53. The Summit of the Alphas

Paul - The alpha summit
As I dress in my new suit, Laura watches me in the mirror. Something is still bugging me as to how she has handled the matter with Bogdan.
“Are you sure he’ll stop trying to kill me and kidnap you?” I repeat the question for a dozenth time.
“Humans, especially those with unstable minds, are easy to coerce.” She sighs. "I took care of Bogdan Badea. He’s not hurting anymore and has let go of his plan for vengeance. I was surprised when you gave him back his family business. He’ll surely move forward with his life now."
“Ok, I’ll end any talks about Bogdan here and now.”
My red tie rests on the edge of the chair. It has the same perfect shade of copper as Laura’s hair. I take it and start preparing myself for the meeting.
Laura approaches. She takes my hands off the tie. I smile and let her do it for me. Even though the knot she creates is a little crooked and much duller than my Windsor knot, I keep it.
Smirking, I watch Laura tilting her head.
“It’s a bit crooked, isn’t it?” she asks to my amusement.
"It isn't. If it were, I could just drop a shoulder to make it appear straight."
Her eyes widen, and little green sparkles light up the surface of the turquoise sea.
“Oh, no, let me do it again. You can’t go like this in front of the other alphas.”
“No chance.” I laugh wholeheartedly. “Get ready. I’ll be waiting for you downstairs. I want to introduce you at this meeting.”
The first meeting of a summit usually consists of greetings and setting out a long list of things we have to discuss throughout the entire event.
Once I arrive on the first floor of the hotel hosting the event, I stop in front of the conference room. As I take in a deep breath, I pray to my inner wild self to keep calm. If things escalate, this summit could be the end of all the things I fought so hard to achieve.
I tighten the tie. Maybe having a leash to remind me that I have to behave will keep me in check. Sense the room, Paul.
The door opens under my gentle push. The six alphas are seated at a round table. All the eyes turn to me.
“Good morning.” I walk to the center of the room.
They all look uneasy. Radu's is the sole pleasant glance in the room. The majority of them have neutral, inquiring expressions on their faces.
I stand in front of the table and place my hands on it.
Unwillingly, I stop a bit too much staring at Lexa. Is that a painful glare? True, I haven’t taken another mate since she left me. But she doesn’t have any right to give me that look.
I turn to Tudor as I take the last available seat at the table. The Banat pack alpha has long had a grudge against me. Maybe he wants my job, or there's something else going on. I've never been interested in him or his motivations.
“I’m glad to see that all of you made it to the summit.” I nod toward each of them. “It was on short notice, but I understand the need for this gathering. To keep things short, I’ll go straight to the point. The things you heard about are true. I’ve taken a strigoi as my mate.” The silence in the room makes my skin crawl. “The Strigoi Council has already given me their approval to mate with her, so this shouldn't be an issue."
Lexa's jaw drops as Radu grins. Stefan, the leader of the Transilvania pack, shakes his head and twitches a little too much.
Tudor clasps his hands at his navel, his wrist adorned with a diamond watch. The man was overdecorated: too much silk and too much perfume. But I couldn't care less about appearances. I need him to stop fighting me during these summits.
I lean forward and start explaining the assassination attempt on my life and how Laura saved me.
“This is why I want you to support me. The Strigoi Council needs to know that we have a strong alliance. I don't want to see any more quarrels."
The tie around my neck already threatens to choke me to death. That is if my nerves won't get the job done first.
The doors open, and Laura comes through. Her presence soothes me. Before I even know it, my jitters have vanished.
Smiling, she places a hand on my shoulder, and I settle my fingers over hers.
“I want you all to meet Laura, my mate.”
Tudor looks me in the eye, and his face contorts into a hideous grin. "A strigoi is an abomination of nature. Can’t you see you stand next to a corpse? She must be cold as ice.”
His hand dashes toward Laura. My body reacts before anything else, and my fingers wrap around his wrist in mid-air. He releases a shriek and pushes back, hitting the table.
Laura grabs my arm, but I shake her off.
I stare at him, my eyes filled with fire. “She is not a corpse. Laura is my mate, and you will treat her as such."
Banat’s alpha recoils in pain when my grip tightens even further. His dilated pupils tell me that he knows I have every intention of breaking his wrist off.
“No one is allowed to touch her except me.” I glare at him as I try to calm myself down. “Are we understood?”
Tudor retakes his previous laid-back position on his chair.
"I thought this was going to be a nice gathering. If you want to make it into a trial, I'll agree." I lean back on the backrest, tightening my grasp on Laura's hand and looking at each alpha in turn. "We'll meet with my pack tonight, and you may ask whatever questions you want to put your mind at rest. Everyone knows Laura and believes in her, as do I."
After this meeting, I have to thank Laura for remaining silent. Every misplaced word now can trigger a chain reaction and threaten everything. But she knows this all too well.
“It was nice to see you all again.” I rise from my seat. “We’ll gather tonight in the ballroom. Enjoy your stay!”
With a hand around Laura’s waist, I turn toward the exit without waiting for anyone else to say anything. My feet freeze as Lexa’s voice cuts the silence like a knife, bitterness seeping through her tone.
“There's no way this thing is your mate.”
I look over my shoulder.
The way Lexa’s lips curl as she looks at Laura shows her disgust at the idea. She has no right to act like this. She hasn't spared me even a single glance since she rejected me.
“That’s your opinion as an alpha or as a woman?” I snarl with a scornful glare.
She gulps. Nothing can be said to smooth things down. I click my tongue. Hopefully, tonight they’ll all relax and cut me some slack.
As soon as the door closes behind me, I release a sigh. For a brief moment, I am at ease. But then I lower my gaze and my eyes meet Laura’s. There’s something in there that gets me all riled up. And not in a good way.