After the car was parked, we got out to stand beside our Alpha and Kyle. Then we walked up to the entrance of the hotel. It was only a few steps distance from the car, to the entrance and into the large reception room.
I looked at the high ceiling and bright crystal chandelier. One of the attending staff, who had greeted us as we entered, asked if he could be of service. Father gave his name and the man nodded at another man standing nearby. The second man made a quick phone call and in less than two minutes, the manager greeted us.
The manager led us to another floor and to the large reception room where the meeting was scheduled to take place.
"Here we are, Alpha." He said, opening one of the large double doors. "Guests are arriving on time, so the entire event should stay to schedule."
"That is good. Thank you." Father said simply.
As we entered, I saw there were already over one hundred people in the room. I wondered how many packs were in our province.
"Looks like most of the Alphas and their families are already here." Father commented, as he also looked at the gathered group.
A moment later, there was a shout and a wave. Another Alpha, who's territory was near ours, was calling Father over.
"Come on, let's go say hi to Alpha Jackson." He said.
While the rest of the family chatted away, I looked at Kelly. She seemed normal. A bit nervous, but normal. I sidled up a bit closer to her and asked, "Hey, so… how are you doing?".
She let out a breath that she didn't seem to know that she was holding.
"I am okay, I guess. I don't feel anything… I am sure, if my mate were here, I would sense it." She paused, biting her lip, before she continued, "It's almost a relief."
"But you know that you may have to confront your fears sometime." I pointed out. Looking in her eyes, I could see the inner conflict beneath. I sighed and taking her by the arm, I carefully pulled her into a hug. I didn't want to crush the delicate material of her dress.
A second later, I heard an angry snarl erupt from behind me and felt Kelly push me firmly away from her. "My mate". She spoke the words in an almost dreamlike way.
I turned my head to see a large, young male with Alpha blood, charging towards us. As he growled at me, I saw Kelly shake her head out of the corner of my eye.
Before the male could reach the place where I stood, two things happened at the same time. The first was Kelly grabbing for me, pushing me out of the way. But I was not prepared, so I tripped in my heels.
As I realized I would soon hit the floor, and before I had time to react arms broke my fall. They were Kyle's arms. And he looked pissed.
He tossed me back to Kelly, who caught me, before aggressively slamming himself into the oncoming angry male.
"Stop it!" Kelly yelled at them. But they ignored her.
They struggled against each other for a moment. People surrounding us were quickly becoming aware of the situation.
"And just who the hell are you?" the young man demanded of Kyle.
"The guy who is going to beat you for threatening my sisters." Kyle growled in anger.
The young man paused for a moment and Kyle used the moment to his advantage and punched him in the gut.
"I protect my family and pack members." Kyle continued. "Plus, you'll thank me later when you don't face the wrath of attacking and injuring a shifter."
The guy got up from the knee he was forced to take after the earlier blow and stood sizing up Kyle.
I got the feeling that though close in size, Kyle was stronger.
That is enough fighting." Father's voice sliced through the air with a commanding presence.
He grabbed Kyle's shoulder. "Let it go son."
Part of Kyle wanted to fight. Even I could see that. But he still backed down.
A moment later, a newcomer Alpha walked up and demanded of Kelly's newfound mate what exactly was going on.
Turned out that Alpha was his father. And, as I had clued into earlier, he was crazy jealous when he walked in, and found his mate was hugging me with warmth and affection. But of course, he had jumped to wild conclusions.
"So, are you ok?" Kelly asked me. "You kind of got tossed around like a ragdoll back there."
"Yeah. Of course, I am." I said before adding, "And that was only because it was a completely unforeseen situation."
Kelly smiled back. We were both relieved to see the two Alphas and their sons patching things up and smoothing the situation over.
Turns out, things were resolved just in time too, as everyone was present and the meeting was about to begin.
Alpha Jackson called every one's attention. In an orderly fashion people found their seats.
I turned my head as Kyle walked towards me. "Let's go sit down." He said, as he walked past me and stuck an arm out and placed it on my back at the same time. I didn't resist as he continued to steer me towards my seat. I snuck a glance up at his face, but it was expressionless and closed off.
Once everyone was seated, Alpha Jackson (who was facilitating the meeting) walked to the center, to stand in front of everyone. The meeting had begun.