Finding Luna

meeting

noun ~ an assembly of people for discussion or entertainment

I looked up just as the door ahead of me opened and the new King entered, sober and better dressed than the shambles of his robe last night. Behind him was a man I had not seen before, with light brown hair and dark eyes. Cel rose her hackled suddenly, the direct eye contact with the man causing her to feel uneasy. I was tense as he came and sat on the end beside Demetrius, greeting him briefly before his eyes flickered to me and my mate. Who was this man?

Phoenix's hand on my thigh snapped me out of my thoughts and he gave me a concerned look. You sure you are okay?

I nodded, licking my lips. Yes, sorry... Just... Yeah, I'm good.

He nodded, his lips in a firm line as he hid his emotions. I inhaled softly before allowing myself to disassociate my emotions too; something I had to learn better. A good poker face gave you many advantages; if Charlie could make one work then I had a chance.

The King stood before his chair, and I watched him as he looked beyond to the many wolves in the room. "Thank you for coming. We are here to discuss last night...it needs to be done."

Wolves murmured in agreement, shuffling in their chairs. I kept my gaze on the King as he began to sit, his brown eyes creasing in a friendly smile. I was happy to see him back to formal, gentle Alexandar rather than the drunken mass of royal robes that he was last night. He cleared his throat as he sat, his hands grasping each other on the table.

I waited, listening intently for the meeting to properly commence.

"So far, we are not sure who orchestrated the attack. A total of twenty-one vampires attacked last night, and all of them paid with their lives." He began. "Now, only factual evidence please, does anyone here have any inclination as to who may have started it?"

The King's eyes darted across the table and I glanced to see every Alpha here doing the same. I was surprised to see Beta Tobias towards the far end of the table, and then I remembered what Phoenix had said about him being stand-in Alpha much like the missing Alpha was for Lyra. Something uneasy settled in my chest when his eyes met mine, he did not smile nor give away another information to his feelings as we stared at each other. Eventually, he nodded his head and turned to look back at the King.

No one spoke, the room a deafening silence. I looked ahead of myself again, finding Demetrius gazing at Phoenix but the strange man beside him was staring at me once again. I couldn't help but frown, feeling Cel's hackles raise in a challenge. A small smirk, barely noticeable upon first glance, lined his mouth and I narrowed my eyes at the gesture. He blinked slowly but dropped his eyes from mine with a gentle nod.

The King sighed. "That's what I feared... Now, if you just bring your attention to the file placed before you, it is a brief context of the events of the evening. If there is anything that you would like to point out or add, bring it up and we can compare it to evidence. We need to be factual about this attack, we cannot go in blindly and start accusing."

Wolves snorted in agreement but took their files as an Omega passed them around. A few sneered at her as she did so, snatching or laughing at her feared expression. I didn't blame her; having to serve all these Alpha wolves. The pheromones alone were suffocating.

When she passed Phoenix his file, I noticed her hands shake. I watched in content fascination as he smiled and thanked her, taking the beige folder in his grip. Her shaky hands fell to her side and she dropped her head in acknowledgement.

That's my Alpha.

Our Alpha. Cel hummed.

Phoenix opened the file between us and together we looked at the well planned out file. If this is how the Kingdom was going to be run instead of charging full speed into battle, I could get used to it. I loved lists, calendars and itineraries.