The meeting

Nina prepared herself to hear Ezra say or do something pervert-like, but to her surprise, he said;

"Dress up. We will be meeting the elders soon."

Nina then remembered him talking with his mother, concerning how he didn't invite the elders of his pack. That was unheard of, and she wondered why. She decided to ask.

"Alpha, why didn't you invite the elders of your pack to our wedding?" When he delayed answering her, she left him and walked to the closet, looking for something to change into. She sighed. She didn't feel like meeting any elder that morning.

"They didn't approve of you." She then heard Ezra's voice, and it made her pause for a moment. If they didn't approve, why did he go further? Not like he knew her, or that her pack had much to offer. Even though her pack was doing fine, this was a far bigger and much more prosperous pack.

Why did you go ahead with the marriage then?" She decided to ask. "Why did you even marry me? It's not like you have met me before or something."

"I was pressured." He answered her.

"Then why me? Why not marry someone else? Perhaps someone you know, and are comfortable with?" She asked again, genuinely curious, as she sort out her dress. She was holding a black gown. It reached her knees, and it looked tight. Ezra's eyes examined the gown for a moment, before he focused on the question she asked.

"I just decided to get married. I let it known to different packs, and some Alphas and Betas offered to give me their daughters. Your father was included. I just picked at random, and it happened to be you." He then turned to her, his gaze curious.

Her mouth formed an 'O'. She had no idea why he married her, but she didn't guess this at all. She was just a random pick?

"Now that you know why I agreed to marry you, why did you agree to marry me? I first thought that it was because of the rejection from your mate, but I am beginning to think differently." He narrowed his gaze at her, his eyes gleaming with some sort of curiosity.

"I was forced to. You know, duties before desires." She smiled faintly, but it did not quite reach her eyes.

"You are not that close to your parents, are you?" His gaze lingered on her face, studying her carefully.

"Is it that obvious?" She chuckled, but she didn't look amused the least.

"It is very obvious, Nina. You are married to someone you do not know, in a pack you have never been to. You have no friends here. You are not used to our ways. Yet it's been more than a day, and they haven't called you."

She looked away from him. "You got that right, Alpha. I am not particularly close to my parents, and that is me putting it lightly."

"How will you put it 'not lightly' then?"

"I hate them." She admitted, and he could hear the depths of those three words from her voice. Her hatred seemed to stem so deep, he feared it had consumed her. "They are not my parents, they have never been, they were just a biological means for me to come into this world." She smiled again, and he thought that her smile was a bit scary.

He watched her quietly, as she began to rub her hands together nervously. He could tell that she was not used to opening up to people. Did she trust him?

"I will go change now." She walked to the closet again. It was a walk in closet with a lot of space and shelves. She could surely hide somewhere so he would not see her dress. She knew she was just deceiving herself. If he wanted to see her naked, he would just come there, and there was nothing she could do.

But luckily for her, he didn't come. When she was done, she stepped out, only for her to meet him standing in the center of the room with his arms folded across his chest, and his gaze fixed on her. He seemed to be tracing her shape with his eyes. She couldn't deny that he was a very sexy man, but she wished to perhaps knock him into another reality.

"I'm done now, Alpha."

"Your panties." He stated.

Nina frowned in confusion. "Huh?"

"Give it to me."

She seemed taken aback by the sudden demand. "Uhm, Alpha, we are going to see the elders."

He corners of his lips curled into a smirk. "I know."

Hesitantly, she reached her hands under her dress to take the material off. This man must be crazy. She let it fall down her legs, before slowly stepping out of it. She then bent to pick it up.

"Here you go, Alpha." She squeezed it, and placed it in his pocket. She noticed the change in his gaze from the moment her hand traveled under her gown. Perhaps this could be a game of two. "What is your favorite colour?"

Ezra sucked in a slow breath, controlling himself. He wanted to see what was underneath her dress, but they needed to see the elders. Axel mind linked him that they had arrived.

