was a common family name among his kin. Enquiries made by the council to the coven second and the coven master proved that the Yakov in their coven was a loyal and devoted member, and a passionate supporter of donor rights.”
“I don’t have donors at the coven,” Kirill said faintly, his stomach still churning over the idea he’d been harboring a fugitive all this time. “We have a connection with the local hospital to buy blood bags for research purposes which meet our needs. The only non-vampires who live in the coven are bonded consorts or beloveds of my coven members.”
“Are any of them shifters?” Arvyn pressed their shoulders together, lending him support.
Kirill shook his head. “Human, all of them. Do you think that’s significant?”
“Shifters have a knack of being able to scent strong emotions, lies, and intruders simply by walking around. A shifter living in your coven would know if Yakov was lying, and also be able to tell if there were non bonded humans being kept on the property.” A strong warm hand turned Kirill’s head until he was looking directly into his beloved’s dark eyes. “I would be able to tell if something like that was going on in your coven which would be a damn good reason for your Yakov trying to drive me out of town, don’t you think?”
“It also explains why we weren’t granted access to the coven house. They stopped us at the gate,” Wes said. “It also explains why this guy,” he turned his phone so Kirill could see the picture there, “was notably absent when we called, and yet we were told that you were unavailable by someone claiming to be your second. Jax sent me this picture when I asked him for information on the Dearne’s and mentioned Yakov’s name.”
“That’s Yakov.” Kirill nodded to the photo. “Do you have a picture of the man claiming to be my second?”
Wes flicked the screen on his phone and held up a second picture. “This guy.”
Kirill groaned. “Sven, my head enforcer. Fuck.” He ran his hand through his hair. “How deep is the fucking rot in my coven?”
“Only you can answer that,” Wes said, “but you can see now, why we didn’t want you two just running back to the coven and tearing Yakov’s head off, no matter how rightly deserved. Your whole coven could be in huge trouble if Yakov’s continued with his pattern of behavior. We need to see who else is involved in all this and find out if there’re any victims that do need saving.”
“Why didn’t your god, or whoever it was that sent you here, know anything about this?” Arvyn asked. “Surely they could’ve done something?”
“If there are any victims in this, they’ll be human,” Cass said as though it explained everything, but it didn’t, at least not to Kirill.
“So? A human life is no less important than a paranormal one.”
Cass sighed and leaned over the table. “After the Great War, something you two would know nothing about but Ra would know about intimately, all gods, every single one, from every pantheon was forbidden from ever interfering in mortal affairs. It means my Lord Hades can’t do anything to stop the plague of black souls that haunt the underworld, Zeus can do nothing about the wars, famine and global warming that infect this land. Poseidon weeps every time there’s an oil spill in his precious seas, or one of his beloved creatures become extinct, and the Mother of us all dies a little every day as her forests are ravaged and her animals are culled out of existence. But they are all forbidden to interfere. Mortals have free will. Gods don’t have the right to take that away. Zeus and Hades are crossing the line as it is, sending me and my mate to help in individual cases.”
“I’m sorry.” Arvyn bowed his head and Kirill wondered if he was thinking about their third. “I guess we all grow up believing gods are omnipotent and can do anything they want.”
“That belief is instilled in us from societal groups that want someone to blame when things go wrong.” Kirill reached for his beloved’s hand and held it firmly. “Free will means accepting consequences for individual actions and there’re not many people who accept that side of the coin either.”
“Exactly, but this philosophical discussion isn’t helping us solve our immediate problems,” Wes said. “We need a plan on how to approach this so Yakov doesn’t get spooked and destroys any evidence