The Holy Guardians: of love, of blood, of power

JASON; AT THE ARIES PACK CONFERENCE HALL

The meeting had already started hours ago. He stretched and yawned in his seat. He was initially excited at the prospect of finally attending an Alpha summit with his dad when he finally turned 19. After a few hours, he was extremely bored and wanted to sleep.

His mum glared at him from beside dad and tapped Jenna who was close to him. Jenna already had her air pods in.He didn't blame her, the summit was extremely boring.

"Jason, Jenna do not slack off here. This is an Alpha summit not a pack meeting. Respect the Alphas by listening" his mum scolded. They nodded and Jenna removed her air pods. He kept staring ahead at the huge screen.

His eyes landed on the famous Alpha Queen. He was surprised by her beauty. Her grey eyes and dark silver hair were captivating, especially her eyes which always held a mischievous glint. She was known to be a ruthless killing machine and a legendary prankster. Whenever one of the older males returned from the summit, they were always talking about the Alpha Queen, Xunia.

Her eyes took on many colors if she willed or when her emotions were strong. Right now her grey orbs were glowing with a hint of aqua, showing she was bored. He only knew that because he's heard a lot about her from the pack seniors, not because he's stalking her or anything. She sat at the high table at the head of the meeting, resting her chin on her palm and staring ahead.

Suddenly her eyes fixed on the screen as if she was aware someone was watching her. He felt like she was staring straight into his soul. She smirked, as if conveying a message. He was hypnotized by her eyes as he felt an invisible force pulling him from his seat.

As he was about to stand up, a voice called out to the Alpha Queen, taking him off her focus. It seemed like the spell holding him had been broken. He touched his cheeks and his mother gave him a weird look. He blushed and looked back up to the screen to see who called the Alpha Queen's attention. It was Lupa, the former Luna empress.

"Anything to say your majesty?" Lupa asked, sneering. Xunia simply stared at her, indifferent.

"I'll assume you didn't hear my question and you weren't listening"

"You are correct. I could care less about the Emperor's pack. Aries Pack would never produce funds or manpower for your pack" She replied, sending a ripple of shock throughout the summit.

"You are talking about the Emperor here, show some respect" Lupa said, outraged. Xunia simply released a cold laugh.

"I know well that he is the Emperor. Since Kove is the Emperor, he should be able to provide enough resources for his people. He is one of the most powerful faeries in the realm"She stated calmly.

"How dare you?!"

"Lupa, Kove, remember, we are not equals" Xunia responded coldly.

"How dare you!" Lupa repeated, baring her fangs. Xunia simply leaned into her seat and stared at Lupa with a hint of amusement in her eyes. Conflicts were common in the Alpha summit according to what Jason's dad told him.

"Funny how your name means queen but you're nothing more than an overpampered brat" Xunia casually said, staring straight at Lupa. Lupa was shaking in rage and that's when Kove decided to step in.

"Stop this Xunia, we don't need to resort to petty means" he said, trying to mediate between the two women.

"How heartwarming" Xunia said, holding her hand to her heart with a mocking smile.

"When it's your mother, you step in and accuse me of being petty for roasting her. But, when it's your wife, you watch from the side and claim its a form of training for her. How very interesting" She said, stroking her chin.

"Tell me, Emperor" She started, using air quotes when she said the word Emperor.

"Where is your wife? By right, the chair Lupa is gallantly sitting on belongs to her" Xunia asked, indirectly insulting Lupa.

"Do not compare me to that slave girl" Lupa screeched. Xunia simply raised an eyebrow.

"A slave girl you say? How dare a former farmer's daughter call the daughter of the Taurus Alpha Chief a slave girl!" Xunia retorted in a cold tone. Jason shivered at the sheer intensity of the anger in her voice.

"Enough Xunia!" The Emperor thundered, having enough.

"Do not speak of my mother in that manner!" He glared at Xunia.

"Tut tut tut Kove, you of all people know you can't reprimand me. Only an emperor with the right empress can address The Alpha Queen. So sit still and look pretty" Xunia cautioned, the other leaders of the Aries Pack laughed at Kove.

By then, Jason was confused. Wasn't the Emperor supposed to be higher than the Queen? Jason looked around helplessly only to discover he wasn't the only one. Everyone else was stunned. However, he later found out that her words were tradition and true.

"so laneli Kove, lamutosi na sii tu ti fera" (if you love yourself, Kove, you'll back off) Her voice rang out, full of malice, scaring almost everyone. A shiver ran down Jason's spine. According to what he heard, the Queen preferred not to speak much during the summit and sometimes wasn't present. She was known as the Sexy and docile Queen. Clearly no one really knew her.

After engaging in an intense staring match with Alpha Xunia, the Emperor backed down and announced a break of one hour. After a few tense minutes, some brave Weries started to file out of the huge hall and into the break room. Soon the hall was almost deserted and the break room full.

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Werie: The term of the Werewolves in this novel.