When we woke up the next day, it was almost noon. We cuddled in bed for a little while as I rested my head on Adam's chest, and he nuzzled against my hair. It felt great to be wrapped in his arms, but slowly we were both getting really hungry, so there was no other way but to get up. We took a shower in the bathroom adjacent to his room, put on some jeans and T-shirts, and headed downstairs.
I had brought a bag with some clothes, a toothbrush, and skincare products a few weeks ago when I first stayed over. I only brought it home once in a while to change the clothes for the fresh ones. I was glad our parents didn't mind either of us staying over anymore. It seemed that ever since our fathers' meeting, everyone was fine with us being together. It seemed that even my dad was less hostile to Adam now, and no one was happier to see that than me.
When we came downstairs, his mom was already preparing everything for a family lunch. Adam had told me that on weekends the maid had days off, so they all shared the chores around the house.
"Come on, lovebirds, give me a hand. You came just on time," Brigitte called to us as soon as she spotted us. "Today, we will eat outside on the terrace. Come, help me bring the plates and cutlery."
We came towards the kitchen where she was standing, taking out the plates from the cupboard. She had already finished cooking, and it smelled delicious. We greeted her and started taking out the cutlery, glasses, and drinks. As soon as she left the kitchen, Adam stepped behind me, pretending to be reaching up and taking something from the compartment over my head. In the process, he was squishing me with his body against the kitchen counter. It tried to push him back, but he was too heavy.
"Hey, watch it," I said with a fake offended voice while trying to push him off with my elbows. "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you," he said, pulling slightly away to give me more space to breathe, now tickling me. I wriggled while trying to push his hands away. "You are so bad," I said, giggling.
Suddenly his mom came back to the kitchen to get more things. "Awww, you two remind me so much of Christian and me when we were younger," she said, giving us that dreamy look of hers again. "Ok, ok, mom, we will bring these out. Just no more stories, please!" Adam said before she could continue.
She scowled at him and said: "You will see, once you will have pups of your own, and they will refuse to listen to your stories. I would like to see what you will say then." "Good, that's why we won't tell them any!" he said quickly and walked out with those plates. He was too cute, and I just had to chuckle. Brigitte laughed too and shook her head.
During lunch, Brigitte was chatting with us happily, and Alpha Christian was as serious as always. I tried to ask him about the current pack affairs, but his answers were always short and straight to the point. I asked him about our alliances as well. He said we have only one so far, and they were working on making more.
We were all surprised when he said he might have to visit some of the neutral packs this week and that he wanted to bring Adam. They would be gone only for two days, and they would visit two other packs. One of them was called Yellow Tails, and the other Wolf's Bane. I always thought the second one had an unfortunate name. They probably meant it as a threat to other packs, but in the end, they werewolves too, so weren't they their own bane as well? Whoever named their pack obviously hasn't thought things through.
Other than names, I didn't know much about either of the two packs. They were both about an eight-hour drive from Knight's Blood territory.
On that note, Alpha Christian told Adam he wants to discuss some pack things with him in the afternoon. I didn't want to hang around waiting for him, so I said I wanted to go home and that I would like to attend to some pack matters as well.
Even though that wasn't completely true. I still had about two years before I took the title, so my dad tended to almost all pack matters. He tried to teach me about trackers and how to make new routes or fight strategies sometimes, but I wanted to be more involved especially seeing Adam working hard. He was going to take over at the end of the school year, and his father already started handing down some tasks. Now I wanted to ask my dad to do the same.After lunch, we all helped to clear the table. Even Alpha Christian helped, even if that meant that he only brought salt and pepper back to the kitchen.
After that, Adam took me home. He thanked me again for the surprise party last night and said he would call me later. I was sad to see him go, but I did my best to get myself together.
I dumped my dirty clothes into the washing machine, then I made my way downstairs to find my dad. He was at his study looking at his laptop, working even on Sundays. I started feeling the burden of being Alpha. Apparently, there was no free day for the leader. If something was going on with the pack, it just couldn't wait.
My dad lifted his head and looked at me with a serious expression. Probably he had a lot of things on his mind.
"Hey Julie, how did it go last night? Did you kids have a good time?" "Yeah, dad, thanks. It was fun, everybody had a great time. I think pack members from school are really bonding now," I said, trying to get to talk about more serious matters, not wanting to explain the details about the party.
"Alright, good to hear that. That's faster than I had expected. Other members of the pack are slowly embracing the idea of our new alliance with Knight's Blood, but our affairs with other packs are still unsure, and they can feel it. That is one reason why we are trying to find new alliances. There is no stability without them, and every wolf in every pack can feel that" he explained.
