The Alpha Meeting
Chapter 7

That night Saphera struggled to sleep and Ralph noticed. “What’s wrong?” he asked as she lay there in his arms.

“I’m a bit worried, Ralph.” She turned in his arms so they were face-to-face.

“I must be honest. I am, too,” he said without hesitation. This would be one of the biggest wars ever, and with the most lives at stake, not to mention the weird alliances. “But we have a solid plan. If we follow it, we’ll be fine,” Ralph said, reassuring, thinking about Zanel and how she was holding up. He was worried for her.

“Okay,” Saphera said, and drifted away in his arms.

***

Around 6am that Sunday morning, Diane and Eric arrived: they were the leaders of the Mignan Clan,and Saphera’s parents.

“Morning Mom, Dad,” Saphera greeted them with a hug.

Zion came running up to them. “Granny and Grampy!” Diane immediately picked up Zion. She smiled and she kissed her grandson. “Morning my little one. Morning,

Ralph.”

Saphera looked around and saw Ralph behind her. “Morning Sir.”

“Morning Ralph.” Diane said, giving him a hug. “You being here, must mean that the problem is really big?” Eric directed the question to Ralph.

“Yes Sir, but we have the numbers and strength, and we have Saphera, so we’ll be fine.”

“I surely hope so,” Eric said.

“Is there time for a quick coffee?” Saphera offered. “Thanks honey, but we have to get going, we have a five-hour drive, and the meeting is at 12pm.”

“Oh okay. Do you think your treaty will be the solution?” “Well it looks like the Alpha is going to sign, because he does not want to pick a fight with our pack.” Eric said. “I don’t think anyone would want to pick a fight with your pack, Sir,” Ralph said.

Diane smiled. Ralph is such a great guy, she thought to herself.

“Well, we better get going honey,” Eric said as he took Zion’s bags from Saphera. “Ralph, you take care of my daughter now, you hear? Your son needs both of you.”

“I will do my best,” Ralph answered.

“We both will,” Saphera added.

“Goodbye my little one,” Saphera gave Zion a huge hug and fat kiss.

“Bye my son, we’ll see you soon.” Ralph kissed Zion’s forehead and gave him a hug and handed him over to Diane.

Saphera’s parents left, and suddenly reality sank in. It was Sunday today, and they had a week to sort this out before Demetri returned and everything had to be revealed.

Ralph and Saphera had a quick breakfast, then went over to the mansion. There was chaos again, but this time in a good way.

Zanel had been returned, unharmed.

Saphera found this strange, and so did the other wolves.

“Celix how did this happen?” Saphera asked him when they were alone.

“I really don’t know, but something is wrong here. Reon would never let anyone go without bargaining.”

Celix looked worried. Ralph and the hunters were happy. Ralph noticed the wolves were on edge.

“Hey guys, she’s back. Be happy.”

“They are wolves, Ralph. They don’t care,” Zanel said out loud. “I am not part of their pack so why would they give a shit about me?”

“That’s not fair, Zanel,” Ralph said.

“Isn’t it, Ralph?”

“No, Zanel. We are all happy to see you.”

“I just have one question,” Celix stepped closer. “What was the deal that you made with Reon for your freedom?”

“Back off buddy,” Jack said stepping in between them.

Celix looked Jack dead in the eyes.

“Okay guys, calm down,” Ralph said.

“I also want to know what deal you made, Zanel,” Saphera spoke up.

Ralph started, but she silenced him in mid-air. “What deal did you make for your freedom, Zanel? I’m a wolf, and we never let a captive go without making a deal.” Saphera was getting angry—Celix could sense it. The hunters stood closer to Zanel and surrounded her. “Well, if you must know, bitch, I made a deal of my life for yours....” As Zanel said this, she drew a sword laced with wolfsbane.

Saphera was too quick—she grabbed the handle of the sword before Zanel was able to point it at her, and pushed it in Zanel’s abdomen with blunt force. “Traitor,” she whispered in her ear as Zanel fell to the floor, fighting for air.

