Sarise side stepped quickly, pushing herself against the wall as a servant raced past her. The announcement that the Alphas were on their way to Intelligence Pack had sent the house into a frenzy.
An hour ago, Jacob had sensed that the two Alphas had crossed into Intelligence Pack and Sarise now rushed down the corridor, spotting Jacob and Xander in the foyer chatting as she bounded down the stairs.
None of them had bothered to change, after all it was the weekend and the meeting had been called at the last minute. The doors opened to reveal Amelia and Noah walking up the steps.
Sarise bounced on her feet at the sight of her best friend, seeing Amelia's face light up as she pulled her arm from Noah's rushing into the foyer as Sarise rushed up to her, the two women throwing their arms around each other.
"Women." Xander called and Sarise looked over her shoulder glaring at him.
"Enough from you." She snapped and Xander blew her a kiss as Amelia laughed and Sarise reached up to kiss Noah's cheek. "Noah." Noah chuckled, giving her a peck on the cheek.
"Sarise as always it is a pleasure." Noah said with a smile, wrapping his arm around Amelia's waist.
"You're in the way." A voice called from behind Noah and Amelia and the looked to see Merric and Casey walking in behind the royal couple with smiles on their faces.
"Casey." Sarise smiled, reaching forward and hugging her. Casey laughed, stepping back and looking at her.
"When I said we'd meet again I didn't mean with you being Luna of Intelligence Pack." Casey joked. "Who woulda fucken known huh." Sarise laughed as Merric frowned at Casey's language.
"Oh, we're going to get on just fine." Sarise laughed before turning to Merric and kissing his cheek. "Merric."
"Sarise." He smiled, glancing at Jacob and Xander. "I see trouble is here. Has anyone mentioned that the two of you look like absolute crap today?"
"No, not at all." Jacob answered, throwing Merric a smile.
"Jealous we didn't invite you to our little get together Merric?" Xander asked with a wink.
"Trust me you didn't want to be here." Jacob replied, waving them into the house as servants brought their luggage into the house. "Sarise isn't at all sympathetic to men with raging hangovers."
Noah laughed as they walked into the house, heading towards the main lounge. Sarise walked up to Xander, giving him a shove as Noah walked into the room.
"Aren't you glad we got rid of your bitches before the King arrived?" She pointed out and Xander laughed, giving her a hip bump as they followed behind Noah and Amelia.
"Trust me, I'm quite used to seeing the aftermath of Xander's get togethers." Noah laughed, winking at Sarise as he lowered himself onto a couch.
"We've got another planned for tonight." Xander stated walking into the room and laughing at Sarise's glare. "We just need to drug Sarise so we can party on while she sleeps like a baby."
"I can have those shears brought in here Xander." She called, blowing him a kiss as Jacob walked up beside her, pulling her onto the couch beside him, chuckling lightly as he did.
Merric laughed from another couch, his arm across the back behind Casey as he looked at Sarise.
"You wouldn't be the first person to threaten to castrate him." Merric stated and Casey laughed.
"Probably not the last either." She added, looking at Sarise. "Although if you follow through can you do it while I'm here. I'll record it and we'll put it online." Sarise laughed, hearing Amelia chuckle from the couch she sat on with Noah.
"Anyone got the whore houses number?" Xander asked as he threw himself on another couch, looking at the three couples before him. "I feel left out, I think I need to order a stunning woman or two by my side that I can feel up so I don't feel left out."
"Goddess sake Xander." Sarise snapped, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him. "I'm surprised you can think of getting that thing rubbed at all after what I saw in the room this morning."
"Was that before or after the bucket?" Jacob asked and Xander frowned at him.
"Both." Sarise answered, smiling at Xander. "By the way that blonde." She held her hands out in front her breasts for emphasis. "She had talent."
"Oh, you better believe she did." Xander said with a grin, looking around the room. "Where are the drinks?"
"Have you not had enough for one weekend?" Amelia joked, looking at him with an amused look on her face.
"One is never enough Amelia." He answered. "That's my rule in life." Casey laughed at the comment.
"When it comes to everything, drinks, cars, women." Casey added, blowing at kiss at Xander.
"Jacob get some drinks in here." Xander snorted, crossing his ankles. "I'm going to have to be drunk to put up with this group of drongos."
"Says the head drongo." Noah added with a smile and Xander snorted, looking at Jacob.
"Goddess sake, whiskey and lots of it, quickly before I die of boredom." He stated as Jacob pulled his phone out, calling Madam Hesson to have drinks brought in.
"I'm intrigued with this bucket comment." Merric called as they waited for the drinks to be delivered. Amelia's eyes went wide as she looked from Sarise to Xander.
