Chapter 17

A fter Eric's vision and premonitions of an attack, it was more important than ever to meet with the other alphas. I feel responsible for what's happening. I know I'm not the one capturing, torturing, and killing these shifters, but somehow, the Shadow Pack are involved. Not to mention the message that was carved into the back of the shifter I failed to save. Although the guys say otherwise, I'll carry the weight of his death with me until the day I die. Knowing the Shadow Pack, they would have done that to him while he was still alive, just to inflict as much pain as possible.

The rest of the day is spent organising the meeting. Apparently, a meeting with all of the shifter packs hasn't been called in over twenty years, so getting everyone together is proving to be difficult. Old rivalries and disputes are getting in the way of the organisation of a peaceful meeting. The local lion pride doesn't trust anyone, and the only reason they agreed to come was because the alpha personally knows Alpha Mortlock. People seemed to think we were plotting for a war. This both helped and hindered our progress. The coyotes and the other wolf pack are eager to meet, since their losses are some of the highest. Some of the packs, such as the avian shifters and some of the collective groups of more uncommon shifters, like the otters and foxes, are more reluctant, as they don't have large protective groups like others do. I know we can count on Long Claw Bear Pack coming to the meeting.

Tori had been in touch with a couple of her friends in the witch community who aren't affiliated with any of the covens, and a few agreed to come to the meeting, just to listen. They were anxious because of the tension between wolves and the witches, but Tori assured them that they would be safe. Eric had even spoken with a couple of his demon friends who promised they would attend the meeting. Alpha Mortlock invited representatives from the fae and vampire communities, but we don't think they will come, since they believe issues such as these are below them. We warned them that they could be the next to experience the deaths.

The main issue causing problems is that although supernaturals from all species are disappearing, only the shifters are turning up dead after they had been taken. It's assumed that the others who were taken are also dead, but why were only the bodies of shifters being left?

That night, I'm surrounded by Seb and Alex in bed, who are wrapped around me, fast asleep, but I can't sleep. My thoughts keep going back to the shifter who was taken, and when I do finally fall asleep, I have dreams of being pinned to the ground as Terrance crouches over me, drawing runes into my skin as I scream. I wake up in a cold sweat, finding a blinking Alex and Seb looking around in confusion before realising the noise that woke them up was me. They try to comfort me, but in the end, there is no point in me staying in bed, so I get up, shower, and make breakfast for everyone. Eric is the only one awake this early in the morning, so we sit and talk about everything and anything to pass the time, as long as it has nothing to do with Shadow Pack or the meeting today. It's nice, and I get to know him a bit better other than as just a doctor or an incubus. But our time together is over too soon, as everyone starts waking up and joining us in the kitchen, and before I know it, Alpha Mortlock arrived with a grim smile and the words I had been dreading .

"It's time."

The location that had been agreed upon for the meeting was a large, empty warehouse. I'm starting to hate warehouses, since only bad things have happened to me in them, but it was one of the only places large enough and with no humans around to see us. Tori and one of her friends had already been to the building and warded it so if there are any humans around, they wouldn't get suspicious when they see lots of people arriving at the abandoned building. The last thing we need is for a bunch of humans to discover us having a meeting inside, plus we need protection. With this many shifters turning up in the same place, it makes us a target, especially when there are people who are trying to kill us anyway.

I walk inside the building and am surprised to see that it's been decked out inside like a meeting hall, and is more cosy than I'd thought it would be. The walls have been boarded and painted cream with wooden accents, chairs fill the space, and a table is laid out at the back with refreshments. I raise my eyebrows at Alex as we walk in, and he smiles.

"This is already a common meeting space for groups of shifters, just not usually all the groups of shifters. Besides, it's not a proper meeting without tea and coffee." I nod in acknowledgement of his comment, that makes sense. I knew there was some neutral territory in the city, I've just never used it before. The rest of the representatives from Moon River Pack file in behind me, and only the alpha, Alex, and Isa had walked in before me. Killian should've been next, but he insisted that we walk in together, Seb following in last. I'd objected, but Alex had told me about the importance of following protocol here. Seb insisted that he comes in last, explaining that he didn't mind, but it doesn't sit right with me, he is just as important as the others, and power levels shouldn't dictate that .

