in being an Alpha than he’d feared. It was more like running a medium-sized company than being a king, but he had the fact that he lived in the smallest state to thank for that. At least he didn’t have to deal with ruling alongside a group of other Alphas like the ones in California did.
“Thank you all for coming. I’d like to start by taking your concerns, as always,” Colt said, ignoring the dirty looks Evelyn was giving him from her place at his side. He got the feeling she’d been hoping for an Alpha who was smart enough to appreciate her brilliance as well as her malevolence, and instead, she’d gotten a “vegan” ghoul who insisted on doing things his own way. He might have felt sorry for her, if she wasn’t the homicidal bitch who’d killed Chuck.
“I’ve got one,” said an older ghoul toward the back of the room.
Colt sighed. Thomas had been a thorn in his side ever since Colt had taken his place at the head of the table for the first time, but he was also related to not one, not two, but three members of the Council, whether by blood or marriage, so there was no getting rid of him.
At least, not in any way Evelyn would approve of.
“Yes, Thomas?” Colt asked, realizing it was going to be one of those days where he used his patient voice a lot.
“I want to know what you’re planning to do about the blood shortage in Providence,” the man said, folding his arms. “It’s been three weeks now and half our bars haven’t even gotten a shipment in.”
“Thomas, we went over this at the last meeting. When there’s no meat, it’s a shortage, when there’s no blood? It all depends on how much we can get away with taking from the banks, how much people are donating, the hospital supply… Blood is a luxury and bars come last on the priority list.”
“It’s been that way ever since the damn hunting ban,” another ghoul muttered. She rarely spoke up on her own, but she was always willing to back up anyone who disagreed with Colt. Or anything else. “I’d bet anything there’s plenty stocked away in this place.”
Colt ground his teeth to keep the other set from coming down. He wanted to say, If you knew it was between me taking a drink from a blood bag and draining you fucks dry, you’d be singing a different tune. But he didn’t. Threatening members of the esteemed Kinship directly opposed the second-most important of the many rules that governed ghoulkind, the first of which was to never risk exposure. The second was to not kill his own representatives, if at all possible. They were already nervous enough around him after he’d killed most of the Moreaus.
“We’ve all had to cut back, but it’s for the greater good,” Colt said. “Namely, that we nearly had a level-two exposure, which would have resulted in the entire ghoul population within this city being wiped out.” A hush fell over the room. “Okay,” he continued, rubbing his hands together. “If that’s settled, let’s get down to business.”
“It’s not settled,” Thomas snapped. “Am I the only one who has a problem with the fact that we’re under the command of an Alpha who sees humans as pets?”
No one else said a word. Even Evelyn looked uneasy. It was one thing for there to be polite if curmudgeonly dissent, but outright disrespect wasn’t something their new regime could tolerate, especially not in its vulnerable state. The look Evelyn was giving him made it clear to Colt that he had to do something, but if he couldn’t rip out Thomas’ throat, that left his options severely limited.
An idea occurred to him, and he leaned in to speak to one of his guards. “Bring me the rogue hunter you caught last night.”
Brayden looked up at him in confusion, but Colt’s withering glare got him moving fast. He wasn’t about to take shit from a guy named Brayden.
Colt was silent as he waited, but he never broke eye contact with Thomas. He could tell it was becoming uncomfortable for the other ghoul, but he’d hoped Thomas would squirm just a bit more by the time they dragged out the rogue hunter, bound and gagged. His restraints never once kept him from struggling. Brayden and the other guard brought the hunter to a stop in front of Colt, and the Alpha turned to face them.