You're the One for Me Ch. 09

Darius frowned, not even trying to hide his feelings from the man who sat across from him. Achlys was fucking annoying. There was no getting around it and, frankly he was pissed that he was there, entertaining the prick, while Bennett was burying his cock in his hot little friend.

"Darius, are you listening to me?"

"No, actually, I'm not."

"You're not even trying to humor me? I am the ambassador from Urian's pack. What I say will determine how the rest of this union goes. I have the power to start a war or to keep the peace."

Yep. The man was definitely a prick. "That is why there are two ambassadors, for this very reason. I will not be intimidated and I will not sit here and pretend to listen to you any longer. I will see you when we have our sit down with the rest of the Alphas," Darius informed the slip of a man, who was glaring up at him.

His eyes raked over Achlys, his sandy blond hair was hacked short, his deep brown eyes seemed beady at the moment, and his thin, lanky body came up no farther than Darius' chest. But, Darius did not underestimate the man for a minute. He was strong, of that there was no doubt, or he would not be one of Urian's ambassadors.

"You leave me no choice..." Achlys began.

"Consider your words wisely, ambassador. I may be one of four Alphas, but I am an Alpha. I am the law...judge and jury. You would be wise to watch your tongue around me, for I will not hesitate to have it removed."

Achlys stared at him for a moment, his mouth gaping open. "Are you threatening me?"

"Yes. And I will follow through with it. Do not doubt that for a second."

Darius watched, amused as Achlys' mouth worked as he tried to form a response. Perhaps he wasn't used to people being so frank with him. His brothers would probably be angry about the way he was treating Achlys, but he couldn't help himself. He was never one for playing games. He stood and walked away, leaving a speechless ambassador behind him. He had a feeling that if he stayed any longer, he would be ripping the tongue out of Achlys' mouth right there in the kitchen of the guest cabin.

"Wait...please."

Darius paused, turning to face the man once again. "Yes?"

Darius watched with concealed amusement as Achlys came to him, bowing low and presenting his neck in an act of submission. "I am sorry. I have forgotten myself, and my mission. Please forgive my brash behavior."

Darius quirked an eyebrow at the sudden turn-around. "I will not hold your outburst against you, this time. But, if you forget your place again, I will show it to you and you will not like my methods."

Achlys nodded and backed away slowly. He sat down again once he made it to the table. Darius turned on his heel and walked away, out of the cabin and across the compound. He pulled out his cell phone, silently thanking Bennett for having the tower installed on the outskirts of their territory.

His first call was to Bennett, telling him that his tryst time was up, since Achlys had been returned and would soon wonder where Takis had gone. His next call was to Caden, who was looking for him, to arrange a meeting time.

Twenty minutes later, Darius found himself face to face with his brothers and their mates. And though he was happy for them, he could feel the envy building up in the pit of his stomach. One day, he wanted to be the one propositioned. He wanted to find his mate and claim him. He wanted to share in the happiness of finding one's other half and planning a life out together. Perhaps one day, his dreams would come true.

"Darius, are you listening?"

Darius looked at Caden, smiling at the frown etched across his face, a face not so unlike his own. He shared the same 'almost too perfect' facial structure, with the same nose that they had inherited from their mother, the plump lips, and the somewhat prominent cheekbones. He had a couple of inches on Caden and was just as built as Bennett, his muscles big and bulky on his frame. His eye color floated somewhere between green and blue and his inky black hair fell to his back.

"No."

"Damn it. Is no one taking this situation seriously?"

"I assure you, Caden, that this matter is very important to me," Darius answered.

Caden sighed. "Then what will we do about Urian?"

"He is looking to unite our packs and has been for some time. But, this is the first overt attempt to do so," Darius stated.

"Do you think he knows something that he is not telling us?" Caden asked.

"A fight must be brewing between Thane and Urian. If we join Urian, Thane will not hesitate in attacking us as well. As a pack, we are strong and we would pull through just fine, but I would rather not risk the lives of our people if we don't have to," Austin said.

