Chapter 31
“What
do we know?” I asked.
Uncle
Radford spoke up first. “The doctor was working on a drug to incite Kraig’s two
souls, creating a feral stronger than any alpha. When you killed him, all he’d
managed to do was bring one soul to the foreground.”
“So
what? He was going to incite my animal souls and set me loose?” Kraig shook his
head. “Even if I was stronger than Deke, I couldn’t beat the whole streak, and
no one would accept me as their alpha.”
“No,
but an army of werekin just like you could take out all resistance and let the
people holding your leash take over.”
“But
the doctor wasn’t working with the human werekin anymore,” Park said. “Right?”
Ritch
leaned forward. “Maybe not the way they wanted, but if he could create an army
for them? He could’ve garnered a lot of power, money, and property from the
decimated groups.”
“That’s
not an option, but I’m worried that we don’t know what these human werekin have
been doing since the doctor left them. They killed Henry, but his soul still
lives”—I winced when Lydia wrapped her arms around her chest—“so clearly they
know how to strip souls from the bonded werekin’s spirit. They also have to
know that we know at least part of what’s going on.”
“Christian
will be here any minute. I want everyone to stay close while we investigate and
then be back here first thing in the morning. Enough alphas were willing to
attend a general counsel without a presentation of proof, but I want everything
here, laid out and ready for them. Make sure you have extra copies,” I told
Uncle Radford.
He
pursed his lips but nodded grudgingly. “I’d like to get back to my classes as
soon as possible. I have been away long enough.”
“I
understand you have a life that you can’t just walk away from, but this is
important. You can leave after the counsel if we don’t need your expertise.” I
tried to keep my tone calm; the next day would be tough on all of us, but
especially anyone the majority of alphas considered beneath them—basically anyone
who wasn’t another alpha, but especially human werekin and women.
I
stretched out my claws and then sheathed them until Kraig put his hand over
mine. I let out a slow, deep breath. “Thank you. Dismissed.”
Lydia
stayed behind when Uncle Radford, Ritch, and Park filed out of my office. “What
are you going to do with Henry’s body?” she asked.
“I’m
leaving that up to you,” I said. “He was your mate, and I wouldn’t presume to
tell you what is best. Whatever you want to do, we’ll do.”
She
shook her head. “I don’t know. He was a traitor. He hurt our son. It tears my
heart out.” She rubbed her chest. “I don’t want to honor him, but I don’t want
him burned and his ashes scattered either.”
“We
can do a quiet burial in a corner of the streak plot?” It was more than a
traitor deserved, but I was more concerned with the peace of mind of the ones
he left behind.
She
thought for a minute and then nodded slowly. “Thank you, Alpha.”
I
got up and went around my desk. I pulled her out of her chair and into my arms.
So often she loomed larger than life; now she was a small, fragile figure even
smaller than Kraig. “Why don’t you go rest?” The dark circles under her eyes
pained me.
“Okay.”
She didn’t even argue, just walked out with her shoulders slumped.
Kraig
stood and nestled against me. I put my arm over his shoulders and held him
close. “I hate this,” he said.
“Me
too.”
The
next day dawned without any of us getting much sleep. Christian had packed up
everything he could find in the hotel, but it wasn’t much. There were no
secrets to be found in Henry’s belongings or his body.
But
we had the doctor’s computer files and the ones I’d found. We had Kraig, who
was clearly a hybrid of more a tiger and cheetah soul. Ritch would testify to
what he’d witnessed of the doctor’s actions as well as his cousin and his mate’s
disappearance.
“Stay
next to me within arm’s reach the whole time,” Park warned Ritch.
Ritch
nodded. “I will.”
I
didn’t have to tell Kraig the same. A general counsel was held under a promise
of peace only, with any alpha violating the tradition with harsh penalties, but
it was a risk. Ritch’s previous alpha was a vicious and unpredictable man.
Not
too unlike a feral, though he held just enough control to stay in power.
The
meeting hall off the right side of the house was warm and reeked of chemicals.
Lydia had been out banishing dust since the early hours, but I didn’t want the
alphas too comfortable.
“We’ll
convince them,” I told Kraig. “They’ll listen to us.” I was reassuring myself
as much as him.
If
they didn’t listen….
Tires
on the gravel of the driveway was the first sign the alphas were about to
arrive. As my beta Park took his place on my right. Kraig began to move back
with the others who were arranged behind us, but I grabbed his hand and hauled
him back to my side. “Where are you going? You’re my mate. You stand on my
left.”
“I
didn’t think about that, I’m sorry. I was always in the back, before.”
I
squeezed his hand. “You’ll get used to it.”
Heavy
footsteps came up the walk, and Christian opened the door just as they neared.
The alphas filed in the room in order of power. This many in one room was
electrifying, and I felt the tingles as my tiger soul began to pace in the back
of my mind.
TBC
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