"You didn't?" She laughed and Sarise nodded. "Oh my god what was his reaction?"
"Priceless. I wish I'd recorded it." Sarise laughed as Xander growled and Sarise noted the confused looks as Jacob chuckled beside her.
"I told Xander to get up or I'd come back and throw a bucket of cold water over him." Sarise stated, looking up as the door opened. Amelia was laughing as Sarise continued. "He didn't get up so I wandered up to the room with a bucket of cold water and threw it over him and his two lovely bed friends."
Everyone began laughing, earning a scowl from Xander as the drinks were passed out.
"Just leave the trolley." Jacob added, nodding his thanks to the man who had brought the trolley in, chuckling as the story of the morning was retold.
"It wasn't funny." Xander growled, taking a sip of his drink. "I was fucken saturated."
"It was hilarious." Sarise enforced, leaning forward and looking at Amelia. "He chased me through the house with his sheet wrapped around him, roaring like a wounded bull." She looked at Xander "And then when he left the dining room, he gave us a cheeky look at that tight little ass of his."
Xander pulled the finger at her as Noah and Merric roared with laughter.
"Oh, my goddess why didn't you record it." Casey laughed.
"I was too busy running for my life." Sarise answered. "Bastard can run I tell ya, even near naked and hungover to heck."
"I noted you ran straight to the arms of your mate." Xander replied, winking at Sarise.
"Of course." She answered taking a sip of the drink she'd been given. "I'm not a total idiot."
"As entertaining as the events of this morning seem to be." Noah stated, still chuckling. "It's not the reason we're here." He looked at Jacob. "I assume you've discovered something that tells us how Braaka is making it past the borders undetected."
Sarise looked at Jacob, reaching over and laying her hand on his thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"The border spells are failing." Jacob answered and the room went deadly silent.
"Way to ease into it." Xander grumped, taking a sip of his drink.
"They're what?" Noah asked, glaring at Jacob,
"Failing Noah." Xander called and Noah's gaze swung to him. "As they're not functioning properly and are going to eventually stop working all together. Honestly I thought the word failing was self-explanatory really."
"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨?" Sarise asked Jacob through their mind link, tensing as Noah's eyes began to glow gold.
"𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩'𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳." Jacob answered as Noah began to growl. "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘢'𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘴."
"And you've known this for how long!" Noah growled, as he swung to glare at Jacob.
"A day." Xander answered, shaking his head at Jacob quickly before Noah turned to him. "Jacob told me yesterday what he had discovered."
"I should have been informed the instant you found out!" Noah roared at Xander and Sarise shrank against Jacob as Noah's temper exploded.
"We were trying to figure out the best way to tell you." Xander answered, going to take a sip of his drink as Noah jumped up, knocking it from his hand.
"Damn it Xander!" Noah snapped and Xander slowly stood, his eyes flashing silver.
Sarise instantly noticed the two men were of similar height and build, yet Noah was King and Alpha of them all. Why was Xander picking a fight with him and not submitting like he should be?
"Sit down Noah." Xander said calmly, looking at his glass rolling around on the floor and sighed. "You split my drink."
Noah grabbed the front of Xander's tee shirt in his hand and Sarise went to jump up but was instantly pulled back down by Jacob seeing him shake his head at her.
She glanced at Amelia, seeing that while she watched what was going on, she hadn't moved. Merric sat sipping his drink, a hand holding Casey's shoulder tightly as the woman looked like she wanted to jump up.
"Damn it Xander!" Noah growled. "I should have been informed the instant you discovered anything!"
"Sit down Noah." Xander said calmly.
"Do you have any idea who I am!" Noah growled and Xander chuckled, shrugging lightly and he pried Noah's fist from his tee shirt.
"Of course, you're the king." He answered. "And we are your council of Alphas, those that advise you and look into matters that ensure the packs run smoothly. We've done our jobs just as we're meant to." He shrugged, pulling his tee shirt straight. "You would have been informed in due course."
"Before or after you two wrote yourselves off!" Noah snapped, glaring at Jacob.
"Well obviously after." Xander replied and Noah's blazing golden gaze swung back to him. Xander eyes blazed silver as he looked at Noah. "Honestly Noah sit down."
Another growl rumbled through Noah, this one less intense and Amelia was up, touching his arm lightly.
"Come sit down." She said lightly, reaching up and putting her hand on his cheek. "If you don't calm down, you're not going to get an explanation about what can be done."
Xander threw a glance at Jacob as he grabbed his glass off the floor, walking to the trolley to pour himself another drink as Noah lowered himself onto the couch, Amelia speaking calmly to him as he did.
