Chapter 5

“First of all, please welcome back Jessie,” Harrison said to the crowd of people in front of him, motioning a hand towards me. “Also, please welcome her cousin Jake Wood.”

The crowd clapped with bright smiles on each of their faces. It was rare to see a pack meeting with this much people. But the Avalon and the Stone pack decided to have the meeting together today.

It was also rare to see that the two packs got along well. They sat together, making small conversation. The men shook each other’s hands while the women hugged each other.

All one hundred and seventy of us were cramped up in the meeting room in the Pack House. Everyone shared chairs, kids sat in their parent’s laps, the men stood to the side of the room. The representatives of the pack – such as Brian, Harrison, Nell, Perry, Betty, Jennifer, Daisy, James, Sam, Clark, Jake, and I – stood at the front. The only people missing were Andrew and my mother.

The thought caused an ache in my chest, but I quickly shook it off. I couldn’t wait to see them after the meeting. It wouldn’t surprise me if I bolted out of the room before anyone else did once the meeting was adjourned.

“I am Harrison White, the Alpha of the Avalon Pack,” my mate said, smiling a warm smile towards the werewolves. My wolf soared with pride at the mention of her mate’s high title. He patted Nell’s back. “This is Beta Nelson Cooper.”

“I’m Alpha Brian Smith of the Raven Pack,” my best friend said and flashed a perfect smile. He motioned towards James. “This is Beta James Porter.”

James, Clark, and Sam welcomed me home this morning. Although they didn’t really spend much time around the Avalon pack because they couldn’t really stand it, they were still great friends of mine.

I shot a warning look at Nell who looked like he was going to tear James into shreds. James rolled his eyes, still standing next to Jennifer. “You better stay the **** away from her, dude,” Nell whispered only so we could hear. Clark and Sam growled at Nell, protecting their Beta as an instinct.

“Look, Cooper, Jennifer and I are just friends,” James snapped. “I respect her decision to be with her soul mate. You have her now, so I don’t know why you’re getting your panties in a twist.”

To refresh your memories, James and Jennifer were in a relationship and were still in a relationship a year ago. A month after I left, Jennifer broke up with James, telling her she felt that it was wrong to date somebody else when she was blessed enough to have found her mate. James let her go. Two months after that, Nell and Jennifer started their relationship.

The Alphas shot a warning look towards their Betas, obviously telling them through the mind link that they needed to stop being immature in front of all of these pack members.

After I left, I tried my best to hide what I was feeling and all my thoughts from Harrison and the Avalon Pack. They didn’t need to hear my true feelings or my exact reason for leaving.

“It’s good to see all of you here,” Brian continued. “We are extremely proud to be the Alphas of such a dedicated pack. I’m pretty sure you are aware of why we called a meeting.” There were a few slow nods, a blanket of fear and concern covering the people in front of us. “So, Alpha Harrison will explain further.”

Harrison cleared his throat, before saying, “A few days ago, we were attacked by Hunters in the forest with weapons laced with wolfsbane. From our discovery, they were customized guns, spears, and arrows to take down werewolves.”

There were a few gasps, including my own. The pit of my stomach began to hurt from all the tension and the fear that started to build.

“No worries, there are no signs of hunters so far. They do not know where we live or where we walk. They just caught us while we were taking the special training that the representatives receive.

“Luckily, nobody was killed in this attack. We managed to take down the hunters. However, two people were severely injured. Please give a round of applause for the bravery of Brian Smith who took a knife for his mate, Betty White,” Harrison said with gratitude. I clapped along with the crowd, proud that Brian had done that to protect Betty. “And to Angela Wood, who unfortunately couldn’t make it today because of her condition. She took the bullet for her son, Andrew Turner. We are unbelievably lucky to have not lost such a brave woman.”

I felt the tears build up in my eyes, but I didn’t dare let it fall. I smiled with the relief that my mother had made it and clapped proudly with the crowd.

“Are you okay?”Jake said through the mind link. With Healers, it was impossible to block out each other. Healers were supposed to work together and it was forbidden to deny each other.

“Yes, Jake. I’m just happy that my mom is okay.”

“She’s from Wood’s family!” Jake said, causing me to smile even bigger. “That’s my Aunt Angela!”

“However, we are still in danger,” Harrison continued, bluntly. It was an Alpha’s duty not to lie to their pack. “We got a lead on Rogues helping these Hunters take down both our packs. It is true. Rogues and Hunters have teamed up.”

