Faith With Wolves Book 2
8. The Committee Meeting

Caleb

For as long as I can remember there has always been a committee meeting. It’s twice a year and every alpha in the country arrives. Even some from other countries make a grand appearance.

This year will be no different except that instead of just accompanying my dad as the next alpha in training I’m the Alpha and I’ll be bringing my mate with me. My mate who also happens to be a vampire.

I’ve been nervous since I got the invitation in the mail. What if I embarrass myself by forgetting someone’s name or everyone’s disappointed to see me because they expect to see my dad instead? I’m only nineteen and I’ll be the youngest alpha there.

I also have to deal with the stress of how everyone is going to react to Faith. It’s not a secret, my mate is a vampire. Word spread quickly when I had my alpha ceremony and declared Faith my mate officially.

The pack accepted her, but they also had no choice. A few of our allies attended and those alphas accepted her but still, I know many wolves will be nervous seeing a vampire on my arm. Alpha Dexter, the king of werewolves will be there so I know everyone will be on their best behavior. Everyone knows he’s friends with Zane the king of vampires which is why we have an alliance with each other.

I wasn’t happy with the alliance at first but after meeting Faith I’m happy there is one. They can’t hurt her unless provoked. Of course, I wouldn’t let anyone come close to even touching her.

Yet I can’t shake the feeling something bad is going to happen

For tonight’s event, I bought a new suit, it’s all black with a gray tie. I didn’t need a new suit but when I saw this one in the window of a shop, I had to buy it.

After taking a final look in the mirror and deciding I look okay, I sit on the edge of my bed and wait for Faith to be ready. It’s almost time to go so I’m getting impatient.

“Faith! Are you ready to go? We’re going to be-” I stop mid-sentence as my mate saunters out of the bathroom looking like a goddess. “Fuck you’re beautiful, absolutely gorgeous.” I can’t stop gawking at her.

The dress she picked molds perfectly to her body. It’s black with an off-the-shoulder neckline. There’s a long slit that goes up her right thigh while the rest of her dress flows down past her feet.

Like always her makeup looks natural. Her blonde hair flows down past her shoulders in soft waves and the silver necklace I gave her of a wolf howling at the moon decorates her neck.

But for some reason, she's struggling not to bite her freshly manicured nails which is a nervous trait of hers. “You really like it? I haven’t dressed up this fancy in a while and I didn’t want to embarrass you-”

I stop her from finishing her sentence by grabbing her by the waist and placing my face in the crook of her neck. I inhale her intoxicating scent of strawberries and roses and gently kiss my mark she bears.

“You could never embarrass me, Faith. You’re perfect to me.”

She blushes and cups my face. “What did I do to deserve a soul mate as sweet as you?”

“I ask myself the same thing every day. Now let’s go so I can show you off.” I grab her hand and lead her out of the bedroom. The longer we stay here the more I’m tempted to strip her naked and say forget the meeting.

The committee meeting is being held at the grand estate tonight. The grand estate is where Alpha Dexter lives. It holds many conference rooms and a grand ballroom which is where we’ll be tonight.

When I pull up a valet takes my keys and I walk over and open Faith’s door to help her out. She then grabs my arm and I escort her up the stairs and inside.

As we enter the ballroom Faith scrunches her face up. “Wow, there are a lot of wolves here. The smell is kind of overwhelming.”

I nod. “There are at least three hundred packs here. All alphas and their mates.”

A few wolves pass us staring at Faith strangely, but luckily my mate is too distracted to notice. She’s still looking around curiously. “Is it always like this?” she asks.

“Always. I’ve been coming with my dad since I was thirteen and it’s the same every year. The only difference is this time I’m the alpha and I have my gorgeous mate with me.”

“Caleb.” she blushes. “If you don’t stop complimenting me, I’m going to be as red as a cherry all night.”

I grip her waist pulling her snugly against me while my other hand cups her face. “No can-do baby. As your mate, it’s my job to make sure you know how beautiful and loved you are, always.”

“Well, you’re doing an excellent job at it,” she says her tongue darting out to lick her bottom lip, teasing me.

“Fuck Faith, the things I want to do to you right now,” I growl and lean in for a kiss when I hear my name being called.

“Caleb is that you? I heard you took over for your dad, but I didn’t believe it.” Alpha Raymond of the Rivers Bend Pack greets me. His pack is one of our allies and he's a long-time friend of my dad. He stands beside me, and I pull away from Faith and shake his hand.

“It’s good to see you, Alpha Raymond. But yes, I took over for my dad recently. He’s happy to spend more time with my mom. This is my mate, Faith.” I wrap my arm around her waist.

Alpha Raymond smiles at her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Faith. I’d introduce my mate but she’s at home tending to our pups. We just had a boy after three girls so she’s exhausted.”

My mate's face lights up with excitement. “Wow three girls and a baby boy that’s so exciting. Babies are just the cutest.”

“Here I’ll show you a picture.” Alpha Raymond grabs his phone and goes to his photos showing several photos of him, his wife, and his kids.

“They look just like your wife, beautiful.” Faith says as Alpha Raymond puts his phone away.

“And thank the moon goddess for that.” Alpha Raymond laughs making Faith chuckle.

