted to hold against him at least.
“I’m assuming you’re looking for Nolan?”
“Yes, I sent word that we were coming. He should have been expecting us.” Caspien said, his voice devoid of all emotion.
I wondered if that was true, but we did warn them that we would be back, and Griffen told Nolan that he should be expecting us.
It didn’t matter.
We were here now.
“Are you planning to stay? I can have some rooms ready in a few moments,” Hugo looked over our large group; only Nora was left of our ranked members.
I was looking forward to her showing back up to these events, I knew she would be a force to be reckoned with. Her calm, collected energy and undiluted confidence would have been a welcomed addition today. “We won’t be staying long, but thank you,” I said as soon as Caspien opened his mouth.
I didn’t want to set a bad president, I didn’t want to be seen as the bad guys, and I knew Caspien already had that reputation, and he leaned into it in these situations.
“We just want to request an audience with the pack; as many as can attend.” I pressed.
“I’ll forward you the documents I sent Nolan.” Caspien nodded to Griffen, who pulled out his phone.
“Well then, okay,” Hugo ran his hands through his hair and let out a deep breath, “Come in then, we can have a light lunch prepared.”
“Thank you, but don’t go to too much trouble,” Caspien said, I was surprised by his politeness.
Emmett is rubbing off on me – Caspien linked taking my hand in his.
We followed Hugo towards the dining room, passing Natalie. Her eyes widened when she saw us, and she scurried up to her mate. “What is going on?” She hissed at him.
“Not now,” Hugo responded, “Please get lunch prepared and them situated. I’ll get Nolan and deal with everything else.”
“O-okay,” Natalie looked flustered but held her head high, to her credit she was a born Luna, she thrived under pressure, and I almost admired her at this moment. “Welcome,” Her smile seemed real, and she ushered us into the dining room after Hugo left us, “This is a real surprise, a welcomed one.”
“We appreciate your hospitality,” I said walking past her, her eyes showing nothing.
We all sat around the large table where the ranked members had their meals at. Instead of us all on one side, we gathered around the table facing each other. No one said anything for a while, the only sound was us pulling out our chairs.
Griffen looked around, Holden looked bored, Cali was biting down on her smile and Rachel had a curious impassive look about her.
“Worse than I expected,” Holden said after a long minute.
“Definitely interesting,” I sighed.
I was hoping they were ready for us. This seemed just weird.
“You did tell them?” I asked Caspien looking up at him.
“I did,” He said looking down at me, “Multiple times actually.”
“With the actual date?”
“Yes,” His face was hard, but his voice was playful.
“Well then,” Holden said, “Great place though love the uh table,” Holden said.
“Save it for the others,” Griffen said, shooting him a look.
On cue, omegas entered the room; they looked flustered and placed glasses and plates, and silverware in front of us.
“Just a moment for lunch then. What can I get you to drink?” An omega asked taking our drink orders.
The dining room was completely bare, empty, besides us.
“How much longer until we can address the pack?” Griffen asked, shifting in his seat.
“Nora and Olivia are fine,” Holden said.
“I know, but-“
“I get it,” I cut in, “It’s hard being away from them even for a few moments when they’re that young.” Griffen’s dark eyes shot to me.
*|
I got a babysitter once, and I called them twice an hour,” Cali added twirling a curl but not looking at any of us.
“They’re okay, I promise.” Caspien said, “I need my Beta.”
“Yes, Alpha.” Griffens face hardened with resolve.
Food was served, and Natalie came back to check on us twice during our meal.
“Is there an update with Alpha Nolan?” Caspien asked, not looking up from his food.
“He’s coming soon,” Natalie looked down.
“Where should we go after this? Where is the pack meeting?” Caspien pressed.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.