Meg Roberts

kmdavidson‌:

Just as he always did – with everyone that wasn’t Kaden – Kyle remained silent when Meg spoke. Listening to everything she said, taking it in, and allowing himself a moment to think upon it. He truly did see where she was coming from, naturally, as the person she was, Meghan stood up for what she considered right, whether somebody asked her to, or not. May it be because she thought the unheard needed a voice, or giving strength to an entity because she had it finally. The only thing… He hadn’t asked her for any of that. He placed a hand on her bicep, tapping at her the way a father would to his child as a form of encouragement. “I get it, but just remember, there’s a difference between me asking you to do it for us, and you taking the liberty to just do it yourself for others.” He stood up straighter, turning his head to the side to crack his neck with a sigh that went with the sound. “We’ll continue this later, if you’re not running off again,” a step was taken into the direction of the living room. He truly did love her, and he respected what she was doing for supernaturals, but it wasn’t what he wanted for the pack. Having the attention continuously drawn in their attention rather than the mass of werewolves. Right now, though, he didn’t need to scold. He needed to direct, lead.

Kaden opened her mouth to protest as she was perfectly happy sitting on the arm rest as opposed to slouched back on some couch cushion, but she also thought better than to go against Kyle’s request to a member of his pack. She didn’t want Joe stuck in the middle of being unsure whether he should follow Kyle’s instruction or Kaden’s denial that she needed an actual seat. At least it put her next to Brooklyn for the time being. It was better than being squished around wolves that she hardly knew. Kaden already felt out of place enough without being surrounded by wolves that were hardly acquaintances. Kyle’s gaze had retreated from the room once more, Kaden figuring that the conversation she had ran away from was still continuing, but at least neither of them looked too upset when they finally emerged around the corner to enter the living room. It had been more than the requested five minutes at that point, and with being on-time in this situation being considered late, Kaden had full faith that already being a few minutes past the original start time meant that everyone who was coming had already shown up. They knew better than to stroll in late.

Kyle has absolutely no idea what a bigot was, surely something Kaden or Google would. Whatever it was, he would take it as a “big idiot” for the time being. Trying to make sense of her words even if he didn’t want to. That would always be the thing, trying to justify her actions because he felt like he had to. “Trust, I get it,” he continued to stare at her with the same expression he had used before, trying to keep himself collected through her attempt at reasoning. He finally leaned to look into the room, seeing everyone sitting in uniform fashion, awaiting what they got there for, and also seeing Kaden wasn’t sitting on an actual seat. “Ay, Joe, give my wife a seat.” It was an order, a quick one so that he could finish with Meghan, at least, for the time being. “Meghan…” It was said in the same tone he used with his daughter when she made a mess, and in a way, that was exactly how he saw it. Meg was making an even bigger mess that he had to try and contain. “Just, tone it down is all I’m asking. This isn’t our war against everyone, it‘s us against another Alpha. Right now, wolves are the targets, specifically, us, and I really don’t need you stirring the pot. I need the pack as one, not you going off and doing what you think is right for other supes. You do for you, and this pack. Stop trying for everyone, be selfish. That’s all.”

kadenkingsman‌:

Kaden walked as quickly as she could away from that conversation without being obvious about it, a few hellos and how are yous being asked as she made her way past a few members of the pack towards the stairs. Most of the wolves had already gone downstairs, but the few stragglers were given one last reminder about the five minute notice until Kyle wanted the meeting to begin. Mainly Kaden was just relieved to be away from the tension-filled conversation that she had stumbled into with her mere presence.  There was nothing she felt she could do on either side to make things better, so she preferred to just stay away instead of listening in as a silent third party. Returning back downstairs, Kaden sat next to Stella and her baby on the couch, sitting on the armrest since the rest of the cushions were already full. Kyle and Meghan were still in the kitchen as far as she knew, but she was more than content to just wait out here for them to be done.

