Dimitri was looking forward to a peaceful meal and a good time with his family. Apparently, it was too much to wish for, he thought as his dad called his name from the other side of the table. Taking a sip of the blood-mixed wine, he raised his head to acknowledge his father.

"We have been invited by Alpha Nickola. He is hosting a get-together so that all the leaders can be properly introduced. Your mother refused to go for the obvious reasons."

A multitude of emotions surfaced inside Dimitri after hearing the word we roll off his father's tongue, but it became a different story altogether when he processed the word "Alpha." The five-lettered word started an uproar among his previously surfaced emotions. Each one was fighting to see who would win and reach the top. They began mixing and swirling, forming a spiral that had his head spin crazily. Outrage, disbelief, a little bit of deception, sorrow, ache, and a few more hit him hard. It ended in a tie. A tie between apprehension and anticipation. He was fine with apprehension, whereas the feeling of anticipation was making his insides churn. Alas, he accepted his fate, well aware of his father's persisting nature.

"If you have already decided, alright." It took him all his willpower to keep his voice neutral and conceal the anger he was feeling. "When?"

"In an hour."

Giving his dad a withering look, Dima continued with his food.

Post breakfast, he put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and ran to his room like hounds of hell were chasing him. Releasing a shaky sigh, he grabbed a random outfit to wear out of the closet. Luckily, it matched and suited him just fine.

By the time Dima joined him downstairs, his dad was dressed and ready to go.

While they were in the car, Lance updated him on the case to keep him in the loop. The last one made his stomach sink. Even hearing about the incident without details made him squeamish. "Where are we going, by the way? Which pack will it be first?" He asked his Dad despite being on edge with the werewolf situation, wanting to change the subject desperately.

"Not a pack this time. Instead of having the meeting in one of the packs, the meeting is arranged in a neutral territory. This was decided by their local council as they feel queasy and threatened when they are in someone else's territory and vice-versa."

The feeling of being cornered was gripping Dima, suffocating him. Initially, he guessed they were meeting all of them separately on their own pack grounds, and that way he could avoid going to Patricia's pack, but it seemed that an encounter with her was inevitable. To distract himself, he glanced out of the window. In the passing, he saw an entry gate to his right.

Welcome to Imperial Shadows Pack.

The car turned to the gate. Dima was left confused. "Dad, what's going on? You said we are not going to a pack but we are doing exactly that. Are you playing with me?" He accused, his hands turning into fists.

"Shut up, Dima! To go to the neutral territory we have to pass through the grounds of this pack. If we take the other way where we do not have to pass through any packs, it will take us an hour extra. The local werewolf council was the one to map out our ways for us and made the necessary arrangements."

Dimitri's head hung low and his voice came out in a whisper when he spoke. "I am sorry, Dad." Lance patted his thigh twice, making Dimitri sigh in relief.

At the entry gate, their car was stopped and once his dad mentioned his name to the guards on duty, they were told to keep moving. Dima was bewildered. He expected to be searched strictly for the safety measures by this pack and yet there was nothing like that.

Now, why would we not be attacked?

Confusion must have been visible on his face because Lance began to give him an explanation. "Imperial Shadows is a strong pack. You must have heard about their story. They built themselves to be confident about bringing their enemies down. The real reason for not being treated as convicts is their Alpha. He is a friendly one. Never causes unnecessary fights or animosity."

To some extent, he understood what his dad was trying to say. On the other hand, his dad's voice appeared dull to him. It was almost robotic like he learned the sentences and that raised suspicion in his head. But this was his dad, so he let it go. "Isn't it stupid though? You shouldn't take your enemy as someone less than you."

"He doesn't underestimate his adversaries. He just follows the motto - Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

The rest of the drive was spent in meaningless conversation. Lance parked the car after locating an empty spot near the end for easy exit later. There were a few vehicles parked already and Dima could see people scattered around the area. Jumping out of the car, he sauntered towards the crowd following Lance.

Greetings were exchanged as they went to a group that looked like a 'vampires-only' group. Yet, they were not here to have conversations with vampires whom they could meet anytime; showing their presence among other species was equally significant. Therefore, Lance walked over to a group of werewolves and Dima slipped away sneakily and moved towards a tree partially hidden because of other trees.

Standing with his back resting against the tree, he relaxed. His thoughts started wandering off. For someone who had despised werewolves with a passion forever, his dad seemed pretty...friendly. How could he bear smiling at those vile creatures?

The same kind who tried to kill him once, Dima recollected with gritted teeth. If he were in his dad's place, he would have left them to fend for themselves while praying for their death.

Clearing of a throat, might Dima add fucking loudly, brought him out of the murder spree taking place in his imagination. The disruptive noise had come from a platform that he had failed to notice until then. It looked like a temporary stage setup.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am Nickola Benjamin, Alpha of the Goldfang pack. I welcome all of you to this get-together. All of you are aware of the purpose of this gathering. We are looking forward to a harmonious pact between all of us to find the solution to the problem at hand. Sometimes one eye misses something whereas the other catches it, keeping that in mind you all can inspect the areas for any clues in any of our packs..."

Blah blah blah, Dima rolled his eyes at his childish behavior. Deciding to drop it, he droned the voice of the speaker until the end of his speech where he introduced other Alphas.

One voice among them stood out. It was a voice Dima had become well acquainted with in the past month. It was a voice he had heard many perverted jokes in. It was a voice that did not sound goofy at all right then. Opposite to everything he had always connected the voice with, it sounded authoritative, deep, rich and fearless. The command that his voice and his words hold are mesmerizing. It was a beauty to see everyone present - even the vampires - hang on to every word of the owner of that voice.

At that instance, Chris was the sole holder of Dima's attention.

Informing about the few things that his pack knows about the attacker, Chris backed off. There were five Alphas in number, he gave way to the next one.

Dima tooted under his breath as the next Alpha took over the stage. Oh, I know this bitch. The bitch, as so eloquently put by Dima, was the leader of Patricia's pack. He was the asshole who wanted to bring the vampires out and annihilate them. His eyes automatically went to the treacherous woman herself: Patricia.

Losing himself in coming up with schemes to exterminate her, he lost track of Chris' whereabouts somewhere among the crowd as the leaders of different supernatural species had come down the platform. It also slipped his notice that more people had joined mid-meeting. The ground was packed.

The vampire's traitorous eyes were scanning the throng of people for Chris. Fruitless in his voyage, he turned his eyes only to catch Patricia's. The she-wolf had the nerve to smile provocatively and wink at him, leaving Dima with no other alternative; he raised aloft his middle finger at her. The derogatory gesture was worth it as Patricia's face turned aghast at the sight and her eyes became as wide as saucers. Still unsatisfied, Dima continued glaring at her.

"Want my help in finishing her off?" someone piped in from beside Dima, causing him to jump and place a hand on his chest, right above his heart.

"Fuck, Chris!"