Page 3 of Chained By the Alpha (Claimed Duet #1)

“I already did,” he states, giving me a pointed look. I turn back in my chair, and my father looks like he is about to leap out of his chair when Samuel speaks up.

“Joseph!” Samuel shakes his head, warning my father to back off. Reluctantly, he does, while Alpha Zayn retakes his seat across from me.

The meeting continues, and I notice some other future Alphas sneaking off. They’re using the bathroom as an excuse to leave. It is that boring. No one seems to have noticed they haven’t returned, so I decide to chance it. Glancing around, I lean closer to my father.

“I need to use the bathroom,” I whisper. He nods for me to go, and I quietly push my chair out, making a quick exit. Once in the hall, I go to retrieve my phone before remembering Alpha Zayn took it from me.

Great, I’ll find Deacon either way; I will just have to mindlink Dad to grab my phone from him on his way out. Moving toward the top landing and the stairs, I run into one of the Alpha’s sons from the meeting.

“Cleo!” he calls out, and I stop, fisting my hands and turning back to face him.

“You escaped?” Boyd laughs.

“Trying to, but your intent on getting me caught if we are going to be lingering outside the door,” I tell him. He glances back at the conference room door.

“I’m not taking over. My brother is. No purpose for me in those meetings,” he says, draping his arm across my shoulders.

“I heard your father is handing down the pack to you. I’m surprised it’s not going to Lydia, since Samuel’s pack is bigger.

It would make sense if they joined packs,” he tells me.

However, this time, I try to step away. I may not like having to attend these meetings, but there is no way I would let that bitch take over my mother’s pack. I couldn’t dishonor her like that.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. Come on, let’s get a drink. My father wants to discuss alliances with your father, anyway. It seems we’ll be getting to know each other better soon,” he says, and I stop in my tracks at his words.

“Excuse me?”

“Your father hasn’t told you?”

I step away from him. For some reason, I remember what Lydia had said earlier and wonder if this is what she meant. Boyd stiffens as I bump into somebody. A warm hand falls to my hip, and tingling rushes over my skin, sending a shiver up my spine.

Glancing over my shoulder, I find Alpha Zayn behind me.

Damn it! I try to step away from him. He presses closer until I feel his entire body pressed against my back, and his grip on my hip tightens holding me against him.

“Shouldn’t you be in the Council meeting?” Alpha Zayn asks Boyd, who stares at him like a deer in headlights.

“My father let me leave,” he stammers, quick to defend himself.

I remain frozen in place. Some part of me is grateful that Zayn stepped out before shit got awkward with Boyd. The other part of me knows I’ll be dragged back into that damn meeting, my opportunity to escape ruined.

“Good, now leave,” Alpha Zayn growls when I feel his hand on my hip move slightly, brushing beneath my blouse. Boyd also notices the Alpha’s hand and reaches out.

“Come on, Cleo,” Boyd states, reaching his hand toward me. Yet after hearing what he said, I don’t want to go anywhere with him. Honestly, I’d rather put up with the boring meeting and this mysterious, somewhat bossy Alpha whose grip only seems to grow tighter.

“Cleo is using the bathroom. She is required to attend since she’ll be Alpha. Isn’t that right, Cleo?” his fingers dig into my hip harder. No Alpha has ever embarrassed me like this. I glance up at him and swallow when I find his eyes glaring daggers at Boyd.

“I guess I’ll see you later, Cleo, if you come down to the ball,” Boyd quickly states before rushing off down the stairs.

I gulp, peering up at Alpha Zayn, who leans down and points behind me.

“Bathrooms are right there,” he says. I glance back toward the conference room door, where the unisex bathroom door is located.

I give him a nervous look.

“You weren’t sneaking off now, were you?”

“Just using the bathroom, then I ran into Boyd,” I say, awkwardly turning for the bathroom when I stop. “May I get my phone back, please?”

He raises an eyebrow at me. “Why, so you can message Boyd?” he asks, and my face falls.

“What, no? It’s my phone.” Why is he so concerned with who I’m messaging?

“Until the end of the meeting, it is mine. Now, hurry, your father was worried about you.”

“So, what? You decided to play errand boy for my father?” I sneer. Who is this guy, my teacher?

If he thinks I’m going to take his crap because he’s an Alpha, he is in for a shock because I am also an Alpha and do not have to bow to him.

“I’m waiting for my Beta. Now, use the bathroom before I tell Alpha Dane how excited you are to take Boyd as your mate, and become the next Luna of Claymore pack,” he growls, and my face falls.

