31. Before the Meeting

Axel had put all the clothes from his suitcase in the closet. He hadn't done that before because he thought it wouldn't take long here, but now it looked like it might.

He was wearing a white shirt, a black coat and pants. Even though this was the way he usually dressed, he had taken extra care because today was a serious speech. He had read in a book about leadership that charisma was important, so he was careful about how he dressed.

When Axel entered the living room, John was already sitting on the sofa, drinking his coffee. He had been quiet for a few days. John usually argued with Felix, but he wasn't doing that these days.

Axel noticed, but didn't ask anything.

"When do we go to the meeting?" Axel stared at the cup of coffee in John's hand. Sometimes he wondered how the food and drink he had consumed as a human tasted. Even though he had consumed them before, he had forgotten their taste after so many years.

John finished his coffee quickly, not caring about the temperature, and stood up. As a werewolf, his body could withstand such heat. "Let's go."

"Aren't the others coming?" Axel thought at least Felix would come.

"They hate these events. You hate them too, but you have to come. Felix and Maxwell will look around. Besides, I think the two of us will be enough for the meeting there."

"I've got the car ready, let's go," John left the house with slow steps and walked to the car.

Axel, after one last look around the living room, calmly stepped out and walked towards John.

Axel and John got into a black SUV. The atmosphere inside was quiet as the vehicle drove through the dense forests of Forks. No one was talking on the road, tense because of the bad situations Victoria's overly radical decisions could create. They were both a little nervous just thinking about it. If vampires were discovered by normal people, it could be a disaster. There could even be a war.

Axel watched John out of the corner of his eye and thought, "He's not sure about this meeting either. He must already be planning how to intervene if something goes wrong.

Axel broke the silence in the car with a question. "Have you met her before?"

John was silent for a moment as he heard Axel's question and watched the forest. "Not all of them, but I know some of them. They try to live normal lives."

"They look like us." Axel was beginning to feel positive about them.

"Yeah." John hadn't talked to Carlisle in a long time. Not only had he met him, he had become friends with him, but he had to end the friendship because it was not tolerated in the Quileute pack.

In fact, he could have tried to maintain his friendship with her after he left the pack, but since his wife Evelyn was a normal person, he didn't want to expose her to the supernatural world anymore. He just wanted to live a peaceful life with his wife.

After she died, because of his depression, he preferred to be alone instead of interacting with other people.

John was not a weak man. His struggles were extreme.

But after all that happened, John became stronger. What doesn't kill him makes him stronger.

As the SUV pulled up to the rendezvous point, John turned to Axel and began to speak. "This is their territory. Stay calm. Whatever happens, don't lose control. We shouldn't be the ones to be disrespectful, but don't be afraid to take action."

Axel nodded in agreement.

John and Axel got out of the car and drove up to a wooden building. The building had a simple appearance, but the energy around it made them feel that the people inside were anything but ordinary.

When they opened the door, there was a small group inside. At the head of the table was Carlisle, calm and charismatic. Next to him were Esme and a few others. Their eyes scrutinized the new guests.

Carlisle stood up with a soft smile. "John, good to see you again."

John replied with a slight bow. "Carlisle. It's good to see you as well. I hope this meeting comes to a beneficial conclusion for everyone."

Carlisle turned to Axel and held out his hand. "Hello, welcome. I'm Carlisle. You must be John's guest, since we haven't met yet."

John put his hand on Axel's shoulder and looked at Carlisle. "That Axel. He's like a son to me."

Axel smiled slightly as he shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Cullen."

Carlisle nodded politely. "Nice to meet you, Axel. There is no need for such formality between us, you can call us by our first names. I hope this meeting will be fruitful for both of us."

Axel was impressed by Carlisle's warm manner. Axel was not close to people he had just met, but he was not the kind of person to be hostile to someone who was nice to him. Of course, that could change if the other party had ulterior motives.

Carlisle gestured to the empty seats at the table and said, "Please sit down. We can start right away. We are here to share ideas and find common ground."

Axel and John sat in the empty chairs around the table and looked at each other. There were no other shapeshifters present except for John.

"When will the Quileute horde arrive?" It would be absurd to have a meeting before they arrived, since the enemy was common, so the most logical and safest way would be to cooperate.

Carlisle joined the conversation, gesturing to another vampire in the room. "Edward spoke with them an hour ago. There was an argument, but we were able to convince them."

Edward's eyes were mostly on Axel. For the first time since Bella, he was surprised that he couldn't read someone's mind. Although he had many questions in his mind, he preferred to remain silent because he didn't think it was the right time to ask them.

Axel, on the other hand, had not deliberately protected his mind, but had used his energy manipulation skills to keep the unusual energy coming into his mind away from his body. He found the source of this energy with his vector control ability, but chose to ignore it.

Both of their minds were protected because John had provided the same protection for them.

There was a great silence in the room, for neither of them was in favor of speaking. They waited in silence for the shapeshifters to arrive.

After a few minutes, everyone began to look in the direction of the door. Their arrival was sensed without knocking. Carlisle went to the door to greet them.

When the door opened, Jacob and two others entered. They followed him in a way that showed they were loyal to him.

Carlisle gently extended his hand to Jacob. "Jacob, good to see you."

Jacob shook his hand and gave a short and clear reply. "Carlisle. I'm doing this for all of us and I hope we make the right decisions."

John sat back and studied Jacob and his companions in silence. Axel hadn't missed the cautious expression on his face either. The way Jacob and John looked directly at each other revealed a natural tension between the two leaders.

Two different Alpha wolves were looking at each other warily. Jacob had never been an Alpha before, but he instinctively perceived the presence of another Alpha as a threat.

John, on the other hand, being an experienced Alpha, showed no emotional changes and felt no hostility toward Jacob.

Axel, on the other hand, watched Jacob's posture and mentally evaluated his first impressions of him.

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