The Hunter's Pack

The Meeting

There were murmurs and shared glances around the huge, round table of posh-looking alpha, neatly dressed in dark suits. There had to be at least 100 of them. I looked around the rather bland room, analyzing the meeting place. It was a room in the royal palace after all; one would think that it would be much fancier. It was a simple 20x20 room, with beige walls and no windows. Two guards were stationed at two corners of the room, standing so still they could be mistaken for statues if not for their blinking. There was a large chandelier above the table, and huge metal doors behind the familiar figure of the King.

He was an old man, with graying hair and small wrinkles of different emotions. Although he was the patriarch of the werewolf species, I suppose I respected him; he was known for being humble. However, I didn't really like the Queen. The old brunette woman didn't voice her opinions (did she even have any opinions at all?), which I find to be a major flaw in a leader. How could a person in power command anyone, or make any decisions, if they did not voice what they wanted? My eyes trained back on the King, who had slowly and carefully stood up.

"Who are you? We are currently waiting on young alpha Jack, and seeing as you appeared instead of him, I can only assume he sent you." He spoke quietly, but his purposeful voice boomed around the room. Amber made a small noise at the back of her throat, visibly intimidated. Cole stayed silent, the shine in his eyes the only indication of the awe he was feeling. Annie was just looking at her nails, checking to see if the bright red polish was chipped or not.

"King." I bowed a little, a sign of respect. "Alpha Jack will not be coming." I turned to the bewildered aging alpha next to me, briefly asking:  "This seat used to be his, correct?" With his hesitant nod of an answer, I sat down on the plush black chair, crossing my legs and setting my purse on the table. Seeing as I would not be elaborating further, the King continued to question me. 

"And why is that?" The two guards started to take small steps forward, but halted at the King's raised arm. 

"Ah. We annihilated his pack along with him." I calmly replied.

Immediately, all the alphas stood up, growling and eyes flashing. The guards shot off towards us, already in wolf form. I sighed, quickly grabbing my pistol from the purse and aiming it at the King. Normally, I would threaten the Luna, but I don't want her mate to become so angry that they can't focus. All movement ceased, with some wolves merely growling with false threats. 

"Please, King. Order everyone to stand down. I came here with an argument, not a death wish. And I'm sure none of you will mourn a murderous, abusive pack." 

The King stared into my eyes, perhaps trying to find something there. He then glanced at all the alphas, silently nodding. They silently sat down, calming themselves down one by one. I slowly put my pistol back into my bag, watching the King carefully. The tense silence was broken by the loud crashing of the metal doors opening and hitting the walls. 

"Haha, sorry 'bout that dad! I had to use the restroom. Glad you waited." The young man with closely shaved blonde hair noticed me, his eyes growing a bit wider. "And wow who is this-" His sentence was immediately cut short by a falsetto whisper behind me. 

"Mate." 

My eyebrows twitched a bit; this was a surprising turn of events. First Elliot, now Annie. And her mate is the King's son, no less. There was a few coughs of surprise around the table, and the King himself watched his son slack-jawed. 

"Woah. Dude, this is awesome! I wish James was here. I'm sure he would've been totally jealous that I found my mate before him! Hey, what's your name? I'm Conner." The blonde man approached Anastasia with an excited smile. Annie wore the same expression, curiosity shining in her green eyes. She was about to reply but paused. Smirking a bit, my blonde delta crossed her arms. 

"You're gonna have to earn that, dear."

"What? How?" 

As they continued their friendly banter, I carefully watched the reactions of the alphas in the room. More and more alphas started quietly whispering to each other, watching the mates eagerly. Even the Luna leaned over and whispered something into the King's ear, to which he nodded with a thoughtful expression. I stared blankly at my purse, trying to understand what the word that has been floating around could indicate. "Prophesy." A prophecy involving Anastasia? As I looked up, I noticed one of the guards, watching the new couple with an unidentifiable glint in his eyes. Something was off, but I couldn't pinpoint it. 

"Anyways." The King stood up and clapped his hands loudly, effectively silencing the room. "I would like to congratulate my son, Conner, for meeting his mate. However, even in light of this new development, we have to get back to the problem at hand. You are the alpha of the infamous Cross pack, correct?" He addressed me and I nodded in reply. "Explain yourself, please."

"I will not explain why we killed...well, whoever else you think we killed." I wasn't about to give them any new information. "However, killing packs or people is how we earn a living. One might even call us mercenaries, I suppose. Coincidentally...or maybe not? This pack killed it's elders and former alpha. They had also abused one of their own." The alphas around the table exchanged glances, obviously not believing what I had declared. I stood up and motioned for Amber to sit. She looked at me, panic evident all over her features. I simply rolled my eyes and pushed her onto the chair, taking Cole by the hand and moving him towards his sister. There were more collective murmurs (was this scripted?) and the King spoke up. 

"Alpha, these seats are reserved only for the leaders of packs."