Chapter 65
Bryan's POV
Torey's comment made me internally laugh but I never replied, a dark smirk echoed over my face for a split second before I made my facial expressions blank.
We had an important meeting and I didn't want to hold it off longer than it already had been.
I nodded at Torey to follow me and we walked through the kitchen and towards my office. The meeting only consisted of Alphas which is unusual since our Betas are always in our meetings for protection in case of any unprovoked or unexpected attack.
I wasn't the type of Alpha to attack you when you weren't looking or when your back was facing me. I wanted you to know that I was going to take your life away from you.
Four Alphas would be present in this meeting: Torey, Maxwell, Lucas, and myself.
Lucas had a strong alliance with Prince – his sister was Prince's mate which meant that if I was to attack Prince's territory then I would end up having a war with Lucas.
The idea didn't faze me because if anything that would be a gain. I would end up owning more land than I expected and I was more than happy to take it off of his hands.
Opening the door, they were all sitting down making short conversations. I walked in with Torey following close behind, I sat down in my chair and Torey followed in but I noticed that his facial expression changed and a frown echoed on his face as if he was confused while staring at Lucas.
"Ha, no way is that Lucas Storm." Torey said with a light-hearted laugh.
Lucas chuckled before standing up, they shook hands and by then I was the one completely confused. I didn't know too much about Lucas but I knew he was a strong Alpha and his father had been one of the best when my father was in reign.
"It has been a long time since I've seen you." Lucas said crossing his arms over his chest.
"It has – it must have been at least 10 years." Torey replied before taking a seat across the room near me.
"You know each other?" I questioned, wanting to get on with the meeting as time meant everything and just wanted to get to the point that I was going to invade Prince's land even if he disagreed. I was shocked when he actually finally agreed to a conversation.
"I've known him since I was born – our families were very close even though we were in different packs." I looked at Torey, my eyebrows raising at his answer but I nodded.
"So, we going to get to the point of this meeting?" Maxwell asked making me laugh. He was very much like me, he wanted to get down to the conversation not sit here having catch-ups.
"I'm going to put it plain and simple – I want Prince's land and I will have it. I'm not the type to attack you blindly, and I know this will affect the packs around us which is why we're all here today."
"Prince’s mate is my sister. If you invade his territory then I have no choice but to go to war with you Bryan. On the east of your territory, there is unmarked territory that only belongs to rogues so I don't understand what your business is about when it comes to Stone Warrior's territory." Lucas commented with a slight growl.
"It's not personal Lucas, it's business." I replied, my growl even louder than the one he grumbled.
"It's personal to me when you plan to overtake my brother in laws land when my young nephew is there. That is his rightful territory, not yours Bryan."
I was intrigued by his comment as I was not aware that Prince had a son. I raised my eyebrows at his comment, but it still didn't change the matter.
"It's not up for discussion on whether I will attack Prince territory - it's when."
Lucas stayed extremely quiet for a while but continued to give me a hard glare.
"Bryan, do what you wish but what makes you think we won't attack you first?" He raised his eyebrows while a mocking look sat on his face like he knew something that I didn't.
I felt my wolf clawing, itching, and begging to come out but I kept him at bay. Neither of us appreciated the threat that came out of another wolf's mouth. I growled, feeling my claws coming out of my fingertips, digging into the palms of my hand, blood pouring out and dripping down my arm.
"Threatening me isn't the wisest of moves Lucas. I will easily take your land just like I will from your sister's mate." My words came out sinister, and I chuckled at my comment. I knew that mentioning his sister would infuriate and provoke him and his wolf.
I wanted a reason for him to jump over and attack me so that I could rip his throat out. Not that a reason was needed but I was enjoying rattling him.
The room stayed quiet as we all watched Lucas fight with his wolf mentally, he continued to growl while staring at me with the black of his wolf showing in flickers in his eyes.
"Right, can we actually get down to the conversation instead of you both aggravating each other?" Torey commented, looking irritated himself.
It took a few minutes before both our wolves were fully at bay before the conversation continued.
