Chapter 21 - Amelia

I was so nervous about the ranked wolf meeting. Especially because Gildo and Alissa are part of that. Not that I have anything personally against either of them. 

They are much older than me, so I never had any issues with them. But they know my family and are aware of how I’ve been treated in the past.

I feel like a fraud or something sitting here in this. I’m not sure how to describe Alpha André’s office other than over-the-top space. I don’t belong here.

Why am I here? I should have stayed in Bloodmoon and started fresh with a new pack.

‘You belong here. More than anyone in this room, you belong here.’ Stephen encouraged me through our link, squeezing my hand.

‘You are the only rank blood Madonie wolf in this room. Never forget that, Amelia.’ I smiled before the meeting began.

I nodded, taking a calming breath. Stephen’s right. I am the only Madonie ranked wolf in this room. André and Alexander may be of rank bloodlines, but those bloodlines are tied to Incubi. 

“Why don’t we get to business?” Darren called us to order. “We all still have to get ready.” He reminded us.

I’m not even sure what I’m wearing tonight, so perhaps getting through this meeting quickly would be best. I don’t think I have anything appropriate to wear for a Gamma oath ceremony.

“Okay. So obviously, we all know each other now. And we all know what will be expected during our oaths. Agreeing to protect the pack and pledging to serve as my, insert rank here, yadda yadda.” André shrugged.

Well, that’s one way to gloss over a rank oath ceremony. But I’m guessing I shouldn’t be surprised and be prepared for more similar conversations with André.

“The seven of us taking our oaths isn’t really what we’re worried about. There is still probably quite a bit of bad blood within Madonie.” Darren started to explain.

“You mean people that hold a grudge against Incubi because of the war.” Gildo nodded.

“Basically. But not just those with a grudge against Incubi. While I’m sure, most people were against the war in the first place, some may have supported Ignazio.” Alexander picked up.

I tried to contain my urge to snarl. The mention of Ignazio and anyone that would have supported that asshole made my blood boil. Stephen squeezed my hand, trying to calm me through the bond.

‘Are you going to be okay?’ Stephen questioned.

‘Yes. I just…. It makes me angry that anyone would have supported that bastard.’ I sighed, letting his touch calm me.

“What does our Gamma say?” Darren questioned.

‘Just repeat what I tell you.’ I instructed. 

Stephen nodded since he’s used to this. I can’t wait for the oaths to be completed and connected to the pack again and not rely on Stephen to talk for me. 

“Amelia says anyone that supported Ignazio massacring the ranked wolves, her parents included, and starting a multipack war at the behest of a wrinkled old hag is no Madonie pack member.” Stephen used my words precisely as I said them through our link. He even added the attitude and conveyed my anger. 

“Amen, little sister. Preach it, girl.” André grinned, holding a hand up in support.

I cocked my head, trying to not laugh. He will be a fascinating person to work for and with.

“Which is where the two of you come in.” Darren nodded to us.

Gildo and Alissa, of course, looked confused. They don’t know what our gifts are. I’m not sure how Darren and André plan to use them though

“How are Amelia and Stephen going to help with that? I mean this with no disrespect. But anyone who supported Ignazio would not like Amelia. And anyone who didn’t also may hold a grudge due to her brother.” Gildo questioned.

“Understable questions. And allow me to answer them.” André grinned as he stood up. 

I raised an eyebrow, not sure what was about to happen as André sashayed to stand in front of the fireplace, becoming the focus of the sitting area.

“Gildo! I don’t think you quite realize who we’ve got here. So why don’t you just ruminate whilst I illuminate the possibilities.” André grinned, spreading his arms dramatically.

I furrowed my brow because that was just weird. I mean weird even for André. It’s like he’s waiting for a reaction, and we aren’t giving him the one he expected.

André sighed, not getting the reaction he desired. “Their gifts will make all the difference.” he began to explain.

“Amelia’s gift allows her to detect when someone is using or under the influence of magic. That’s how she knew about Melania before others. It’s also how she was able to identify those under her spell after the final battle so they could be freed from it.” André was beaming as he gestured to me.

I am not big on being the center of attention. So I smiled slightly, feeling my cheeks turning pink at being called out. 

“Do you think there may still be those under Melania’s influence?” Gildo questioned.

“It’s always a possibility. We cannot be sure without Amelia’s help. And as my Papa says, it’s better to be safe than sorry.” André shrugged.

“And lastly, another key player in this is Stephen. Because that sweet boy can smell malice. Literally, he can sniff out anyone with ill intentions.” André now pointed to Stephen.

My poor mate looked as embarrassed as I was at being called out. I held his hand, trying to give him some comfort. 

“Well, it’s not… I mean, yes. But it has to be intense. It can’t just be some mild annoyance or dislike.” Stephen meekly spoke up.

“And that’s what we need to know about. The people who are just mildly discontent we can handle. We can change those minds. They aren’t the ones that would pose an immediate threat to us and the pack.” Darren explained.

I’m willing to do whatever it takes for the safety of my pack. No one should be forced to obey someone else’s will. If Melania wasn’t already dead, I’d want to rip her throat out myself.

“What will you have us do, Alpha?” Stephen questioned as I nodded in agreement.

“Excellent.” André grinned mischievously, tapping his fingers together in a villainous manner.  

“Please don’t do that. It’s weird and makes you seem villainous. Mister Burns was the bad guy, not someone to emulate.” Darren rolled his eyes as he lowered André’s hands.

“Spoilsport.” André stuck his tongue out.

