9. Alphas and Anxiety

JASPER

T he Alpha Counsel meets along our northern border which serves as a central point between Ironcrest and Granite Ridge. Only the Valley Pack will have to travel far, but Cashel and his team are always welcome in our territory.

The day is clear and the weather mild. The perfect setting for a meeting of the most powerful wolves in the region.

Cashel arrives early, greeting Heath with a hug. Heath’s hand stays on his friend’s shoulder as they part. “It’s good to see you.”

“You as well.” Cashel is a stocky man with dark skin and curly hair. “How are you feeling about this meeting? What are we concerned about?”

Heath doesn’t hesitate. “Zephyr met with us recently and blamed all of last fall’s events on Ferris.”

Cashel nods, rubbing his jaw. “Any theories on what’s going on between Ironcrest and Granite Ridge?”

“We will see if they have any conflict today,” Heath answers darkly.

The Valley Pack’s Alpha looks to me. “Jasper, look at you in your new pack.”

I shuffle my feet, forcing a polite smile.

“Jasper has settled in well. He orchestrated today’s event, actually. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that the other packs took quite a few letters to convince them to participate,” Heath says. The pride in his voice warms me. My weeks of effort did not go unnoticed.

“Let’s see how it goes,” Cashel says, his voice thick with apprehension I find mirrored in my grim smile. Determination and dread swirl in my chest.

Slate seizes the Alpha’s attention and I relax, watching as Cashel takes Hazel’s hand and introduces her to the Valley Pack Beta, Malachite. He looks like a younger version of his father.

Hawthorne wanders over after exchanging pleasantries with Zinnia, Cashel’s third. She’s a slim woman with her dark hair shaved into a pixie cut. His expression shifts from amused to concerned as he looks me up and down. “You doing okay? ”

“Honestly?” I ask. He nods. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

Clearing his throat, Hawthorne steps closer, his eyes commanding my attention. “It’s going to be fine. We’re prepared for this. You, more so than anyone else. Trust yourself.”

“I’m not sure I see how a meeting with Ferris is going to go well.”

“Ah.” Hawthorne tips his chin down to meet my gaze. “Your father is outnumbered and outmatched. He’ll be forced to play nice.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I admit. “He’s not going to take kindly to the pressure.” He squeezes my shoulder reassuringly.

Sounds of wolves drift through the trees, followed by rustling and then footsteps. My fists clench as the Granite Ridge Pack comes into view. It’s a bigger group than I expected. My parents have brought more than a handful of guards, including Aries, a great brute with long black hair, and Flint, a wiry and pocked wolf who I’ve wanted to disembowel since childhood.

Ferris wears his favorite leather jacket over designer jeans. He’ll take any chance to show status or wealth. Beside him, Sienna wears a lacy red camisole and black leather pants. For someone who ran through the woods and then shifted from wolf to human, she looks ridiculously glamorous. Her eyes flicker to me, though she shows no emotion. My father is stone with not a single twitch in my direction.

“Ferris.” Heath greets him, noticeably cold in comparison to how he greeted Cashel .

“Heath,” my father answers, a grim smile on his face. Heath doesn’t greet Sienna, and she raises her nose in the air, clearly offended, but my dad does nothing to appease her. Theoretically, they should be equals, but he’s never given her that respect in these types of official meetings.

Slate stands beside Heath, his arm tight around Hazel’s waist. Her claim mark scars are highlighted by the wide-neck top she wears. Sienna’s lip curls as she regards them.

To her credit, Hazel’s political smile never wavers, but I can sense her anger through the pack bond. Slate’s as well. It’s understandable. Sienna isn’t only my mother, she’s Slate’s mother too, though we have different fathers. She left when he was an infant, and if that wasn’t enough reason for his disdain, she’s had it out for Hazel since she arrived last year. Slate may not care about Sienna’s lack of a role in his life, but any offense against his mate is unforgivable in his eyes.

Heath breaks the tension. “Ferris, you remember my heirs, my niece Hazel and her mate, Slate.”

“So nice of you to bring them,” Ferris replies cooly.

