Sebastianâs POV~ stillâ¦
I ask Arabella if sheâd like to head out to training and get in some sparring after lunch and she got excited..asking if she would be sparring me. I laughed and asked her is she was that eager to kick my ass and she shrugged and said âmaybeâ .. She left to go to the clinic with Callista and Kaiden to check on the babyâ¦and Brayden and I decided to tackle some paperworkâ¦
An hour or so later, the phone rang and I answered âAlpha McCallumâ and the voice on the other end responds âHow are you, cousin?â I hit the speaker and said â Byron! What a surprise!! And since when do we claim one another as cousinsâ¦or any kin, for that matter!?â
He chuckles â It beats the alternative, I believe. Iâm calling to request an audience.. I am having a few issues with two Alphas near me in regard to a land dispute and seek your counsel.â Brayden links âI call bullshit!â I snicker and reply to Byron âI will entertain your request, howeverâ¦.any audience we agree to will have to be with all Alphas involved in the disputeâ¦as well as any documentation brought before meâ¦so I can ascertain authentic ownership. Get back to us, once thatâs arranged.â Hanging up, I look at Bray and say âThe timing is just too convenient..these players all over the board!â And Cory says âIn my opinionâ¦â and we laugh..
He says âno..seriously, In my opinion, Byron is hoping to keep you off his scent. He doesnât know we know heâs a major player. So, he knows, by requesting an audience with you..and he has eyes on you..Ezekiel will be moving their pawns into place. They are banking on our complete ignorance. They werenât counting on the Goddess warning usâ¦and they had no idea Celia would fail so colossally. So, Byron concocted this land dispute bullshit story..knowing you donât interfere unless a war breaks out, The entire country knows that! He knows the three of them will be sent straight to mediation and you donât handle that. It begs the questionâ¦whatâs his angle?â
I sat thereâ¦contemplatingâ¦and an idea occurred to meâ¦âwhat if, he is coming hereâ¦hoping to find a way to bug us..to set up a way to survey us? No one knows that we sweep for anything spy related every morning. So what if he thinks he is smarter than us and can accomplish where others have failed?â
Brayden says âThat actually makes sense..but how? How would he do it?â Cory chimes in with âA bug..stuck under the chair he sits in..slipped under the edge of a table..or a desk.. I think we should have Kaiden rig something that would detect the bug as soon as he places itâ¦can that be done? We could detain him on the spot!â I looked at Cory! I said to Brayden âYou hit the jackpot with this one! Heâs smart..cunningâ¦devious.. thinks of things before any of usâ¦can work through different scenarios, finding solutions to problems before they even become problems! Well done!â And Brayden says âHeâs cute too!â And we all laugh!
Kaiden and Arabella walk in with Callista in tow..with Arabella arguing âWhy canât I call him Peanut? Heâs shaped like a peanutâ¦and Callista is my cute little squirrel.. soâ¦get it? Squirrelâ¦peanut⦠it makes perfect senseâ and Kaiden just says âNoâ⦠We all chuckle because we know heâs lost the argumentâ¦even he knows itâs a lost cause!
I looked at my most trusted people and say âAfter training, we are all back in here. We have quite a few things to go overâ¦and talk about. Everyone agrees and we head down for lunch.. we get situated at the table and I hear âYunaaaaaâ turning to see Penny asking to be picked up. Arabella doesnât hesitate to lift her into her lap and immediately a conversation begins about the prettiest princessâ¦.Bella says Cinderellaâ¦but Penny shakes her head saying no, itâs Belle..because she loves the beast! I lean over and say âPennyâ¦you are absolutely right! And your Luna is called Bella so she can love my beast!â
Penny giggles and runs off to find her family. I ask Bella who the little girl belongs to and she waves her hand dismissively saying âOhâ¦she and Michael are two of Mario and Missyâs kidsâ and againâ¦she amazes me. She is learning the names of our pack membersâ¦interacting with them. Sheâs so approachable and treats everyone equally!! Goddess! I fall more in love every day!
Hitting the training field, everyone waves and speaks to Bella..wanting to spar with her.. but she says âNot yet, yâall. Iâm taking Callista to the firing range first. She needs practice and sheâs not comfortable with everyone yet. But I will be back to kick your asses shortlyâ¦so warm up!â And we all laugh. I start everyone out running the obstacle courseâ¦watching their speed and agility.
Arabella comes jogging over to me and says âReady big guy? I wonât humiliate you too badâ I wrapped my arm around her waist, walking to the mats and said âI will try my best not to bleed on youâ and she gigglesâ¦there is no cuter sound in the world! A gunshot rings out and I glance upâ¦catching Braydenâs eye and heâs already on the move, as he says âNorth!â And we all haul ass! Finding one of our patrol wolves downâ¦shot in the head..Arabella releases a roar to match my own and the trees tremble. I say âI want details! I want reports on my desk in ten minutes! Get trackers out in the direction that shot came from! I want information!!â
Everybody kicks into action. Doc Amy arrives to examine the wolf. Cory is scenting the border and Brayden is linking which trackers he is sending out. Kaiden has patched into the camera feed to try and find the trajectory of the bullet and Arabella sits with the wolfâs head in her lap. Silent tears running down her cheeks. She looks up at me with the saddest eyes I have ever seen and whispers âHe was a boy! He just passed his exam for border patrol 3 days ago! His name is Logan and he loves his little sister like I love cake!â
She looks at the team of trackers and she tells them âYou find him! You find that fucker and you bring him back here. I donât care if his face falls on your fists a few timesâ¦or his head bounces off a few trees. Just bring him back here alive! That son of a bitch is Mine!!!â and we all felt the chill roll through us. The Queen is furious!