As she walked upstairs, she saw the dirty paw prints leading into the bathroom. So she trudged back down stairs for a rag and soap. She cried as she cleaned the mess on the floor. She didn't know what to do to make things better. Where was Dmitry when she needed him? She lay on the braided rug and sobbed.
Tonight was the big pack meeting. When Yelena called her downstairs to go, Violet nearly refused. But being childish wasn't going to make things better for herself or Dmitry. She put on a pretty red skirt and white shirt Alena lent to her. Then she brushed out her hair and left it falling down her back. She wanted to look pretty for the ceremony tonight.
Dmitry’s pack needed to give him more support, she decided, as she ran the brush through her hair. He needed to delegate more to his seconds. Violet was going to have to work on getting him to accept help. It was part of her job as Alpha female, and she needed to help him because she loved him. The way he was going he would burn himself out. She put on the red leather shoes Yelena gave to her. Dmitry needed time to have a life of his own. He was their leader, not their slave. Violet glanced in the mirror, admiring her reflection. She twirled around, letting the skirt fly out around her legs. She was ready. An Alpha female wolf helped decide which job was right for which pack member. Violet would have to look into how jobs were assigned. She would fight for Dmitry if she needed too.
Violet walked over with Vikenti, Yelena and Alena. Fanya gave Illarion permission to walk over with them. So he ran and skipped down the trail between them, chatting away. Fanya promised to meet up with them later.
The meeting would be held in the large metal meeting hall. Members of the pack, who had not yet given their blood oath to the Alpha, would do so tonight. The pack would acknowledge Violet and Alena as mated females. Then the handfasting of Sonya and Matfei would be announced. Sonya was still dealing with her grief, but having Matfei around seemed to be helping her. Violet noticed how gentle he was with Sonya. When Sonya turned eighteen, they would be mated.
Violet was glad to have Illarion to look after. Holding Illarion's hand helped her to feel calmer. They walked into the building, and Violet was immediately surprised at how large it was. There were huge basket sconces on the walls to light after the sun set. On one wall was a huge stone fireplace big enough to walk into. Chairs were set up so people could sit during the meeting. Close to sixty people were standing around in small groups. Several small boys ran past, yelling at Illarion to join them. But Violet shook her head “No”, and he didn’t complain.
Violet realized how handsome the members of the pack were. Mostly men, they were naturally tall and graceful. They appeared majestic and self-assured. The women were smaller boned, but lithe and lovely. As a race, they were beautiful. Violet reminded herself anyone of them was stronger and faster than she was. It was a little intimidating and she shivered.
Violet moved through the crowd following Yelena. She saw one of the elders she knew there, a friendly face here, someone else over there. But for the ones she knew, there were two she didn't know. Most of those only looked at her with mild curiosity, but there were a few who looked at her with suspicion. One small group of men leered at her as she walked past. For a moment, Violet wondered who they were. But Illarion was tugging on her hand and she turned around to deal with where he was dragging her.
Yelena led the group up to the area reserved for the elders and Dmitry. There were two chairs off to one side set up for Alena and Violet to sit in. Dmitry was speaking quietly with a few of the older men. He smiled in her direction, but didn’t come over to speak to her. With a huff of irritation, Violet pulled Illarion onto her lap. Why couldn’t he at least say hello?
She didn't have long to wait for the meeting to start. There was a small open area in front of where Dmitry and the elders sat in a half circle. Yelena and Vikenti sat directly behind him. Dmitry looked at her thoughtfully. But, he turned his attention back to the pack, as the other members sat down in front of the dais. Kolya came up to stand behind Alena, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Dmitry called the meeting to order and the noise died away. Violet watched in fascination as five men came forward to give their blood oath to their Alpha. As a group they pledged themselves to support and uphold Dmitry as Alpha. Then each man extended a claw and punctured his palm. They dripped a small amount of blood into a stone basin. When the last man added his blood to the container, Dmitry stood and pledged himself to the service of the pack. As a final binding, he picked up the container and drank the blood of the men. For a moment Violet could see lines of light coming out of Dmitry to each of the men. Then the light was gone. Dmitry returned to his seat.