Nobody else drew his attention away from Meg, only Kaden, his eyes flicking up at her as he felt her presence pass before returning back on his second. It was dawning on him why he didn’t like what she was doing, and now, he had to voice it before the activities of the weekend were commencing. Even if he kept his voice low, there were nearly twenty-five werewolves in the adjoining room, so discretion wasn’t a possibility in the moment. “At the end of the day, Meg, I just want to remind you that everything you say, the pack is attached to. You can speak on behalf of the supernaturals, but that’s not who you’re tied to. When you say ‘I,’ it means ‘we.’ And as second, that’s not your place,” because to Kyle, it wasn’t. He ran a hand through his shorter hair, holding back the movement of looking into the living room where everyone was placed. Before she could get anything in, he could hear it in the way her heart was beating, eyebrows became more relaxed, his body as well. “I’m the alpha, if anyone fucks up our image, it’s me. I’m going to be telling them, too, and I’m proud you’re doing what you’re doing, just remember that they’re not paying attention to just you. It ties back to all of us, puts more light on us.”

kadenkingsman‌:

“Doesn’t surprise me. He seems like a lovely guy.” Kaden nodded along as the conversation shifted, but once again she was starting to feel more like an observer than a part of the conversation–not that she really minded. They were talking about the weather, but she was trained to read people and Meghan and Kyle were having an entirely different conversation just below the surface. It wasn’t like she could participate much anyway. She’d never been to Washington D.C. Kaden glanced towards Kyle, “Do you want me to go let anyone left upstairs know that you’re about to start the meeting?” She probably shouldn’t have been attempting to excuse herself from the conversation, and yet… she was already standing to make her way to do exactly that. A good number of the pack had already gathered in the living room, probably to be able to claim the seats on the couch, but Kaden knew that there would always be stragglers. Mainly she just hated the way she felt slightly out of place as the only non-wolf in the house. 

A quick glance over Meghan’s features was followed by a sigh as he looked over at Kaden. Eyebrows were raised, his hand going for his beard where hands swiped over the mixture of brown and gold that lined his jaw. “Yeah, five minutes,” he answered with the same exhaustion he had displayed during the week. His free hand went for her stomach, bringing her in for a quick kiss. Once she was gone, folded arms tightened more, blue eyes looking down at the lake-like hues of her own. For the past year, he had been trying his best to find the good in what she was doing, being biased because of who she was to him, but with every time her voice rang from a television, online with Kaden telling him, he couldn’t decide what to think anymore. “I’m not going to comment on the obvious,” Kyle started off with. His words weren’t as warm as they were with everyone else. The movement upstairs was far from quiet, yet his attention remained on her. “Only confirm, or deny… Something happens to me, you’re still my second. That means pack first, you know that right.”

kadenkingsman‌:

There was tension, most likely tension that she was imagining herself, but there was definite tension. It didn’t help that Kaden had heard Kyle’s true thoughts on the matter, and it especially didn’t help since the television in their house had been turned on almost constantly over the last week. It was Kaden’s fault, purposely torturing herself in anticipation for the duel. She was well-aware that the people on TV rarely had anything nice to say about Kyle, and yet she tuned in anyway. It was masochistic at this point, but she couldn’t help it. The curiosity was killer and there was a part of her that couldn’t help but wonder if she liked the way it made her feel so fired up and furious. Regarding Meghan’s appearance on said TV screen… She understood, Kyle understood too, but she knew his feelings regarding the matter were more complicated than her own. It was why she sat back at their initial interaction, Kaden waiting to get a read on the current vibe between the two.

“I saw you on CNN a few days ago,” she commented nonchalantly to try and avoid any awkwardness that might otherwise start to flourish between the two. Kaden was being overly protective, but with the duel just a few days away she wanted everything to go as smoothly as she could ensure, “That guy… The one whose face gets all red and wears his tie so tight it looks like his head’s about to pop off? He’s a real fucking asshole.” It was amazing that people were actually paid to drag Kyle, his reputation, and his very right to a fair life through the mud. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. 

