The Alpha and Her King

Chapter Ten

School officials canceled school for the day because of the previous night’s lockdown. A lot of parents were relieved about sending their children to school, fearing that more hunters would arrive. This was good because I did not get my homework done the night before, as I was out looking for any more hunters around our border.

Dad wanted me to sit in the morning meeting he had with his Beta, Gamma, and Delta, so I could get used to having them once I take over. I got dressed in something a little nicer than what I normally wear, riding breeches and a T-shirt. Today, I threw on some black dress pants and a nice, short sleeve blouse and headed down to dad’s office. When I entered, everyone was already there, waiting for me.

“I’m sorry, am I late?” I asked, taking a seat in front of dad’s desk.

“No, princess, you are on time. We old men like to arrive early, so we could bullshit for a bit before we get to business,” dad spoke up, smiling.

“Do you want anything to drink, Piper?” Uncle Jack asked me.

“Coffee with cream and sugar, just the way mom likes it,” I answered, and he smiled. He went over to the bar and poured me a coffee and put the right amount of sugar and cream in, stirring it, and then handing it to me. I thanked him and got comfortable in the chair.

“Here, you might need this,” he told me, handing a notebook and pen. “It is good to take notes so you can go back to them later on if you need them.” That was a smart idea. Why didn’t I think of that before?

Dad started the meeting about last night. “My daughter’s swift response contained last night’s events, preventing further deaths, despite our prior knowledge of the situation. We found six hunters, three of them, who snuck into the pack after killing two of our members. We found three more at the south gates, capturing them before they could harm our people. I gave them the night to simmer and let them think about their actions. Hopefully, one of them will talk today and give us the information that we need to stop any further attacks.

Losing the two guards has devastated their families, and I hope we can provide them with the services and support. I know one guard came from a single-parent family and was helping his mother with bills, groceries, and his younger siblings,” Dad said, as I jotted notes in my notebook. “Any ideas to help both families, Piper?” he asked, with all of them looking at me. Wow! A way to put me in the spotlight.

“Last night, Nana suggested preparing a meal for everyone, in addition to her famous chocolate chip cookies. Perhaps we could have Emmie and a few other ladies cook them two weeks’ worth of meals, so they could focus on mourning from their loss. With the one guard who is helping his mom, provide some funds from the charity you have, help her out until the two siblings have graduated from high school. Also, we could do a big sleepover fundraiser, with both adults and children involved, to help both families.

Do you know when they want to do services? I need to know when the services will be so I can order and have flowers delivered to the families,” I told them.

“Later today, we will release the bodies to their respective families; the services will be held a few days later. Could you also put in an order for a couple of angels like we did for Abe and Annie when their parents passed away?” dad asked. I wrote it down in my notes.

“I will talk to Angelica and see if she could point me in the right direction and get a couple of them ordered right after the services.”

We discussed other pack business, increasing more patrols, with shorter times between each patrol, and increasing guards at the gates from two to four, along with having a few guns in the guard shack for extra protection. The meeting lasted for an hour before dad adjourned for the day.

“You did great, kiddo. Threw out some good ideas about the guards’ families and suggesting the weapons in the guard shacks, so they would have a better chance of defending themselves than being another statistic. You did great with your first meeting.” He hugged me. “By the way, kiddo, happy birthday! Enjoy your day off of school and go out and have fun.”

“Actually, dad, I meaning to ask you, have you heard from Leo? He tried calling yesterday when I was in class and left a message. But since then, I have not heard from him.” Dad looked at me, confused, as it was not like Leo to ignore his phone calls. He is typically good at calling back.

“No, I haven’t, princess. Was he doing something that could prevent him from answering or call back?”

“He told me they found a location of the hunters and was going on a mission with his men to take care of the leader, so we all could rest easy. I have a feeling that it did not go as planned,” I told him. He hugged me and looked down at me.

“I am sure he is on his way here to celebrate your birthday. Try again later if he is not here in a few hours,” he told me. “But right now, let’s go get some breakfast and I am sure your mom has something planned for today.”

We went to the dining room, and there were more people in there than usual. “Happy birthday!” everyone yelled as soon as I walked into the dining room. Mom and all of my siblings were standing there with a plate of pancakes with a couple of candles on it. I giggled and hugged her and my siblings.

“Thank you, everyone!” I yelled over everyone’s excitement, the Alpha’s firstborn turning eighteen today. We sat down at our table at the head of the room to enjoy our breakfast. Kassandra went and got me a bowl of fresh fruit, and Soma got my turkey bacon.