“Anyways, your jobs will be simple. As the ceremony continues, people will have to individually pledge to me. I want the two to identify if any are under a magical influence and otherwise are dangerous to us.” André explained.

Stephen looked to me for confirmation, and I nodded. “We can do that, Alpha.”

“Good. I’m going to have my brothers and father moving through the crowd undetected. When you see someone that fits the criteria, you link me, and I’ll tell my family to detain them. We want to handle it quietly and quickly.” Darren explained.

I have witnessed the Delaney gift. He used it to sneak up on me and the others when we wandered aimlessly in Incubi territory trying to find the hospital. 

The irony is that he and André are the ones that put us in the hospital. So I wasn’t surprised when he disappeared.

“Where… where did Aleph Darren go?” Alissa gasped.

André was snickering while Stephen was amused, given he was trying to hide a smile.

“I’m right here, Alissa.” Darren startled the Delta couple as he reappeared behind them, leaning between the chairs they were sitting in. 

“Fuck… the hell was that?” Gildo questioned, obviously surprised by Darren’s gift.

“That, my dear Deltas, is the power of a Delaney. My darling mate and his brothers and father can all do that. They can cloak themselves from all forms of detection. Only their mates or close family can track their movements.” André beamed with pride.

“So, as you can see, it will be easy enough for my family to move through the crowd without being noticed to detain anyone necessary.” Darren smiled, walking back to stand with André.

“And to be clear, when we say detain, no one will be hurt. Especially if the person is under the influence of some magic Melania may have left.” He added.

“Anyone under the influence of magic will be held until we can have the magic reversed. The ones that Stephen identifies will be questioned and have to make their own hard choice of if they can be loyal to the pack and André or if they’d rather take their chances as a rogue.” Alexander shrugged.

“Does anyone have questions or concerns about the plan? Because we need to all start getting ready for the ceremony.” André questioned, looking everyone in the eyes.

“None, Alpha.” Was the general consensus as we all nodded, getting to our feet. 

If I wasn’t nervous about taking the Gamma oath, I added more pressure because Faith and I needed to be on high alert, watching the crowd for anyone under the influence of magic.

‘It’ll be okay. We can do this. And there may not be many, if any, out there. I’m more worried for Stephen and Conway. They have to filter through different levels of malice in a crowd.’ Faith frowned. 

I nodded, glancing at Stephen before leaning my head on his shoulder as the driver took us home. ‘He’ll be okay. They’ll be okay because they will have us to support them.’ I promised.

Stephen smiled, kissing my head as we reached the house. His family quickly poured out the front doors to greet us. 

“How was your first meeting?” Signore Walterson questioned.

“Are you ready for tonight? Is there anything you need help with? I made sure Stephen’s suit was pressed and ready for him in your room.” Signora Walterson questioned. 

I shook my head a little. ‘I think we are okay. I just need to figure out what I can wear. It’ll be fine.’ I assured her through the link.

My eyes lifted when I heard Ivan clear his throat and his large shadow fall over us. I cocked my head as he smiled, and then I noticed he was holding a garment bag. 

‘Ivan?’ I questioned.

Still smiling slightly, he slowly opened the bag, and I gasped. Inside was an A-line tee length, which means just above my knee, white tulle and lace sleeveless v-neck dress with its embroidered floral pattern at the bust trickling down like vines. 

“Amelia?” Stephen questioned, not sure if my reaction was good or bad.

“Oh, that is a lovely dress, Ivan. How sweet of you to have selected one for her.” Signora Walterson gushed.

‘It’s…it’s my mamma’s dress. She wore it when she took her Gamma oath after mating to Papa.’ I explained, sniffling as I hurried up the steps and hugged my brother. 

“She’d have wanted you to wear it. Go get ready, sorellina.” Ivan smiled, handing me the garment bag. 

Even as tall as I am, I had to pull him down to kiss his cheek. ‘Grazie, fratello maggiore.’ I smiled before I happily hurried up to my room. I had so much to do to get ready now that I had a dress to wear. 

With the help of Signora Walterson and under the apparent supervision of Suzie, I did my make-up and hair. We used one of my mamma’s diamond and pearl hair combs that accented the french twist updo Signora Walterson put my hair into. And Suzie found my mamma’s diamond and pearl white gold earrings and necklace set.

“You look beautiful, Amelia. Stephen is going to fall over himself.” Suzie giggled as I tapped her nose with a make-up brush as I finished doing a very light amount of make for her. 

I wasn’t sure Stephen’s reaction would be over the top. But as we came downstairs, I couldn’t help but blush at the way Stephen was looking at me. 

‘Wow. You look… I mean, you always look beautiful. This… you look gorgeous.’ Stephen stammered out his compliment in our link. 

‘You look very handsome too.’ I commented, nodding to his gray three-piece suit and blue striped tie. I blushed brighter, chewing my bottom lip. 

“Well, if you two are done making eyes at each other, the cars are waiting.” Signore Walterson taunted, wrapping his arm around his mate’s waist.

“Yes, we don’t want to be late for our own oath ceremony.” Stephen nodded, offering me his arm. I smiled, taking his arm letting him escort me out to the car.

We weren’t the last ones to arrive, at least. We said our goodbyes to Stephen’s family and Ivan before heading to the stage to join the rest of the ranked wolves.

As we lined up, I felt a knot forming in my stomach. ‘I’m right here with you.’ Stephen assured me, placing his hand on my lower back as we walked out onto the stage.

I nodded. We would step into this new role and begin this journey together. I’m glad I have Stephen with me.