Next, Dmitry called Matfei and Sonya forward. Sonya dressed up in a colorful red and blue skirt. They each wore a wreath of flowers in their hair. Dmitry presided over their pledge to each other. Then they exchanged small golden bracelets. When they finished Matfei kissed Sonya gently, and the pack applauded.
Finally, Dmitry called for the introduction of new mates. Both Alena and Violet were asked to stand. The pack as a whole was called to witness the golden mating cords. Then one of the Elders came forward to give a blessing on the new couples. When it was over, Violet wondered what she was so concerned about. Alena sat back down and Violet followed her lead. She reached for Dmitry through their mating bond and felt his pleasure at the formal acceptance of his mate. But he didn't give it much thought as he went to the next order of business, disputes between the people.
Violet watched as Dmitry deftly got to the underlying problems and administered swift justice. Illarion became bored very quickly, wiggling and squirming, while she tried to hold him on her lap. When his mother came to claim him, Violet couldn’t help but be glad. He was wearing her out.
Without the child to watch, Violet found it hard to stay focused. She propped her chin on her hand, and waited for the meeting to be over. She listened patiently, but squabbles over missing pigs were not very interesting. She tried to hide a yawn behind her hand.
Dmitry seemed to be wrapping it up, when Violet felt a cold metal barrel pressed into her back. She stiffened and heard someone whisper.
“Don't move bitch.”
Dmitry called for concerns of the people, when he felt Violet's rush of fear.
He turned and saw Igorek standing behind her. Igorek was tall and muscular, but he lacked the intelligence to be an Alpha. His brown hair was hanging in his eyes and he brushed at it with his free hand. The other hand held a gun against Violet’s back. Dmitry sniffed the air but couldn’t catch Igorek’s scent. He must be wearing hunters spray. It was pure luck he wasn’t caught sneaking in one of the side entrances.
Violet’s eyes were huge as she looked at him. Dmitry took one step towards her, when a voice rang out.
“I have a concern!”
Dmitry watched as Lenka came through the crowd and stood before him, a gun in his hand. An audible gasp rang through the pack. Women and children were pushed to the back as the members of the guard surged forward. Lenka was a thin man with dark blond hair. His clothes looked soiled and torn. His dark eyes glared with maniacal hatred. He waved the gun around to get everyone’s attention before pointing it at Dmitry’s chest.
“What is the meaning of this, Lenka? How dare you bring a weapon into this meeting?” Dmitry demanded.
“Just making sure I get my say.”
“All pack members are free to speak in our meetings. That is the law. It is also our law no weapons are to be brought to our meetings. As your Alpha, I order you to put down your gun.”
Violet?
The goon behind me has a gun in my back. Violet sent to him.
“Well that's just it, I don't think you should be our Alpha anymore.” Lenka taunted.
“Are you issuing a challenge? If so, the weapon is still against our laws.” Dmitry clenched his fists. He could feel his claws starting to rip through.
Hold on, lyubov moya. How was he going to save his mate? Lenka was insane.
“No, I'm no
t challenging you for the Alpha position, I'm going to take it.”
“How do you expect to do that, Lenka? You know the pack will only follow the strongest leader. If you kill me, they wouldn't follow you.”
“Oh I'm not going to kill you. We'll have to see who they follow after you're gone.”
“You are not making sense, Lenka. If you aren't going to kill me, then how are you going to take the Alpha position?”
Kolya, can you take Igorek? He has a gun. Grigori, Sergei, move into position to take these two out, but wait for my signal.
“That's easy, Dmitry. I'm going to kill your mate, and watch you die from grief.”
Dmitry felt his blood go cold. “You touch one hair on my mate, and I will tear you apart, Lenka” He needed to remain calm. He must get Violet out of danger. If he shifted it might cause Lenka to panic and shoot her.
Kolya?
I'm not sure I can get to him before he pulls the trigger.