Torey and Maxwell both only shared a few words throughout our meeting. Lucas had attempted to make a proposition in swapping prisoners, but I refused, I wasn't willing to give up the young tracker that Prince had sent as I didn't know what he knew or might have seen and I wasn't willing to risk it.
The conversation was over within about an hour. Resulting in Lucas leaving shortly after but not before declaring war against my pack if we would not back down from initiating war with Prince.
I simply shrugged my shoulders at his answer and smirked, ending our meeting.
Luara's POV:
I stayed in the living room while they conducted their Alphas meeting in Bryan's office. I considered interrupting but I didn't want to get involved in any argument in case it turned physical – not wanting any harm to come to my baby.
I'm surprised that Bryan hadn't realized that I was pregnant. Alpha females carry their babies for only four months and pregnancy produces a scent to make it clear to other wolves when a she-wolf is expecting.
I was assuming that I must have been at least a month. I would need to confirm the dates with a doctor, but I knew I couldn't see Greg our pack doctor without him blabbering to Bryan.
I felt apprehensive and tense at the thought of sharing the news with Bryan. Life was just so hectic at the moment and I didn't want him to have any distractions. At the same time, I was anxious about even saying that I was pregnant out loud.
Hearing voices coming from down the hallway, I kept quiet and carried on watching TV while digging my hands into the bag of chips I had grabbed from the kitchen.
Not too long later they walked in; Bryan, Maxwell, and my father.
The air suddenly felt very tense and awkward and the feeling made my stomach turn. Guessing the meeting didn't go quite to plan, I stayed quiet. Thankfully, around 10 minutes later Lopez came in calling us all to dinner.
We were all sitting in silence while we ate but I could feel that tension was starting to rise. I didn't understand why or from whom.
"This is not a war I can support Bryan." My father spoke up looking Bryan dead in the eye.
"Lucas and Elena have always been a second family to me."
Bryan continued to chew on his food, staring at my dad intensely.
"You said it yourself Torey you haven't seen them in at least 10 years – doesn't sound like family to me."
My father lowly growled not appreciating Bryan's dismissive tone.
"Doesn't mean he isn't like family to me Bryan – it's just distant. You might be quite familiar with the feeling when it comes to Maxwell."
I slightly cringed at my father's comment – it was a gibe that I knew Bryan would not appreciate.
Bryan kept quiet only turning his head from side to side, cracking his neck. The sounds of his neck snapping and popping back into place caused shivers to ride up my arms.
"I didn't say too much in that meeting for a reason Bryan – I wanted to say it to you and you only. I didn't want Lucas to go home and tell Prince that I was not going to support him in this war. You can easily have the unmarked territory to the east of yours and you've chosen not to."
Bryan wasn't showing too much or giving away what he was thinking about the whole situation.
Before Bryan could reply my father made another comment.
"It doesn't make sense, you are only going to put Luara and my family in danger over a war that you do not need to create."
My father was right and deep down, Bryan knew this, but his mind was always chasing for the best and his father had always taught him to fight deadly and without mercy and take as much as you can with the biggest amount of causalities.
I looked at my mate and gave him a small smile as I knew he wasn't impressed with what my father had told him.
"Bryan – you should think about what my dad is saying. This war is not needed, I know why you want to, but it is not worth the consequences."
He nodded, acknowledging what I had said but the rest of the meal was in silence. The only sounds were our cutlery smacking our plates while we ate.
Once done, Maxwell came over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek to say goodnight before going to the home that Bryan had built for him in our territory.
My father headed out; he told me he thought it would be best if he stayed in a hotel tonight so that Bryan couldn't attempt to kill him in his sleep.
I chuckled at his comment and wished him a good night. We made plans to see each other tomorrow. It was late and I was beginning to find myself yawning, Bryan carried me up the stairs and into our room.
Placing me gently on our bed, he crawled into the bed with me, wrapping his hand around my waist. My mind went on high alert when he brushed my stomach, but he mustn't have noticed the slight bump growing as neither of us ushered a word as we both fell into a deep sleep.
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