Sienna gives a cat-like smile. “Unfortunately, our Ember had to stay home, but I would like to introduce you to Hawk.” A slender young man steps forward. His reddish hair is brushed back into a bun and freckles cover his skin. “He joined us from the Alpine Pack, son of the Alpha. He is Ember’s Intended.”

Heath nods curtly. “Congratulations. ”

“Thank you,” Hawk says, his voice rough, like he doesn’t speak often. His posture squares off, like he is striking a practiced pose to hide discomfort. I can’t help but study him. I’ve never met anyone from the large pack a day’s drive north of us.

My sister has an Intended, a mate for someone not yet an adult. She won’t turn eighteen for a few more months. Did she pick this wolf, or did our mother arrange it? Does she even like him? Nausea churns my stomach. It’s not the kind of news I expected, and it shouldn’t bother me as much as it does.

Cashel shakes Ferris’s hand and Hawk’s, sharing his own congratulations.

Finally, Ironcrest arrives. Zephyr strides forward, flanked by his Beta, a fierce woman named Beryl, and his Gamma, Dell. A collection of guards follows silently.

His cold gaze sweeping the group, Zephyr says, “No Nyx, I see.”

Heath shakes his head. “No, she couldn’t be persuaded.”

“Typical.” Zephyr shakes hands with each of the other Alphas.

The leaders settle around the table. Between Alphas, Heirs, and Betas, all seats are full. I stand beside Hawthorne, keeping my posture rigid and my eyes on our enemies. Aries and Flint stand opposite us, glowering from the other side of the table. Despite six months apart, their hatred of me burns bright.

“I’d like to thank all of you for making the trip and contributing to the first Alpha Counsel in eight years.” Heath starts, his deep voice commanding attention. “ Preceding this counsel, Ironcrest met with us. Zephyr, would you like to share what we’ve discussed?”

I’m not the only one watching Ferris and Sienna for their reaction.

Zephyr threads his fingers behind his short hair and leans back. “Yes, I let the Bracken Creek Pack know that I recently expelled several wolves after discovering they contributed to the abduction of the Bracken Creek heir last fall.”

The air crackles with tension. I suspect everyone is thinking the same thing. Beryl’s eyes are on Ferris, making her thoughts perfectly clear.

“I don’t think we have to address those dramatics again,” Sienna says, her smile thinning.

“It wasn’t discussed originally, so I’m not sure why you are saying ‘again’,” Slate says, his words like ice.

Cashel sits forward. “Considering it was a major conflict between two of the four packs represented here, I think it should be addressed.”

Ferris's arrogance soaks into his every word. “Considering our valid claim on the female was challenged and you schemed to take one of my children from my pack, I think the matter is best left in the past.”

My nails dig into my palms, but I give no other outward sign of my pounding heart or the blood rushing in my ears.

“Our challenge was more than you deserved when you had committed a crime against us,” Hazel says. Zephyr smirks .

“Peace.” Heath holds up a hand. “My pack is willing to move past the incident, as long as Granite Ridge upholds the peace measures we are working to pass here today. But we will not be forgiving again.” Sienna scoffs. From Slate’s tense posture, I can tell he is struggling to accept our Alpha’s words. But Heath has made his decision. “Before we discuss them, does anyone else have any other grievances?”

“I do,” Zephyr says, “Ironcrest has been having some issues with the Raven Pack crossing our borders.”

Malachite leans his forearms on the table, mimicking his father’s pose. “That’s a serious accusation.”

“Unfortunately, it’s true. So far it seems to be just scouts. I believe they’re testing our security for weaknesses. A condition of our participation is support in addressing this problem.”

“Noted. What support are you requesting?” Heath says.

“I simply need to get in touch with Nyx. She’s surprisingly difficult to reach.”

“Not a problem.” Heath turns to the other two Alphas.

“Granite Ridge has no grievances,” Ferris says, his face lacking its typical intensity. It makes the hair on my arms stand up.

“Neither does the Valley Pack,” Cashel confirms.

“Excellent,” Heath says, though his tone is flat. “Then we can proceed to some of the measures we’d like to propose.”

“Let’ s hear it,” Zephyr says.

