CHAPTER THREE: THE ALPHA MEET

Kayla's POV

Though the exterior was extravagant, the letter itself just had a few simple lines written in neat cursive script.

You are invited to the Alpha Meet.

Date: 6th June 2019

Venue: The Lunar Castle

Time: 11 am

I stared down into the letter for a moment with confusion until I remembered what the Alpha Meet was.

Once in every ten years, the Alphas of all the ten packs in the continent of North America met together. The meeting would be held in a safe place that was warded to prevent any attacks and assassination attempts. Having ten Alphas under one roof was a recipe for danger. Too much power in one place... 

Though I had heard of it, I didn't know much about what exactly it entailed. The last time it was held, I was just thirteen-year-old and since Martin was the one who was supposed to be the Alpha; I didn’t pay any attention then.

I looked at the date once more and frowned when I realised that there were only three days left. 

I needed to know what exactly I was supposed to expect. I didn’t exactly want to attend a meeting full of Alpha men who would all act like I was inferior to them just because I was a woman. But even I knew that the Alpha Meet was not something I could skip because I didn't have the mood.

I looked at the venue once more and frowned, The Lunar Castle. The name seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place exactly what I had heard of it.

I sighed and decided that I had to call Uncle Xavier.

Uncle Xavier was not actually my uncle by blood. He was my father's best friend. He was the Alpha of Skylar pack, our neighbouring pack until his son Jared took over as Alpha a few years ago. Uncle Xavier was the one who helped me out when I took charge as the Alpha after the rogue attack seven years ago.

I was just a confused mess who knew nothing about being an Alpha. Since Martin was the one groomed to be the Alpha, I never knew much about the pack politics. I just had my stubborn desire to make everything alright for my pack to push me.

Uncle Xavier was the one who introduced all the concepts of treaties, alliances and dominance to me. He taught me how to fight and even bought me time until I had to face challengers for my position.

They thought it would be easy to kill off a sixteen-year-old girl who never trained to be the Alpha before the tragic demise of her family. But in just a month of training under Uncle Xavier, I had become even better than warriors with years of training.

After the one month Uncle Xavier had bargained for me, I had fifty challengers lined up to face me.

My first challenger was a warrior from my pack named Raymond, who was always against my father’s policies. He never agreed with the pack beliefs and was never loyal to the Alpha family.

During our fight, he changed to his wolf form when he realised that I had no intention to change. But still, I managed to restrain him successfully. When I defeated him, some thought it was just a stroke of luck.

He had the option to either be sent to prison or die. He chose the option to die believing that I was too green to kill someone. He thought that my hesitance to kill him would prove that I was too weak to be an Alpha. But I didn’t even blink before snapping his neck.

After that first fight, the number of challengers reduced to just ten. All strong warriors at least double my size. I had to face them all in a single day, and they hoped that I would get tired by the second or third fight and admit defeat.

But I was too fuelled by my determination to surrender to anyone. When I defeated them one by one, no one else chose the option to die.

The news that a sixteen-year-old girl managed to defeat ten challengers in a row in one day spread everywhere like a forest fire.  Slowly, I succeeded in creating a name of my own in this world dominated by men, and today, people think twice before messing with me.

I owed all this to Uncle Xavier and for this reason; he was the only person who still saw the lost little girl in me instead of the fierce Alpha. I was closer to him than my actual uncle Stephen, my father's brother; my only blood relative left in this world...

I snapped out of my thoughts and picked up the phone and called him. The phone rang twice before he picked it up. 

"Alpha Xavier here!" he said.

“It’s me,” I said without bothering with any niceties. I was like him in that aspect. Neither of us cared about such trivial things. 

“Kayla? What happened?” he asked with concern in his voice. Even though we cared for each other and he was the only father figure I had, we never made calls until there was some matter to discuss.

“I got the invite for the Alpha Meet.”

I heard a sigh from the other end before he spoke.

“You don’t know much about it, right? We had lots of other things to deal with and it left my mind.” 

“Is it mandatory to attend it?” I asked, even though I already knew it was.

“There is no avoiding the Alpha Meet, Kayla. You should already know it.”

I heaved a sigh before answering.

“What exactly happens there?”

“The most important events in the werewolf world will be discussed; pack politics, treaties, alliances and all. These are the official matters.Unofficially, there would be gossiping and more than that, pissing contests between Alphas who think they are the best…” 

Great! Just what I wanted... not!

“Where is the Lunar Castle? I have heard of it but don’t remember what.” I said.

“Centuries ago, the werewolf number in the continent was not that high and there were no separate packs. All the werewolves were ruled by an Alpha King whose castle was called the Lunar Castle," he said and paused.

I waited silently for him to continue.

"After the packs were formed, the castle was left off as neutral territory and now, it is where all the Alpha Meets and activities like that take place. I would say, it is the safest place in all the continent with hundreds of wards placed there," he explained.

I now remembered hearing about the story of the Alpha King...

"So, am I supposed to go alone?" I asked.

"That is your wish. You are allowed to bring an entourage of up to three with you. I would suggest that you take Ethan and two of your best guards. It is always better to be prepared."

"I will."

“And Kayla,” he said with mirth in his tone. My warning bells went off at his tone. I knew that I was not going to like whatever he was going to say next.

“What?” I asked warily.

“After the meeting, there would be a dance in the ballroom followed by dinner. The Alphas are supposed to mingle and relax during that time. And whether you are an Alpha or a warrior, you have to follow the formal dress code. Tuxedo for men and ball gowns for women… Good luck wearing a gown, Kayla. I would have loved to see that!” he said.

Before I could muster up a reply, he had cut the call. The nerve!

I couldn’t remember when was the last time I had worn a dress or did any make up. Even before I took charge as the Alpha, I had never been into such things.

The thought of wearing a dress made me feel nauseous. But I couldn’t see a way out of it. 

I could already tell that this Alpha meet was going to be trouble for me… But as I thought of the Alpha meet, mixed with the apprehension, there was something like excitement too…

The strange feeling that something was waiting for me washed over me again. What exactly was going to happen in this Alpha Meet? Guess I would know in three days' time…