Keira took a deep breath before he ended up with no head. Did he think that his tone of voice would stop her from leaving? She wanted to put him in his place for his rude remarks earlier.
Be nice, Sabelina said. He doesn't know.
"I don't like cherry," she said instead.
He didn't expect that. The surprise was evident on his chiseled face.
"What?" He asked, confused.
"Your lover," Keira clarified. "You have a cherry-flavored scent around you. We're not a big fan of the flavor."
Keira could tell that her words had struck a nerve. The tick on the jaw was back.
"Captain Grace!" A voice called out, interrupting whatever he was going to say next.
"Nigel," Keira replied in the same tone of voice. "How good it is to see you again."
"Captain-" Nigel stopped as he recognized the figure before her.
"I'm sorry, sir," Nigel said, bowing. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
He must know that Nigel is human, Keira thought as her mate didn't scold him for interrupting. Nigel couldn't have known that another wolf was with me.
Instead of saying anything, the figure before her left without another word. The darkness swallowed him up as if he wasn't even there.
Good riddance, Keira thought. He should have stayed far away.
"Are you alright, Captain?" Nigel asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," Keira replied. "I was looking for someone to get us checked in."
"My apologies, " Nigel said as he led them back to where everyone else was waiting. "We had to adjust your accommodations at the last minute, but your rooms are prepared."
"Rooms?" Keira asked, surprised. "We were told only one room for us. Same as last time."
"This time it's different," Nigel replied. "There are some changes, as you no doubt noticed."
Is he referring to our mate? Sabelina asked.
"Yes," Keira agreed. "Things have changed."
When they arrived at the waiting area, Keira saw her team sitting down, looking extremely impatient.
"You found someone," Montego commented as everyone stood up.
"I'm Nigel," Nigel introduced himself. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to your rooms."
Instead of complaining that it took so long for them to get situated, everyone followed Nigel as he led them to their rooms. They were ready to relax and take a breather after such a long trip.
"Your luggage has already been brought up," Nigel informed everyone as he stopped in front of a dark red colored door and opened it. "Towels and amenities have been placed for you to use. If anything is needed, please dial 2."
"Captain," Nigel said, directing Keira's attention to him as the door closed behind Connor. "You have a separate room."
Keira smiled and followed Nigel. He led her down the hall to another door. She didn't want to seem ungrateful, but she knew it had something to do with her unnamed mate.
"Your room is through this door," Nigel said, pointing to it. "Your bag is inside."
Her door looked like all the other doors in the hallways, except that the dream around the door was black instead of the dark red color.
"Nigel?" Keira asked before he could continue.
"Yes, Captain?"
"Who was I speaking to earlier?" Keira needed to know his name if she was going to reject him.
"That's General Donovan," Nigel replied. "He's in charge of the King's forces but has his pack on the other side of the mountains. This is the first time in 5 years that he's shown up for a gathering."
"He's the alpha of the Crystal Mountain pack?" Keira asked, surprised.
"Yes," Nigel confirmed. "He just got promoted to General 3 years ago when he took over as alpha."
No wonder I didn't recognize him, Keira thought.
"The King wanted to speak with you when you arrived," Nigel said. "If you'll follow me, I can take you to him."
" I wonder why," Keira said sarcastically to Sabelina.
Maybe he knows, Sabelina replied.
Of course he does, Keira confirmed. I'm sure he was the first to know.
Nigel led them through the hall and around several corners before they passed through the archway leading to the throne room. They passed the main door and headed to a smaller oak door nearby.
Nigel entered first to announce her. Keira waited a few moments before getting permission to enter. Keira thanked Nigel as he left. The door closed silently behind her.
Who would have thought I would be meeting the King and my mate all in one night? It must be a full moon soon.
"Captain Grace," King Richard said in greeting. "How are you liking your accommodations?"
"I was a bit surprised when I heard we've been upgraded," Keira replied. "Things sure have changed since the last time I was here."
"Situations do change," the King confirmed, offering her a seat.
Keira sat down and leaned back on the chair.
"Was there something you wanted to speak to me about?" Keira inquired when the King said nothing else.
"I've been informed of some recent changes," he began beating around the bush. "Well, I witnessed it."
"Witness my conversation?" Keira asked, confused. She was sure there was no one else around when she met him.
"My son got up from the room and left after the main gate informed me that the Task Force had arrived," he replied. "Since stepping out of the room when the King is speaking is unheard of, I assumed it must be something important."
"Your son," Keira echoed, hiding her surprise. "General Donavan."
He's a prince?! Sabelina said, more impressed than ever.
Not now, Keira warned her.