Caden nodded in agreement. "A union would also mean that he would expect cross-pack breeding. We cannot force our pack members to mate with wolves from another pack if they are not meant to be. We promised them the freedom to choose their own mates when they left our father's pack to follow us. A foolish thing, in hindsight, but one that was, and still is, rooted in our beliefs. I will not go back on that. We must find another option."

"Perhaps there is another way. We don't have to promise a mating, but we can send a few pack members to his lands. They can be our ambassadors and if we're lucky, maybe a few of them will fall for the wolves they meet over there," Darius suggested.

"That may appease Urian. His pack is mostly females and sending males not only increases the chances of a mating, but also offers him increased security in case of an attack," Caden agreed.

"But, that would still give Thane the idea that we are against him. I would agree if we had Urian's assurance that he was not in the midst of a conflict with Thane," Austin replied.

"Who is Thane?" Elise spoke up for the first time since she sat next to Caden at the wooden table in the brothers' shared office.

"Thane is a Were whose territory borders our own. But, the majority of his land touches Urian's. For years, Urian has been afraid of going to war with Thane because he would most assuredly lose," Austin explained.

Caden sighed. "If Austin is right, then Thane has suddenly become more of threat and it would be only a matter of time before he comes for us. Urian's land touches a significant portion of ours. It would do nothing but tempt Thane to take us over too."

"Perhaps...perhaps ambassadors should be sent to Thane's pack also. That way he does not perceive our interactions with Urian as an overt threat," Elise said softly.

Caden looked at her and beamed. "Good idea, love. Two sets of ambassadors may help keep tension down and we'll have insight on what exactly is going on between the two packs, if anything."

Austin nodded. "I agree. Perhaps ambassadors to both packs is the way to go, but how will we present this to Urian? He will undoubtedly find out about our envoy to Thane. I don't want our ambassadors harmed if he perceives it as deceit on our part."

"If we say that we are going to speak on his behalf, maybe he won't get upset," Benjamin suggested.

Caden considered this and spoke. "We should ask one of his ambassadors to accompany our group to Thane's territory. That way, our purpose is clear. We want to prevent conflict between our packs and keep the peace. We want to open friendly communication between all packs and this is a step in that direction. Unification may have been Urian's goal, but I think this option benefits our pack far better, if it is accepted. We will wait until Bennett returns, run this by him and then meet with Takis and Achlys. Which of them should we suggest going with our envoy?"

"Not Achlys. He is far too manipulative and I do not trust him," Darius stated.

Caden nodded. "You have spent the most time with Achlys and I trust your judgment. I also believe that you have the most level head of the four of us and we will need that when dealing with Thane. He's a total asshole, but he is a powerful one. We would do well to keep on his good side. Therefore, I suggest that you accompany the group to Thane's territory."

Darius nodded. He needed to get away. His brothers had left to find their mates and now it was his turn to leave the pack and do some soul searching. The pack was in good hands with Caden back at the helm. "Sounds good to me, brother."

Austin grinned. "You just want to go to see if Thane's ass is still as round and plump as it was the last time you ogled him."

Darius growled low. "Shut up, Austin. Can't you be serious for more than five minutes?"

"I am serious, D. That ass had your eyes glued to it."

Darius sighed and rose from the table. "I'll go find Bennett. We will meet you and Urian's ambassadors in 30 minutes in the conference room."

Caden watched as Darius strode from their private meeting room. "Austin, you didn't have to tease him. He's on edge as it is."

Austin shrugged. "A little teasing will do him good. Someone's got to try to loosen that guy up and teasing him about Thane might light the fire under his ass to find a mate or at least have sex with someone."

"I don't think Darius is without a mate by choice and it's his business if he wants to have sex or not."

"Whatever." Austin turned his attention to Ben. "So, speaking of sex, Kitty, is thirty minutes enough time for me to bury my bone?"

Ben's face turned a shade of red that Austin found enticing. "Austin, please. Not now."

"I thought we were past this shy stage. Oh well, you're probably right....but we definitely have time for a quickie." Austin jumped up, grabbing Ben's hand, and dragged him off to one of the rooms attached to their meeting room.

Caden shook his head, his brother was incorrigible. His gaze drifted to his mate, who was taking in their surroundings. "Want to go meet Lilia? She's expecting us sometime today."

