Chapter 50 All I saw was her.

Chapter 50 All I saw was her.


Leona

I looked up at the same time Beta Finn did. Some guy was standing right in front of our table.

"Yes? Can I help you with something?" I kept my voice nice and calm.

"My Alpha wants to speak with you. Privately." The man's tone was ice cold.

I stood up. Finn got up right next to me. I glanced at him, then back at the guy. "And who is your Alpha?"

Young Alpha Cyrus's father. The Alpha running this pack.

"And you are?" I asked again.

"Beta Karson." He said it short and sharp, like he did not want to be standing here any more than I wanted him standing here.

"Beta Karson, I want Beta Finn waiting right outside the door while I talk to your Alpha. I hope that is not a problem." I held my head up high when I said it.

"You sure about this?" Finn asked me real quiet.

I nodded. "I need to know why."

I saw little white specks flash in Beta Karson's eyes. He was mindlinking someone. Probably his Alpha.

'I will reach out to you if something feels wrong,' I sent to Finn through our link. I did not want Karson hearing any of this.

'I do not like this. But do not eat or drink anything while you are in there.' He sounded worried.

'Okay,' I said back.

After a few seconds, Beta Karson nodded. "Yes, that will work. Right this way." He waved his hand for us to follow.

Beta Karson pushed the door open just enough for Finn to take a quick look around the room before I walked in.

I almost laughed at myself. Here was this Beta going all out to protect me, and for what? Who would even want to hurt me? I was nobody. Just some regular shifter.

But still, I was curious why the Alpha of this pack wanted to see me. Did Cyrus really have a thing for me? Maybe he told his dad, and now the old man wanted to meet me. Either because he was curious or because he wanted to tell me to get lost and leave his son alone.

I was hoping for the second one. That would be easy.

I got so lost in my own head that I did not even see the man in front of me until he cleared his throat. It snapped me right back.

The guy standing next to his big wooden desk looked exactly like Cyrus but older. Same black hair. Same deep blue eyes. But this one had no beard, while Cyrus let some stubble grow. They were good looking, I guess. Just not my type.

"Now I see why my son is so taken with you. Leona, right?" He looked me up and down like I was something on a menu, then sat down behind his desk.

This man did not even offer me a seat. The nerve.

"Yes, my name is Leona. But I do not know what you mean by taken. I barely know Alpha Cyrus. This is only the second time I have seen him. So maybe you got that wrong, Sir."

The Alpha was pushing his power on me. It made me want to shrink back and hide. But I just pretended like nothing bothered me.

"Cocky. Just like your mother." He took a sip of his whiskey, his eyes never leaving my face.

"You knew my mother?" Now he had my attention.

"Yes, I knew her quite well. Do you know who I am, Leona?"

"All I know is that you are Alpha Cyrus's father. The Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. Other than that, I know nothing about you." I told him straight.

'Everything okay?' Finn's voice popped into my head.

'Yes,' I shot back.

"Of course, forgive my bad manners. I assumed you already knew who I was. I should have introduced myself first. Alpha Argon. My name is Argon."

My mouth fell open when he said that name. I had only heard it once from my father, but I would never forget who this was. He must have seen the shock on my face because he laughed a little before he kept talking.

"From the look on your face, you have heard of me."

I pulled myself together and smiled at him. "Yes. And I will not lie, it was not all good things."

"I suppose it depends on which side told you the stories."

My throat felt like sandpaper. I wished I had grabbed some water on the way here. "Now that we know each other, can you tell me why I am here, Alpha Argon?" I gave him a smile that felt fake even to me.

"You are just like your mother. And I can not blame my son for liking you. He is my son, after all. But let me get straight to the point, Leona. I want you to get to know him. He is a good man. He will be a great Alpha. And I think you would make a fine Luna for him."

"I am flattered by what you are saying, Alpha Argon. But I believe this is something between me and your son."

"Does that mean you are thinking about it?"

"Like I said, that is between him and me. If he wants an answer, I will give it to him myself. We do not need anyone passing messages."

His eyebrows pulled together for a second before he hid what he was really feeling. He was probably offended by how I talked back to him. But I thought it was rude for him to stick his nose in this. Cyrus was not a child. He could deal with his own women and his own problems. Unless he was the type who did everything his daddy told him to.

