Chapter 46: Chapter 46: The Distinctive Meeting

Alaric Stone's POV:

In the shimmer of the dim light, I happened to notice a glass paperweight set near the lamp on the desk, distinctly positioned in the center of the room. It was heavy and clear, the kind of thing that looks like decoration until you realize it's positioned in such a manner, so the person sitting there behind the desk can watch the door's reflection without having to turn their head.

It was deliberate. I knew that each and every thing that was placed in this room was deliberate. Nothing was done on a whim. Everything was done with a pristine purpose. It was at that present point in time that I just so happened to hear footsteps in the hallway. The footsteps were measured, unhurried in a way. They were not set heavy nor were they presented light.

It was the pace of a man who knows you are ready, sitting in the chairs on the backside of his desk. In chairs that were set much shorter than you really wanted them to be. So I knew he had no reason to rush to our distinctive meeting.

Soon, the doors opened. I didn't bother to turn around. There was no need. However, Beta Finn did turn slightly, glancing over at me as I narrowed my eyes, still solely focused on the desk in front of me.

As Corvin entered the room, he didn't quite feel the doorway. He did move through the entrance the way smoke would. In a manner, it almost seemed as if he was already in the room before you fully registered that he had arrived. He had a tall and narrow build, gray hair slightly at the temples. It was in a way that looked earned rather than aged.

The suit he wore was dark and pressed but not all too flashy. He was a man who didn't need to impress the people who had come to see him, all because they were already sitting in his chairs, knowing precisely who he was and what he did for a living.

As he came closer, he carried a folder. It was seemingly thin. I had thought it would've been a little thicker. No matter what was in it, I'm sure it wasn't much, but even then, he didn't treat it like it was any less important.

When he reached the corner of his desk, his eyes found me first. He held my gaze for a brief moment before looking over at Beta Finn. He didn't hold his gaze nearly as long before he looked back at me. He didn't nod, nor did he smile. He had that quiet assessment about him, the way a business perspective would size someone up before the meeting commenced.

As I continued to look at Corvin, I noticed that his eyes narrowed slightly. Did he change his assessment somehow? It almost seemed as if now he was looking at me as if someone would size up furniture they might not want in their house. No matter, I was here. The meeting was going to commence whether he liked it or not. He had what I needed, and without him, my plan would fall apart.

He slowly crossed behind his desk before he pulled his high-back chair out of the way and took a seat. The way he moved about... it was done in such a manner as if he were doing so in front of a full paying audience. Every movement was done so with pure intention.

It wasn't until he sat in the high-back chair that the height difference was immediately noticed. It also wasn't until that exact moment that it seemed as if the desk sat higher, and his chair sat even higher behind it. He was now looking down at the both of us, with us staring back up at him. Then I knew this was exactly where the room wanted us to be. Lowly seated.

He didn't even bother breaking eye contact when he placed the folder flat down in front of him and rested his hands on top of it. His motions were still and unwavering. To anyone else, it would've certainly gotten underneath their skin. He ensured to send a cold chill in anyone's direction as he was certainly looking down his nose at me.

"Alpha Stone," Corvin said after the initial moment of silence.

He didn't say that so much as a greeting. He said more of an acknowledgment. The way you would confirm a name on a ledger. In that moment, he let the silence sit again after that. It wasn't quite awkward, but I could definitely tell this was his practiced rhythm. He was waiting for me to speak up first.

Corvin was trying to give you the vibe of this controlled and unhurried manner. Every gesture he made had a distinctive intention, doing exactly what it was supposed to do. And that was not to set you at ease.

In that, I didn't give him the satisfaction of leaning forward. I maintained my current posture, sitting up in the chair, which was set lower than it should have been.

"Corvin," I finally spoke.

My tone was set at the same tone and temperament as how he had originally called me. When I spoke his name back to him, it was as if I stripped him of his title. It was meant as a reminder that I knew exactly who he was, and I didn't need to dress it up any further than speaking his name.

Beta Finn went completely still, sitting there beside me. I knew he could feel the tension in the air as the room seemed to be quite locked in this moment. It was just the two of us, sitting across from a desk, both of whom understood exactly what was happening, and neither one of us was willing to pretend it was anything other than what it really was.

Corvin's expression never once shifted. But his fingers moved ever so slightly. He made a small adjustment on the folder. It wasn't quite nervousness. I wondered if it could've possibly been Recalibration, perhaps? I didn't know that he expected me to state the business at hand. However, up to this point I had given him nothing. I let the air sit as it was.

"You came about a registration matter," Corvin finally broke the silence.

His statement wasn't listed as a question. It was more or less proposed as a prompt. He was offering me a door to walk through. It almost seemed as if he could've neatly labeled it in the manner in which he spoke it.

I didn't take to it... Yet.

"You know why I'm here," I responded to him in return.

My response was steady, soft-spoken, my tone set at an even octave. The kind of tone that doesn't need volume because the person you're talking to already heard you the first time. He knew precisely who I was. He knew exactly what I was here. To ask otherwise was nearly an insult to my intelligence. One I wasn't quite going to stand for. I didn't come to have my intelligence insulted.