Just then, the doors to the library flew open and in strode Dillon Jacobs.
“What the hell is going on and why are we just now hearing about the demise of mankind?” His eyes were glowing and his power filled the room. Dillon was pissed and unless they could get him calmed down, there was a good possibility that heads were going to roll.
Q
Skender stood at the front of the large gathering room and briefly met the eyes of each Alpha. The ten packs from other countries and cities had finally all arrived and with the Romanian pack and Serbian pack already present, that made twelve. All under one roof and they were antsy. The tension among the dominants was tangible and had a human been present, it would have choked them.
“I’ve been on this earth longer than I care to admit and never in that time have we received the call from the Great Luna. Why now?” Drayden, of the Canadian pack, asked.
Wadim took a step forward and began to explain all that had happened from the Gathering until now. He condensed it as much as possible, but made sure not to leave out any vital details. As his story continued on, with every word, the Alpha’s grew more and more tense.
“Why are we just now hearing of this witch that poses such a threat to us all?” Angus, Alpha of the Ireland pack spoke up.
There was a rumble of agreement across the room and Wadim fought the urge to back up a step. Unless he wanted to be chased, he knew better than to back away from these predators.
“You all know Vasile.” Skender stepped forward, taking the pressure off of the less dominant historian. “He cares more deeply for our race than we can imagine. He was trying to prevent a war, and trying to prevent us all from having to be brought together, considering what might happen between our packs. He was not attempting to keep you in the dark, because he wanted to leave you defenseless. If we hadn’t allowed the dominance in us to drive wedges between us, it might not have come to this. If Desdemona had thought that she had to contend with our entire race and not just a single pack, she might not have pursued this ridiculous plan.”
“Are you saying that this is our fault?” Angus growled, with glowing eyes.
Skender held up his hands plaintively and dropped his eyes.
“No, I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying this is a pack problem. It’s all our faults. Whether we like it or not, we are all pack. We may come from different countries, we may speak different, languages and live different lives, but we are all from the same Maker, all of the same blood and that makes us pack. Pack stands together, fights together, and is bound together.” The silence following Skender’s words was soul piercing as the Alpha’s heard, not just listened, but heard what he was saying. If they understood nothing else, they understood the importance of pack. Wolves were not lone creatures. They depended on one another and they needed one another.
Dillon stepped forward and waited for Skender to invite him to stand before the Alphas. Skender gave a slight nod and stepped to the side.
“We might as well put aside petty rivalry and territorial posturing,” he told them. “We all know we are going to stay and fight no matter the consequences. I personally think that the first step would be learning to fight together, as one pack. We need to know how each of us fights, how we move, and what our individual pack strategies are so that we can be effective when we go to battle.” Dillon watched and waited for a response from the pack.
Slowly faces morphed into looks of determination and nods were given.
Dillon clapped his hands together and rubbed them slowly. “Great,” he turned back to look at Skender. “Where’s a good place to do combat training?”
Skender let a slow smile spread across his face as he motioned for the Alpha’s to follow him.
“We have a gym and outdoor grounds we use for our battle training.”
Skender lead them into the large gym and turned to face the group.
“There is only one rule in this gym. Respect your opponent.”
“I think it might be wise to add just one more rule,” Victor spoke up. “Don’t kill your opponent.”
“Good call,” Wadim said with a low chuckle. “It would be a damn shame if the last thing I ever documented for our race was that we were dumb enough to kill each other before the witch got a chance to.”
Q
Thurlok stared at the stone in his hand as a wicked smile crossed his face. He considered the power that he now held and thought how foolish Perizada was to give one such as him an object this powerful. He frowned at the thought. He knew Perizada, knew her to be an intelligent foe. It didn’t make sense that she would barter such a treasure. And, just as he began to wonder what the catch could possibly be, his palm was suddenly empty. A snarl emitted from his chest as he glanced quickly around him. He knew that it was gone, but that didn’t keep him from searching all around the bridge. After several minutes of looking, he finally stopped and closed his eyes. He had been tricked. He did not like being tricked and raged boiled up inside of him as he thought about what a fool he had been to trust the Fae.
“PERIZADA!” He yelled into the night. “You will be sorry,” he promised the emptiness between panting breaths. He would not let her get away with her treachery. He, who had guarded the entrance to the In-Between for so long, would not allow the insult to go unanswered.
Q
Peri felt Thurlok’s rage through the blood bond. She hadn’t known how long the stone would stay in his possession. The Fae stones had a mind of their own and tended to turn up where and when they were needed. She had not worried that he would be able to use the power from the stone, because she knew that he would not have it for very long. She also knew that his wrath would be swift and that he would respond rashly because of it. She would need to be on alert, though she knew that his power was nothing compared to her own.
Costin hadn’t been able to stop touching Sally for even the briefest time since she had found him and he knew that it was probably driving her insane, but he was fighting his wolf every second to keep from grabbing her and fleeing to a safe place. He knew that no such place existed, but his wolf didn’t care. He felt they were vulnerable with so many dominant wolves so close to his mate, his fragile, human mate. He knew that his emotions were running on overdrive with all the memories of what he had endured in the In-Between and he didn’t know how long they would remain open wounds.
“Stop,” Sally’s soft voice penetrated his thoughts as she gently turned his face to look at her. “I’m not annoyed by your touch. I’m not irritated, nor do I feel smothered, so please quit entertaining those thoughts.” She met his hazel eyes and saw the raw emotion swirling in their depths.
“Being here is driving me insane, Sally,” he told her, honestly.