Chapter 15 - Welcome Dinner

The Alpha and Luna walked into the dining hall first to announce the young couple. As they waited, Kaleigh felt at peace again, she felt no more bad energy from anyone. Dominick led her into the dining hall, and Kaleigh gasped. The dining hall was huge, with many round tables that seat eight people each. It didn't look anything like the dining hall from her pack. It was exquisite. It almost seemed more like a four-star restaurant than a packhouse dining hall.

There were so many people in the room that Kaleigh knew she would never remember everyone's name. Everyone was dressed nicely, so Dominick's suit and Kaleigh's black dress were not over the top. Kaleigh felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb with her pale skin and strawberry blonde hair. Almost everyone in the room was tan or darker with black or brown hair. What calmed her nerves was seeing that everyone in the room was clapping with smiles on their faces.

"Everyone, please feel free to mingle. The bell will ring when dinner is ready." Alpha Dillon was a man of few words, but Kaleigh could already tell that everyone respected him greatly.

As Dominick and Kaleigh made their way into the room, Kaleigh saw a streak of pink coming their way. She smiled, already knowing it was Felicia. The teenager looked pretty with her long hair in a braid, and the bright pink dress complimented her tan skin. She ran right up to Kaleigh and hugged her.

"Kaleigh, it's so good to see you again. I love your dress; you look like a movie star. Your hair is so pretty like that. Are you excited to meet everyone? I have been telling them all about you." Kaleigh smiled at Felicia's non-stop chatter. She was such a breath of fresh air compared to the darkness from earlier.

"Felicia, you just saw Kaleigh a couple of hours ago. Calm down and let others have a chance to talk to her." Dominick tried to move Kaleigh away from Felicia, but she wasn't having it.

"Are you kidding me, Dom? She is my sister now, and I am the one that gets to show her off. Stop being a pain in the butt." Kaleigh was chuckling at their bickering over who would show her around when a young couple approached them smiling.

"Hi, Kaleigh. It is nice to meet you. My name is Tom, and I am the lead warrior and trainer of the pack. This is my mate, Mollie. We have been anxious to meet you since Dominick told us about your unique fighting skills. I hope you will join us for training tomorrow." Tom was tall, with short brown hair, hazel eyes, and dark tan skin. His wife Mollie was petite with a lighter tan skin color, straight shoulder-length black hair, and pale blue eyes. They both had welcoming smiles on their faces making Kaleigh smile back.

"It is very nice to meet you both, and yes, I would love to join your training in the morning. I have never trained with any pack other than my own, so I would like to compare the differences." Kaleigh shook each of their hands. Mollie held on to Kaleigh's hand for a few seconds with a smile.

"Kaleigh, I hope we can become good friends. Other than Allie, I am the newest to the pack. I understand Allie is your cousin? We only met briefly, but she seems lovely." Mollie smiled warmly at Kaleigh, making Kaleigh relax even more. Mollie had good energy coming from her.

"I hope we can be good friends, and yes, Allie is my cousin. It's kind of funny if Allie had not met Lenny and they had not had a wedding, who knows when I would have met Dominick. Thank you for your kind words, Mollie." They smiled at each other once more before Tom led her away.
"They seem very nice, Dom. I feel a little better now." Kaleigh squeezed Dominick's hand as he kissed her temple.

"I told you that my pack would love you. Tom and Mollie are great. I can't wait for you to show them your fighting skills tomorrow. Tom thinks I was exaggerating when I told him how you took me down. I want you to partner with him tomorrow." Kaleigh laughed before whispering in his ear.

"Well, I took it easy on you last time. Maybe I won't be so kind to Tom. Let them see a female can be just as strong as a male." She kissed Dominick quickly.

"That is what I love about you, never backing down from a challenge." They walked to the next couple, waiting to talk to them.

Kaleigh felt like her head was spinning with all the people she had met, but the good thing was that everyone was friendly. When the dinner bell finally rang, Dominick led Kaleigh over to a table at the front of the dining hall. The Alpha, Luna, Beta, and the Beta's mate Carla joined them. Kaleigh felt strange being with the Beta and his mate after what happened with Amber, but they both greeted her warmly.

"Kaleigh, please accept our apologies for our daughter's behavior. We don't know what has come over her. This past year she has seemed like she's in a bad place, and no one can get through to her. I have been worried about her safety and the safety of those around her. Even though she has been banned from the pack, I am worried that she may still try something. This sounds horrible, but the girl she has become is no longer our daughter. I wish I knew what happened to her to make her this way." Carla looked at Kaleigh with sadness, and Kaleigh felt sorry for her.

It was clear that Carla loved her daughter and was distraught with what Amber had done. This was not the first time that someone had mentioned the changes in Amber, and it had Kaleigh thinking. Was there some other force at work here? The energy she felt from Amber had been dark, but there seemed to be something more to it. She had an idea, but she would need the Luna's help and Amber's parents' consent.

"Please don't apologize. I have heard several times about the changes in Amber over the last year. I think I may be able to help get you some answers. Luna Alannah, can I speak to you alone for a moment?" Kaleigh saw the shock on the faces of Amber's parents.

"Of course, Kaleigh. There is a room right outside the dining hall where we can talk privately." Alannah stood up and led Kaleigh out of the dining hall. After she shut the door, she turned to Kaleigh in confusion. "I think I was just as shocked at the Wilkens when you said you may be able to help Amber. What are your thoughts, Kaleigh?"