“So, sis, what do you want to do today, since we have no school and it’s your birthday?” Julian asked.

“Honestly, I was going to get my homework done from yesterday and just relax. I was going to see if Keisha could get me in today so I could get my hair done,” I told him.

“Already beat you to it. We see her in an hour. Then a date at the spa. You need it, especially after last night and I know Leo made plans for your birthday tonight,” mom announced. Great, so much for getting my homework done.

“Thank you, mom. But I really need to get my homework done. We will have school tomorrow.”

After breakfast, I ran up and put on some shorts and a long-sleeved T-shirt, with flip-flops. I meet mom and my sisters downstairs and we got into my truck. We headed to the salon, with our security team driving behind us, since the scare we had last night.

“Welcome ladies, are we ready to get glamored up today?” Keisha asked as we walked in. Soma and Kassandra wanted to get their hair colored in different colors, purple for Kassandra and turquoise for Soma. Emma requested a trim, while mom was having highlights added to her hair. I am just going to have Keisha cut about four inches off, as my hair was down to my butt and add some copper highlights to my hair. We spent all morning at the salon, getting our hair done. Mom shook her head when she saw Kassandra and Soma’s hair, but it was what they wanted.

The spa day felt good. I got a massage, facial, and the hot stones. To get back home afterwards, I requested Henry bring a car for Mom and my sisters when they get done. The massages, mud baths, and other things they wanted, I knew, would take all afternoon. I did not want to wait that long for them. I told mom I was going back to the house when I get done so I could get homework done and try to get a hold of Leo again. If he doesn’t answer, I will call Aunt Chloe to see if they heard from him.

I got home a couple of hours later and it took me an hour to get everything done. Picking up my phone, I noticed he didn’t call. This is so unlike him. I called both his phone and the satellite phone and no answer. I’m worrying. So, as my last resort, I called Aunt Chloe. After a couple of rings, Alaric answered.

“Happy birthday, kiddo!” he said. “But right now, it is not a good time. Chloe is in labor.” I heard her scream in the background and I smiled. Chelsea is having the baby today.

“I’ll make it quick then. Have you heard from Leo today?” I asked him. “He is not answering his phone.”

“Let me have Jed call you back. Chloe is crushing my hand here.” I giggled. Chloe cussed him out.

“Why did you talk me into having a baby, you f*****g asshole? This s**t hurts like a motherfucker! I can’t take it anymore! I’m cutting off your d**k when I get home so we don’t have anymore!” Chelsea screamed in the background and I giggled. The phone went dead. Poor Alaric, he is going to get punished when she and the baby get home from the hospital. My phone rang. It was Jed.

“Jed, please tell me you have heard from Leo?” I asked frantically. “I haven’t heard from him since yesterday when he left a message on my phone!” I heard him sigh on the other end.

“Piper, I don’t know how to tell you this. The mission was a failure. Half the men are dead and Leo is missing.” I dropped my phone. “PIPER! PIPER! Are you OK?” Jed yelled through the phone. I regained my posture and picked up my phone.

“Yes, I am okay. I will be there in a few minutes. Before I teleport over there, I must notify mom and get some clothes. I hung up the phone before he said anything. I packed some clothes into a small suitcase and grabbed some toiletries. If I forgot something, Chloe would have it. Kassandra walked in as I zipped up my bag.

“What is going on?” she asked.

“Is mom here?” I asked her.

“Yeah, she is in the living room,” she answered. I ran out of my room with my bag and found her and Nana in the kitchen.

“Mom, I am going to Germany. Something happened to Leo. He is missing and half of his men are dead!” I broke down and cried. She and Nana held me while I cried, trying to comfort me.

“Who told you this?” mom asked.

“Jed told me when I tried calling Aunt Chloe. Which she is in labor right now. So, if you want to go with me, the time is now,” I explained to her after I calmed down.

“Let me grab my bag. I had it ready so I could be there by her side. Alaric was supposed to call me when it was time.” She ran out of the room with Nana standing there, rubbing my back. “My bad, I must have left my phone here this morning. He called. I’m ready. You kids be good for Nana and no shenanigans like last time! You have your dad here this time,” she warned the girls, took my hand, and we were in Leo’s study. Jed was sitting there, waiting for us.

“I knew you two would arrive here. Tovi, Chloe is at the hospital and I will have the car pull up to take you. Piper, before you freak out about Leo, go with your mom to support your aunt. I am still gathering intel on what happened on the mission. Isban survived, but Hubert didn’t. By the time you return from the hospital, I should have more information, and your bags are not a concern. I will have Connor put them in your rooms upstairs.” I ran up and hugged him.

