The Alphas

The next few days pass in a blur. Eric and Rolando were here on Tuesday and here we are already at Friday. Bear and I have spent the past couple of days bickering over how to get his pack here safely, but he doesn't get as enraged anymore. I packed for the meeting last night and loaded everything so I'm ready. He, on the other hand, has yet to even consider packing.

I knock on the door to his bedroom, opening it when I hear him say come in. I stop in my tracks and feel the color drain out of my face as I take in the state of the bedroom. "You've been here for a week. How is this room already obliterated?!" He grins sheepishly, looking around as he scratches the back of his head. "Well, actually, this is all from last night. I was trying to find something." I look at him horrified. "And you decide the whole room has to suffer for it?" He chuckles and shakes his head. "I can have it cleaned in no time." I raise an incredulous eyebrow and cross my arms. "We're supposed to leave in half an hour. Shoving shit under the bed and into the closet does not constitute clean, sir. Just get your things packed. You can deal with this when we get home." He clears his throat and nods, turning and grabbing a duffel bag he pulls out of whatever pit is in the room. I turn and head downstairs, craving some sort of fruit. "So, you ready for the meeting," Julianna says teasingly, coming up on my right. I roll my eyes at her and chuckle. "Oh yes, I adore being leered at by stuck up old guys with a grudge against my family." My snarky reply gets little more than a chortle in reply as she shakes her head. "Firstly, they are not that old. They're all middle aged or a bit younger. You and Bear are the youngest two there and you're both twenty three. Rolando is the oldest and he hasn't even his his fifties. Look, so long as Alpha Ismael keeps his asinine opinions to himself this time, we should be good."

I wince at the reminder of what happened last time. Ismael is a middle-aged middle eastern man with incredibly chauvinistic views of women that border on downright disrespectful. The last meeting we had, he said having me lead a pack was absurd because I'm a young female and ruled by my hormones. He offered to "help" my pack by taking us in so they could be led by what he calls a real leader. In other words a man. None of the other alphas dared to step in and invoke his wrath, lest he declare war on their packs as well. His is known to be ruthless and bloodthirsty. Bear never came to the meetings, preferring to send his beta, James, in his place. I did well at holding my anger in right up until Ismael said the only reason my pack burned to begin with was because Papa listened too much to Mema and allowed her too much power. That did it. I snapped and lunged at him, getting a couple good bites in before Jules and Misty were able to wrangle me off of him and get me away.

Not my finest moment, I'll admit. But he should've known better than to say shit like that. "Just stay close to me, yeah?" She laughs and nods. Finally, twenty minutes after we should have left, Bear comes down with two large bags and stuffs them into my car. "Alright, Misty. As usual, if you need us, call. Be it through our bond or cell phone, I don't care. If a Feral manages to get in, kill it quickly and have Ashton clean it up. He'll know what to do," I say. She nods once, her eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. "In other words, don't burn the pack down," Jules adds teasingly, clapping our friend on the shoulder. Misty sticks her tongue out and we all dissolve into giggles before Jules and I give her a hug and get in the car. Bear and James climb in after us. James offered to meet us there, but instead Bear had him come over on Wednesday night so we could all ride in together. A risk, but hey if he wants to put his Nexus Number at risk that's his business.

I connect my phone to bluetooth and hit shuffle, setting the phone down in the center console as I start the car. Don't Lose Your Head from Six the Musical starts and Julianna reaches up, turning the music up so loud the whole vehicle vibrates around us. I roll my eyes, but chuckle, enjoying the song as well as she does. I like the song as much as I do Get Down, but in my opinion the beheaded wives had the best two songs. "What in the ever loving fuck is this shit," James calls. His darker tanned skin is generally hard to see color change but trying to yell over music would make anyone's face red I suppose. I laugh and turn it up until car is vibrating. "It's Anne Boleyn mocking Catherine of Aragon and raging about Henry screwing his third wife, Jane Seymour." I chirp as Julianna keeps singing along. "Is she singing a history lesson?" I laugh and nod. "Essentially yes." He groans, throwing his head back against the headrest. "Relax, I only have four of the wives' songs out of probably closer to eight hundred songs. You'll survive," I laugh. He groans again. "But you have almost all of the Hamilton songs," Jules pipes up. I choke back my laughter as James bolts up. "No! Absolutely not! God please don't let this be a ride of campy musicals!" Bear bursts out laughing, doubling over in his seat clutching his abdomen as he does.

"I'll have you know there is nothing 'campy', as you so eloquently put it, about Hamilton or Six. They both happen to be very well done musicals. Just because some of us prefer depressing and old music does not make mine any less good, thank you very much," I say indignantly. Jules laughs before continuing her singing, beginning to wiggle in her seat in some sort of dance. "It can either be a fun four and a half hours, or it can be the longest four and a half hours of your life, James. All depends on whether you're going to be a stick in the mud about music," she says teasingly. He rolls his eyes but doesn't push the argument, causing her to laugh again knowing she wins.