The bear pack is already here, and I immediately see Garett and his brothers standing next to their alpha. I want to run over and throw my arms around him, but I know that would be frowned upon. I've missed having my bear around, all of the problems recently had meant that he was needed back with his pack, which I understand, it's just not easy being separated. Alpha Mortlock starts to walk over and greets the bear pack warmly. Each alpha of the packs was allowed to bring their beta and gammas for protection, plus three representatives. Standing next to Alpha Philips is Garrett's oldest brother and another guy who looks like he belongs in a biker bar. In fact, all of the bears seemed to have that look about them. I'd have to ask Garett later if having long hair was a requirement for being in their pack. A small smile crosses my lips at that thought. Introductions are made, and I learn that the guy I've not met before is Kurt, the Long Claw beta. I turn to Max and raise my eyebrow.

"I didn't know you were the pack gamma," I say with a smile. His position means he's strong. I knew Garett was strong, and when I met the rest of the family, I had gotten the general impression that strength ran in the family, but I hadn't realised his brother was so strong. "You didn't tell me that your brother was the gamma," I accuse in a teasing voice to Garett, who just rolls his eyes at me.

"Oh, think you've picked the wrong brother now? Besides, I didn't even tell you I had brothers until the other day, are you really that surprised?" he teases. That's true. I stick my tongue out at him, and Alpha Philips chuckles before turning away with Alpha Mortlock, locked in conversation.

Some people might be bothered that they didn't know stuff about their partners, but honestly, I don't mind I only just found out. It's not like we have been dating and he was hiding me from his family. His family were fully aware of me, apparently, and things have only just recently settled down where we could begin exploring our relationship .

I glance around the room again, a lot of the shifter groups are here already, standing separately from each other. The alphas are obvious, not just for their physical stature, but the power that is coming from them. I shake my head slightly, everyone is posturing and on edge. We should be supporting each other, but instead, they seem alert, almost waiting for an attack from one of the other packs. I notice some of the alphas are greeting each other, old alliances, but there is a definite air of unease. I hope this meeting will help combat that.

Tori enters the building, and when I see her grin at me, I release a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding. She looks fierce tonight, dressed in tight black jeans and a deep purple blouse that shows off her deep tan skin. To top off the look, she has on a long leather jacket that falls to her knees and black leather boots. She looks like she's come to fight. I raise my eyebrow at her outfit and grin, shaking my head slightly at her. She gives me an innocent look, and only then do I notice the guy following behind her, looking at our group nervously. He would probably look tall if he wasn't in a room full of shifters. The nervous glance at the wolves would have tipped me off that he's a witch, if it hadn't been for the amount of power surrounding him. Tori sees me looking and shakes her head just enough for me to catch. Okay, I would meet up with her about that later.

"Ari!" she greets, putting her arms around me in a hug. We'd only seen each other a few hours ago, but I know this is to show the others in the room that different races and species could get on.

"Hey, Tori. Who's your friend?" I pull away from the hug and smile slightly at the nervous guy standing behind her. Tori looks back and smiles at him, and gesturing him forward, she placing a hand on his shoulder.

"This is James. He's another rebel witch like me who doesn't fit in with the city covens," she says with a bright smile, and James finally cracks a grin. A tiny one, but it's a start. I'm about to ask the two witches about the protection they have put around the building when a commotion behind me catches my attention. I turn and see that Garett's brothers are staring our way, more specifically, at Tori. Max, Garett's oldest brother, looks like someone has just smacked him in the face with a shovel, and his brothers have frozen completely. It would be comical if it wasn't for the growl that starts emitting from Max's chest. I turn to look at Garett and start to worry when I see his stunned expression.

"Um, Garett, what's happening?" I ask quietly, and this seems to snap him out of whatever shock he's in. Cursing, he runs over to his brother and stands in front of him with his hand placed on his chest as if to keep him in place. Jake and Ben, his twin brothers, are completely still, their eyes locked on Tori. Garett starts talking to them in a quiet voice, and I can't make out what he's saying. Alpha Philips has realised something is wrong and strides over to the brothers, although after a moment of conversation, he pulls away sharply and stares at Tori before taking Garett's place and holding Max back. The growling in his chest has raised a level, and people in the room are starting to notice that something is going on. Garett jogs back over to us, a pained expression on his face as he reaches our sides.

"Tori, can you please take your hand off James?" he asks, causing me to look sharply at him. Tori, to her credit, does as he says, and the growling in the room gets noticeably quieter.

"Garett, what the hell is going on?" I'm trying to keep my voice low, aware we're surrounded with beings that have supernatural hearing. Garett sighs and glances between Tori and me, before rubbing the back of his neck.

"Tori has set off a mating bond with my brothers."

"Wait, what?" Tori demands before looking over Garett's shoulder at the guys who are staring intently at her. "How? I'm a witch!" Garett blows out a deep breath and shrugs.

