Mates Conquer Everything, Right?

“Thank you, Oliver,” the Alpha tells him. “You can go.” And with those words he leaves giving me a shy smile. I frown at him, calling him a traitor in my head.

There I stand in front of the Alpha, my Beta and two warriors. Six eyes are staring me down. Two eyes look at me with a curious and encouraging look.

“So, Violet,” the Alpha starts, “What do you think you can contribute to this important pack meeting.”

He leans over the table, Igétas is sitting on his right side. The two warriors sitting on the left. The Alpha sees me wavering and in that moment, I feel his power roll over me. Igétas growls at him as a warning. I just shake it off, not being part of the pack has its perks.

“I heard that you have zero information about the rogue attacks. If someone had taken their time to ask me if I knew something, I could have helped sooner. If I can help, I don’t know how it can be of use.” I try to backtrack, not wanting this pressure on me.

Igétas’ shoulders are in a downward angle. He didn’t think about asking me either.

“So, you are telling me that you withhold information about the attack?” He is still trying to intimidate me. I can only be happy for the table to be between us, and of course the mate bond with Igétas is a welcoming feeling, having him just a few steps away.

“No, I say that no one, not even my mate, thought about asking me what the rogue said to me.”

Igétas seems to want the ground to swallow him. The Alpha is not liking my disrespect. All I can think is, I don’t like your attitude either, idiot.

“So, what is the information you have for us?” Igétas intervenes.

I switch my stand and focus on my handsome mate. I miss him so much. “I don’t know if it is going to be helpful, but I will tell you everything.”

“The three wolves that infiltrated the barn were related, I think.”

“You think?” The Alpha interjects, and I go back to focus on my mate, tuning him out.

“The ‘Alpha’ of the rogues was the son of the older man that was with them. The third one looked a little like them.” Igétas nods, and one of the warriors writes it down.

“They really wanted the children. That seemed to be their number one priority.”

“Are you sure? Children are never a reason to attack a large pack. The risk is too high for the reward.” Igétas asks me to clarify.

“Oh yes, because you had them surrounded and cornered. The risk was extremely high for them.” The sarcasm is dripping out of my tone.

“Don’t disrespect us!” The Alpha booms and I sigh, nodding. I couldn’t help myself.

“I don’t know if they had another motive, I can only talk about what I know. The children were important to them.”

“Did you notice anything else? An accent maybe, something to tell us where they were coming from.” A warrior asks.

I shake my head. “I have no idea about accents. I just know they wanted me to stay alive and to go live with them, to kidnap me with the kids.”

“He wanted you to come with him? Why? Does he need a witch?”

“Tharros, how many times do I need to tell you that Violet isn’t a witch! Brother, she is devoted to the pack. Why don’t you see it?”

Tharros doesn’t answer Igétas.

“No, to make me his whore.” I say crudely and my mate growls again.

The warrior who was silent until now tilts his head. “Wait, take you with them? So they had a place in mind to take you, the plan wasn’t to stay at our grounds.”

I think his statement over. “Yes, they wanted the children to come with them. No intention on staying, from what I heard.” I add the last bit to be sure not to give them any misinformation.

“So, I had the weed burner in my hand, and he didn’t recognize the product. I don’t think that they came into contact with the human world very often.”

“Good,” said the second warrior, and writes it down.

“And the ‘Alpha’ had an oilish spot on his skin. That is why the fire caught easy.”

“Wait a second, how do you know it was oilish? How did you see it in the first place when you were in a panic.” I think back to my conversation with Maya. Maybe my senses were heightened.

“I don’t know, I only know that I burned the fucker down.”

Igétas smiles, looking at me proudly, and then I see a lightbulb go off in his head.

Igétas looks to the warriors across from his table. “Can it be?” He asks them, and they nod their heads.

“When was the last time you checked the gas station?”

“Six months ago.”

He looks at his brother and he nods, thinking something over. I don’t understand.

Igétas feels my confusion and says: “Fifty years ago, there was a road with a motel just a couple of miles away from our border. My father didn’t like the humans too close to his pack, and bought the gas station and the motel, which meant that there was no point for people to use the road anymore. We don’t use the land and the place is deserted. There is a little shop with car related items and enough oil left behind. The motel must be their hiding place.”

I nod, understanding that an abandoned motel was the perfect place for a future Pack house.

“Gather the best warriors and inspect the land. We need to check if the rogues are closer than we thought.” The Alpha didn’t wait a second giving the orders. “We’ll attack tomorrow when they get there. Am I clear?”

The two men nod and stand up from their seats.

“Wait, shouldn’t we wait for our allies to arrive or discuss how many warriors we can spare for this mission?” Igétas asks with great concern.

“You will handle the border, brother. Leave being an Alpha to me. We will tell the pack tonight what is going down. I want everyone on alert.”

With those words they leave the room, and I am left behind with my mate.

“Well, that was intense.” I breathe. He tries to kiss my head, but I move away. I’m still mad.

“You did awesome. I am sorry that I never asked you to-” I cut him off.

“It’s okay. Let’s hope I didn’t give the information too late and they are really at the motel.”

He nods and I go back to my room.

Alone again.