“Stop grumbling like that, you big meathead.” The voice of my beloved graced my ears, finally detaching my eyes from the spot at which the Alpha disappeared and instead shifting them down to the smaller man in front of me, the Beta who held my entire heart.

A teasing smirk graced his plump lips as I gazed down upon him, his pale skin seeming to hold an ethereal glow in the light that cascaded down from the large hallway window. Meanwhile, a perfect, black coil drifted down into the space between his bright green eyes. 

No matter how many times I did, each time I saw him felt like the first as I perpetually fell deeper into the spell of all that he is, delightfully hyper-fixated on every little detail. 

For example, I could easily find myself completely enraptured for hours over the way his adorable nose crinkled in four different spots when he was angry, or the delicate but proud curves of his kneecaps, or the way his sneezes were somehow akin to the sound of a cat’s meow, or the way he -

“Uhh, earth to Corey! Helloooo!” I blinked as Jax’s hand waved in front of my eyes, the action snapping me out of the infinite trance that I surely would have lost myself in if not for his intervention. 

I cleared my throat in an effort to regain my bearings, reaching out to take Jax’s wrist between my fingers. I fought the gnawing compulsion to pull him straight into my chest and never let the smaller man go, but I realized the action to be slightly unprofessional given all of the higher-ups currently filing into the conference room beside us. 

Instead, I settled for tugging his hand to my lips, instilling a soft kiss to the thinner skin of his inner wrist. 

“Oh thank fuck, I thought that my sarcasm sent you into shock or some shit. I swear I’m working on it, I’m just kind of an asshole at heart and it's hard to unlearn stuff and-”

I silenced him with the tip of my index finger, pressed delicately against his plump, pink lips.

Lips that I wanted to… to do so many things to.

“There is no need to change any part of who you are for me, Jax.” I murmured, my own lips still brushing against the sensitive inner part of his wrist. “I am fully aware that you mean no ill intent.”

His pale skin tone immediately gave way to a light pink color that quickly permeated his high cheekbones, his eyes glistening and lids wavering as if there was something that he desperately wanted to say sitting directly behind them. However, instead of speaking, he released a pent-up breath, gently pulling his wrist away from my hold and brushing past me to the door of the conference room.

Just before he could slip inside, the beauty shot me a somewhat shaky smirk that I could sense was slightly forced, slapped on top of his true emotions like a band aid. “Well come on, they aren’t going to wait all day for you to stop staring at me like you want to eat me, you cannibal.” 

I followed obediently behind him, eyes immediately darting around the large, rectangular table that filled up the center of the space. 

At the far right end of the conference table sat Osias, tall and proud as he mumbled back and forth with my little brother and Luna, Berlin, who sat just to his right. Next to Berlin, Jax was currently sliding into his designated seat, slumping his body into the leather the moment it made contact. Filling the rest of the right side of the table were about six more of our pack higher-ups, including Osias’ assistant Sam, our Head Patrollers, and a few others. 

At the center of the other side of the table sat the feral alpha, flanked by two muscular wolves who were obviously a part of their pack judging by their similar state of dress and the sharp-looking tattoos that painted a large portion of their dark skin. They sat, arms crossed against their bare chests, lips set in a straight line as their kohl-lined eyes discreetly but continuously scanned the group.

I could tell my own kind from miles away. These men were warriors. 

I quickly took my assigned seat and set my tactical bag next to me, all senses unwaveringly observant as I settled in. My position, which was directly across from our guests and closest to the only exit door, was intentional, as I could easily get across the table to intervene just in case any of our guests decided to handle business in a… less than favorable manner. 

My head snapped to the left and the already fairly quiet room completely silenced as Osias cleared his throat. Our Alpha sat straight up in his high-backed chair, setting his clasped hands on the tabletop in front of him as he prepared to speak. 

“I will skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point, as I am well aware of the fact that we are both exceedingly busy men.” Osias deadpanned, his expression steely and incredibly impassive as he held the icy gaze of the feral Alpha. “Alpha Sephtis, We are gathered here today to discuss the matter of your pack members crossing over our territory lines. It has occurred multiple times over the past few weeks, and has continued despite multiple warnings. We demand an explanation in lieu of degrading our packs’… relations.”

An uncomfortably tense silence descended into the room as the feral Alpha did nothing but stare at Osias for a long moment. 

It continued that way until one of his warriors proceeded to shift his weight, bone necklaces clacking as he leaned over to whisper something into his Alpha’s ear. I shifted sensory focus to my hearing, attempting to key in on the hushed conversation, however the language that they utilized to communicate amongst themselves was indecipherable, not akin to any that I’d previously studied. The warrior then returned to his previous, watchful position as Alpha Sephtis began to speak.

“We acknowledge the territorial claims of none other than the Cave Sands Pack.” The Alpha spoke of his pack in third person, sardonic words weighed down by the thickness of his accent. “Your… statements carry no weight to us. Whatever fertile land the Moon God/dess provides will be used as hunting ground for my wolves.” He finished matter-of-factly. My jaw tensed as I picked up on the threat hidden in his words as well as the thinly veiled shift in body language of his warriors, whose eyes ceased their continuous scanning to now focus exclusively on our Alpha. I quietly shifted my shin back and to the right so that I could easily access the spare knife and handgun that were tucked discreetly into my heavy boots.