“I think it’s time we renewed our commitment to not take wolves from each other’s pack, particularly against their will.”

“Agreed,” Cashel says. Zephyr nods.

Ferris smirks - actually smirks. “Granite Ridge agrees.” As if they hadn’t actively been taking wolves captive. My teeth grind together hard enough my jaw clicks.

“Secondly, we feel it would be wise if all Alphas maintain a phone line where we can contact each other.”

“I’m not going to carry around a cell phone so you can call me whenever you want,” Zephyr drawls.

“I’m sure your Gamma could handle it,” Cashel says, his smile not reaching his eyes.

“We will see about it,” Ferris says.

“Fine.” Zephyr rolls his eyes.

“Lastly, in addition to a regular Alpha Counsel, I recommend our representatives, such as our Gammas and their apprentices, begin to meet regularly with the goal of greater pack cooperation.”

“How regularly are you thinking?” Cashel asks.

Ferris looks away as if the table isn’t worthy of his attention, “Waste of time.”

“Would you prefer we meet without you?” Zephyr says with a sneer. Ferris crosses his arms and sits back.

“How about bi-monthly? Or quarterly,” Heath suggests.

“Quarterly sounds good to me,” Zephyr says.

“Quarterly, it is.” Cashel folds his hands .

“In the future, we should consider inter-pack gatherings,” Heath suggests, “but for now, our Gammas can meet regularly and we can reconvene the Counsel in six months.”

Ferris frowns. “The Counsel meets annually.”

“In the past, the bonds between packs were stronger. Perhaps if we had maintained those relationships with regular meetings, we could have avoided some of the conflicts of recent years.”

Cashel nods. If I remember my history, Zephyr became an Alpha only five years ago when he challenged for his position. Nyx is younger as well, but the remaining three packs were led by the same Alphas for much longer. They know the history because much of it was caused by their hands.

“Anything else?” Ferris asks.

“Do you have anything else?” Cashel asks him. Ferris scowls at him.

“I’m sure you’re all eager to get home. I have no more agenda items,” Heath says.

They make small talk for a few more minutes, though it’s obvious Ferris believes he is above such things. Zephyr’s words feel insincere and make my skin prickle. Cashel and Heath make little effort to continue the conversation, and soon everyone is looking to their teams.

Ferris stands, Sienna rising gracefully after him. Without a word, they walk away, falling into a practiced formation. Hawk walks behind Sienna, in the place I would have occupied. As their forms retreat, my lungs relax and I can draw a full breath again .

“I’ll be off too,” Zephyr announces, snapping his fingers to call his wolves forward.

Finally it was just our team and the Valley Pack’s representatives. “Come sit down,” orders Heath.

Hawthorne takes the empty seat on Heath’s other side, and I join him. Dell sits across from me.

“Would you like to stay and debrief, my friend?” Heath asks Cashel with a genuine smile.

“As I said earlier, what is going on with those two?” Cashel says, gesturing toward the empty seats across from him.

Slate rests his forehead in his palm, elbow propped on the table. “The thing that concerns me the most is how quiet Sienna was.”

Exhaling harshly, I look up to meet Slate’s gaze. “And the fact Ferris was so calm. Aside from that outrageous version of events he spewed, he went along with everything peacefully.”

Cashel’s Gamma, Dell, tips his chair back. “What about Zephyr’s accusations about Nyx?”

“That doesn’t sound like Nyx. She doesn’t like to leave her community. Why would she invade Ironcrest territory? She has more land than she needs already,” Dell says.

Hawthorne nods. “We’ll talk to her and see what’s really going on.”

“Sounds good. Keep me updated.” Cashel stands. “Have a good afternoon, friends.”

As we folded up chairs and prepare to leave, Slate finds me and says, “We agree that was suspicious as fuck right? ”

“Yeah, but I have no idea what they’re playing at.”

He shakes his head, walking back to Hazel and kissing her cheek while she chats with Heath. Her warm smile seems to soothe him, reminding me that I have Marigold at home, and I’d like nothing more than to go wrap my arms around her and kiss her, if she’d let me.