Everyone in the room was stunned. Ralph reacted first. Jack saw his opportunity and jumped Saphera with a knife. He cut her twice on her arm. Saphera flung him back, Celix stepped in and hit Jack so hard he flew a few feet across the floor. It was chaos—Saphera saw hunter against wolf, friend against friend. Saphera immediately searched for Ralph, and found him fighting off one of his own.

What is going on here?

Saphera jumped over to Ralph and with one movement killed the hunter with a deadly blow to his chest, causing his heart to stop.

“Ralph what the hell is going on here?” Saphera yelled over at him, shots and crossbows were being fired in all directions. It was full-on war.

“I have no idea, but we have to stop all of them, or we will have no one left!”

Immediately Saphera smelled blood, but not human blood… wolf blood. She turned to Celix and saw Jack drive a knife through him. The same one laced with wolfsbain.

Saphera hair started to glow, and her nails lengthened. “Saphera, don’t, please!” Ralph begged her. But it was in vain.

“He is part of my pack! Your girlfriend started this shit, and I am about to end it.” Saphera launched through the air and everyone in the room stared up. Her hair was as bright as the sun, and there was a red flame around her. Saphera was in full Alpha mode. Celix watched her, battling against the pain and burn of the wolfsbane.

Saphera jumped onto Jack, pushing him flat against the wall. “I never liked you, but as far as it goes, my pack is my pack. And if you hurt any one of our members, I will kill you.” She pushed her fist through his chest, killing him off then and there. She got up, and the room was silent. “Anyone else wants to play?” she asked smirking. “This shit will stop now. You got it?”

“I agree,” Ralph said, looking wary. He’d never seen her this mad. The way she killed off the two hunters looked like a child’s game to her.

“We are here to fight a common enemy and not each other. This is what Reon would have wanted: to break our alliance so that he could take the upper hand. But he won’t succeed. We will not give him that opportunity.”

Ralph saw some of the hunters dropping their weapons and heading for the door.

“We’re done, Ralph,” Johnny, one of Ralph’s friends, said. “This is not our way of business. We do not fight alongside the enemy, but rather against them. So we’re leaving. We will not accept your leadership anymore. Jack was always right about you—these wolves of yours will always have a hold on you, and cloud your judgement. You saw how she killed off two of our own, and still, you are siding with her.”

Ralph was about to speak, but Saphera jumped him. “Then leave please, and note we will not see you as allies anymore, but as enemies. You have exactly ten hours to get out of our territory, or we will hunt you down one by one. We have no place for traitors and liars in this house.”

Ralph was stunned at how Saphera reacted. He’d thought she would try to bargain or something, but no— she was in full wolf mode, and it looked like she was not going to back down.

“Wait until the council hears about this, then your pack will be the hunted, not us,” Johnny exclaimed as he left the room.

Saphera turned around to examine Celix. Luckily wolfsbane was not completely fatal to Alphas—but it still could do some serious damage.

“Saphera what was that all about?” Ralph demanded an answer. Only five of twenty hunters had stayed behind, and three others were dead.

“I don’t tolerate liars and traitors. If I can’t trust them, I don’t want them here.”

Ralph took Saphera by the arm. “I understand Saphera, but if you act irrationally what are we going to do now? Our whole plan is fucked. We’ve lost half of our fighting power, which means we are now outnumbered by Reon and his pack by more than twenty.”

“I understand, but we are still strong. We have some hunters with great skills we can use to surprise Reon. He probably thinks that all the hunters have left, now.”

“Saphera?” Celix said.

She turned to him, glad to hear his voice.

“Ralph does have a point. You both do, actually. We have to come up with a new plan,” he said as he struggled to get up.

Saphera assisted him.

“Thank you.”

“We must form another plan,” Jenny, one the huntresses who had stayed, spoke up. “Reon probably knows the whole plan—Zanel would have told him anyway. We need a new angle to fight from.”

“Yes, you’re right, Jenny,” Ralph answered, looking over at the three dead hunters. “But first we have to bury our dead.”

Ralph’s eyes gleamed with pain. Saphera knew that she had put that pain there by killing off two of his hunter friends. She was about to follow and assist.

“It’s fine, we’ll do this one on our own,” Ralph said, stopping her in her steps.