“You shouldn't have brought a human into our pack, Dmitry. You betrayed us by doing so.” Lenka continued.
“You are a coward, Lenka, using first a gun, and then a woman, to fight your battles. If you want to challenge me, than I accept. But right now, you are a man without honor. No one will follow you or bemoan your passing.”
Violet, I love you. He couldn’t live without her. This was his greatest failure. She didn’t know how much he loved her.
Dmitry, don't do something foolish.
“It's not my passing you need to worry about, Igorek, bring her.”
Igorek pushed Violet in the back with the gun. “Come on, sweetheart, I have plans for you before you die.” Not having any choice, she stood and walked towards Lenka, as Igorek pushed her forward with the gun barrel.
“You will not leave this building alive. Lenka. I suggest you reconsider.” said Dmitry the sound of death in his voice. One hair, if they hurt one hair on Violet’s head he would destroy them.
Kolya, Sergei, Grigori, whatever happens, you must kill them before they get outside.
Violet could tell the situation was about to go critical. A wave of anger was growing within her. How dare these goon's threaten her and in so doing threaten Dmitry. No one seemed to be moving to save him. The whole pack sat there and expected Dmitry to fix everything.
Well, that was going to change. If no one else was going to act, then she would. Violet let the anger wash over her. Then she reached for Dmitry through the mating bond, pulling on his strength to help her. Then through him, she reached the pack. She pulled on the telepathic bond and let power and strength flow into her. Everyone froze.
“STOP!“ she roared.
Violet turned, pulled the gun from the now frozen Igorek. Then she punched him in the face. Gasping she brought her bruised fist to her mouth. “Damn that hurt,” she said, shaking her hand. But she wasn’t done yet. She stomped over to the frozen Lenka and pulled the gun from his hand. Next she kicked him in the groin, and used the gun to hit him in the face. Both men went down hard without moving.
Violet stood there panting. Where was her back up? She looked around. Everyone in the building was frozen. “Shit, did I do that?” She didn’t mean to freeze everyone. Feeling sick and light headed, she could feel her shields crumbling. The thoughts of the pack members came rushing in, like a tidal wave, they hit her. She started to sway, her eye sight fading to black.
Before she hit the ground, Dmitry was diving to catch her. Sergei and Grigori each crouched over one of the men on the ground. Kolya ran up to Dmitry.
“What the hell happened?” Kolya asked as Dmitry scooped Violet into his arms.
“My mate decided to take care of things herself. The guns, Kolya.”
“How did she do that? We were frozen.”
“I have no idea, Kolya. I think she connected with the blood oath tie connecting the pack. I did not know she possessed the ability to freeze someone. But I would suggest you don't mess with my mate. Close the meeting. Take those two out and execute them. They have shown themselves to be without honor. They have attacked and killed members of the pack. As Alpha, I judge them. The sentence is death. If you can't do the job, hold them and I will do it myself. But for now, I am taking my mate home.”
“Have no fear, Dmitry. It will be my pleasure to exterminate these vermin.”
Dmitry carried Violet carefully to the house. His mother rushed ahead and met him at the door to let him in. She went to the sink and wet a cloth with cold water, while Dmitry sank into a chair. He held Violet gently in his arms. Yelena brought over the towel and patted Violet's face. Dmitry buried his face in her hair. He shuddered with emotion. He almost lost her tonight. He was willing to follow her into death, rather than live without her. She fought for him, for both of them. He was so proud of her. So thankful to have her. And if she didn't wake up soon, he was going to shake her.
“Dmitry, you will crush her.” Yelena complained.
Dmitry immediately gentled his grasp. “Violet, wake up, my love, my life.” Violet, wake up, come back to me. Dmitry sent to her as he leaned down to kiss her.
Dmitry?
Yes, love, wake up for me. Sent Dmitry as he placed kisses on her nose and eyes.
He sighed in relief when Violet's eyelids fluttered, and she finally opened her eyes. “My God, mate. I thought I'd lost you. Don't ever scare me like that again.” Dmitry yelled. Then he was kissing her. Putting everything he was feeling into his kisses.