"Fair enough. Then I have no say in this, like you said." He gave a small nod.

"If we are done here, Alpha, I would like to leave."

"You can go."

"Thank you." I dipped my head to show respect, even though I really just wanted to run out of there.

"I am sure we will see each other again. Soon." He really pushed that last word. It made me stop walking.

I turned my head one more time and gave him a smile. "Probably, Alpha. We will see."

I opened the door and walked out, pulling it shut behind me. Finn was right there. He grabbed my arm gentle and pulled me toward him.

"Are you all right?" The worry was all over his face.

"Yes. Do not worry. Can you believe that was Alpha Argon?" I asked him, my eyes going wide as we walked away from that office.

His forehead wrinkled up. "Of course he is the Alpha here. Were you expecting someone else to be talking to you?"

I looked at him and then smacked my own forehead. "Ah, I forgot. You do not know about my mother and him."

His eyes got big. "Now that is something I want to hear."

I scrunched up my nose. "Not here. Maybe someday. But not right now." I pulled on his arm and dragged him toward the ballroom.

I wished I had told my father I was coming to the Blood Moon Pack instead of just saying some Alpha invited me. He would know this pack. I was sure he would have stopped me from coming.

And right now, I had this awful feeling in my stomach that Alpha Argon meant what he said. That he would see me again.

"Hey, did you hear me?" Finn's voice cut through my thoughts.

I shook my head. "Sorry. I was thinking about something else."

"No problem. I just wanted to know if you are hungry. Because I am starving. They are starting to serve dinner soon."

I nodded and walked next to him toward our table.



Arel

I had been stuck in that room with Cyrus for two hours now. My stomach was growling, sure, but that wasn't what I cared about. I needed to see Leona. This whole meeting felt like a waste of time compared to that.

We finally agreed on the terms for the investment in my Skane City business. I closed the folder in my hand and stood up, ready to get the hell out of that office.

"Someone will draft the contract and send it over when it is ready. Look it over. If everything matches what we talked about today, we can meet again to sign it. Then we move forward." I said it fast, tucking the folder under my arm.

"Great! Now we are done with this!" He got up and let out a long breath. "Are you leaving right now, or do you want to stay at the party for a bit? For old times?"

"I will stay for a while. Leona came with my people. We are not leaving until she wants to go." I made my voice cold on purpose. I wanted him to know I would be watching her.

He nodded and moved away from his chair. "I understand. But just so you know, I could drive her home if she decides to stay longer. She would be safe here."

I looked at him and smiled, but there was nothing warm behind it. "Thanks for offering. But she is leaving with us."

"Fair enough. Let us go to the ballroom then. I am sure the women will be happy to see us." He laughed and walked out first.

Classic Cyrus. He was just like me back in the day. A real player. He ran with the same group of Alpha friends I did. We had our fun together before life got serious.

He tried to make small talk, but I did not care. I just wanted to find my mate.

He slowed down once we got to the end of the hallway and walked next to me. The ballroom was on the first floor. We had to go down two sets of stairs.

"Have you picked a Luna yet?" His voice got serious.

"Maybe," I said, still cold.

"Maybe? You are not sure yet?" He raised one eyebrow and put his hands in his pockets.

I just gave him a smirk and did not say anything else until we reached the ballroom entrance.

He stopped to talk to his father's Beta. I hung back to give them some space. After a minute, he turned and waved me over. As I walked up, the big double doors opened and some guy with a loud voice announced us. The whole crowd inside went quiet.

"Announcing the arrival of our celebrant, young Alpha Cyrus of the Blood Moon Pack, together with Alpha Jacob of the Black Shadow Pack."

People started clapping as we walked in. I made sure to stay one step behind Cyrus. Let him have the attention. I hated this kind of thing anyway.

The second my foot hit the ballroom floor, my eyes started searching for her.

And then I found her. Those beautiful sapphire eyes locked right onto mine. She had her hands wrapped tight around my Beta's arm. For once, that did not bother me at all.

She kept her eyes on me. Her lips slowly pulled into this smile that made me want her even more. Then she mouthed something to my Beta.

"Now there goes my perfect ten." I read the words right off her lips.

I did not know what that meant. But I did not care either. Everyone else faded away. The noise, the people, all of it.

All I saw was her.