“I don’t want to go to the hospital. I need to know what happened to Leo right now! Show me what intel you have and I will comb over it,” I ordered him.

“Piper, it is not much right now. Isban is on his way back right now. It will be a few hours before him and our men are back. Go to the hospital and see Chloe. She will be happy to see the both of you,” he whispered, rubbing my arms. “You need to keep yourself together right now, not only for Leofric, but for yourself.” I nodded my head. “Go, I will call you as soon as the plane arrives in Munich. Then we will go over the information together.” He gently turned me around and escorted mom and me to the front door. A man walks into the hallway with shock on his face. That was a weird reaction to meeting someone. “Ladies, this is Connor, our butler. He replaced our beloved Nigel when Leofric forced him to take his retirement. Connor, this is Luna Tovi Salyers of the Mountain Moon Pack in California. She is Chloe’s sister, and this is Piper, her daughter, and the future Alpha of the Mountain Moon. They will stay with us for a short time.”

“Milady’s, it is a pleasure to meet the both of you. If there is anything you need, please let me know. But if you excuse me, I will get your rooms ready,” he said and then ran off. He is so weird, and I got a creepy vibe off of him. I looked at Jed and he smiled at me.

When we got to the front door, there was a car waiting for us. “Hopefully, she will have the baby by the time you get there. Be careful and I will see you when you return.” He hugged the both of us and helped us into the car. “I will call you as soon as I know anything,” he whispered in my ear. He shut the door and waved as we drove away. It was an hour’s drive to the hospital in Munich. That is where the supernatural hospital is. When we pulled up, there were several guards stationed around the building. Of course, with the hunters after the demons right now and the king’s brother being here, security will be tight. One of them opened the car door as soon as we stopped.

“Miene Damen, konnen Sie mir bitte Ihren Ausweis zeigen? (Ladies, can I see some IDs, please?)” the guard asked.

“Of course,” mom said, and we pulled out our IDs and handed them to him. He looked at them and then at the list.

“Thank you. I am sorry. It is a protocol with everything going on,” he explained. He helped us out of the door and escorted us to the guest services desk. He asked the lady for a couple of passes for us and handed them to us. “They are on the fourth floor, labor and delivery. This lady here has already called ahead, alerting them you are on your way.”

“Thank you for your help,” I told him and he bowed his head and walked out the door. We found the elevators and went to the fourth floor as instructed. When the doors opened, Alaric was standing there to greet us.

“Tovi, Piper, it is so good to see the both of you! There’s no baby yet, but her dilation is at seven centimeters. She went into labor as soon as we found out about Leofric. The stress caused her to go into labor,” he informed us as he hugged each of us. “Forewarn you. She is not in the greatest mood. Honestly, she is being sorry to say this, a drama queen. She has chased off three nurses already and almost broke my hand.”

“She is not being a drama queen, Alaric. She is in labor with your child and is a lot of pain. You try to push something that is the size of a watermelon out of a hole no bigger than the width of my pinky!” mom growled at him. He threw up his hands.

“I am sorry, Tovi. It has been a rough twenty-four hours, with Leofric missing and Chloe being in labor. Jed has been giving me a couple of updates, but I feel helpless right now, with my brother and king missing, and my mate is in labor with my child. Come on, she going to pissed that I am taking too long,” he said, escorting us to her room. We didn’t get ten feet from the elevators when we heard Chloe screaming from her room. “ALARIC WYMOND MAGNUS WITTELSBACH! GET YOUR f*****g ASS BACK HERE NOW!” We heard a crash and a nurse scream. As we approached the room, a nurse came running out, with blood running down her face.

“f**k,” Alaric muttered, and we ran into her room.

“What the f**k took you so damn long? I am lying here in labor with your child and you disappeared!” she screamed.

“Chloe Nicole Davidson, you better settle your ass down right the f**k now! Just because you are in labor does not mean you act like a b***h to everyone!” mom yelled at her.

“Tovi! When did you and Piper get here?” she asked.

“We just got here. Now, calm now, and take deep breaths. You getting worked up is not good for you or the baby,” mom calmy told her.

“It hurts so f*****g bad, Tovi! It seems like nothing is working,” Chloe gritted through her teeth, fighting through a contraction.

“Oh, I know. I had eight pups. Has the doctor gave you anything for the pain?” mom asked.

“No, I don’t want any drugs,” Chloe told her. Mom shook her head.

“Then you are in for a long labor.”