CHAPTER 201

CHAPTER 201
\[Lexi\]

When Axle returned from his meeting, I was already asleep. I vaguely remembered him climbing into bed and pecking me on the forehead sometime at night.

I wasn't able to inform him about Isla's letter, and it weighed heavily on my conscience throughout the whole night.

I woke up early, but when I got up, Axle wasn't by my side, he had gotten up, and I found out that there were going to be guests at the mansion for lunch.

The maids got me ready for my day, and I went downstairs to have dinner. Everyone was already there except Mina and the baby, she was always the last to come down these days, but nobody bothered her because we all knew that the baby usually kept her up at night.

When at last she came down with the baby, the maids came out and began to serve breakfast.

"You came up late last night," I spoke in my head, looking at Axle.

"I'm sorry, it was a long meeting, longer than I'd anticipated," he replied.

"Good results, I hope." I smiled when the smell of waffles hit my nostrils.

"Yes." He nodded and looked away from me.

"So we have a huge announcement." He cleared his throat and started after the maids left the table.

"Oh my God, am I going to be a grandmother again?" My mother's eyes twinkled as she asked.

"No, Mom!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide.

"No," Axle repeated formally and then looked at Elric.

"Yesterday, we went to have a meeting with one of our new allies," Elric started.

"And they're coming for lunch today, they want to meet the family and the pack," Axle said.

"Well, that's great." I was always excited at the prospect of meeting new people and organizing events, so I was really glad.

"Financial ally or what?" Lex asked.

"Yes, we'll be allies in all forms," Axle answered. "I'll need you to draw up a contract with our lawyers, but I'll give you the details later."

"What kind of allies are these?" Mina asked, and Axle's face brightened with excitement immediately.

"You will not believe it if I tell you." He smiled.

"Well, that certainly got me excited." My mom adjusted in her seat. "Don't tell me it's humans."

"No." Elric looked disgusted by the idea, I had forgotten how much wolves were disgusted by humans.

"They're panthers," Axle said, and the whole table was thrown into confusion.

"Say what now?"

"What?"

"They are what?"

"Yes, I know that you don't know much about night creatures, but wolves are not the only shifters in the world," Axle said.

"Long ago, there used to be a lot of shifters like foxes, jaguars, panthers, lycans, and even lions, but a war broke out, and many of these creatures were destroyed. Until yesterday, we thought the panthers were extinct as well," Elric explained.

"You're saying these people can shift into panthers?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, they can change into huge black panthers," Axle said, and I laughed loudly.

"You don't say."

"Wow, that's really exciting," Lex said, and my mother looked too surprised to talk.

"Black Panthers, are you sure we can trust them?" Mina looked defensive.

"They need us as well as we need them, so I guess we can trust them for the most part," Elric replied.

"They also have an Alpha," Axle said excitedly.

"Yeah, it must be great to meet another one like you," I said.

"Um, he's nothing like me, I'm a true Alpha, and I'm a bigger beast than he is," Axle replied gloating.

"I can't believe you're jealous." Elric shook his head, and I laughed. "She's yours, nobody is taking her away from you."

"That's right, she's mine."

"Okay, Neanderthal, what are the things we have to prepare?" I asked.

"Nothing much, I already informed the kitchen staff to prepare as much meat as they can and some other side dishes," Elric said.

"You and Mina can oversee them and also the table. I think we should have lunch outdoors, like under the garden trees or something, but if you have other ideas, they're welcome." Axle added.

"Okay, we'll take care of it."

"Lex, Elric, and I will take care of the official part of business, the rest of you can engage them in conversation and find out any information we may need."

"Great, something I can do. I'm great at playing hostess." My mother said, and I laughed.

"Not too much though, I don't want them to feel too comfortable with you," Elric said, and everyone started laughing.

"Who's the jealous one now?" Axle teased.

We hurried up with our breakfast, and the guys left us alone to plan the lunch party.

Mina put the baby in a stroller, and the four of us went outside to check out the condition of the garden. The garden was great as always because the servants were really good at keeping it clean and tidy.

After checking it out, we decided that the outside was good enough for us to set up the lunch party, but my mother didn't think it was formal enough, so we decided to use the terrace.

The terrace was beautiful and well decorated, so we all readily agreed. My mother supervised the terrace arrangements since it was her idea while Mina, the baby, and I went to supervise the work being done in the kitchen.

.

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\[Axle\]

"I didn't want to speak in front of the women, but are you sure taking on shifter allies is the best thing for us?" Lex asked as soon as the door of my office closed.

"Yes, we've thought about it. If the cult decides to attack us or if we decide to attack them, we'll need all the help we can find," I answered, trying to sound certain.

"The Panthers may be cunning and sly, but they need our help right now, and they are one of the strongest shifters in history, we have no choice but to trust them," Elric added.

"Fine, we can always put clauses and loopholes in the contract that will favor us no matter what," Lex said.

"Great, that's what we need. As long as we make sure to stay ahead of them, we should be fine," I said.