Naturally, the hand went to grasp the back of the chair Kaden was sitting in, automatically gravitating to her within the full premises. As of ten minutes prior, he had regretted not calling the meeting at his own house, having chosen the pack house out of custom from the previous time around. Their house was much more spacious, able to withhold the lot of them, with the twenty five in attendance and the others having been unable to either from being on vacation, or at work. “Glad you think it’s important,” he commented, looking around at who was there. It sounded more as a backhand comment, something he knew entirely well about, and to apply a dose of sugar to his spice, he smiled at her. A dry smile, but one nonetheless. As he always did, Kyle paid no attention towards the negative aspect of whom she discussed things with on television, going for a generic topic instead. “You were in D.C. for the CNN one, right? Fucking hate it there during the summer, humid as fuck. Like, worse than here.”

Meg bristled a bit at Kyle’s comment, feeling that it was pretty backhanded, even with the smile he gave her, but if there was anything she’d learned from her work, it was how to generally not show that she was annoyed by something someone had said-- an invaluable skill for when she had to deal with some of the idiots she regularly was paid to argue with on TV. She could feel the tension between them two though, and it felt as though she’d be able to cut through that tension with a knife. Meg nodded as Kaden described one of the other talking heads, knowing immediately who it was from the description. “Yeah, that’s Robert-- he’s a total jerk off camera too,” she explained, adding in a disparaging way, “So at least he’s not a total hypocrite off camera, I guess, if that counts for anything.” 

kadenkingsman‌:

Anxiety had been building with every day that led up to the duel that coming Saturday. Kaden was trying to hide it, control it as much as she could since she knew Kyle would be aware, but it was impossible to keep under wraps completely. Not that anyone could truly blame her–it was a stressful time after all. Today was a day just like the one before it and the one that would come after, plannings and preparations for all the potential outcomes and the just-in-cases. She knew it would be fine, Kyle would win as he always did–especially against a baby wolf like this–but they still had to go through the same patterns as always, and that meant a meeting at the pack house so he could talk to his pack members as a whole. Kaden had come along in a show of unity and support. Natalie luckily had been left at home with Zachary. After missing out on the early months of her life, he was doing everything he could to make up for that lost time now.

She was sitting on one of the bar stools in the kitchen, taking more than occasional sips of her water just to give her something to do. Nervous energy was bubbling within her more than it had been lately. Kaden figured it just had to do with being here, not being here exactly, but rather the reasoning behind why they were here. She was listening in on the conversation Kyle was having, not participating herself although she had originally been a part of it, while the last few stragglers of wolves arrived back at the house or came downstairs. The front door opening sent Kaden glancing over her shoulder once more, sending a thin-lipped smile and a small wave of her had as Meghan arrived still in her full hair and makeup.

Since the last three days leading up to the Duel were spent in near isolation, anything prior had to be completed before he got into the correct mindset. Especially with the course of how this duel would play out, Kyle wanted to make sure everything was laid out since the days following would be him isolating himself as well. He already knew what would happen – everyone would hate him, call him a murderer, a savage animal, so on, so forth. Last time, he was grateful enough to have been in a coma to not be conscious during it. And just like before, he was laying down ground rules for the wolves that were able to be in attendance. He was talking to Brooklyn, getting a headcount when he saw Kaden in the corner of his eye smile at someone. Arms that were folded continued to constrict his chest as he turned around to see who else it was.

Meg. Oh, the prized possession. “We’ll talk later,” he mumbled to Brook, walking over to the blonde as she walked in. A quick look was given towards Kaden, making sure she was fine before giving the blonde his full attention. “You smell like shit,” he said genuinely, knowing the smell of hot lights, stale air, and beauty products. Plus, by the appearance of her face and hair, it only validated the fact that she had more than likely was returning from what was making him so irritated in the first place. As customary, Kyle still went for a hug, pulling her in before pulling away. “Didn’t think you’d show.”

Meg was exhausted-- she’d been working all day, going from studio to studio, trying to do some preemptive damage control in the media, anticipating just how bad the press was going to get after Kyle’s duel. She wasn’t even sure it was working or that trying to get ahead of the inevitable bad press would make much of a difference, but she knew she still had to try, not just for Kyle’s, but for everyone’s, sake. As she arrived at the pack house, she took a deep breath before heading in, already anticipating that Kyle would give her shit for how much she’d been on TV lately.