Elise took a deep breath. She had survived her first council meeting, informal as it was, so maybe meeting Lilia wasn't going to be as bad as she had imagined. She rose and stretched herself out before turning to Caden. She smiled as she noticed the look in his eyes. And he thought Austin was bad.

"Caden?"

"Love, I've changed my mind. Lilia can wait, I, however, cannot."

Elise barely had time to register what Caden was saying before she was swept up and carried into another room off the main one. It seemed that each brother had a room and Austin and Caden were going to take advantage of that fact. Elise felt the mattress beneath her back before Caden commanded her attention, deftly pulling the pants off her body and sliding her underwear down almost reverently.

"Sing for me, love. I've got twenty minutes and you've got the voice of an angel. Come for me, long and hard."

Elise grasped the inky black hair between her thighs, urging Caden closer to her pussy. His tongue snaked in and out of her opening before wrapping around her clit. He sucked nibbled, and licked for long minutes as Elise fell over the edge again and again. He ground himself into the bed, unable to continue without some kind of friction against his cock. He unzipped his jeans as the moment of Elise's next release loomed closer. Her sweet pants and coos were nearly undoing him before he could feel her lips wrapped around his cock.

"CADEN!" Elise screamed and as she plunged back down from heaven, he knelt over her and pushed his aching member into her mouth.

She happily opened for him and tried to get him as far down her throat as she could manage. He held out as long as he could, until her tongue began to run up and down his shaft and tease him just under the bulbous head. Then with a long howl, he came, cum splashing down her throat and a little oozing out the sides of her mouth as he withdrew. Elise licked her lips and smiled up at Caden. He returned her smile and curled up next to her as his breathing returned to normal.

"Not to rush you, love, but we've got a meeting to attend," Caden murmured as he recovered.

Elise nodded and rolled off the bed, reaching for her pants and underwear as she went.

Elise held her head high as she strolled across the compound hand in hand with her mate. He was Alpha Prime, after all, so she made sure that no one doubted her status either. She watched as the other pack members that were out at the time, stared at her, wondering who she was and what she was doing with their Alpha. She could almost hear their thoughts, it seemed.

Caden squeezed her hand lightly, and smiled down at her. "No worries, my love. We will introduce you properly after our meeting. Bennett has already recognized us, but we will allow the pack to do so too. I warn you now, there will be a few ladies who will be jealous of you."

Elise smiled predatorily. "They can be jealous if they want, but one sign of challenge and it's on. My wolf is eager for a fight, it seems, and I'm not one to back down."

"I know. That's why you are my mate. Strong, fierce, and you take no nonsense. And your suggestion today at the meeting was key. I knew you were the one, perfect for me, the moment I laid eyes on you."

"The first time I laid eyes on you, I was convinced that you were a dumbass. Incredibly sexy, but a dumbass, especially after you hit me in the head with a bottle of lube."

"Well, I'm glad you changed your mind about me. I'd hate to think you still consider me to be a dumbass."

"It's not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of you...but don't think you're totally in the clear. I still have my doubts about you, especially after hearing that you were suppressing your wolf because of me."

Caden laughed. "My wolf is forever grateful that you were so open to him and so am I. I love you, my mate, now and always."

Caden pulled Elise close, breathing in her scent deeply, feeling a bone deep contentment that he doubted would go away any time soon. He pulled away and led her into the conference room. His brothers, Bennett and Darius were already seated, along with the ambassadors. Caden and Elise took their seats at the head of the table and waited for Austin and Ben.

The pair was only a minute behind them and they took their seats at the table quickly. Caden began the meeting and though it was long, he felt it was productive. Takis was definitely swayed by the argument, letting it slip that there was some threat from Thane, though it wasn't overt. Achlys was a harder sell, especially when he found out that he wasn't going to be the one that accompanied Darius to Thane's territory. In the end, he had no choice but to agree, but the look on his face let everyone present know that it was under duress.

The meeting adjourned and Takis phoned Urian to let him know what had been decided. Caden would be sending a group of 6 able-bodied male wolves to Urian's pack as long-term ambassadors. They would be led by Bennett, who after taking them there and making sure they were settled, would leave to follow the call of his wolf and find his mate. Achlys would return to Urian along with the group of ambassadors.