"We should go." He stated, his eyes staring at her suggested something different from what he was saying. Something not too innocent.

Ezra stretched out his hand to her, and she shook her head. "There is no need for that."

"It wasn't a request Nina."

She then took his hand while glaring at him. But he ignored her and walked her to the elders instead. There were in the meeting room in the last floor. There were couches there placed in a way that they formed a semi circle. Then there was another at the front. He took Nina and went to seat there. In the side of the couches of the elders close to them, sat his mother.

"Good morning, elders of this pack. I was informed that you wanted to see me and meet my wife."

They offered a respectful bow to him. "Alpha, I believe you have a prior knowledge to the reason we are here today." Elder Paul began, and Ezra nodded. "We are very displeased with your recent actions. We asked you to get married, and you did without bothering about our opinions. Then you failed to inform us about the wedding. We got the message from your mother, Elder Michelle here. We then sent some elders to represent our pack, but you failed to acknowledge them. What do you have to say about this Alpha?"

Ezra smiled. "First of all, my wife and I would like to thank you all for coming this morning. It is a blessing having you here in this pack house."

Nina looked over at him, not sure if he was genuine or sarcastic. Perhaps he just had a sweet tongue.

"You suggested that I picked a wife, and I did. I know that most of you had your preferred candidates for me, but I know what is best for me."

"What about the pack. Do you care what is best for it?"

"Of course I do. That is the reason I went out of my way to get married. I didn't intend to. You would have wanted me to marry the daughter of Alpha Pascal from the spring snow pack, but the other elders would disagree. Everyone of you have different bride candidates for me, with your own reasons. You all also have reasons to disagree against the other's pick. I saved you all trouble." He gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulder.

Elder Paul then turned to Nina. "I am sorry if I might come off as offensive, Luna."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I prefer that you speak your mind."

"Do you have any idea that your father is in a lot of debts? You know he expects this pack to help him pay it off right?"

Nina seemed to tense at the mention of her father's debts. She knew about it. That was the major reason he traded her off anyway.

"Alpha Ezra is not obligated to pay my father's debts, neither is the pack."

"We are connected to your pack by marriage. It is normal to expect that we help each other in times of need and difficulty."

Elder Michelle stood up. "I don't think it is very nice to bombard the new Luna with questions. I expected that some introductions would be done, and you would ask about her and her pack, but instead we get this. I don't appreciate this behaviour Elder Paul."

"I'd rather we dealt with this matter early on than to sugarcoat things." He stated defiantly.

"But your dealing would not change what had happened. They are already married. She is our Luna now, and you must learn to treat her that way." Michelle argued fiercely.

Nina was more than surprised. Since she was a child, she had not had anyone defend her like that. Instead, she was always blamed or scolded. Was that what it felt like to have loving parents? Ezra was a very lucky man.

"She is not our Luna yet, Elder Michelle. They haven't performed the Luna ceremony. I wonder if they are mated yet."

Ezra then stood up. "Elder Paul, I would like to remind you that I have been the Alpha for five years now. This pack has prospered tremendously under my reign. No single member of this pack is left uncared for. We are stronger than ever. We are at the very top. Every pack wants to form an alliance with us. And I was able to achieve all these without getting married to any Alpha's daughter. I don't think I would have problems now." Elder Paul was about to speak again, but Ezra held his hand up for the man to be quiet. "I would let you all know when a date for the Luna ceremony is decided. The meeting is dismissed. You may all go to your homes, unless you want to stay in the house for food and drinks. Your choice." He then took Nina's hand and walked away.

They went out of the house to the garage where he packed his cars. They were seven of them, and they were all luxurious cars. She wondered if they all belonged to him, or perhaps some belonged to the Beta and gamma. Maybe even his mother and Claire.

He walked to the BMW he used to take her home after their wedding, and he got inside. "Get in."

"Where are we going?"

"To the wolf's club."

Nina sighed, before she walked into the passenger's seat of the car.