Alx's P.O.V.

Another day. And yet another meeting. And this one is somewhat important. So, I'll have to have some sort of concentration. But Chris is going to be present today. I'm sure he won't mind filling me in here and there. and he won't judge me for it either.

Speaking of, Chris just walked in. He looks a lot better. She must have talked to him.

That's another thing that I've noticed. Shayla never goes against her word. Well, never willingly.

Taking his seat on my right, Chris stretches before moving the chair in again. Knowing that we're going to be here for a while. We still have about five minutes before the meeting starts.

"So, she talked to you I take it?"

"Yeah, she did." Standing over the papers in front of him. He sites a little straighter with a questioned look on his face. "Did you have something to do with that?"

"Yes, I asked her to."

"When?"

"About a day or two ago."

He huffs at that "Why does she talk to you and not me? I'm her brother. No one should have to ask her to talk to me." a little angered.

Not exactly the way I thought this conversation would go.

"But she is talking to you."

"Yeah, only because you asked her to."

"It's not that she doesn't want to talk to you. She wants to. But she keeps saying that she's too weak to."

"Oh, and the two of you are having these full-on conversations. I have never in my life known Shayla to willingly talk to a stranger. but now she's talking to a stranger inserted of her own brother." trying not to speak too loudly.

"I'm not exactly a stranger, Chris."

"But to her you are. So, why does she talk to you?"

Good question.

Could it be the bond?

"I have a hunch. but I don't feel like shearing it. We can talk about this another time. But for now, try concentrating on the meeting. ok?"

With that, he sighs before nodding.

-

The meeting was going smoothly until they decided to ask us about Shayla.

"She is not a concern of your's." I state simply again for maybe the fifth or sixth time. trying to brush off their questions. hopping that they'll take the hint and change the subject.

"Why is she staying at your house, beta?"

"That has nothing to do with you." he answers in a bothered tone.

"Is she your mate?"

He frowns in disgust to that, "No."

And with that, we were bombarded with a million and one questions at once. I'm unable to tell who's asking the question or what's even being asked.

'Permission to take it from here?' Chris asks through mind-link ensuring clarity.

'All your's'  I reply.

"For fuck's sake, SHUT UP!" he commands.

And finally, the room is silent.

Good job.

"If you really must know. Shayla is a friend of mine. I've known her since she was..... I don't know, one. Ok. Right. So, something happened and she needed somewhere safe to stay. Alpha Alx Night has been nice enough to let her stay here. But all of you are making it anything, but safe for her here. she was almost torn to shreds when she got here. Granted, that was her fault for not informing me. but since she's been here, Jo's tried to poison her and she was threatened by some pup that thought that he was tough. both were in front of me. Why the fuck would I be walking around town with her if she was a threat?"

They open their mouths to answer his question and probably ask their own, in the same regurgitation of vocabulary.

"Before you ask your dumb questions No, I do not know what happened. And I don't know how long she's going to stay. Yes, she does know about us and she doesn't care. No, I did not tell her. She caught me shifting. And something you all must know. If someone harms her, I will not hesitate to thoroughly beat the shit out of them. Understood?" he threatens

They all nod.

That got me thinking. It could work. She would still have to be careful. But if they were to it would be disobeying orders. And that in itself is punishable. Let's do it.

'Announce her as your mate while you're at it.'

'Shut it.'

"Arranged a pack meeting in an hour's time. Everyone is to be present. We will be announcing who she is and that she is not to be harmed. Get to work."

-

Everyone is filing into the town hall for the pack meeting. All wondering why they're here. I'm standing backstage, waiting for Chris and Shayla.

What is taking them so long?

Chris finally walks up to me carrying Shayla over his shoulder.

I shake my head. "Is that really necessary?" I ask pointing at Shayla.

"Yeah, like she's going to willingly come to a pack meeting that's filled with people that want her dead."

Yes, there is that. Well, then I supposed it was necessary. No matter how much I don't want it to be.

"Can you put me down now?" she asks tiredly.

"Yeah, yeah." putting her down on her feet.

She dusts herself off and straightens her clothes before looking up at me. "Hi."

"Hi" I return the greeting with a slight smile.

After that, I walk on to the stage. silencing the crowd in the process. Shayla and Chris follow shortly after. With Chris making sure that Shayla is in front of him making an attempt to leave difficult.

"You're all probably wondering why you're here." I addressed the crowd.

"Yeah, um. why am I here?" Shayla asks in a hushed tone, leaning oh so slightly towards me.

"You didn't tell her?"

Chris shrugs, "It was hard enough to get her here. I didn't have the time."

Sighing before I continue. "We called you here today merely to inform you of a few things." gesturing for Shayla to take a step forward.

She does so reluctantly.

"This here is Shayla Knight, with a k. She is a friend of the Beta's. for reasons that do not concern you, she will be staying here for a while. We do not know for how long. but she is more than welcome to stay as long as she likes. Furthermore, she is not to be harmed. Doing so will be punishable. Is that understood?" I info them with a clear but firm voice.

There is nothing but silence. Silence that voices their disapproval.

I stand my ground this is a serious matter. I will not take 'no' for an answer.

"Is that understood?" I ask again in more of a commanding tone.

"Yes, Alpha!"