Going over the rest of the paperwork seemed to take a lifetime. Lou's eyes felt red and raw by the time she had managed to muscle through the first set, and there was still a pile more to review. She glanced enviously to Azreal who could memorize a full page in the blink of an eye.
"Are you quite finished yet?" Abram would jeer occasionally as he passed on his way to take a drink or visit the rest room. "By the goddess, you are slow."
"Ignore him," Alaric muttered beside her, as he looked over the documents as well. "There is no shame in taking our time with this. There are a lot of hidden clauses and other stipulations laced throughout this that we need to validate before we agree to sign."
"Yeah..." Lou forced a smile and tried to avoid staring too long at his thick, blond eyelashes, or the crystal blue orbs veiled beneath. She had a nagging suspicion that those eyes were going to be hazardous to her health.
With some effort, she returned her attention to the documents in front of her. It was vexing that the fate of her pack was now dependent on her ability to focus on such a tediously dry read.
"Alpha," Alaric spoke softly and tapped on a specific paragraph in the document she was reviewing. He didn't say another word, but his intent was easy enough to guess.
She quickly read it over and found her blood boiling. Those jackassess were trying to legally extort her people for protection money under the guise of "taxes."
Before she could say anything, Alaric slipped her a highlighter and tapped on the spot again, then slipped her several other sheets of paper and started indicating specific sections she pay particularly close attention to. Thanks to his efforts, not only did the process speed up, she discovered just how badly the other packs had been planning to fuck her over. Behind her, Azreal and Draven looked relieved as she highlighted questionable clauses and jotted down angry notes. Both read much faster and more effectively than she did, so why hadn't they brought any of it to her attention?
"Just what the fuck are you bastards trying to pull here?!" Lou got to her feet and slammed the revised documents on the table. They had been in the middle of discussing something unrelated, likely the ever growing problem of regular humans stumbling across supernatural boarders and discovering things they shouldn't, but Lou hardly cared.
"Do you have a problem, Alpha Lou?" Joe looked over at her innocently, though a smile was twitching at the corner of his lips. Most of the rest of the Alpha's looked baffled, though a handful of them, including Abram, started looking visibly nervous.
"You bet your sweet ass I have a problem!" Lou growled. "Insane tax prices, mandatory ditch cleaning of the entire city, never ending sewer patrols, the threat of becoming indentured servants or even slaves if we can't pay… what isn't wrong with this contract?!"
"That wasn't drafted into the contract," Alpha Zedekiah Fortier of the Gravefang pack, the second oldest and second most powerful wolf in the room after Joe, leaned forward in his seat, eyes burning. Zed, as most liked to call him, was a huge stickler for the law. More often than not, he was the one responsible for drafting official documents. It was said he took such great pride in his work, he had no trouble identifying unauthorized alterations or forgeries.
Lou watched as Abram in particular writhed in his seat like a worm on a hook as Zed rose from his seat, moved to where Lou stood, then snatched the papers off the table from in front of her. Lou watched in awe as the ornery old wolf's face contorted in rage and he started ripping apart document after document. The only one left intact was the marriage license Joe had filled out during the sorry excuse for a wedding ceremony.
"WHO'S THE PIECE OF TRASH RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MOCKERY?!" Zed roared so loudly the walls were shaking. Only Joe and Lou were able to keep their bearings under the intense pressure the Gravefang pack Leader exerted in his rage. It was clear based on the elongation of his canines, he was one stupid remark away from shifting.
"Zedekiah, old friend," Joe placed a hand on his shoulder. Lou was taken by surprise by how fast the old Alpha could move. "Let's handle this diplomatically."
Lou half expected Zed to attack Joe, but to her surprise he calmed himself. The rest of the room remained deathly silent as the pair returned to there seats. Joe looked even more gleeful. Had the old bastard been testing her? Had he realized that the document had been tampered with when he handed it to her? She hoped his high spirits meant she had passed.
"Alpha Lou, our deepest apologies for this gross overstep from some of our members," Zedekiah cleared his throat and offered a formal apology, then proceeded to stare each and every one of his fellow alpha's down as though promising hell to the fools responsible. "Unfortunately, I will have to redraft the original document, which will not be possible until the conclusion of the Harvest moon festivities."
"For now, we will call a recess," Joe announced. "We've been cramped in this dank little hell hole for hours now and I am sure we each could use a stretch. I expect everyone to return in about an hour… Except Alpha Lou and Luna Alaric. Until those documents are finalized, there's not much for you to do. Besides, it's your wedding day, I pretty sure you would prefer to spend it elsewhere."
Lou ignored the crude gesture Joe made and glanced at Alaric. He caught her gaze, then turned his face away, the tips of his normally milky white ears bright red. Catching a whiff of his excitement, she realized with some amusement he'd been checking her out while she was distracted. Idly, she wondered where else that blush would manifest as she peeled back those layers of clothes…
"Lou, earth to Lou, come in Lou!"