When he could think again, Dmitry heard laughter. He looked up to see his family and friends surrounded him. Dmitry flushed when he realized they heard him shouting at his mate. He looked down and saw she was smiling shyly up at him, her eyes filled with love. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her gently on the nose.
“I love you, Violet Anderson,” he whispered to her.
Later that night, Dmitry made sure to show Violet exactly how much. As they lay wrapped in each other’s arms, Dmitry felt he owed Violet an apology.
“I know I haven't been very attentive this last week. I hope you can forgive me. I shouldn't have let the pack problems come between us. I should have included you in what was happening. I shouldn’t have closed down the mating bond. I need you. I need your help.”
“I know you were under a lot of stress.”
“I hope you also know how very much I appreciate having you in my life. Merge your mind with me. I would die for you, mate.” assured Dmitry.
“I don't want you to die for me. I want you to live for me. To have a life with me. To demand time for yourself and our family. The pack needs to be more self-sufficient, you shouldn't be needed for every little thing.”
“Now with the blood oath is in place, and Lenka and Igorek taken care of, things should settle down. We need to get your pictures for National Geographic, like I promised. Then we start the paperwork for our marriage ceremony. The laws in Russia are different than America. There is a lot of paperwork involved.” Dmitry wanted to make sure there was no way Violet could escape him. Pack law stated she was already considered his wife, but he wanted everyone to know she was his. He would always remember almost losing her. Never again would he close down the mating bond. They were a team.
“But what about sending a few of the men out to look for mates like me? We might look on line and see if there is a chat room for people who have psychic abilities. How do you afford a private plane? Because I think we should put funds into the school and start thinking about future education needs for the children of the pack. How does the council work? There are a lot of things I still don't know about the pack. The pack needs to be brought into the future,” urged Violet.
Dmitry ruffled her hair affectionately. “I am sure, lyubov moya, with you at my side, we can do anything.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dmitry smiled with satisfaction at his new bride. Finally, on this autumn day Violet was his, according to the authority of the state of Russia. Last month Violet accompanied him back to Moscow to visit the consulate and the
ministry of foreign affairs. They worked to get all the paperwork legally prepared to have the civil ceremony the Russian government required. Then they waited the required 30 days. Finally, this morning, the day arrived.
Violet wore a gown of cream satin Yelena helped her design and sew. Alena gave her a blue sapphire necklace to wear for something borrowed and something blue. For something old, Yelena pulled the floral wreath out of storage she wore when she was handfasted to Vikenti.
With her long dark hair flowing down her back and her soft brown eyes alight with love, Dmitry thought Violet looked like the most beautiful woman on Earth.
Maggie and Ellen flew in for the event. They were now sitting in the Hotel National dining room, with Ivan, waiting to be served their dinner. Dmitry arranged for a semi-private space, and they were seated at a large table in an alcove. The noise and confusion of the main dining area was only slightly dimmed. Grigori, acting as their escort, kept scowling at all the people. Dmitry felt the need to laugh at his friend’s ferocious stare, but covered it with a cough. He kept his hand on Violet and smiled graciously at their friends. When all he wanted to do was pick Violet up and carry her to their room. He wanted to unwrap Violet like the treasure she was.
The pack unanimously accepted Violet as the Alpha’s Mate. She was already organizing the women into groups. Knowing she could freeze them in place may have helped decide the tough ones. But everyone agreed her little trick was the perfect protection for a small human woman living with a pack of wolves.
Dmitry still marveled at how well she accepted his wolf spirit. After insisting he shift several times back and forth, she grabbed his neck and kissed him on his wet wolf nose. He shifted and kissed her right back.
Kolya, Alena, Fanya and Andrei agreed to shift and pose for Violet's pictures. Little Illarion couldn’t wait to get in on the act. National Geographic bought all of them, and was waiting to see what she would do next. Violet told her agent she was taking a leave of absence, to get married, and start work on her next project, a baby.
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