Chapter 56

Lsabella's pov :
Jasper found a seemingly absurd, but on reflection plausible, excuse to put the Alpha's off, and the meeting went nowhere.
I took advantage of the interval to go outside the tent. I was worried about Xavier in the distance, whether he would be able to withstand the witch's new test and make it out of the rogue's occupation.
In order not to disturb Xavier's movements, I sent him only one message, hoping that he would not forget to keep me informed of his situation when conditions permitted.
I turned around only to find that Jasper had appeared behind me at some point.
Seeing me turn, he raised the cup in his hand, "Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"Thanks."
Jasper and I sat down side by side by the lake, he seemed to be in a good mood and we sat together not at all like two rival Alpha's of a wolf pack that were about to go to war.
"The view from your Blood Moon Pack looks pretty nice too, this lake is clearer than any other on the wolf pack territory."
"This is at the foot of the snowy mountains, and all the water in South Lake comes from the melting glaciers of the snowy mountains."
"So that's how it is, I'd like to live here for a while."
I looked up in a flash and stared at Jasper solemnly.
"Are you planning to bring down the Blood Moon Pack immediately? That's a bit too confident of you, isn't it?"
"No, that's not what I meant, couldn't I stay at Blood Moon Pack for a while as a guest?"
I collected my sudden burst of emotion, but my guard was still full, I had sat side by side with Jasper, but I could hardly admit to ever fully trusting him, and it was no different now.
"Why would Mr Jasper think that? You should have refrained from sending troops from the beginning and come to Blood Moon Pack alone as a guest, and maybe I'd have given you a chance. Instead of doing what you're doing now, with the combined armies about to set foot on our pack's borderline, you're making small talk with me as if nothing is happening."
Jasper didn't immediately question nor immediately agree, but looked at me and nodded slowly.
"I've told you before, even though I've brought people here with me this time, I'm on the same side as you." Jasper gestured with his eyes to the tent area behind him, "They must still be in there discussing how to subdue us both."
"That's fair enough, coming to the door of the Blood Moon Pack to threaten us both? Isn't it time to step into my territory and interrogate us both soon."
Jasper frowned, "I'll make up for anything I owe you, but you don't have to get back at me by irritating me. My heart is made of flesh too, and I feel bad."
With that Jasper stood up and walked away without looking back.
I was still sitting by the lake, stunned by Jasper's words. But I wasn't a teenage girl just coming of age, talking to my suitor, we were two Alpha's who had been through a lot.
All I could do was gently rub my temples to ease my headache. Jasper really liked me, but his arrogance prevented him from appreciating my pain at all. He wanted me to trust him completely, but how was that possible? Of all the things he had done in the past, the one that would earn him my trust?
"Miss Lsabella? It's time for the second half of the meeting."
A Beta from one of the other packs came near me to remind me.
"I got it, I'll be right there."
I got up and grabbed the last bit of time to pull out my phone and check it, still no new messages from Xavier.
The day was already half over, would I ever get a chance to receive a message from Xavier checking in?
I sat back down in the conference room, Jasper taking the seat beside me despite the irritation I had received.
He seemed to have adjusted himself and brought over a glass of water for me.
I turned towards him and thanked him.
Mr Felix had long since gotten tired of the ambiguous atmosphere between us, although Jasper really had attentiveness written all over his face.
He coughed and gestured with his eyes for Jasper to sit upright.
"We've just discussed it and since Mr Jasper and Miss Lsabella did have a mate relationship and a Luna ceremony between them for a while, although they have since separated.
But we still think that the relationship between the two of you is too special and staying together will affect our judgement of the facts, so I hope that this meeting can be attended by Miss Lsabella alone and Jasper can go down for a rest first, it's been a hard journey for Mr Jasper to lead."
My eyes widened slightly, still unable to see the slightest sign of a defiant act from this cunning werewolf, but there was nothing, Felix looked as normal as if he had just been describing the scenic beauty of the snowy mountains to the north.
Jasper suddenly grinned twice as he inclined his head towards me and I could see the cold under his eyes beneath his false smile, "Lsabella is my Luna, and you all are not directly interrogating her now as per the rules, am I not entitled to accompany my Luna at this time?"
Jasper was worthy of having presided over an Alpha meeting, and his query fell on point. For the few present were not all Alpha, they had organised this joint action without permission and had not waited at all to gather all the Alpha's to vote on it.
But the few Alpha's present were already at the top of the pack, otherwise what other small pack would risk grabbing the moonstone except us Blood Moon Pack?
So I chose to remain silent and just let them argue, there was no need for me to get involved.
Felix showed great composure in the face of Jasper's questioning, taking a nonchalant sip of his coffee and slowly setting his cup down again.
"Mrs Luna of the Alpha of the Cyan Moon Pack has just been crying to me about the terrible state of her beloved daughter, Miss Charlotte, who seems to be having second thoughts about dying.
It had been a long time since I had heard from Charlotte, and the last time I had heard from her was when Jasper told me that she had been sent back to her pack.
I inclined my head to Jasper, who didn't look much different, but his air wasn't as strong as it had been a moment ago.
Was there something else going on between him and Charlotte, who I didn't know was evil, but I thought she was a strong, bad person at heart, who would suddenly take a lighter life?
Jasper stood up, he looked at me with some guilt, he hesitated for a moment with his raised hand and finally landed on my shoulder.
"Don't be scared, show the same swagger you slammed me with earlier, I'll be back soon."
I wasn't sure how to respond to him in front of so many Alpha's, but what Jasper had just said managed to cheer me up a little, did I really bash Jasper a lot?
"Then shall we hurry up and start the talks, Miss Lsabella?"
Mr Felix pulled me back to reality.
"Yes, please begin."
With a wave of Mr Felix's hand, Beta, who was guarding behind him, slammed the door completely shut and I looked quizzically at the few people in front of me.
Felix caught my confusion and he flashed me a different kindly smile than he had earlier, though I don't know if what he was thinking in his mind and what he was showing on his face were the same.
"I can actually understand the mindset of an Alpha of a small pack of wolves perfectly well, who wouldn't want to be free of being held hostage? But you can't just use us to get what you want, you have to do a fair deal and give back a part of what we have."
"I didn't take the moonstone," Felix said, even though he gave me back a step by saying such a lot of things, but I caught the key calmly.
Felix was dumbfounded, he stared at me for a few seconds and there was a sudden sneer, "I knew you were clever once upon a time, but I hope you can use your cleverness in the right place."
I frowned, "Then I'll thank you in advance for the compliment."
Mr Eric suddenly raised his hand to interrupt the acrimony between the two Felix and me.
"Strange to say, isn't it," Mr. Eric looked over at me, "All it takes is a bunch of things that are enough and bad enough for a calm person to turn cranky."
I nodded, sort of accepting Mr. Eric's mediation.
"I'll spare you that much of the bending and just tell you our plan."
"Plans?"
What plan did these Alpha's have that they could tell me?
Eric scanned around, sort of soliciting the opinions of the others, and finally he looked at me:.
"We want to get the Blue Moon Pack to change an Alpha, you'd be a great help to us."