Lou blinked in surprise as a hand appeared in front of her face. She had nearly forgotten about Maud, and it was clear her beta knew it. Behind her, Draven and Azreal were hanging back, watching the proceedings with clear amusement.
"What is it?" Lou growled. Her gaze was already beginning to wander back towards Alaric.
"You're staring at him like a complete and total creeper." Maud stated bluntly. "I mean, honestly, what are you going to do? Eat him?"
If anything, Alaric got redder and started coughing at the suggestion. It seemed her little mate wasn't quite so innocent as she initially thought. Nevertheless, the thought of pinning him under her and lavishing him with her tongue as he squirmed, moaned, and begged…
"You're doing it again!" Maud started snapping her fingers in her face. "Seriously Lou! Get your mind out of the gutter!"
She was annoyed by Maud's antics, it was brazen of her to act so disrespectfully towards her in front of the other alphas, but Lou wasn't given the opportunity to admonish her. In the blink of an eye, Alaric had seized Maud by the fingers and was pulling them backwards over the back of her hand. Maud let out a shriek of pain.
"The hell man?!" She cried.
"You will not disrespect your alpha like that," Alaric said in a warning growl. The little fire cracker was full of all kinds of surprises.
"S-sorry!" Maud gasped as a worrisome pop came from her unnaturally bent fingers. "Forgive me Luna, I overstepped!"
At once Alaric released her, and stepped away. Maud shot him a glare, but jumped and looked away as Lou let out a deep, warning growl. Best friend or not, Lou wasn't about to let Maud threaten her mate.
"You are fortunate," Lou hissed, eyes darting to the other men who watched the scene with interest as they left the room. "Any other Alpha pair would've killed you for that stunt. Can't you get it through your thick head?! This isn't just some fancy party! One wrong step and it easily could turn into a twelve on one war between us and the other packs!"
"Sorry Lou… I… I wasn't thinking…" Maud hung her head in shame and Lou felt horrible.
"In the future, it may be best you keep your thoughts to yourself when we travel out of our territory," Azreal advised.
"You possess three betas?" Alaric stated in a questioning tone. Lou could understand his apprehension.
Most packs only possessed one beta. A few of the larger packs such as Ironfang and Gravefang held more due to their size, but it wasn't common. Having multiple betas in a single pack could be detrimental as each would instinctively try to assert dominance over the others. Consequently, the wolves under their respective commands would follow suit. Additionally, most didn't know the true size of Lou's pack. Likely, they believed that she had selected so many in an effort to make herself look stronger, which would've been truly foolish.
"There's a reason for that," Lou shrugged. "But we can talk about that later. For now, how about we… er… focus on getting to know one another?"
"I should probably go pack first," Alaric smiled apologetically. "I also have to make a few calls, and say farewells to my mother and sister…. But if you'll bare with me…" he stood up on his tiptoes and gently pulled Lou down so he could whisper in her ear, "I promise I will make it worth your while."
So saying, he gave her a quick kiss, then darted off. Lou watched him go, stunned. Never in her life had she expected a male to have such an effect on her. Frankly, she hadn't anticipated wanting a mate of either gender. All she'd ever experienced up to that point was the occasional one night stand. When it came to steady relationships, she was out of her depth.
"He's really pushy," Maud pouted. "I don't like him."
"Yes, but he just saved our bacon twice," Draven said with a low whistle. "He might be a bit of a primadona, but he's already earned my respect."
Lou didn't say anything by way of response. If anything, she was panicking inwardly. For the first time in a long time, she cared about what somebody thought. She cared about what he thought! What if she wasn't good enough for him?!
"How do you woo a man?" She turned on Maud like a woman possessed. All three of her Betas stepped backwards in surprise.
"Uh...?" Maud looked to Draven and Azreal to verify she'd heard what she thought she heard. "Lou? Did you just seriously ask me-"
"How do you woo a man?!" Lou stated in a more firm tone, pressing her face into Maud's. The beta gulped.
"Well... I'm not sure what you mean by woo... but I guess you just... you know... fuck them, or whatever." Maud's eyes shifted uncomfortably. "What are you asking me for anyway? They're the guys, shouldn't you ask them?"
"You're the only one in a steady relationship," Lou replied.
"Ouch," Azreal winced.
"I would hardly describe whatever is going on between Oscar and Maud as a 'relationship,'" Draven scoffed. "And to be clear, the ONLY reason I am single is because I choose to be."
"Tell me," Lou pressed even closer to Maud, completely ignoring the other two. Their noses were practically touching at this point. "Tell me now!"
"Alright," Maud conceeded with a sigh. "Here's what you got to do..."