I woke up at six in the morning today. Having worked out, I picked up my phone, checking it for any new messages or emails whilst Maya did her morning beauty regime. My email folder considered of many new emails, one of which was from the werewolf council. Even though Zachary was the alpha of our pack, the council would always contact me regarding any issues or discussions. Zachary wasn't bothered by this and I guess he felt happy that I took some burden off of his shoulders with context to the council matters, even though he never acknowledged it verbally.
Zachary and I had what one would call an impersonal relationship. Don't get me wrong, we got along fine and did have mutual love and respect for each other but the only time he reached out to me was when he needed my help or advice in a professional situation. It didn't bother me though, Zachary wasn't the best at expressing his emotions, a fact that I had come to terms with by now. Besides, I knew that he cared about me and in the end, that was all that mattered.
Miss. Shaayna Romano,
This letter is to inform you that your presence has been requested at the council meeting tomorrow. The meeting is to be held at the council headquarters at 1pm. We look forward to seeing you in attendance tomorrow.
Thanking you
Vance Morrison
Head of Council
"Everything okay?" Maya asked me, wiping her face with a towel.
"Yeah," I replied, "the council wants me to attend a meeting at their headquarters today, that's all."
"Cool," she said.
The family had breakfast together after which I drove to the council headquarters.
From the looks of it, the council had summoned the heads of most of our neighboring packs and covens. Vampires, witches and werewolves sat in the room harmoniously. Most of us got along well with each other and I was on really good terms with the three alphas who sat there.
"Shaayna," Sean waved at me, walking up to me before hugging me, "I'm so glad that you're here."
His brother, Ethan did the same.
"I didn't know you attended council meetings, Ethan," I jested.
"Well, this was the first time they sent me a summon for one," he replied.
My jaw hardened and the smile fell off of my face when I saw the person who entered next.
Cain Meyers.
Cain and I had some really bad memories, memories which involved him limping back to his pack with a broken nose and a knife sticking out of his leg. That nose had never been set back properly and had now attained an awkward structure.
"Hello," he greeted the guys with a smirk as Sean and Ethan assumed a protective stance over me.
Turning towards me with the smirk glued to his face, he said, "Hello, my sweet little Shaayna."
"Back off Cain," I seethed.
"Make me," he replied, arrogantly.
"Gladly," I said, exposing the silver knife I always had on me as I saw a flicker of fear appear in his eyes before he concealed it.
But for a split second, there had been fear in his eyes. My wolf reveled in the fact that he was scared of us.
"You wouldn't dare. We're in the council perimeters," he seethed, masking the fear in his voice, all hint of mirth gone.
"You sure about that?" I questioned, giving him a flash of my fangs, making him back off for good this time.
"Hey, you okay?" Sean questioned, worried about me.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied to him truthfully, "now, why the hell is it taking so long for us to begin?"
"We're waiting for another alpha to join us," informed Christian, an alpha.
As if on cue, a deep voice sounded from right behind us, "Thank you all for waiting for me." I turned around to look at the owner of the voice, only for my eyes to land on one of the most gorgeous men I had ever seen. Tanned skin with raven hair that looked a little messy, his 6'4 frame clad in a black suit as the ring on his finger glinted slightly in the light. He had a five-o-clock shadow, complimenting his face perfectly.
"Mate," my wolf said internally as the man turned to look at me, his wolf pushing through for a split second before he composed himself and sat himself down in the only empty seat in the room that was coincidentally two seats away from where I sat.
"May I have your attention please?" the Head of the Werewolf Council spoke, presiding over the meeting, "There has been an increase in the cases of unexplained disappearances in the recent times. Wolves, vampires and witches have mysteriously gone missing and nobody has heard from them since. Owing to this, the werewolf, witch and vampire councils have decided to collectively look into this matter. The purpose of this meeting is regarding the same. Everyone present today has been summoned in order to aid the council in this matter."
"We have divided everyone present into smaller groups of four members each, depending on the location of their packs or covens," said the Head of the Vampire Council, going on to announce the groups as I zoned out on my mate who currently sat on the chair, giving his complete attention to the Council Head.
"--Lastly, the Trinity packs will be working together, meaning that Alpha Sean, Alpha Rivera, Mr. Ethan Damison and Ms. Romano will be coordinating with each other. Please keep in mind that this is an extremely confidential plan and nobody except those present in this room right now, are to get to know of this. A meeting will be arranged every two months where we will meet again to discuss our findings. You may however approach the council before that time period in case any matters of urgency occur. That will be all. Thank you for coming."
The Heads left, leaving us to socialize with each other. Everyone else was talking to the people they were supposed to coordinate with whilst my eyes remained trained on my mate.
"So, any ideas on how to go about this?" Sean asked me before realizing that my attention was trained elsewhere.
"See someone you fancy?" he teased me.
"My mate," I replied softly.
"Holy shit, what!" he exclaimed, "wow man, this is great news. Okay, who's the guy? I hope Gramps and Granny like him. Is he a werewolf? He better take care of you or I'll kill him. No, wait, you won't have a mate if I kill him."
"He's coming this way," I ushered to Sean, urging him to stop his rant as my mate stood up from his chair, heaving a sigh before walking towards us.
"Umm…. please tell me he isn't your mate, Shaayna," Sean spoke now in a worried tone.
"Yes, he is. Why? Is there something I should know about?" I asked.
"Well, yes. He's Alpha Rivera- the alpha of the Moonstone pack. The one who-"
He didn't need to complete the sentence for me to realize what Sean was trying to imply.
Alpha Rivera was the alpha of the Moonstone pack. His family was the reason Gramps lost one of his best friends. Rumor had it that the alpha standing before me had murdered his own father to take control of the pack. He was a killer- a destroyer of families. My throat dried as I suddenly felt claustrophobic, the room around me beginning to spin.
And that is when I realized how the mate bond could become a bane for someone.
I had been destined to love the one person whose name had done nothing but invoke disgust and anger in me all my life.
I was destined to be with my enemy.