"It's been known to happen. It's rare though," he explains, and I fight the need to roll my eyes. That's something I've been hearing a lot of recently. Tori keeps glancing over at Max and the twins, an intense look in her eyes.

"Is that why I feel like I want to fuck them here in the middle of the room with everyone watching?" Garett snorts out a laugh and looks adorably awkward at the turn of the conversation. "Is that what you feel with Killian all the time?" She shoots me a look and waggles her eyebrows at me suggestively. She's taking this remarkably well, which causes me to frown.

"Doesn't this bother you?" I ask, and I have to snap my fingers in her face to pull her attention back to me.

"I have three hot shifters who are made to fight for me, love me, and fuck me whenever I want. Why would I be bothered?" she retorts, her hands coming to her hips, and I have to laugh. When she puts it like that…

"Now is not the time for this. Just…stay with Ari, stay out of trouble, and we'll try sort this out after the meeting," Garett pleads, turning to walk back to his brothers before glancing over his shoulder at us again. "And please, to avoid any heads being ripped off, don't touch any guys." Tori just grins evilly, and Garett groans, knowing he has his work cut out for him this evening. Staying out of trouble has never been something Tori and I have been good at.

The room has filled up now, almost so much so that the separate groups have to mingle a little. I try to keep an eye on Garett and his brothers out of the corner of my eye. He's taken them to one side and is talking to them in a low voice. Their eyes are still locked on Tori, but they look a little more relaxed now. Tori keeps shifting her weight, her eyes repeatedly flicking to the bears, and I can't help the little smile that creeps onto my face.

"Welcome to having a mate," I say quietly, the evil little smile growing at her frustrated look.

"Does it always feel like this?" she mutters, shifting her weight again. "I feel like my vagina's about to explode." I snort out a laugh at her unexpected comment, and I know from the chuckles around us that the others heard her too .

"Yup. And I have five of them," I answer drily. She gives me a sympathetic look before her gaze is pulled back to the bears.

Alex walks over to me and places his hand on my shoulder to get my attention. I smile at him and realise he's in beta mode. There are two definite sides to Alex's personality—the fun, flirty side, and the serious beta, protector of the pack. He's standing tall, and his eyes are moving around the room, open but also on the lookout for threats. Alex, as well as pack protector, is my guide for the evening. I have no idea who most of the people in the room are, and as I have been asked to be a peacekeeper for the meeting, I need to know who everyone is.

"You see the group of shifters standing by the door?" He nods towards them discreetly, and I make a noise of acknowledgement. "Those are the avian shifters, they have always been a bit flighty, excuse the pun, so they will probably be the first to leave. I'm actually surprised they came, since they don't like to mix with others." On the way over, Alex had explained to me that the avian pack was made up of lots of different species of bird shifters, but they kept together in one larger pack for protection, since separately, there wasn't enough of them to form a strong pack. "There are representatives from different species here tonight. There is Trina, an eagle shifter who generally acts as alpha." He nods towards the group again, there are six of them, and I can instantly tell who Trina is. She's holding herself with more confidence, and a man stands behind her and is looking around like he's hunting for his next meal. A slight, pretty young woman stands next to Trina, eyeing everything nervously as if looking for all the exits. "Vlad, standing behind Trina, is a vulture, and the nervous looking woman is Amy, she's a sparrow." I raise my eyebrows at his explanations. I'm not at all surprised that Vlad is a vulture, he gives off a creepy scavenger feel, but I am surprised that a sparrow shifter has been included in the representatives. Shifters that are classified as prey tend not to mix with the predators, since generally, these shifter types are weaker and don't have as much power, so they avoid us .

Alex moves onto the other shifter groups around the room, coyotes, the other local wolf pack, and even the lions came.

Conversation in the room suddenly drops, and I turn to the door to see that Eric has arrived with a beautiful woman gliding in behind him. This woman oozes sex, everything about her screams it from her clothes, down to the way she walks. I would bet everything I own that she's a succubus, and I realise what Eric was trying to explain to me when he said he isn't a true incubus. Eric is good looking in an unearthly way, but this woman makes me want to rip my clothes off and throw myself at her feet. I notice that half the room is looking at her in disgust, and the other half in rapt longing, but the attention of the whole room is on her. From the look on her face, I can tell she's enjoying it. I raise an eyebrow at him, and he walks over to us, his features schooled into his professional doctor's mask, which I recognise from working with him at the hospital.

