But...

CH.3 Meeting Pt.1

*Sigh*

It's the day...

I have to go to that dumb alpha meeting, and I'm unhappy about it. I cannot help but ask myself, "Why?" Only because my idiotic father retired. They think I'm a softy!! And dare to invite me to a boring meeting. I wish I could say I would do no such thing. However, I must do what I must do.

"Are you monologuing in your head again?" I hear a voice say next to me. "...." I have no answer. But! There's no way I can admit to my brother that he has the upper hand, so I come up with something believable. "No...I'm not," I say, completely convincing.

"Okay, if you say so, even though I know you're lying!" My brother says, laughing in my face. "Get your buckteeth out of my face!" I growl, he's such a dick sometimes. He chuckles and returns to looking at his phone while lying on the small couch in my office. My desk is across from the wall with the door, so I can see who enters; the sofa is against the wall to the room's left.

I, really, really, am dreading today. I don't wanna go!! I can only sigh once again and put on my big-boy panties. "Are you ready?" I ask Asher. "Yeah! Let's go!" he yells while standing up from the couch. I nod and leave the room with Asher close behind me. We're both heading to the garage connected to the pack house. It's rather large and can fit all the members' cars that work here.

While the packhouse sounds like a house that houses everybody in the pack, hence the name, it's actually not. The "Pack House" is more of an HQ than anything. Think of it as the pack's Whitehouse. Only the immediate family of the pack's leader can live there, but it's not as closed off to the public. So the pack can enter, people like employees, without living here. While it is nice not to have to wake up early for work, it can feel weird knowing that there are people in the training grounds or the offices in the next building as your bedroom.

Anyway, my brother and I are in his car and almost there. The meeting is being held in the pack next door to ours, called Willows. They got their name from all of the willow trees surrounding their pack. Willow trees only grow in swamps, but their pack is surprisingly beautiful. You can tell they take good care of their pack. My pack is still healing and finding its way. So, while it's still full of beautiful crystal water and thick green forests, most of it is unknown to the public. I want people to know my land is lovely, but everybody is ignorant or scared even to visit Crypt. Even though it's my pride and joy, and I would love to show it off, my father instilled fear in people of foreign packs. He would say we were full of sinkholes, alligators, and wild cats. But most of all, he would say that the werewolves were mean and would tear apart anybody who dared to enter. At the time, this was true, and I could understand their lament, but it broke my heart that nobody was able to view its beauty. I guess until I became the leader.

Now, everybody can't wait to contact me, tell me about pack meetings, and urge me to recruit new people. My father may have led one of the most "dangerous" packs that nobody even tried to enter, but this caused a hole in the hearts of many of those who live in Crypt. Once loving, people became cold and distant. They wanted interaction with new and exciting people, but it was impossible. Even to those whose mates were on the other side of Crypt...

But! enough of this attitude. It seems we've arrived at the meeting place. Willows Pack House. I don't want to make more of an impression than I need to by entering with a dark aura. While I know it won't show on my face, I'm reluctant to accept it.

I leave the car and stand beside my brother, who's standing by the gate to enter the property. He's looking up at the large house with his mouth open and closing like a fish. "Bubby....look at this place! It's beautiful," he says without looking away. I nod and look around. How might we enter this place? I don't want to go through the gate without permission, but it's hot out here. I'm wearing some baggy black ripped jeans, a baggy black T-shirt with a random band name on the front, and combat boots. I tied my hair back with a half-up, half-down style, keeping my face-framing pieces down so my hairline wasn't showing on the sides. I also have a thick cardigan sweater in case it gets cold.

My brother, on the other hand, tried to seem professional. He's wearing a black button-up shirt, black suit pants, and black dress shoes. We both like black, but at least my sweater is dark emerald green. He's got nothing but black on. I guess our hair has blonde in it, but it's not like we can help that; it's something we were born with.

As I contemplate whether I should have worn something more professional, I see I'm now surrounded by other people dressed very nicely. All of them are wearing suits except one. He's dressed like me but extremely tall and blonde with blue eyes. He's EXTREMELY handsome—like, very good-looking. He's at least 6'5 and built like a quarterback. How much does he bench? Even if I worked 2x as hard as he does in the gym, I'd never get that built *Sigh* it's not in my genes. Thanks, Mom. His face looks like a Greek god. His features are strong and look easily lickable. And by god, does he smell divine. I can't pull my eyes away until my brother forcefully pulls me from them by smacking the back of my head. "OW-WUH!" I yell at him. I look up and give him a glare paired with a slight pout. While I feel like pouting extremely hard, I could only feel a slight downturn on my bottom lip. "Don't pout at me. You know it's not going to do anything. The Willows leader is coming over here. Pay attention." He says, whispering to me. I look to where he was referring to and see a tall young man walking over to the gate.

"Welcome everybody to the Willown pack! I am delighted to be hosting you this year," he says with a smile. He resembles a fox from my territory: red hair, sharp eyes, and a sly smile that makes you uncomfortable, but you know it's not intentional. "Please, come in, and let's get started," he says with the same smile, opening the gate for all of us to enter. The gate isn't very large, so I wait towards the back of the leaders to enter last.

However, somebody had other plans.