Council

Alpha Clark’s POV

La Crosse Airport

I drove off soon after Randall closed the door, seeing my niece Talia standing by a motorcycle on the other side of the lot. I meant what he said about treating her right; she was my blood, and Teri and I were as close to her parents as she had. As hard as her life had been these past four years, all we could remember was the little girl who had grown up visiting us with the rest of her family.

She was not a little girl anymore.

She was more beautiful than the photographs showed, and she looked dangerous standing there in her black outfit. I wanted to go to her, to hug her and tell her everything would be all right, but that couldn’t happen. She’d just kidnapped the Luna and Alpha Heir of a Pack and was turning them over to me. This was an act of war, and I was fine with that. I just didn’t want the Council members to catch me in the act.

I couldn’t afford her scent on me when we met.

I got a call as I drove down the line of hangars, the Council plane was ten minutes out. Shit.

I drove to the hangar. The door was open, and the inside was darkened. There was one plane in there, a twin-engine turboprop with its door opened. I parked next to it and got out; going up the stairs I called out, but no one answered. The pilot must have left.

Just as well, I didn’t want any witnesses.

The child was in a car seat, strapped to a seat by the door. He was the most important thing, so I unbuckled the seat and carried him out. Phillip was still sleeping, but the similarities between him and his mother were striking. I took a smell, I felt a family bond snap into place. He was my grandson as far as my wolf was concerned.

Teri pulled into the hangar and parked next to my car as I was coming out with him. Tania got out nervously; she was anxious to meet him, probably wondering if she could be his mother now. Teri took her hand and walked her to meet us. “Oh, Selene, he’s a beautiful boy,” she said.

“The Council is minutes out,” I said as I handed my mate the carrier. “It’s possible someone stays behind, so you all need to be out of sight and smell. Take Tania and her boy to Erica’s cabin and stay there. Ray, get the Luna off the plane, put her in the trunk and take her to the cells.” I kissed Teri quickly, then jumped into my car again and drove off.

I couldn’t afford to have the scent of a kidnapped Luna on my clothes when I met with the Council Chair and his men. “Talia, I have your nephew and the Luna now, they are safe.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

I drove out and parked near the terminal, just in time for the business jet to land. Teri linked me to let me know they were clear of the airport, which removed one worry from me. A few minutes later, the plane was parked on the tarmac. A fuel truck headed towards it as the engines wound down, but I waited until the stairway was down and the pilot came out before I drove over to it.

The three men were waiting for me as I got out. “Chairman Wolfe, welcome to Wisconsin. Thank you for agreeing to speak with me.” Lewis was clearly annoyed; he had been a council member for the past fifty years, taking over when Chairman Andreas retired, and the Alpha Killer had been his nemesis.

“You know Chief Counsel Lawrence Kendall and my Lead Enforcer, Carlos Mendez?”

“I have met them before, thank you for coming. I think this conversation is best done in the air conditioning of my vehicle. If you don’t mind, I’d like to sit in the back with the Chair and Counsel. Carlos, if you can get in the third row seat you’ll be able to see everything.” I opened the door and let them in, grabbing my laptop and the files from the front seat.

“You’ll have to hurry, Clark. My plane will be ready to leave again soon. Every minute we waste, the Alpha Killer is getting farther away.” The Chairman was restless, it was time to ruin his day.

“Do you remember four years ago at the Tomah Pack?”

He nodded. “Sad business. Daughter runs off and the Alphas die in their rush to get back home.”

“It was not an accident, and she didn’t run off.” I opened the video file on my laptop; Randall had cut the interview into segments which were labeled by topic. He knew Talia didn’t trust the Council, so he hadn’t included his identification of himself or all of the topics Tania covered after she was human. The video player showed up, and Tania’s face filled the screen.

“She’s still alive?”

“No thanks to us,” I said. They watched in fascination then shock as she told the story of how Beta Todd lured her away from the beach, then injected her. “In this packet is additional information from the investigation I commissioned on her disappearance. Included are statements from a tracker who verified Tania’s scent disappeared between the road above the beach and the border crossing, but also appeared in Beta Todd’s Suburban. Her grandfather filed a missing person report, and there is evidence to show then-Alpha Todd bribed the Deputy Sheriff to quash the report.” Counsel Kendall took the package from me, looking through the papers inside. “This flash drive contains the information enclosed, including the video statements.”

“This is troubling information,” Lewis said, “but we’re busy tracking the Alpha Killer who has kidnapped the family of an Alpha.”

“It’s connected,” I said. I pulled up the second video file, which played for almost fifteen minutes. Tania recounted her time in the basement, the injections to bring on her heat, her rape and pregnancy, and finally delivering her son to have him taken away. None of them said anything, but even the stone-faced Lead Enforcer had tears in his eyes when it ended.