"Ari, this is Vella, she has come to listen and offer aid." I turn to look at the succubus, surprised she's offered to help.

"Welcome, Vella. The only aid we need at the moment is information, we aren't looking for a fight." This point was reiterated to the packs when we were arranging this meeting. This was an opportunity to share information and plan, strength in numbers. We are not trying to fight. There may come a point where that is unavoidable, but until then, we need to know what we are up against. Vella tilts her head as she listens to me talk, her black silken hair tumbling forward, covering her mostly exposed chest. Up close, I can see that her eyes are almost entirely black, making her appear more demon than human. She takes hold of my fingers and raises them to her lips, kissing the back of my hand. I stiffen and have to fight not to pull my hand away from her grip.

"This is a shame. They have taken one of my girls, and I wish to return the favour." Her voice is soft and sultry, and I see several heads turn to listen as she talks.

"I'm sorry they've taken someone from you. We'll try and aid you in finding her where we can." I gently pull my hand from her grasp. She turns to smile at Eric, and a small part of me wants to claw her eyes out for looking at him like that. I know it's stupid to feel this way, but I can't help the snarl that escapes my lips as she brushes her hand up his arm. Her eyes flick to me, and then back to Eric, her smile widening.

"You picked a strong heart mate, Eric," she says to him, and they walk away to greet the alphas in the room, Eric throwing me an apologetic look as they go.

"You know I didn't choose this, Vella," he responds quietly. I don't catch her response before Seb shudders.

"Well, she gives me the creeps," he declares loudly, and I can't help the laugh building up in me from escaping.

"Succubi and incubi are the same, which is probably why you didn't know Eric was part incubus, he doesn't give off that feeling. Although once they reach a certain age and power level, they can suppress that otherworldly feeling, most of them just choose not to," Alex explains with an eye roll.

I glance at the clock, it's nearly eight, the time we had arranged from the meeting. It had initially been agreed to meet during the day, but then the vampires wouldn't be able to attend, and it was decided that they should be given the opportunity to come, not that anyone thought they would show. The alphas of each group, and Tori and Eric, have all gathered at the end of the room, discussing how the meeting is going to be run. I'm standing with them, just outside of their little circle, alongside the betas, who are looking anxiously at their alphas. They must be finding it difficult to be in a room with so many potential threats to their leaders and not be right by their side. Max, the bear gamma and Garett's brother, is standing on my right, and although he's fighting to keep his eyes on Alpha Philips and on the lookout for threats, I can see his gaze keeps being drawn to Tori. Tori, on the other hand, looks focused, and I know it's driving Max crazy. If he knew Tori, he would've known from the way she's playing with the hem of her shirt that she isn't paying attention to anything that's being said, despite her nodding along in all the right places.

Alex is standing on my left, his hand keeps brushing mine, and at first, I thought it was by accident, but it's happened too many times now for it to be a coincidence.

The circle of alphas breaks apart, and I notice Alpha Mortlock look over for me. I'm just about to go over to join him when the doors open, and a group of shifters slink in. It's obvious they are shifters from their energy and the power they're throwing off, but I can't tell what type of shifters they are.

"They came," Alex comments, and his tone shows his surprise as the group positions themselves by the doorway.

"Who are they?" I ask, keeping my eyes on the group. They're shifty, and they're looking around like they are expecting us to attack them.

"They call themselves Pack Unite." I raise my eyes at the name, but he just shrugs. "They're one of the collective groups of shifters the alpha was telling you about. Murry there, the guys who's in charge?" He points to a guy who is talking quietly to the others, and they all seem to be looking to him for direction. "He's a fox shifter and he's the current alpha of the group. Next to him is Louie, a badger shifter, and Lottie, who's an otter shifter."

"How do they have an alpha of different species?" I can't even imagine how that works, as the power levels are different across species, not to mention the fact that alpha bonds don't work across species. I can feel the power of another species alpha and choose to submit because I know they are strong, but I won't be compelled to obey like I would a wolf alpha.

"They elect an alpha." My mouth drops open in surprise, that actually works? "They run as alpha for a set amount of time, and then another will be elected. It's the same with the avian shifters." I run what he's saying over in my mind, struggling with the idea of an elected alpha .

"So they're more like presidents?" I ask for clarification. Alex smiles and nods slightly.

"I guess, but don't let them hear you say that."

Everyone seems to have settled now that Pack Unite made their surprise entry, and I glance up when I hear my name called, seeing Alpha Mortlock gesturing for me to join him at the front of the room. I take a deep breath, time to get this over with.