‘Corey, be on high alert’ Osias’ voice boomed in the forefront of my mind, his link sent with a distinct urgency. 

‘Already one step ahead, Alpha.’ I responded immediately. 

Although I could sense his flaring anger through the link, Oasis showed no outward change in emotion, a useful skill he’d steadily gotten better at over the past few months of leadership. There was another long pause before Osias spoke again, his lips forcing themselves up at the corners into the semblance of a smile despite his intense frustration that rippled through the mind link. 

“My pack is my utmost priority, which I am sure that you can empathize with as a fellow Alpha. Therefore, I am sure that you can also understand my… dissatisfaction with constantly sending my patrollers and warriors into high-alert every other day due to your constant breaches” Osias breathed, leaning forward in his chair. “... After all, I would just hate for one of those breaches to have to turn into something that would benefit neither of us.”

Sephtis’ eyes narrowed into slits, my fingers tingling as I forced them still in my lap. 

“Is that your attempt at some sort of threat?” He spat back, his upper lip curling into a snark as he barked a humorless laugh in Osias’ direction. My fingers slipped down to brush the top of my boot as Sephtis’ crossed arms tightened and the tips of his fingers dug slightly deeper into his biceps.

Osias’ head tilted the slightest bit as he leaned forward even further in his chair, his strong triceps bunching against the fabric of his short sleeves and blue eyes darkening with intent. 

“Take my words as you will, Sephtis. Just heed that this pack will not tolerate another breach with the same courtesy as I am extending to you now.” 

The room boomed with the guffaws of the feral Alpha as his eyes turned wild, their hazel depths swirling with a crimson tinge as he also leaned forward in his chair, his body language intentionally mimicking that of our Alpha. He muttered something in his native language, a series of harsh clips and guttural tones before he continued his verbal assault in English.

“You think that you scare me, mongrel?!” His hazel-crimson eyes shifted to drink in the rest of the group, a disgusted sneer contorting his face into quite the menacing sight and accent thickening through the filter of his fury. “Your pack is nothing to me.” He literally spat this time, right onto the floor to the side of his chair as to emphasize himself and add insult to injury.

“Listen, asshole. Osias is being really fuckin’ nice to you, so I advise you watch yourself before -” Jax’s beautiful voice made my palm involuntarily wrap firmly around the hilt of my silver blade, my gaze flickering around the scene, within which tension was steadily rising to a boiling pitch. 

However, before he could finish his statement he was interrupted by none other than our guest. 

“Oh, shut up you stupid Omega. Alphas are speaking.” Sephtis hacked in his direction, sending Osias directly to his feet.

“You will respect our Beta while on our territory.” Osias grumbled, his eyes swirling with a metallic hue as his wolf York began to rise to the surface. Berlin’s eyes were wide and terrified at this point, delicate fingers finding his mate’s wrist and stroking against the scent glands there in a feeble attempt to calm him down.

“That is your Beta?!” Sephtis roared with laughter once again, although the wildly sinister look seemed to still be almost tattooed on his face, not unlike the ink on his skin. “That boy looks none other than the likes of any other cockslut in my pack.”

My hackles immediately rose and nerves vibrated at the insult hurled toward my mate, barely containing the craving to launch myself across the table and crush the skull of this man with my bare palm.

“You know, I have just thought of the perfect solution!” Sephtis moistened the corner of his lip with the tip of his tongue as he leaned forward even more, his now almost completely crimson eyes flickering back and forth between Osias and my mate. 

“Let me have this poor excuse for a Beta, and you will never have to worry about one of my own on your territory again, how about that?” Sephtis’s heavily calloused hands splayed out wide on the top of the table and quickly began to move toward his target, his excitement about his ‘solution’ glaringly evident. “...After all, winter is quickly approaching and I could always use another another bitch to warm my coc - AHHH!”

Everything moved very fast in the moment that I began to see red. 

Before I, or anyone else could even blink, I was crouched on top of the table, chest heaving and canines fully bared down at the scum who sat beneath us. I was very aware of the fact that his warriors had swiftly moved into place as well, spears with blades of bone pointing directly at my heart, but I did not care. 

The rich baritone of my growl filled every inch of the room, sinking it into complete and utter silence as the Alpha stared incredulously down at his hand. 

His hand that my silver blade now grotesquely protruded through the top of, and into the dark mahogany of the table, a long crack now apparent down the length of it from the sheer force of impact. 

My free left hand steadily gripped the stock of my Glock 19, the muzzle of which pointed directly at the temple of this poor excuse of an Alpha. 

“You will do well to remember that our pack triples yours in size, and it is now evident that our intelligence follows suit.” Dashiell pushed into the front of my consciousness, prompting my right hand to twist the blade even further into Sephtis’ flesh. 

I ignored his howls of pain as I continued, keeping my voice low and pacing incredibly calm in order to ensure that he heard and understood every. single. word.

“...Because if you ever even so much as breathe in the direction of my mate again, I will find the greatest pleasure in making you disappear.”

Please see the next episode for an important announcement!