Chapter 20: Shock and Awe

**Raegan**

I tapped my foot against the floor anxiously as I rolled my pen in between my fingers.

Cris gripped my knee abruptly, and I jerked away from him.

"Chill out," he grumbled, still visibly tired. "your anxiety has anxiety. It's frustrating."

I rolled my eyes, and took a drink of my coffee.

He groaned and shook his head.

"Raegan, did you make sure that we have all information on our current fishing input and output?" Shawn asked me from my other side. I nodded, and scrolled on my laptop to pull up the charts I'd put together for this meeting.

I tilted my laptop towards her so she could see, and then I showed her the one I'd made for our wheat fields, "I've got everything we have surpluss of figured out, and everything we need more of too." I leaned towards her and started to whisper, "between you and me, we bring more to the table today than most of these packs," I looked around to the other Alphas at the table, "way too many of these wolves will only offer unmated she-wolves to each other to settle disputes instead of actually useful shit," I muttered and pulled up another chart on my laptop, "just in case, I also have our stats on our unmated wolves generally, and our housing spaces so that we aren't left from that conversation."

"Good," she nodded, and inspected my work for a second. "Shit, we have that many unmated wolves?" She whispered to me.

I nodded, "yep."

"Damn," she frowned, "maybe these wolves have the right idea offering--"

"I can assure you," I raised an eyebrow, "they don't."

She folded her arms over her chest and sighed.

"They only offer their unmated she-wolves at that," I shook my head in distaste, "they don't even consider that unmated he-wolves are an option."

"That's because they don't see unmated he-wolves as disposable," she shook her head too.

I glanced over at the other female Pack Alphas that were seated. They were all speaking with their Betas and Seconds too. I inhaled sharply. There weren't many she-wolves who'd become Pack Alphas, but it was getting more accepted and more she-wolves were feeling confident enough to challenge for the title. Under the New King's rule we'd also gotten it required that all she-wolves be given the oppurtunity to train and become pack guards and warriors. It was leaps and bounds ahead of what the Old King wanted.

"You're like, really good at your job, huh?" Marie whispered to me from behind me.

I jumped a little, then let out a breath and nodded. "Yeah, I work my ass off. I love being a Second," I looked at her over my shoulder, "it makes me feel accomplished. Like I'm doing something that really matters."

"What all do you do as a Second?" She asked.

"Well, I help run the paper side of everything in the pack. Finances, resources, transfer paperwork, tiles, deeds, and all that sort of stuff. But I also handle specialized training for our wolves."

"Impressive," she grinned at me.

I chuckled, "not really, it's not--"

"Don't discount your work," Marie shook her head, "it's impressive."

I smiled a little at her, and she nodded her head in acknowledgment before I turned back around to my laptop again.

The double doors that led into the conference room opened, and two guards walked in. I immediately recognized them as the King's personal guards, and together everyone seated at the table rose to their feet as he walked in behind them dressed in a fine two piece suit, his eyes focused on the cuffs rather than on the room.

He walked around the table to the head, where his empty seat waited for him. He stood behind it, then pulled it out and sat down, pursing his lips.

We watched him carefully as a collective.

He nodded his head, "you may sit."

We quickly followed the order. It was amazing how he could command a room with such little effort. It made me feel a little proud of him. He drummed his fingers against the table as the last few chairs filled again. His eyes flicked up to me, and he smiled. It was such a fleeting smile I almost missed it, and when I glanced around the table I noticed I wasn't the only one who caught it.

Alpha Zander was glaring at me intently, a young woman at his side with her eyes trained on her lap. I frowned. That must have been his daughter. The one he was so willing to hand over to the King in exchange for power.

It made me sick to my stomach, and I wanted nothing more than to hug the young woman and steal her away from her father.

"Let's begin," the King said loudly. He looked to the Alpha seated at his right, and thus began the long succession of Alpha's reciting the information that they'd brought to the table. They offered what they had surpluss of, explained what they needed, and then the next Alpha would speak. Most of them had a surpluss of unmated wolves, but offered nothing else they might have had a surpluss of.

When it got to Stone Moon, Shawn told them we could increase trade on fish and wheat, and could use more wolves to protect our boarder and maintain our land. She smiled softly as she spoke of our pack. I gripped her hand under the table, and a murmur sounded from across the table.

I jerked my head up, looking for the source of the sound, but I couldn't pinpoint it.

The King sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, "have something to share with the conference?" He raised his eyebrows and looked at every face around the table carefully.

"Stone Moon wouldn't need more wolves to protect their boarder if they just gave Alpha Kai what is rightfully his," the voice that mumbles spoke a little louder.

My eyes went wide, and before I could react more than that, Marie was across the room, gripping the wolf who spoke by his collar and pinning him against the wall.

"Marie!" I shot up from my seat.

"You will watch the way you speak of the former Princess," she growled at him.

The Alpha floundered around for a minute.

"Marie!" I snapped, and slammed my hands down on the table. My other guards were slowly moving towards me, preparing to usher me from the room. "Let him go, *now.*" I snarled at her, furrowing my brows at her as she growled still at the wolf.

She huffed in his face, then let him go and rounded the table to stand behind me once more.

"Your Majesty, if I may?" Alpha Zander rose from his seat, looking between the Alpha on the ground and the King who looked about ready to blow.

The King glared at Zander, but motioned his hand for him to continue speaking.

"Alpha Gray has a point. I'm not sure Alpha Shawn should be allowed to request *more* wolves when the issue regarding her pack safety is all down to one little she-wolf. If she handed the she-wolf over, the problem with the former Prince would disapear from her backyard."

The King growled, "Second Raegan will not be handed over to the former Prince. Nor will Alpha Shawn's request for aid be tossed aside or disregarded," he looked up at Alpha Zander through his lashes, and glared, "I suggest you heed the warning I gave you last night and refrain from speaking of Second Raegan any longer."

Alpha Zander's jaw clenched. "With due respect, she is bringing--"

"No." The King said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

The room was silent as the altercation passed between the two males, and Zander's daughter shifted in her seat, tugging her father's sleave gently to try and urge him to sit. He didn't listen to her silent command.

"The Kingdom will tear itself apart and she will do nothing but watch it crumble at her feet," Alpha Zander pointed at me.

"Alpha Zander, you have spoken out of turn," Alpha Grace sighed from where she sat. "I believe I speak for everyone present when I say that I would like for this first day of meeting with one another to continue smoothly, and your clear obsession with Second Raegan is preventing that. So please, save yourself the embarassment, and sit the hell down."

Some wolves nodded and hummed their agreements. Others shot me glares that made it clear which side of the fence they stood on. I growled lowly as I sat back down.

"May I ask a question?" Alpha Zander's daughter asked softly.

All eyes turned to her, and for a moment I wondered what she was even doing here. She couldn't have been more than eighteen. She was too young for a meeting like this.

"You may," The King said gruffly, his eyes raking over me before settling on his hands folded on top of the table.

"Why does she have so many guards on her person?" She asked looking at me briefly, but not making eye contact.