It was overwhelming to know that the mate bond between Adam and me was affecting all packs. But in my defense, it wasn't something I sought; it rather happened to me. I had my best intention to reject him in the beginning, but I changed my mind later. I just couldn't go through at that time, and it seemed almost impossible to do it now. Maybe it was my fault after all because I was weak.
"I'm sorry, dad, this is all because of me and Adam," I said, feeling emotional all of a sudden. "It's ok, honey, these things happen sometimes. We can't control who our mates are. Besides, alliances change sometimes anyway. The good thing is that Dragon Claw and Knight's Blood will be a pretty strong force together, and no one can take that lightly. With your bond, the alliance between the two packs is unbreakable."
I was really glad that my dad didn't blame me for the situation. I was only hoping that no one else did either. I knew I had to appear a strong and worthy leader for my pack to accept me. I promised myself I would try even harder from now on.
"So, dad, how are the alliances now? How are the negotiations going?" I tried to shift from self-pity to matters at hand. "Well, I'm still trying to convince my former allies to join us. I think two of them are interested. We talk daily, and they have a lot of questions. They might join us soon."
I was happy to hear there was some progress, at least. "What about Gregory?" I suddenly remembered the message I received from him last night. "I invited him to come here, same as my other former allies, but he refused. Maybe it's for the best if he can't get over you. I don't want another incident, especially after what happened with Henry."
Only his name made me cringe, but I tried not to think about that now. It was all very strange with Gregory. Why wouldn't he come to my father's invitation, but he wanted to talk to me? But his messenger was right. What harm would it be to talk over the phone? He couldn't hurt me if we don't meet. I was too curious to let it go, so I decided to call him tonight.
I talked to my dad about some other pack things and told him I wanted to take over at least some tasks, no matter how small they are. My dad smiled at me and told me we will talk about that after the alliances were settled. He was obviously very content that I was interested in our pack and that I was willing to learn.
After dinner, I headed upstairs, and after I made sure I was alone and my parents wouldn't hear me, I took out the small piece of paper from my bag with the phone number. There was no name written on it, I guess for security reasons. If anyone other than me saw the paper, they wouldn't have known whose number it was. If Adam saw it, he would have assumed it was from the guy who gave it to me.
I dialed the number, and it rang a few times before I heard Gregory's deep voice: "Yes?" I was quiet for a few moments, thinking of what exactly I should say before I answered: "It's me; I got your message." He should know what it's about. His voice was firm and without any softness when he said: "Julianna, I'm glad that you called. I need to talk to you about your pack's alliance."
I felt I had to be cautious here. "Yes, what about it?" "My pack, we were always your pack's allies. We would like to continue to stay in that position," he said with the same unaffected voice.
"That is good to hear, but I would like to know what do you want in return. I overheard your conversation with my dad a few weeks ago. I have to tell you right now that I am not interested in marriage or anything you told my father. You know I have found my mate, and there is no way I would leave him," I told him firmly, just getting straight to the point. I wanted that we are clear on this before he said anything else.
He paused and answered: "I am aware of that, and I retract my requests made to your father." Despite my surprise at his words, I was still suspicious of him. "Then what is your reason to join us? You refused my father's request to come here."
"I was busy with something urgent at that time he invited me. My reason to join your alliance is that I don't like the other one," he explained.
Now he was making me feel worried. "What other one? Is there another alliance going on?" "That is why I wanted to talk to you. We must meet, and I can tell you everything in person," he said in a composed but demanding tone.
Now I was starting to feel panicky. What he was saying was very unnerving, but if there was another alliance going on, we just had to know about it. But there was no way in the world I was going to meet him alone, especially after what happened with Alpha Henry last time.
"Gregory, thank you for telling me this. I must talk to someone first, but I will call you again soon," I tried to stay in control of the conversation. "All right, but don't take too long because things might be getting serious very fast." "I won't. Thank you. Bye." "Bye," he said and cut off the line.
I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I was wondering if I should trust Gregory after all. But if he wasn't sincere, why would he be telling me of the other alliance? It was all very confusing, but I decided I wanted to talk to Adam about it first. It did involve his pack, too, after all, and I didn't want to keep any secrets from him.
Later on, Adam called and said he was working with his father all afternoon and until late. He told me he had to go with his father to visit other unaligned packs the next day. He would be back on Tuesday evening, so I wouldn't be able to see him until then.
I was a bit sad about that, but he had to do that, I suppose. It was good for both our packs, and he would be back in two days, so I didn't try to argue with him about that. I just wished I could tell him about my previous conversation with Gregory sooner. I can't tell him over the phone, so it will have to wait two days then, I guess. We said goodbyes and promised each other we would talk the next evening again.
*I imagine Gregory as a metal fan, lol. So this one is for him: BLACK SABATH - Paranoid