Sure enough, despite his original protests, within an hour both James and Bear are singing along to the random songs that pop up, even requesting that I play Say My Name from the Beetlejuice musical more than once. Everybody groans when we pull up to Rolando's house. We rotate the meeting places and this month it happens to be here. At least there's plenty of space to get some air should someone lose control, which is inevitable. A room full of alphas all trying to talk over one another. What could possibly go wrong?

I shut the car off, getting out and tucking the keys into my back pocket. Can't lose them if I'm sitting on them. I open the hatch on the back of the Tahoe, reaching in and grabbing my bags as well as Jules' bags, handing them to her as she joins me. The guys each only brought one bag and they kept them at their feet the whole ride. Weird people. I shut the hatch before locking the car and slinging my duffel over my shoulder, wincing when it pulls my hair. I pull the poor curl out from under the strap, gently rubbing my now tender scalp. "Ah, there they are! We were wondering where you were!" Rolando's voice echoes in the empty air around us, bringing my attention to the front door where he stands with his mate, Siobhan. Rolando tends to be more outspoken when she is content to stay by his side quietly, but heaven help you if you piss her off. I smile and hug Rolando before moving on to hug her as well, wrapping her small five foot frame in my arms gently. I swear the woman feels like I will break her if I'm not careful.

"We almost thought you'd gotten lost. Or busy burying a body," Siobhan quips. I laugh softly. "I would never." I put my hand over my heart, feigning hurt. She throws her head back laughing, her fiery hair made brighter by the sun. Rolando and the others join us, Rolando now holding Jules' bags in each hand. She skips over to join me and Siobhan, linking her arms through both of ours and grinning. "Who's ready to see Dawn lay the smackdown on another alpha when they inevitably get under her skin?" I scoff, rolling my eyes as she and Siobhan laugh. "All I ask is that you not break my mahogany table, Dawn. I happen to be quite attached to it," Rolando says teasingly. I roll my eyes and smile wryly. "You all act like I have no impulse control and like I actively seek to start a fight. I'll have you all know, I don't start them, I just finish them. Forcefully." They all laugh together as we walk in the front door, stopping when we hear a low growl.

I glance over, raising my eyebrow when a petite olive skinned woman with blazing gold eyes snarls at me. She has her hair tucked away and hidden in an ivory colored Hijab. "This is the alpha we have all been waiting for," she demands. I stiffen at the disgust in her tone as Ismael steps forward, wrapping an arm around her small waist. He smiles at me nastily, his eyes cold and challenging. Daring me to attack this mysterious woman. "Dawn, this is my mate, Aiza." She growls softly at me, eyes still blazing. "I feel bad for the poor girl, Ismael. Pity she's stuck with such a narcissistic and sexist mate." She full on snarls at me, preparing to launch herself at me. "Now, now. We're all alphas here. Don't we think it's a tad early to begin attacking one another," Rolando pipes up.

I straighten out of the defensive position I didn't realize I'd fallen into, holding my head high. "You're right, Ro. I'll remind him who the alpha of alphas is tomorrow when he makes another idiotic comment regarding my pack." My voice comes out smooth and calm, but Ismael gets the message. I kicked his ass once and I'll do it again. Ismael snarls and tenses, pulling Aiza out of her snarling and drawing her to his side to soothe her mate. "Ismael, if you're going to be belligerent, I'll ask that you leave. One less alpha will not kill us," Roland says authoritatively. Ismael glowers at him, but stalks out of the room. I roll my eyes but don't say anything further.

"We should all rest seeing as it is now apparently nine thirty. We can get started in the morning around, let's say eleven," Rolando says, glancing at his watch quickly. Murmurs of agreement echo around the room as people slowly start to scatter to their rooms. Hazel and Holly kiss their mates on the cheeks before bouncing over to me and Jules. Holly is Alpha Birch's mate and the more extroverted of the two, keeping her Auburn hair pulled back into stunning and complex plaits. Her bright blue eyes are always shining with excitement. Hazel is the more introverted twin, preferring to stay back and listen. She tends to keep to her self, her own Auburn hair used as a curtain to withdraw into. Her blue-gray eyes analyze and watch everyone and everything around her carefully. The secrets she probably holds could most likely take down quite a few of us.

"Did you guys see? Devon found his mate," Holly says excitedly. Hazel smiles tolerantly from behind her sister, enjoying her antics. "No, who is it," Julianna says, equally excited as she cranes her neck to look around. "They already went upstairs, Tigger. Her name is Kylie though and she's a total sweetie!" I laugh and shake my head, hiking my bag back over my shoulder. "Look, we can discuss this tomorrow. I'm going to bed," I say, grinning at them. I turn and head up the stairs, going into the same room I usually stay in here. I kick my boots off, pulling a pair of shorts and a tank top out of my bag. I slip under the blankets and close my eyes for probably five seconds before the door opens and Bear's scent floods my nose. I feel the bed dip behind me and his arms wrap around me. I smile with contentment before drifting off into dark oblivion.