My mouth dropped open and there were loud gasps. The whole room started talking hysterically. Before it could get any crazier, Brian and Harrison said, “Quiet down!”

The whole room fell silent in a second. Jake and I were shocked, having to hear this for the first time. The other representatives kept a straight face, but I could tell they were as scared as everyone in this room was.

“Why?” I blurted out before thinking twice, causing everyone to look at us. I was genuinely curious. I held my head high, looking Harrison square in the eyes. “What are their intentions?”

It took a couple of seconds for Harrison to answer. He looked me straight in the eyes and then back at everyone in front of him. “We have something that the Hunters are after, but never in a million years will I give it to them.”

In a second, the room was in complete chaos.

“What?” A guy with graying hair yelled.

“This is just ridiculous,” a woman cried, clutching her three-year-old son to her.

“You would put your packs in danger because you refuse to give something up?” Another woman yelled.

“Enough,” Brian’s voice roared through out the crowd. It shook the windows, causing a silence to fall upon the room. Everyone looked down, ashamed and scared. I, too, shrunk back a bit from the authority in his voice. “It is too valuable to be given up.”

“What could it possibly be?” Jake said beside me, shock written across his features.

“I’m afraid that is confidential,” Harrison replied. “This meeting is adjourned. Please leave without drawing attention towards our pack house.”

In an hour and a half, the conference room was emptied out and everyone had left. Clark, James, and Sam had left. We all slumped down in the couches in the living area, deep in thought.

“What do the Hunters want?” I brought myself to ask my friends.

“I have no idea,” Perry replied. “Only the Alphas know.”

At that moment, Brian and Harrison came out of the conference room. They looked exhausted and stressed. Betty stood up from her seat, hugging Brian to calm him down. Harrison walked towards the hallway that led to the front door. He was probably going for a run to let off some steam.

“Jake, are you ready to go?” I asked, getting up from my seat. I really wanted to see my family.

Jake nodded, following me to the front door. “That was intense,” Jake said.

“Tell me about it.”

“Are you ready to see your mom?”

“I can’t wait to see her. I missed her so much.”

“I can’t wait to hear her compliments. I know what she’s going to say already. She’s going to thank me for being the doting cousin and she’s going to say I’m immensely handsome,” Jake joked. I elbowed him in the ribs and laughed.

“You should better watch out. Once she found out what you said, she won’t be complimenting you anymore,” I said.

“I’m kidding,” Jake said, throwing his arm around my shoulder. “I miss Aunt Angela and I really want to see her after the – uh – “

“The attack,” I said bluntly. “Just say it, Jake. Avoiding it wouldn’t change the truth.”

“I’m sor – “

He went silent when we saw the scene in front of us. I froze, feeling the familiar ache in my chest. Only this time, it was ten times worse.

I’ve always felt it when he kissed another girl or the one time he made love to another girl. It was completely different when you saw it. It confirmed that whatever you were feeling was true.

Harrison’s back was faced towards us and Sarah was on the other side of the door. She smiled, before reaching up on her tiptoes to peck Harrison on his lips. Although it was only a millisecond, my heart shattered and it felt like a cobra wrapped itself around my chest. I bit my lip, refusing to let the growl that threatened to escape. My wolf was outraged.

Jake looked angry as he pulled me closer to his chest and pushed towards the door. “Excuse me,” He said, rudely shoving passed Harrison.

He put me in the passenger seat of my Pegasus and he climbed into the driver’s seat. He drove out of there as fast as possible. However, I didn’t miss the hurt look that crossed Harrison’s features when he looked at me.

After a couple of Jake’s concerned glances, I said, “I’m fine, Jake.”

“I don’t believe you! You’re so honest with everything else except yourself!”

I flinched, looking at him. I could tell he was angry by the way he clutched the steering wheel tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white. “He’s an asshole,” He continued.

“Forget it, Jake,” I said, trying to change the subject.

“No, Jessie! You shouldn’t try to run away from your problems with Harrison!” He cried stubbornly.

“I’m not running away, Jake,” I snapped. “If I were running away, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place. And that also brings us back to why we came here in the first place! I came here for my mom, not Harrison!”

We arrived at my house in no time, the mini mansion looming over us. Jake and I sat there for a couple of second. Looking at me, he said, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Jake, you’re just being a good cousin,” I smiled. “So thank you for looking after me.”

“Always, Jessie,” Jake said. “Now let’s get inside so Aunt Angela could compliment me.”