"When I did the spell on Amber to see her thoughts and intentions, something else was there. I couldn't place it, but it was almost as if all the ideas were not hers alone. I felt something dark inside her, and I had to get out before it seeped into me. I could feel her wolf's energy, and her wolf doesn't share the same darkness as Amber. I would like to place a spell on Amber so I can talk to her wolf. The only way is to place a sleeping spell on her that does not affect her wolf. I want you to do it with me if you are willing so that while I am talking to her wolf, you can look for any darkness and get us out before it catches on that we are there. I would look for the darkness myself, but all of my energy will be focused on Amber's wolf. If something has taken over Amber, maybe we can get rid of it before it takes over completely. What do you think?" Kaleigh looked at Alannah nervously, hoping she would agree to her plan.

"I think you are an amazing young woman willing to help someone who planned to kill you. I will help you, Kaleigh, and I hope you're right because, honestly, Amber used to be a wonderful young lady. This obsession with Dominick just started recently." Kaleigh smiled at her gratefully.

"Thank you for helping me. Now I have a few questions. Do you think it's okay to tell the Wilkens that I'm a hybrid, and do you think they will consent us to do this? Obviously, we can't get Ambers's consent, but I would like to get her parents." Kaleigh was still nervous about telling people she was a witch, but she trusted the Luna's opinion.

"Yes, I think it's safe to tell them. They don't need to know the coven you are from. I think that should stay private, but those of this pack are used to me, so they will be fine with you. Also, I think the Wilken's are willing to do anything to find out what is going on with Amber, so I believe they will consent." Alannah knew the Wilkens well, and she trusted them fully.

"Good, now are you willing to let Felicia help? When we do this spell, we will need an anchor in the room to keep up grounded.
I believe our mates would be too centered on us with worry. Felicia has a fresh, positive energy that I think will be more effective for the darkness we will be encountering." Alannah was speechless, which was rare for her.

"Yes, Kaleigh, I think Felicia would love to help. She has always been disappointed that she was not a witch. I am still in disbelief that you came up with all of this in a few minutes. You are much more connected to your powers than I thought. Are you ready to go and talk with the Wilken about this?" Kaleigh nodded.

Kaleigh was happy to finally be able to use her spells to help. Kaleigh felt like she could now connect with her witch side and not just her wolf side. Skylar was pouting. She didn't think they owed Amber anything after the way she treated Kaleigh. However, Kaleigh disagreed. She felt something dark had gotten into Amber, and they owed it to the pack to take care of it now before it got out of hand.

"Yes, let's go. Thank you for trusting me and having my back Alannah. I am glad I do not have to hide this part of myself anymore."
Alannah put an arm around Kaleigh's shoulder as they walked back to the dining hall.

"Dear, you don't know how happy I am to have you here." They were smiling as they sat back down at the table. Both the Wilken's and their mates looked at them expectantly. Alannah nodded to Kaleigh to go ahead and explain her plan.

"First of all, I want to tell you that I am a hybrid, werewolf, and witch. I was able to tell what Ambers's plan was tonight by putting a protection spell on the packhouse. This told me when someone in the house or trying to get in the house had bad intentions. The spell prevented Amber from coming into the house, and I could feel her dark energy. When we went outside and saw that it was her, I was able to place a spell on her to see her thoughts. It showed me her intentions toward me, but I also saw something else. I saw darkness inside her that her wolf seemed to be fearful of. With the Luna's help, I would like to place a sleeping spell on Amber so I can go inside of her and talk to her wolf without Amber's interference. The Luna will assist by going in with me but looking for the darkness and pulling us out before it recognizes that we are there. If I can talk to her wolf, I hope we will be able to get answers to what is happening to her, but Amber cannot know this. I need your consent to allow us to do this. I think it may be the only way to figure out what is going on with her."

Kaleigh stopped talking to give them time to process everything she had said. Everyone at the table except Alannah was staring at her with their mouths open. Alannah, on the other hand, was smiling from ear to ear.

"Jonathan, Carla, if you agree to this, you may get your daughter back. Will you allow Kaleigh and I to help her?" Beta Jonathan and his mate looked at each other before answering Alannah.

"Yes, Luna, we will allow this. We just can't believe everything you said, Kaleigh. You don't know how much this means to us that you are willing to help our daughter after everything she did. Just let us know if there is anything that we can do to help." Both of them had tears in their eyes with looks of gratitude.

"We will do everything we can. I would like to do it tomorrow. I feel the sooner, the better. The Luna and I just need a little time to prepare. I will let you know the outcome and if we have a solution on what can be done. Let me know if you have any questions beforehand." Carla jumped up from the table and went over to Kaleigh to hug her.

"Thank you, Kaleigh. You have given us hope that maybe we can get our daughter back. Now enough of this, let's enjoy the rest of your welcome dinner." She smiled at Kaleigh before sitting back down.

Dominick reached under the table, taking Kaleigh's hand in his. He was proud of his mate. She was already showing what an excellent Luna she would be. He was also glad to see that she and his mother would work together to help Amber. Looking at Kaleigh tonight interacting with his pack members, he could tell she was charming them as much as she had him. He made sure that some of the male pack members who got a little too close heard his growl through mindlink, understanding they better step back.

As they headed up to their room, he pulled Kaleigh to him and gave her a long passionate kiss. He chuckled when he felt her get a little weak-kneed. He pulled back, smiling, pulling her the rest of the way to their room. He was hoping she was still up for the evening plans because he had thought of nothing else after she put that sexy dress on.