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3. Peace Treaty Ambassador or Hostage?

Cindy

The meeting room remained cool due to the air conditioning that was kept on 24/7. Makes sense since werewolves tended to get a little hot.

What I could see from my view from the floor were five pairs of feet. I didn't need to look up to know they were staring at me like they just met a weirdo.

I might as well get up and face them directly.

So that's what I did.

I stood up and dusted myself off like I had nothing to worry about.

"Cindy, what are you doing here at this hour?" Alpha Colt stayed in his seat while he stared me down with those steel grey eyes of his. Before I could say a thing, Beta William grabbed me for the shoulders. "So sorry about this lady and gentlemen." He pulled me to the door. "She'll be gone and you may continue the meeting."

"Sorry, Alpha. My bad," I muttered with a frown.

"Wait!" Alpha Colt jumped out of his chair and stomped across the floor until he was right in front of me. William released my shoulders, allowing the Alpha to place his own hands where his used to be. "Chairman Roger Brice, this is who I choose!"

He positioned me so that I was on full display for the other four people at the round table. Two of the people there were staring right past me and at Colt with disdain in their eyes. I'd never seen them before.

The woman looked to be my age, maybe a little older. Her outfit reminded me of teen movies where the female main lead tries to go undercover. Her companion stuck to her like glue.

A man with salt and pepper hair was the only one who seemed to acknowledge my presence. "And who is she? She doesn't smell like a werewolf." He said.

I knew him. I've seen him before on pack ground. Didn't recognise his bodyguard, though.

"She's one of my assistants. No. Currently my only assistant other than my beta. She works for me part-time while attending school."

What was he talking about?

"She also handles the communication aspect of our members as well." Colt patted me. "We would be lost without her. She's smart, capable, and most of all, she's human."

The man who was called Chairman Brice took in my appearance with judgemental eyes. Even the two strange weres were staring.

I stayed as still as a rock. I had no clue what Alpha's plan was, but if those people sitting next to the chairman were from the Highland pack, then they were the ones responsible for what happened to Larry. As long as what he had in mind compromised them in some way, I was willing to play along.

On my face was the fakest smile I could muster. "Alpha Colt is only being nice. Pleasure to meet you, Chairman Brice."

He nodded with a kind expression. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Cindy. Are you sure about this Alpha Colt?"

"Positive. She will be perfect for what we have in mind."

Roger Brice flicked his wrist. "If you say so. Now that that's settled, who will your side send as per the agreement?"

The boy was the one to release a growl.

"No one! Who knows what these people would do to one of our fellow wolves?"

Before Chairman Brice could argue, Alpha Colt stepped in front of me, leaving me with a view of his wide back to keep me company. "There's no need. Besides, Cindy's special condition makes things easier. Isn't that right, Jessica and Bryant?"

No reply, just unpleasant staring.

"I guess that's it then," Chairman Brice said. He nodded to his bodyguard and stood up from his seat. Jessica and Bryant got up as well, clearly ready to bolt out of here. "But she needs to leave by tomorrow morning. I'll inform Alpha Reiss and have him prepare for her arrival. Goodnight, Colt, Cindy."

We said our goodbyes. I ran to the window at the back of the office. As soon as they entered into a black sedan inside the parking lot and drove off, I spun to face my Alpha with fire in my eyes.

"Leave to go where, exactly?" It took everything to hold my anger down. Shouting at the pack leader never did anyone any good. "It can't be what I'm thinking of, can it?"

Alpha Colt drew in a deep breath. I placed my hands on my hips, waiting for his answer. "Alpha, where am I going?"


"He's sending you to the Highland pack?!"

When I got home, I had the rest of the night to go over what happened. This morning, I informed my parents. Well, my dad since he was the one who woke up first. Mom only found out when she found me packing my suitcase.

I shrugged, trying to avoid looking her in the eye. "Yes, something about creating a peace treaty. I'm supposed to go as some sort of ambassador-"

"A hostage, you mean." Mom rolled her eyes and paced from one side of the room to the other, her work pumps making little clicks as she did so. "I can't believe he would do this to my daughter. What is wrong with him?!"

I shrugged, packing my devices and immediate necessities into my backpack. "Alpha had a reason at least."

"What if they hurt me, or keep me locked up in some dungeon?" My arms covered my head. No way, no way could I survive there! That pack is ancient, as old as the pyramids in Egypt. Which meant that they thought that werewolves from other packs were below them. And that humans had no place in the supernatural world.

To them, we were worth only a little more than store-bought meat.

"They won't and they can't." Alpha Colt dragged a chair until it was closer to mine. He removed my hands and held them. I wasn't sure if he tried to make eye contact because my mind was somewhere else entirely, but I did recognize the tone of his voice. It was the same tone he used when trying to reassure a new shifter that they had nothing to fear before their first shift. "You're human, Cindy. It's illegal to harm a human or keep them as slaves. If someone harmed you under his roof, their leader would run the risk of having the pack taken away from him, and the one responsible would be punished. At the least, they would face twenty years in prison."

"And at most?" I finally looked at him. He smiled.

"They would be sentenced to death."

My hands stopped moving as I took a moment to collect myself. I turned to Mom. "Where is Dad?"

"He went to try and convince the Alpha to send someone else," Mom said.

"He doesn't need to, it's fine." I placed my bag on the floor and opened my underwear drawer. "Besides, Chairman Roger Brice told him that he would be sending someone every two weeks to check in on me."

"Every two weeks..." She sat on the end of the bed as if the full weight of the world had crashed on her shoulders. "I can't believe you'll be gone for so long that the council will be doing bi-weekly visits. What about school? Your friends? Glen?"

Glen's name made me freeze. All morning I'd done my best to not think about not being able to see his sweet face. I bit my lip. Then again, this wouldn't be the first time we've been apart. All those summers where either of us was away at camp or on family trips. This wouldn't be any different, right?

I smiled, more for Mom's sake than mine. "Mom, don't worry, OK? We're already working out the school part of it. Besides, I won't be gone forever."

My fingers brushed against something. When I looked at what it was, a giggle passed my lips.

A purple box of condoms stared back at me. Not that I needed them where I was going. It's not like I'm going to meet my mate in the most pompous pack in the world.


Claudia hugged me like her life depended on it. "Can we come visit you while you're there?"

I shook my head, inhaling as much of her scent as I could. "Not for a while. But soon, Claudia. Soon."

After we separated, I hugged my parents one at a time.

"Be careful, my eldest daughter," Dad muttered. "Don't do anything stupid. Make good decisions, and stay away from their Alpha."

I pulled back and wiped a tear from underneath my father's eye. "I'm smarter than that."

The person that Chairman Brice sent to escort me placed the last of my luggage into the trunk. He shut the lid, dusting his hands on his sleek black suit before talking. "All set. It's about time we leave."

I gave my family one last hug. While my back was turned, the man's phone rang. He took a few steps away until he was sure he was out of earshot.

He placed the phone to his ear. "Yes, Sir."

"Is everything going as it should, Benjamin?"

"Without incident, Sir. Don't worry, I would never let anything disrupt your plan."

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