“The BASTARDS!” Chairman Wolfe was pushing back his wolf, which wanted to tear throats out. The treatment of a fourteen-year-old girl by her Beta and then an Alpha was intolerable. “Who did it?”

I played the next clip, this showed the photo lineup. There was a low growl from the Chairman when she identified Alpha Justin Heranus as the man who had held and raped her to get his heir. “It’s all connected, Mr. Chairman. My theory is that Alpha Todd swung a deal with Alpha Justin for their mutual benefit. Todd provided an Alpha-line female who could give Justin a heir, and Justin’s men killed the Tomah alpha pair as they raced back home when she disappeared. With the Alpha family gone, he would get the Pack. The thing he didn’t predict was that Talia Stillwater was out on the lake, and was left behind by her parents.”

I could see they were putting it together. “Talia challenged and lost the Pack, but she never gave up on her sister. She rescued her and sent her back to us. She didn’t take the Luna and Heir of the Copper Mountain pack because she’s evil, she did it because he’s her nephew. You and the former Chairman failed to support her when she tried to keep her Pack, and the Council never truly investigated her sister’s disappearance. She doesn’t trust you. She doesn’t trust me. She’s just going to get her revenge.”

“Holy shit,” Carlos said.

“Yeah. It’s going to be brutal, fast and effective, exactly what I would expect from her.” I handed the Counsel the second packet, with the information on Alpha Justin’s pack.

“What can we do about this,” Lawrence asked to break the silence.

“Arrest Justin and any others who were involved before Talia Stillwater wades through that Pack like an avenging angel,” I said. “Show her that the Council can police the Alphas, that we will work for justice without having to resort to her violence. We need this, Mr. Chairman. The story is going to get out, and Packs will be outraged.”

“We need to get ahead of this, sir,” Lawrence agreed. “You may not have been Chairman when she was taken, but you and five others were all in power then. It’s YOUR council now. Show them you won’t stand for this. If we aren’t seen as aggressively pursuing justice, the Alphas may insist on cleaning house and vote you all out of power.”

It was rare, but if 60% of the Alphas voted to remove a sitting council, they would all be replaced. I’d be happy to lead the charge if they didn’t do what was needed. “Sir, I suggest you continue on to Colorado. Review the evidence, issue a warrant and start an investigation. Your Enforcers are already going there. My Pack will coordinate with other area Packs to capture and hold Alpha Todd Aldridge for trial.”

“You can handle that on your own,” the Chairman asked.

“Yes sir. Nobody outside the four of us and my Pack knows Tania is alive and back with us. I’d ask that you withhold that information to those with a need to know until both are arrested. My investigator is fairly certain Alpha Todd acted alone, and we’re fully capable of detaining him for trial.”

The pilot knocked on the window and gave them a thumbs up, the plane was ready to continue its flight west. “Agreed. Thank you, Alpha Clark. I assure you we will get to the bottom of this. Come on, boys.” They got out, and I followed and shook their hands before they stepped back on board.

I got back in my vehicle and drove off. Maybe we had a chance.

Tania’s POV

I knew as soon as I laid eyes on Phillip that he was mine. His hair, his nose, his face, they looked like me. Teri took him and loaded him into her car as I followed behind. “We have to hurry,” she said as she buckled the seat in place. “Hop in.”

I went around to the driver’s side and got in the back seat while the driver and Teri got in front. Snacks sat at my feet, sniffing Phillip’s leg before putting his head in my lap again. We drove out of the hangar while I looked at my little man, he was so big and strong for his age. I picked up his little hand in mine and brought it to my nose. He smelled like sand and grass, and I wished I still had my wolf so I could bond with him properly. “Do you think his wolf will recognize me as his mother,” I asked as I looked at his sleeping face.

“I don’t know,” Teri said. “You didn’t have any bonding time after he was born. We’ll have to see.”

“I don’t know if I can do this,” I said. “I’m not ready.”

“You’ll get all the help you need, Tania. Erica knows we are coming, she can’t wait to meet your little guy. I’ll be there too.” I knew this, but would it be enough? I knew nothing about kids and I couldn’t even take care of myself yet.

I looked down at Snack’s eyes and scratched his ears. “I don’t know if I can love anymore, buddy. I don’t know if I’m worth loving.” He whined, pushing his way up onto the seat until he was licking my face. “Ewww, puppy slobber,” I laughed. He continued licking my neck and face until I finally pushed him off. “All right, my Snacks loves me.” He barked and laid his head by my neck as I petted him.

Unknown POV

I was furious as I got back on the plane. I couldn’t believe how STUPID Justin had been. All he had to do was get his Heir then bury the girl in an unmarked grave in the woods.

It was all going to shit now, and I couldn’t count on him keeping his mouth shut. I turned on my burner phone and started a text message. “Tania is at the La Crosse Pack with R&P. Get them back or we’re all dead.”

I hit send. He had enough time to be gone before we got there.