Takis would join Darius and a group of three males and three females to Thane's pack to help open and ensure communication. Mating was not guaranteed, but it was hoped that the ambassadors would find the one their hearts wanted while away.

For his part, Takis was thrilled. He had been looking for a way to get into Darius' pants and a long trip to another territory was just the opportunity he had been looking for.

******

Caden took Elise by the hand and led her to a cabin that was a bit farther off the main stretch of the compound.

"This is my home and I hope that you will share it with me. It's farther out, because I like my privacy and I learned quite quickly that if I was really accessible, I would get a lot more...attention than I liked." Caden smiled as he spoke, placing the hand that he cradled against his chest.

"Attention, eh? Well, I can give you all the attention you can handle and more," Elise growled softly as she pressed closer to Caden.

Caden leaned down and captured her lips with his own, indulging himself in sweet kisses that left his head spinning. The soft sound of a throat clearing interrupted them and kept Caden from ripping off Elise's shirt as he had originally planned.

Piercing violet eyes settled on the form of a petite brunette, her head lowered and her gaze directed toward the ground. He was annoyed, but the interruption wasn't totally unexpected. The single women of his pack were bound to make an appearance to find out just where they stood in relation to Elise until they were formally recognized by the pack as mates. Unfortunately for the other women, they were nothing compared to Elise.

"Kyla, what is it?" Caden demanded.

"Sir, I..I thought you would have need of me now that you are back."

Elise eyed the woman, wondering what she wanted and why she thought she could just come along and disrupt things, things that she had been looking forward to getting around to since Caden had eaten her out in the meeting room.

Caden glared at the woman that stood before him. "Why would I have need of you? Can you not see that I am with someone else?"

"Well, we had agreed that...I would...well..."

Before she could finish, Elise had broken free of Caden's grasp and walked down the cabin steps to stand in front Kyla.

"Who are you?" Elise demanded.

Kyla looked as if she were fighting the urge to either drop to her knees or run away. "Kyla," she replied, her voice almost a whisper.

"Kyla. I see. Well, Kyla, I am Elise, mate of the Alpha Prime."

Kyla's head shot up and she looked into the intense steel-gray eyes of the woman that stood before her before staring at the ground once again.

"Yes, that's right. His mate. The HBIC, if you will. I gather that you thought you could just waltz back here and help warm up Caden's bed sheets, am I right?"

Elise watched as Kyla's face turned bright red and she shook her head, her brown curls swinging to and fro.

"No? Then what did you think he needed you for? What is it that you did for him before?"

Kyla yammered for a moment before she formed a coherent response. "I used to help...the Alpha...with his sexual needs. You were correct, ma'am. I thought I could continue...to help."

"Well, you thought wrong, girlie. The only one giving Caden any kind of sexual release is me. If I catch you even looking like you want to get in his pants, I will be forced to teach you a lesson that you will never forget. Now, I suggest you get your scrawny ass moving before I let my wolf have its way and tear you limb from limb."

Elise watched, arms crossed, as Kyla scurried away toward the compound. She turned around and faced Caden once more. "Is that the attention you were talking about?"

Caden was laughing too hard at the exchange to answer. He tried to pull himself together, but the way Elise stood with her hands on her hips and her bottom lip poked out was too much. He slowly got hold of himself, his sides hurting from laughing so hard.

"Yes, love, that's the kind of attention I was talking about. Kyla is one of the more submissive women in the pack, but they aren't all like that."

"I know. That's why she got off easy. The others might not be so lucky because my wolf is in the mood to kick some ass around here. She is ready to demand some respect."

Elise walked back up to Caden and he gathered her in his arms once more. "You are so damn hot. I love it when you get sassy."

"I'd rather get naked."

"I'd rather have you naked as well, love. What about this, I'll call a meeting of the pack where I can introduced you formally. Then you won't have to worry about visitors coming to our cabin...to help...unless it's a formal challenge for you position."

Elise chuckled. "A formal challenge? More like a death wish. But, that's fine. I'm ready to officially take my place at your side. Now where were we?"