“I am not taking him as my mate!” My tone changing to a growl. Alpha Zayn smiles deviously.

“Then you better get back to the meeting to say that. I heard Alpha Dane ask to speak with your father after the meeting about an alliance proposal.”

“What did my father say?” I ask him, slightly worried.

This is common within packs. My father married my mother as part of a pack alliance.

He then took over her pack, only to find his true mate in my stepmother.

It made things complicated. At first, my mother had accepted it, though Linda wasn’t as accepting as my mother.

This is one thing that constantly worries me, even if we take a chosen mate, we will still recognize our true destined mate.

“I didn’t hear. My Beta mindlinked me,” he says as he steps closer and leans down. “He can’t marry you off without your consent. So make sure you don’t give it.”

“You know it’s not that easy,” I reply, noticing how good he smells as he leans in closer, making me want to step nearer so I can soak up his scent. I almost follow that instinct when I snap out of the weird haze I’m under before embarrassing myself.

“Isn’t it?”

“It could cause pack wars,” I remind him.

“You’ll have strong alliances.”

“I highly doubt Alpha Samuel will go up against Alpha Dane, given they’re best friends, and he is the only Alpha my father currently has an alliance with.” My eyes burn at the thought as tears spring to my eyes.

“The only thing that would stop that from going ahead…” he begins to say, then smirks. I want to slap him for being a jerk about me possibly being married off.

“A mate, I know!” I snap at him, and his brows pinch. It’s alright for him; he isn’t being forced to marry someone he doesn’t like. I gulp, a lump forms in my throat. How will I explain this to Deacon? We have plans. Plans that don’t involve political alliances.

“Are you seriously not going to—” his words cut off when someone in the distance calls his name.

“Alpha?” mutters a voice. Peering around him, I see his Beta standing on the stairs.

Using his distraction, I turn to the bathroom, push the door open, and quickly move inside.

I wash my hands, not actually needing to use the bathroom, just trying to buy time.

Now the urge to escape extends beyond avoiding an annoying meeting.

I need to speak to Boyd and try to get him to talk his father out of that idea.

Deacon will be my mate if my wolf doesn’t find her own.

We’ve already discussed it. Striding back out, Alpha Zayn is still talking to his Beta, and I internally groan so much for escaping.

“I should go back into the meeting,” he tells his Beta, and I know I won’t be sneaking off anywhere with the Alpha around to alert my father. He turns and moves toward me. I quickly rush back into the meeting and retake my seat.

Alpha Zayn follows me a second later. My father once again looks furious about having to wait for Alpha Zayn.

“Sorry, my Beta needed me,” Alpha Zayn states, and the other Alphas don’t seem to mind. However, my father does.

“That’s what the mindlink is for,” my father snarls.

“Really? I wouldn’t have known, Joseph. Last I checked, the mindlink provides me with access to his thoughts, not his eyes. He had something to show me. Now, can we continue?”

My father’s lips tug in the corners, and I know he is biting back what he wants to say.

I lean back in my seat, sulking that I can’t escape to see Deacon. Yet, one part of me is grateful to Boyd for the heads up about my dad’s plan. If he thinks I’m marrying Boyd, he is severely mistaken.

The meeting drags on, tensions rise as Alpha Zayn continues to shut down my father’s every argument.

Dad’s temper is boiling, his hands clenched into fists on the table.

They speak about the threat of the rogues and new treaty deals.

As time passes, my father becomes increasingly angry as everything he says get shut down.

None of the other Alphas dare to interfere, and I wonder what my father did to infuriate Zayn so badly. Surely, it isn’t just because of the look my father gave him when he entered. Eventually, my father finally snaps and explodes, making me jump in my seat.

“Fuck this. If you are just going to hand him control of the city, then I am done here,” my father snarls.

“Sit down, Joseph. My men on your borders is the only thing keeping the rogues off your land. So sit the fuck down and shut up!” Alpha Zayn growls, his fist comes down on the table with a loud thud. The wood creaks and groans, a crack slivers right up the middle of it.

My father laughs and shakes his head. “I have no alliance with your pack!”

“Regardless, if you bothered to go out to your borders for once, you would see my patrols. Every pack here is under my pack’s protection, and I will revoke it if you don’t sit down!”

“Samuel’s men help patrol my pack borders, not yours,” my father snaps, gripping my arm and yanking me to my feet.