"I met him when I arrived," Keira confirmed. "I don't plan to do anything about it, though."
"You won't accept him?" the King asks, confused.
"He's taken," Keira replied, like that should explain everything clearly.
"Ah, yes," the King said, confirming it. "It's understandable."
"Are you prepared for tomorrow?" he asked, taking a sip of his drink.
"As much as possible," Keira replied. "It's not up to me; everyone gets a vote."
"Yes," the King said. "There are those who think it's best if the Task Force is disbanded."
"Well, if it is," Keira began. "I plan to hunt those who killed Captain Nico."
"The agreement will make sure that everyone assigned to the Task Force is taken care of," Keira continued. "I'm not worried about them."
"You know who his killer is?" King Richard asked, surprised.
"I can find them," Keira replied, confident in her abilities.
"If there isn't anything else," Keira said, standing up and walking to the door.
"Keira," the King said, making her stop in her tracks. "Please consider my son as your mate. Even if the Task Force is disbanded, you'll still have a family."
I can't believe the King said please! Sabelina gasped.
"I'll think about it," Keria said, taking her leave.
Keira headed back to her bedroom. She had a lot on her mind. Even Sabelina was silent for once. Everything boiled down to tomorrow's summit. There, their fate will be decided, and Keira couldn't do anything about it.
Once she got to her room, she unpacked a few things before heading to take a quick shower. She wanted to rest as much as possible before tomorrow's meeting. Before going to bed, Keira sent a quick message to Antoine through mind-link, letting him know that he would be accompanying her tomorrow.
*
The next morning, Keira woke up earlier than she expected. The summit was only two hours away. Instead of staying in bed, Keira got up and got ready. She sent a mind-link to Antoine, making sure he was awake before getting dressed.
When she opened the door to head out, she was met by Nigel, who seemed more cheerful than usual.
"Captain Grace," he greeted. "I hope you slept well."
"I did, thanks," Keira replied.
Why is he so happy?
"If you follow me, I can show you where breakfast is being held," Nigel said.
"Lead the way," Keira replied, following him.
Since she had never been placed on this side of the packhouse, Keira didn't know where everything was located. Usually, they would give them a small room near the packhouse's security office. Even then, they never stayed for long.
"The Alphas are currently eating with their Lunas," Nigel informed her as they left the housing area toward the main side of the building. "We have your table reservation already waiting for you. It's a buffet style, so help yourself to whatever you want, Captain."
"Thank you, but I don't know how much I would be able to eat," Keira answered him as they got closer to the mess hall.
"This may be the last time you'll call me 'Captain'," Keira continued as they stopped in front of some huge double doors.
"I may call you something else," Nigel said before leaving her in front of the door by herself.
When she walked in, Keira was surprised that there weren't many wolves around. Two young wolves were eating and giggling with one another, but other than that, she was alone. The girls didn't even look in her direction, so Keira grabbed a plate and began to serve herself. She grabbed scrambled eggs, some turkey bacon, hash browns, and other items with proteins in them.
Since it didn't matter where she sat, Keira placed her plate on one of the tables nearby and went to grab something to drink.
This looks great, Sabelina commented as she awoke from her slumber. Wish I had something so tasty.
You can have some later, Keira said as she sat down to eat her breakfast.
She was surprised to find that the food was prepared fairly well, considering how many people they had to feed. A few minutes later, the giggling girls stood up and left, leaving Keira to finish her breakfast by herself.
When she was done with her breakfast, Keira went over to the buffet to grab some apples and other snacks. She knew Antoine wouldn't have enough time to eat something since the meeting was about to begin shortly.
Keira was on her way out of the room when she bumped into General Donovan, who seemed preoccupied with something. Keira could tell he was speaking using his mind-link. It was only when he bumped into Keira that he snapped out of it.
"Excuse you," Keira said, sidestepping him.
"You-"
"General," a new voice said, drawing the General's attention away from her. "We lost you for a bit. Are-"
The newcomer walked into view but stopped when he saw Keira. His face said it all. Keira didn't recognize him, so she walked past him too and went to find Antoine. She sent him a quick message through mind-link, letting him know that she was waiting for him outside the room.
The door quickly opened, and Antoine stepped out with a laptop bag hung over his shoulder.
"Sorry, Captain," he said, closing the door behind him. "I didn't know you were up and about. I would have gone to breakfast with you."
"Don't worry about it," Keira replied, handing him the apples.
"Is there enough time to grab some food?" Antoine ventured to ask.
"As long as our reports and documents are all accurate, we can stop by to get you something to eat," Keira replied.
Antoine nodded and adjusted his computer bag before following her to the breakfast area. The other mess hall for the regular pack members.