“Okay.” She turned around to attend to Celix, who was really badly injured with multiple cuts with wolfsbane. Josh and Leon helped her get him upstairs to his quarters whilst Zane and Zander started to clean up the house with the rest of the wolves helping. The girls assisted all the injured wolves, and brought first aid kits for the hunters who were injured.

As they entered Celix’s quarters, Josh and Leon left to assist the others and also to let Saphera help Celix.

She knew what to do.

“This was a long day,” Saphera said as she half-smiled. “Yes. Who knew this peaceful Sunday would turn out to be a day of death and bloodshed?” Celix said and sighed.

“The hunters’ ceremony will probably take the whole afternoon.”

“Yes, it will,” Celix answered, looking at Saphera. “What you did down there, Saphera… that was in your pack’s interest. Never think that those two did not deserve what they got served. They turned on their own kind and even attacked one of their own leaders, who you protected.”

“Yes, I know. It’s just I wish everything had gone another route. If that Zanel….”

“Yes, Zanel. We both sensed from the start that she had bad intentions. Better it happened now than on the battlefield.”

“I suppose you are right,” Saphera said.

Celix flinched at the pain in his abdomen. Jack had driven the knife so deep that it had cut through some of his organs.

“I’m going to get the shower running. You need to wash, and then I’ll add some dressing on the wounds,” Saphera said as she got up. “Don’t think I’ll be able to shower, let alone stand long enough,” Celix said.

Saphera looked at him and his eyes were not turning sapphire—yet they were filled with truth.

“I will help you,” she said as she entered the bathroom. The bathroom had marble finishes and green plants in every corner, with low lights. The shower was huge,with four outlets. Saphera has never seen his room or bathroom. She stepped over to the shower and turned on the hot water. The water fell gently. Saphera went back to the room to fetch Celix. She got him up and helped him over to the shower.

“You don’t have to do this Saphera,” he said in a soft voice.

“No, I don’t, but you are not capable of doing this on your own so I am helping you. And besides, I also need a good scrub.” She started to undress herself and she caught his gaze on her body—but his eyes were not turning sapphire. She knew he was in too much pain.

Wow she is really beautiful, and yet her body is full of blood and cuts at the moment.

Celix started to undress himself with effort; Saphera came over to assist when she was completely naked. Celix was in complete awe of her body—so majestic and strong. She helped him up and they both stepped into the shower. The water was refreshing for him, and soft. This day had not gone as planned at all.

“Turn around,” Saphera ordered, holding the soap and the scrunchie.

“You don’t have to wash me, Saphera,” Celix said, feeling a bit anxious.

“I’m only going to wash your back. You have more cuts there, so I can see what I am dealing with.”

She was gorgeous, the way the water flowed over her body, caressing her in all the right places. He turned around before his eyes dwelled too much. Her touch was soft, but potent.

She noticed him jump under her fingers, and just smiled. How was it that this Alpha, so strong and powerful, flinched at her touch? As she started to move around to his chest area, he turned around and looked her straight in her eyes, with his eyes burning the brightest sapphire.

“Celix, your eyes,” Saphera said.

“I know, Saphera. No matter how hard I try I can’t stop the testosterone flowing through me, nor the urge to taste you.” He stepped closer, knowing full well she could kill him off right then and there.

Saphera looked up and down at him, and saw his erection. He was huge. She wasn’t sure how to react. Then all of the sudden her body started to warm up—a feeling she had never felt in her life. Her body was priming itself for mating. She’d read up about this once: when two wolves who are meant to be mated replace each other, both of their bodies will call out to each other. And when they replace one another, their bodies will prime themselves for the final step in becoming mates for life.

Can this be what is happening now at this very moment? Is this Alpha, Celix, my mate?

He heard all her thoughts, now, even the ones about them being mates. “We are meant to be, Saphera. You can feel it and so can I.” He took another step closer, being careful, even though her scent was intensifying as her body primed itself.

Fuck, I want her. But he was injured, so if he went about this the wrong way, she would definitely kill him.

Saphera’s head was spinning. “Celix I am not sure what is happening right now...”

He stopped her in mid-sentence as he closed his mouth over hers.

Saphera pulled back and looked up at him. How is this possible? How is my body literally fighting me to be with him?