The three of us continue to converse on the latest news in the supernatural world until Alpha Raymond is called away by someone else. Faith and I go check out the snack table and dance to a few slow songs before she leaves to go to the restroom. I wanted to follow her, but she made me stay behind claiming she was a big girl, and I was being overprotective like always.

What Faith doesn’t understand is I’m supposed to be protective. I’m her mate, it’s my job to care for her. I’ll always protect her even when she doesn’t think she needs it. I’ve always been this way, wanting to protect those I care about.

I couldn’t protect my dad when he got wolfsbane poisoning and I felt terribly guilty for the longest time. There was a rogue attack and the wolf my dad fought must have known it was a suicide mission because his claws were doused in wolfsbane.

My dad was able to fight the rogue off, but he almost died. The rogue had sliced a good chunk of his leg where the poison seeped into his bloodstream. From there a battle began within his body. The wolfsbane spreading while his wolf fought to heal him.

My dad should have died. He would have if Faith hadn’t come along and healed him. She had mentioned having fairy blood in her, but I didn’t believe it until I actually saw it.

I may be overprotective, but my mate is the most selfless person I know. All she wants to do is help people and all I want is to protect her while she does it. Faith is like a knight’s armor there to protect you in a battle. But I’m the sword the knight carries ready to defend when necessary.

That's why I’m going to approach a certain wolf who has been watching my mate the whole time we’ve been here. I thought I could ignore it at first, but I can’t.

Every time we walk past him, he glares, and I keep replaceing him watching us from a distance no matter where we go. He’s drinking from a wine glass when I approach and I stop myself from knocking it out of his hand.

“Took you long enough Caleb. I thought I recognized your date. She was the vampire fighting your pack members in your club. I’m surprised you let her live. Of course, the rumor is she’s your mate.” Alpha Hayden says smirking and I desperately want to wipe the look off his face.

My fists stay clenched at my side. “Why the fuck are you so interested in my life Hayden?”

“I’m not.” He takes another sip of his red wine. “Though I replace your mate interesting. There’s just something enchanting about her I can’t put my finger on. Of course, fucking a vampire is always a fun time. I bet your mate's pretty amazing in bed huh she looks like a screamer.”

My fist collides with his nose in an instant. Blood gushes from his face and all I see is red as my hands wrap around his throat strangling him. I want to kill him, make him regret every dirty thought he’s ever had about my mate. He’s a disgusting vile creature who doesn’t even deserve to breathe the same air as her.

But before I can finish the job multiple people are yanking me off him. I growl and try to lunge for him again, but more wolves get between us.

Alpha Hayden laughs as he wipes the blood from his nose with the back of his hand. “Thanks for that Caleb,” he smirks as he’s escorted away.

I close my eyes trying to calm my breathing but it’s not working. My wolf is still howling at me to go finish him off. There are a million voices surrounding me, but I block them out and focus on the only one that matters.

“Oh, my goodness Caleb! What happened?” Faith pushes past the wolves trying to check on me. She throws her arm around my neck, and I hug her tightly breathing in my favorite scent.

“That asshole was talking about you, I had to.”

She cups my face, her gray eyes full of concern. “Who Caleb?”

I shake my head. “You don’t know him.”

Faith growls. “He’s lucky I don’t. You have a bruise on your cheek. Luckily it's healing already.” she softly strokes her finger along it sparks igniting with her touch.

I just stay in my mate’s arms letting her comfort me while I still try to calm down. My wolf is still struggling with wanting to go replace Alpha Hayden and kill him. He’s always been a jerk but to speak about my mate was uncalled for. It’s like he was asking for a fight.

I try to think if I did something in the past to make him think we’re enemies but come up blank. Our packs are allies and we’ve always been acquaintances. He’s always been a pompous ass, so I avoid him, but we’ve never actually insulted each other.

My mind continues to race until shouting gets my attention. Faith and I pull away from each other and I spot a huge crowd across the ballroom. Grabbing Faith by the hand we race across the room to see what’s going on.

We push through the crowd until we make it to the front. The sight in front of me has me frozen stiff. Lying on the ground and having a seizure is none other than Alpha Raymond.

“Someone get a pack doctor!” a woman screams at the crowd.

“He’s not going to make it!”

“Why isn’t his wolf healing him?”

The crowd is so restless and not helping as they ramble off more questions. It feels like time is standing still as we all stand around watching Alpha Raymond wither on the floor.

Suddenly Faith pulls away from me and is bent down next to Alpha Raymond. Terrified, I rush over to her. “What are you doing?”

“Look." She lifts his arm and it’s covered in red, bloody blisters. “He has the virus.” Faith whispers and I can tell by the look in her eyes I’m not going to like what she’s going to say. “I have to heal him.”

“No.” I grit my teeth. “You can’t expose yourself, not like this.” Nobody can know she’s a fairy. I won’t risk her safety.

"I have to-" she argues but I growl at her.

"No, you don't! It's too late just let him go." I beg.

“I’m sorry,” she says and a bright glowing light casts from her hands blinding me and others around.

I put up my hands to shield my eyes but it’s useless. I’m forcefully pushed back by a strong blast that sends me and everyone else flying.

My body aches from hitting the floor but I ignore it. Slowly adjusting my eyes, I force my wobbly legs to stand up. “Faith.” I groan and glance around for her. “Faith!” I shout looking for her around the crowd of people.

But when I spot her, my heart feels like it dropped out of my chest.