Chapter 46
A day later, I found myself standing before Alpha Leo in the meeting hall, Benjamin to my left.
“Alec, Winona,” he greeted. “Thank you for coming to see me.”
We both bowed our heads.
“I’ve asked you both to come here today because of an interesting predicament I found myself in,” he started. “You see, we’ve been in negotiations with another pack for a few months now and they haven’t exactly been making our lives easy.”
I frowned. I wasn’t sure what this would have to do with me. At most, my errands consisted of paperwork based tasks or checking in with warriors for status reports. Negotiation input was definitely above my current job requirement.
“It seems the Golden Blade pack believe our conditions for the alliance are unsuitable, and are even underestimating the threat we pose.” I could feel Leo watching me carefully as he spoke, almost as if he was trying to see what was going on inside my brain. “Well… I told them, of course, that our pack was currently revered by the Goddess herself, so therefore the price of the alliance was more than fair. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t believe me.”
And finally I understood where this was going.
“So I said ‘we have a living Saintess amongst us,” Leo
continued. “And, well… they still didn’t believe me. So, in conclusion, you will both be going to the Golden Blade pack to act as ambassadors in the negotiations. This treaty is imperative to the Lock Heart so failure is not an option.”
I had expected this to be the case, but hearing it said aloud still made me shocked.
“Alpha, I’m not sure that it would be suitable for me to accompany Benjamin. I’m not yet sixteen and I haven’t undertaken my full duties yet,” I argued.
I was sure he was purely doing this to show off and avoid paying more for negotiations, rather than for any real concern he had about the treaty itself. He easily could have just increased the trade agreement benefits without the need to involve me.
But, of course, that wouldn’t have been as fun for him.
“Ah, well, I think we both know you’re perfectly mature enough to handle this,” he replied. “And besides, wouldn’t this be a great first mission for the two of you to undertake?”
Oh, so that’s how it was. He was also using it as a way for Benjamin and I to become closer. I had only just gotten somewhat used to talking to Benjamin, and now I was supposed to be going on a long-distance trip away with him? I felt sick from the stress of just thinking about it.
“Both of us are not yet of age,” I pointed out. “Do you really think it would be wise to send us alone? Two unshifted ranked heirs would be an easy target for other packs wishing to start a war.” I had posed the question even though I knew nothing would probably change his mind.
2/6
Chapter 46
1284 Vouchers
He laughed. “Of course, of course, young Winona. You are quite correct. That’s why I will be sending a few warriors to accompany you.”
I internally sighed in defeat. There was no use in trying to persuade him.
“Oh, don’t look so gloomy you two, it’s going to be fun!” Leo chuckled. “You’re going to have a great time, trust me. Just show them the mark, negotiate us a great deal with that intelligent little head of yours, Winona, and you’ll both be back in no time.”
I looked over and, sure enough, Benjamin seemed just as unenthusiastic as I did. But it wasn’t the same look as me who was irritated at being used as a pawn for Leo. No, his face looked almost… sad.
I tried not to think too hard on it for the time being though. If there was one thing these last few months had made me realise, it was that I was spending too much time worrying about what was going on inside Benjamin’s head.
And I had more pressing things to deal with right now.
Like how I was going to explain to my parents that their fifteen year old daughter was going on a road trip to a foreign land… with an older teenage boy.
The conversation with my parents hadn’t really ended up being much of a conversation. There wasn’t much they could do when the Alpha was personally ordering it. My father did give me a look of concern though, which I reciprocated with a nod of encouragement. I didn’t like it either, but I’d told myself I was going to be okay.
Within the week, I was packed and waiting outside for when my lift would arrive.
I had been told to be ready by six in the morning because it would take all day to arrive at the Golden Blade pack. I wasn’t looking forward to the long drive but I was outside waiting in the cold morning nonetheless.
Finally, a black car pulled up and I opened the boot, throwing my suitcase in. Normally someone would have come out to do it for me, but it wasn’t exactly like I needed anyone to do it. I was perfectly capable of doing it… it was just odd.
I walked over to get in but, when I went to sit in the back seat, suddenly the door to the passenger side opened from the inside.
I peered in slowly and saw Benjamin leaning over to unlock it from the driver’s seat.
“Morning,” he said groggily as he straightened back up again.
“…Good morning.”
I was surprised to see him in the same car as me, let alone driving it.
He looked tired, as if he didn’t like having to be up so early, and was dressed in comfortable clothes. His wavy black hair was even curlier in places than normal, not having been brushed at all today. It was the first time seeing him looking so dishevelled yet casual.
“…Where are the warriors?” I asked. I thought for sure they would be the ones driving us.
“They’re taking a car behind us. Get in.”
I didn’t question it further and followed his instruction, sitting in the seat next to him. I didn’t know what to do though, and so I ended up staring ahead awkwardly as he began driving.
It was a silent drive, neither of us having said anything since I’d sat down, and I wondered about what I could do.
My eyes then spotted the music console and I naturally reached out to turn it on, thinking music would break the awkward air. But right as I was about to touch it, I thought better of the idea. I didn’t want to annoy him so early in the day if he didn’t want to listen to anything. Especially when he looked so tired.
I put my hand back into my lap and decided to just stare out the window instead.
Ten seconds later though, the music was suddenly playing. I quickly looked over and saw Benjamin adjusting the settings, looking for something to listen to.
“Anything in particular?” he asked.
I stared at him in surprise. “…No.”
He ended up playing some random song I’d never heard before but it really made me wonder. I realised I’d never gotten to know Benjamin’s interests in the past. What he had liked, what he’d enjoyed doing. Everything had always been about the pack with us or nothing at all.
The rest of the drive was spent listening to different songs, only small talk very occasionally. And by the time we finally arrived, I was thoroughly exhausted from the long journey.
We both got out of the car in zombie-like states and stretched. Already, the sun was going down and I wondered how Benjamin had managed to make the whole trip with only minimal breaks along the way.
A representative greeted us not long after our car drove in and escorted us to the lodgings we would be staying in. Luckily the housing looked to be close by to the main meeting hall so we wouldn’t need to worry about driving anywhere
tomorrow.
And so, both being exhausted, we said our goodnights and quickly went to sleep in our separate rooms.
The next day, the negotiations began.