“Saphera, don’t fight it, please,” Celix said. He was afraid to make another move.

“Celix I am engaged to Demetri.”

“I know, but he is not your mate. I am. Feel it in your body and your blood,” Celix said as he stepped closer, pressing her up against the wall of the shower. He thought she might struggle, but she did not. Then as he looked in her eyes he knew why—her eyes were gleaming red. He immediately took a step back, but she held him in place. “Saphera, are you alright?” he asked, feeling fear rise in his body.

“Yes, I am,” Saphera said, and with that she kissed him so hard and so forcefully that he almost lost his balance. “I want you to claim me,” Saphera whispered in his ear.

Celix’s body started to boil and his erection grew painfully hard.

“That is all I ever wanted to hear from your lips,” he said as she sank her nails into his back. He winced, but he knew she was a true Alpha and she would be claimed by him—the first Alpha, or even wolf, he’d claimed in his whole life.

Celix started to kiss her hard and deep, and their bodies burned where the skin touched. Saphera was dominating his mouth in a way he never knew. Celix grabbed her buttocks and held her against the shower wall. She scratched his back—he felt it as the water ran over his skin.

“I want you to know something, Celix.” He looked up.

“I have never been intimate with one of my own kind.” “I will be gentle,” he said, knowing full well it was going to be difficult as hell. He twisted her hair in his hand and pushed her up against the wall, high enough so he could suck on her nipples. She was so aroused and so ready for him that he sensed it in her body. She grabbed his hair and her nails grew longer and sank into his back yet again—this time he did not flinch, but saw it as a sign that she was really on edge. He lowered her a bit and started to finger her. At first, he was careful and slow, but after a few strokes he picked up the pace and sank his fingers deeper and deeper every time. Her scent drove him mad.

“Celix,” she said through gritted teeth.

He slipped his fingers out and sat her down, then turned her around and spread her legs. “Saphera, tell me to stop when this gets too much,” he whispered in her ear.

She nodded.

He started to kiss her and she felt something sharp—his nails were also growing. she caught a glimpse of sleek, long black nails; his wolf was coming out just like hers. He gave a low growl of pleasure and sunk his fingers into her vagina, being careful to retract his nails. He started fingering her so hard and deep again so that he felt her insides clench. He pulled out and spun her around and lowered himself to his knees. He spread her legs once again and started to lick her clitoris whilst he had two fingers inside of her. He licked and teased her with his tongue so much so that some her juices started to drip out, he drank her essence and it urged him to work harder. He added another finger and started to suck on her clitoris, fumbling her breast with his free hand. Saphera was in a total trance, her body was thinking for itself. She grabbed hold of his hair and started to growl.

He noticed her body’s needs changing, and then he knew she was ready.

He stood up and kissed her deep and hard, then suddenly he entered her. At first, she flinched due to her own tightness—he was really hard and big. Then he started to thrust into her, slow and steady. She kissed him, more like claiming him. Her back arched and her nails sank into his back. This time their bodies were burning. He deepened his thrusts so he could feel the end of her channel. He started to build to a climax and sensed she was also close; he sat her down and turned her around. She spread her legs and bent over. He slammed into her from behind with so much force that she exhaled. He then grabbed her shoulders and sank his nails into her flesh. She immediately felt the sharp pain, but loved it.

He quickened his rhythm, going harder and deeper. He used one hand to play with her clitoris whilst the other held her in place.

She started to climax, and he sensed it. He immediately went full wolf and howled as he came undone in her, thrusting so hard and deep that her legs gave in afterwards. He steadied her against his body and kissed her deeply and passionately. They both were covered in the smell of sex. Her juices were dripping off him and his were seeping out of her. She took in a deep breath and looked up at him. “My mate,” she exclaimed, and kissed him.

He smiled down at her and saw the claw marks on her shoulders. Immediately he felt bad. “I am sorry,” he said as he caressed the marks.

“It’s fine Celix, I can handle it. And you should see your back,” she laughed and turned to the water. They bothshowered for a while and she noticed almost all of the knife wounds on his body had healed—and she knew the bond between them had made it happen. He saw her eyes and knew exactly what she was thinking.