"Fun times." Xander called from behind Noah and Amelia, lifting his drink and saluting them before taking a sip. He looked down at his tee shirt as he walked back to the couch he had been sitting on. "You stretched my tee shirt by the way."
Noah frowned at him and Amelia shook her head, a light smile dusting her face for a second.
"So, the border spells are failing." Noah said through gritted teeth, yet Xander spoke before Jacob could.
"We'll tell you what we know, if you promise to keep a check on that bloody vile temper of yours." Xander stated, leaning forward and holding out his pinkie finger. "But you've gotta pinkie promise." Jacob stifled a chuckle, bringing his glass to his lips as Noah looked over at him.
"Just explain it to me!" Noah snapped, leaning back on the couch. Xander looked at Jacob, nodding before he leant back and Jacob took a breath.
"According to Kimber the spells have been failing for a thousand years." Jacob stated.
"A thousand years?" Amelia breathed from beside Noah, her hands clasped tightly around his bicep as if she was holding him down.
"Apparently." Jacob answered, leaning forward and putting his hands between his legs, rolling the glass he held between his hands. "Caius was warned what the repercussions of dissolving the packs would be."
"The repercussions of The Cull you mean." Merric added.
Jacob looked at him and nodded. Sarise noted that Casey and Amelia seemed less than surprised about the mention of The Cull, obviously already being privy to the information she had been told just yesterday.
"Can it be fixed?" Noah asked and Jacob shook his head. "Fuck!" Noah snapped and Xander chuckled.
"That was my exact response." He stated when Noah looked at him.
"From what Kimber implied, we require six Alphas linked to the royal house in order to satisfy the spell." Jacob added.
"We only have three." Xander stated and Noah looked at him.
"I can count Xander." He grumped and Xander shrugged.
"I was just making sure." He answered with a smile and to Sarise's surprise Noah smiled at the comment before turning to Jacob.
"The bloodline of the other three Alpha is gone." Noah pointed out and Jacob nodded.
"Hence our dilemma." He said lightly. "Without the bloodline of six Alphas were unable to strengthen the border spells."
"Kimber mentioned The Pentagram when she came here last week..." Sarise started to say and Jacob groaned, squeezing her thigh tightly. Xander shook his head at her, letting her know she'd messed up as Noah swung his blazing gold eyes to her.
"Last week?" He asked, glaring at Sarise before turning to glare at Jacob and Xander. "I thought you were informed yesterday." Xander glared at Sarise, going to speak when Jacob spoke up.
"Xander was informed yesterday." Jacob answered and Noah turned to look at him. "Sarise and I meet with Kimber last week. I would have met with Xander as soon as I found out about the matter, but we had the rebellion to deal with."
Noah rumbled again and Sarise tensed, seeing Amelia let go of his arm as Noah once again stood up, this time his temper directed at Sarise and Jacob.
"A week!" He yelled, glaring at the two. "A bloody week! You've known a whole week and never mentioned anything!"
"Noah!" Xander snapped, standing and throwing an arm across his chest as he attempted to push him back. Jacob had sat forward slightly, throwing an arm across Sarise and Merric had stood moving towards Noah.
"Noah sit down!" Xander snapped, grabbing his arm.
Behind Noah, Amelia had stood and grabbed Casey, pulling her away from the men, her concerned gaze flicking from Noah to Sarise. Sarise nearly squealed when she saw the veins in Noah's throat bulging as he fought to control his wolf.
"Noah!" Xander snapped, pulling him back as Merric grabbed his other arm. Jacob was up, standing in front of Sarise protectively.
"Dammit Noah." Xander growled, his eyes going silver. "Rein in your bloody wolf!" Noah's gaze swung to Xander. "You're honestly going to attack your own Alpha and a woman!"
"I can't be here." Noah growled, turning and pushing Merric aside easily, storming from the room.
Amelia watching him leave, speaking to Casey quietly before throwing a concerned look at Sarise and followed after her mate. Merric walked up to Casey, rubbing his hands up and down the top of her arms before he led her from the room. Xander watched them leave, glancing at Jacob before he turned to glare at Sarise with blazing silver eyes.
"Sweetness, you need to learn how to keep your damn mouth shut around the king." He snapped, walking from the room. Sarise let out the breath she did know she was holding, reaching out to touch Jacobs hand.
"Jacob I..." She whispered and he turned, shaking his head before he walked from the room.
Sarise watched him go, hearing the door click behind him as he walked out. She let out a sob, wrapping her arms around herself. She knew she had screwed up. Yet she didn't know what hurt her more. Noah's reaction or Jacob's.