Kiss Of The Alpha : A YA Paranormal Romance

Chapter 189: Chapter 189

Heather

When we got to the conference room, Mr. Langdon, Donovan, Sebastian, and Lucas were having a hushed conversation in the corner. The rest of the alphas were gone, but Serena, Xander, Adrian, Shane, Raphael, and Claudia were huddled together reading a newspaper.

"What’s going on?"

Xander moved over so I could read the headline. Eight Families Murdered By Monsters.

Why had no one mentioned this?

Mr. Langdon separated from the group in the corner. "It just hit the news. There were a few gruesome murders around three in the morning last night. They weren’t far from here—about thirty minutes away—in the outskirts of San Antonio." He paused, and his jaw ticked. "They’re being blamed on werewolves."

That was stupid. Werewolves wouldn’t hurt humans. Not unless they were defending themselves. "But they’re not—"

"No." Donovan cut in. "These remains look like the policemen’s."

The truth hit, and I sat down hard in one of the chairs. "Demons." Luciana wouldn’t... But obviously she had. I couldn’t be totally surprised, but what did she stand to gain from that? Was she letting innocent people die just to make the Weres look worse?

"The crowd outside has grown. We’ve set up a podium and lectern just inside the gate. We’ll let them in, you read the speech, and then there’ll be time for questions. I’ll be there with you, in case you’re unsure how to answer. And if things get too heated, we’ll cut it off."

This was getting better and better.

Dad handed me a small stack of notecards. I skimmed the words, and then looked up. "You can’t be serious."

"It’s okay," Mr. Langdon said. "Everyone has agreed on the content. It’s time."

I blew out a breath. "If you say so..."

I spent the next hour going over the words. It wasn’t a long speech, so I had it almost memorized by the time Dad called. In a daze, I walked to the gates with Brent. The alphas and everyone else trailed behind us, but my thoughts were distant.

Whatever happened next, everything was about to change.

As soon as I stepped onto the podium, cameras started flashing. I could see through the flashes, but they still startled me. I nearly froze, but pushed myself to keep moving. I placed the now slightly crumpled piece of paper on the lectern. No less than ten microphones were taped to it, and I had to suppress the urge to tap on them while saying something like is this thing on?

I set my notecards down, spreading out the first few across the surface. Dad had said to focus on something above their heads, but all I saw were signs. Some were nice. Things like "We <3 Weres!" Others said some things that were not so nice about wolves and hellspawn.

A group of people stood behind me. Classmates. Cazadores. My friends. And Brent.

You can do this, he said through the bond.

I took a breath in and prayed I didn’t fuck up too badly. "Thank you for coming today." My voice wobbled and I cleared my throat. "I know the footage you all saw was shocking." My hands shook, so I gripped the sides of the lectern. "You might also be shocked to know that werewolves have been around nearly as long as humans." I couldn’t believe I was here, telling the world these things. I forced myself to look up, over the crowd. "And, since they’re a long-lived race, most of the people you see here—the ones all in black, and those behind me—have fought in many American wars. Including the one for our independence."

The silence among the crowd was eerie. Only the sound of photographers’ flashes competed with my voice. "Werewolves have been protecting humans for centuries. Name a monster, and it most likely exists. Vampires. Demons." The card said pause, so I took a moment, and then started again. The words were coming easier now. "Our leaders have been planning to come forward, but we’re extremely sorry that our presence had come to light in these circumstances." I paused again, preparing for the hardest part. "Not everything that happened that night made it onto the video. The compound you saw is where the local coven of witches has made their home for the past fifty years. They lived peacefully within our community until their leader, Luciana Alvarez, turned to dark magic. Now Luciana has committed an unforgivable crime by murdering her coven and summoning demons into the world."

Some people shouted questions.

"I know this might sound crazy. Believe me, I didn’t know that any of this existed until a few months ago. That’s why I’m the one speaking to you today. I was a normal human girl until a few months ago when I became a werewolf. I’ve been where you are, and I know more than anyone what an adjustment this knowledge can be, but the pack is trustworthy. They’ve been protecting you without hope or desire of recognition or fortune. They would’ve stayed in the background, content to protect us from afar, but this time, the evil is great. If you saw the recent news from San Antonio, you know about the attacks. Those were not werewolf attacks. Those were demons. Luciana Alvarez is out there somewhere, and she’s extremely dangerous. We’re working with the police to bring her to justice, but we are coming forward to warn you and make sure that you have the facts. For your safety, please stay indoors after dark. If you see one of these monsters—" I held up the drawing Xander had sketched. "Run. Do not engage. The officers who responded to the compound shot the demon many times, but bullets won’t harm this type of monster. We’ve found that you’ll smell demons before you see them. If you catch the rotten egg smell of sulfur, take that as your warning to leave wherever you are and call the authorities."

