Chapter 15

Asher's pov

I arrived at the meeting place, looking around the surroundings before focusing on the building in front of me.

It was a large building akin to a museum. No extra space could be found in it except a large room and at the center of the large space sat a long table.

12 chairs lined the table, representing the space for 12 alphas. This was also where the monthly meeting took place and it just so happened that this was where I would be battling Damien for Amelia.

I walked towards the building, about to enter when a vehicle arrived. One look at the vehicle and I already knew who was in it, I had seen the vehicle countless times after all. It was Damien.

He came down firm the vehicle, his gaze meeting mine in an instant. He was tall, muscular and domineering, just as I remembered.

It's been almost a month now since we last met; the only time we met was during the monthly pack meeting and I must say he looked just like usual.

Except for his eyes, they were still silver and cold, expressing no emotions whatsoever but for some reason, it felt different today. I narrowed my gaze.

He usually had a fury buried beneath his eyes, mixed with a hint of madness, but today, he was just cold and indifferent. It made him even more handsome, but it filled my heart with bad foreboding.

I remembered my conversation with Uriel, I remembered what he had said regarding Damien's change. I had not taken it to heart previously but seeing it, I knew it was even more strange and severe than I had thought.

I felt my heart sink. I was surprised that I felt sadness towards the situation. I had thought I could never have any other emotion towards him except anger and hate but I guess no matter how crazy he became, he was still my friend at heart. Now though, he was someone else.

He walked towards me, his aura suffocating; he really was more powerful now, I felt like he might be a bit more powerful than me. I looked him in the eyes as he stopped before me.

“Where is she?” He asked with disdain in his eyes. It irked me. We've always seen ourselves as rivals, but now, he was just looking down on me. His newfound power must have been really profound for him to treat me as such.

I kept my calm, staring him down as I replied,

“Not even a greeting? You must be pretty angry then, seeing as you'd disregard our friendship for the sake of a mere ‘property’. She must really mean a lot to you.” I chuckled, my eyes scanning him for a reaction.

“She's just a property, nothing more nothing less. If I let anyone take my stuff as they please then people will make it a habit, won't they?” he replied, his gaze still stoic, his expression unreadable.

“You of all people should know that I don't like others touching my stuff.” He walked past me, his expression placid even as he walked through the door and into the meeting hall.

I gritted my teeth, holding in my anger as I walked in behind him. I would have the last laugh.

We were greeted by the large room, all the other alphas already present and waiting. They were all standing, waiting for the two leading alphas, me and Damien.

Damien walked to his seat, sitting down at the first end of the long table, at the top.

The other alpha's furrowed their brow, anger flashing in their eyes but they knew better than to utter a single word. Damien was after all the cruel alpha.

They didn't know about his change so they didn't know he was less crazy now. Or maybe he was even more crazy, but he was just bottling all that craziness inside, waiting for the day it would explode.

The reason they were standing, waiting for us was due to their obligations to do so and not out of respect. On the outside, we were equals, but within these walls, we weren't.

It was common courtesy for me and Damien to offer our greeting even if we were of higher positions so I could understand their anger at the blatant disregard and no show of respect.

My gaze flashed, and I realized I could use this to my advantage. I already had an advantage over the opinion of the other alpha's due to Damien's bad personality and his tyrannous methods but with this, I could solidify my win over this meeting and possibly future ones.

“Greetings,” I said as I walked to my seat, directly opposite Damien at the other end of the table.

We all sat down and the meeting began.

“Alpha Asher has a property of mine in his possession, I want it back,” Damien stated straightforwardly.

I kept quiet. I knew I had to plan my words carefully and strategically to ensure I won this case so I asked directly,

“How much did you buy her, I'm willing to pay double.”

Matthew, a fellow alpha with brown eyes and black hair spoke up,

“That is not how things work Asher, you of all people should know. Return his stuff.”

I looked at him, my gaze cold. I examined him, from his slim build to his brown teeth to his ugly face. He was like a vulture and a vulture he was.

I have never liked Matthew, he was a bootlicking alpha and he had backstabbed his previous pack. He had always feared Damien and he would do anything to please him. He knew better than to get on my bad side but I guess he feared Damien more. Who wouldn't?

“I am not willing to return her, not now, not ever,” I stated firmly so as to let the other alphas know my stance.

Some alpha eyes changed when they realized the ‘property’ in mention was a human being and a female for that matter. Some of them averted their gaze, unwilling to be the one between us in the matter.

After all, everyone at this table knew about Isabella but I could also see the repulsion and disgust in their eyes. They were probably angry at the fact that someone would refer to another person as their property. Not even they referred to their slaves that way.

Seeing that they were unwilling to get into the conversation, I knew I had to do something. This situation would only affect me and Damien, and except it posed trouble to them, they wouldn't interfere. Luckily, I came with a made-up mind and it just so happened that my drastic actions would affect them all also.

I narrowed my eyes, deciding to throw all caution to the air. If they didn't want to interfere because it wasn't their problem, then I would make it their problem.

“I'm willing to pay triple the amount you paid to buy her so state the price. If not, then I guess we'll have to settle this the old way. War.” I declared.

The other's eyes widened, shock and anger flashing through their eyes as they lashed out.

“What do you mean war?! Are you trying to jeopardize the years of peace that had been going on?! What about the treaty!” Jocelin, a female alpha with blond hair and red eyes said. She was an old friend of mine.

“Do you understand the gravity of your words Asher? Are you trying to cause bloodshed?! Are you willing to let innocent people die all for a girl?!” another alpha imputed, his name was Murasaki and he was probably as old as Uriel.

“This is unlike you Asher. You are becoming someone you aren't. Calm down and think this through.” Jaxon said, his gaze gentle. He was a good friend of mine and someone I would trust with my life.

But there was nothing to think through, I had made up my mind and I truly would go to war for Amelia. I loved her that much.

I stared Damien down, surprised to see a flash of shock in his eyes. So he was still capable of emotion? I wondered.

I stared the other alphas down, holding back my words and letting the tension hang in the air. I had to make them feel the gravity of the situation, to make them know how much I was willing to go for Amelia.

Then I looked back at Damien.

“Name your price.”

Damien goes quiet for a while, turning later, his brows raising as if to question the other about their thoughts on this.

A few averted their gaze, showing they had nothing to say and were in support of me, while some others voiced their opinions.

“Damien, maybe you should take the money, she's just a property to you after all,” Jocelin said, her voice gentle. Although she was an old friend of mine, that meant she was an old friend of Damien also.

“I agree. Although you are not on good terms with Asher, you know him well the most. You should know that he must really like her if he's willing to go this far.” Jaxon also said.

“Hmm, so you all are saying I should allow him to take her?”

Damien asked, eyeing all of us. Then he sits up, his elbows on the table as his back bends a little, his eyes intent, his next words shocking everyone, me the most.

“Then I guess when next one if you have your mate stolen from you, you'll just accept money as compensation?”

“You don't mean….?” Jocelin’s eyes widened in shock.

“Yes. Amelia, the lady in question is my mate.”

Damien said, a cold smile on his face.