The Alpha's Borrowed Luna (Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 125

The next morning, I found Kaius standing at the doorway. He wore a tailored black suit that emphasized his powerful frame, looking every bit the Alpha King he now was.

“Ready?” he asked.

I nodded, smoothing my dress with nervous hands.

“As I’ll ever be.”

The walk to the meeting chamber felt endless. Pack members bowed as we passed, eyes following me with a mix of curiosity and respect I still wasn’t used to. At the heavy doors of the conference room, Kaius paused, his hand warm on my back.

“Remember,” he said quietly, his amber eyes meeting mine, “they’re more afraid of you than you are of them.”

I smiled. “I doubt that.”

The doors swung open to reveal a long table where various Alpha leaders from neighboring packs had already gathered.

Kaius moved to the head of the table with practiced ease, gesturing for me to take the seat at his right. I kept my chin high as I walked, feeling the weight of their stares.

“Thank you all for coming,” Kaius began once we were seated. “I trust your accommodations have been satisfactory.”

There were murmurs of agreement around the table, but I could sense the tension beneath the polite veneer.

My gaze swept the room, mentally cataloging the faces I recognized from Kaius’s briefings. Alpha Zack of the Mountain Ridge Pack, a burly man with a salt–and–pepper beard. Alpha Cain of the River Valley Pack, lean and calculating with sharp eyes that missed nothing. Alpha Orion, whose territory bordered ours to the west, watching the proceedings with carefully measured interest.

And then my eyes landed on a face I hadn’t expected to see. My breath caught in my throat.

Dorian.

He sat near the end of the table, no longer wearing the insignia of the Mistwood Pack but some other emblem I didn’t recognize. Our eyes met for a fraction of a second before I deliberately shifted my attention back to Kaius, refusing to give my former mate the satisfaction of seeing any reaction from me.

“Let’s begin with the most pressing matters,” one of the Alphas said, his voice carrying across the table. “It has to do with the land and territories which once belonged to the Ironvale Packs.”

Kaius leaned forward slightly. “What about it?”