I paused again. "It is our only wish to continue a peaceful existence, protecting you from monsters such as these. It is the pack’s dearest hope that you will welcome us as part of your, as we’ve already lived among you for a very long time."

I folded up the piece of paper, and turned to Mr. Langdon. He gave me a little nod. "I’ll now answer some questions."

Everyone started yelling questions at once, and I had no idea who to call on. Dad came to stand next to me. "You, first." He pointed to a reporter in the front.

"You said you didn’t know any of this existed until a few months ago. What happened?"

Thank God Dad had prepared me for the likely questions. "I met my mate." The reporter waited for me to say more, but I wasn’t going to volunteer anything more personal than that.

Dad pointed to someone else before the guy could think of a follow-up.

"How exactly did you become a werewolf?"

I’d been hoping for more questions about Luciana, but I guessed that wasn’t happening. "My mate changed me into one." We’d agreed that any mention of biting would open up a can of worms we didn’t need right now, and I was technically telling the truth. Brent had changed me.

After that, the questions came fast.

"Do you like being a werewolf?"

"Yes."

"Can you change forms?"

"Yes." From the way everyone waited after I said the word, I knew they wanted more from me than just ’yes,’ but I wasn’t sure what else to say. They were going to be really disappointed if they were waiting for a demonstration.

"Can you think like a human when you’re in wolf form, or do you truly become a wolf?"

"I can think."

"Would you ever attack a human?"

This was a tough one. I thought for a moment before speaking. "No. Not unless I was defending myself.

We can all think and process information no matter what form we’re in."

"Who was the girl with the sword?"

I wasn’t touching that one. "She’s a friend of the pack."

"But—"

"I can’t speak for her. She enjoys her privacy." And any lie I gave could get me in just as much trouble as telling the truth.

"Do you have sex with wolves?"

What the hell kind of question was that? "No. I’m not into bestiality. Are you asking because you are?"

Dad cleared his throat. "My daughter is still in high school. Let’s try and keep the questions appropriate to that age."

There was some tittering from the crowd.

"You said there were demons on the loose? Do you know how many? And what do we do to protect ourselves?"

Finally. Someone with a question I could deal with. "I don’t know how many, and until Luciana is apprehended, it’s safe to say she can keep calling them up. So, stay at home after dark. Keep your doors locked. And pray."

"That’s not very reassuring."

"I wish I had something better to say, but I can only hope that she’s found quickly."

"Why is Luciana doing these things? What’s her motivation?"

I shrugged. Like I knew. The best I could come up with was her wanting more power, but she had plenty of that now. The latest attacks seemed like a plot to make the Weres look like villains, but beyond that, I kept wondering what her grand plan was. The destruction of all Weres? A world run by witches? Who knew at this point? "Why does anyone do anything bad? Why do rapists rape? Why do murderers kill people? I don’t know."

Dad gripped my shoulder, and moved me gently out of the way. "That’s all we have time for right now. Thank you."

The shouting drowned the rest of my thoughts as I stepped down from the podium. The reporters all pressed toward the barrier we’d set up. Only one person moved the opposite direction. Raphael pushed through the crowd on his way back to campus. I reached out to Claudia, and pulled her close so she’d hear me over the roar of the crowd. "Did I upset him?"

"I don’t know. I wouldn’t think so, but he’s... He’s not himself. He’s been through a lot."

"Should I go after him? Apologize?" Although for what, I had no idea.

"No. Let him go. He’ll be okay." The last sounded more like a question than a statement.

I understood. If it were my brother, I’d hope for the best, too. Still, as I watched the crowd part for him, I wondered if there was something more I could be doing for him. If there was something I should be doing for him. He’d been through so much already. But I couldn’t think of anything that would be helpful.

Luciana had a lot to answer for. She’d destroyed her coven. Her family. Murdered so many people. It had to stop. And soon.

We had to find her before she killed anyone else.

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