by Petra Landon
The door to the Pack Room rattled in warning before swishing open. A young Shifter peered in apologetically.
“I’m sorry, Alpha. There’s a Caroline Hamilton downstairs who would like to speak with you.”
Caroline Hamilton! David Hamilton’s daughter and the friend who the witchling had entrusted with information on the rogue Shifters. Did her visit here tonight have something to do with Tasia Armstrong, Raoul wondered.
“Escort her upstairs, Peter.”
As the young Shifter closed the door behind him, Raoul turned to Luis and Elisabetta.
“We’re done here” he nodded dismissively. “Keep at them and get me a name.”
Luis gave his Alpha a sharp nod before heading to the door. Elisabetta followed him after a last vengeful glare at Hawk. Raoul watched them exit the Pack Room. He had handpicked the two Were-Alphas for this job very carefully. They were ambitious, experienced and very capable. Duncan, he knew, would have been perfect for this task. He knew from personal experience how quickly and efficiently Duncan could make one sing without resorting to any crude violence. But he’d chosen to hold Duncan back from the actual interrogations for a reason.
From the moment Hawk had stumbled into the Lair to inform his Alpha of the rogues and the Chosen who’d helped him escape them, Raoul had had a feeling that this affair was more than a simple albeit audacious incursion onto Pack territory. Meeting the witchling had only strengthened this feeling in his gut. He had learnt to trust his instincts again these past few years and his instincts screamed that the mercenaries were the key to this whole mysterious series of events. Thus, Raoul considered it imperative to ask the right questions of the mercenaries – only the right questions would help elicit the answers he wanted. Every little tidbit of information from the mercenaries could potentially prove the key to fitting together the pieces of this strange puzzle. Hawk was too close to this issue. So, he had picked two of his more experienced and capable Were-Alphas for the task. At the same time, he’d asked Duncan to keep an eye on the interrogations to make sure that they didn’t miss anything. Not only because it was smart to have a second and safe pair of eyes on the task but also because he wanted someone who was aware of the witchling’s secrets to be present, just in case the answers hinted at any connection to her. It had been the right thing to do for Duncan had read a throwaway piece of information gathered from the mercenaries to make the potential connection to the witchling!
There was, of course, a very good chance that Duncan and he might still miss something with implications for her. Raoul was only too well aware that they knew very little about the witchling; their knowledge was limited to the secrets she’d been willing to share with them. They’d barely scratched the surface when it came to the cipher of Tasia Armstrong, of that he was sure.
“Alph, Caroline Hamilton is the friend Tasia is staying with” Hawk burst out urgently.
Raoul sighed wearily. He’d royally mucked that up, hadn’t he! What was it about the witchling that got to him! For a long time now, he’d been confident that he had finally made his peace with those horrendous ten months of his life. Well, barring the occasional nightmare, of course. There had to be more to why she managed to get under his skin than her being a female wizard with more power than most, he told himself.
The door opened as Peter ushered in a young woman of remarkable composure. Raoul strode forward to greet her as Peter exited the room discreetly.
“I’m Raoul Merceau” he introduced himself.
“Caroline Hamilton.”
“You wanted to see me?” he inquired.
“Yes, Alpha” she responded composedly.
Raoul waited patiently. He was almost sure that she was here on a matter regarding Tasia but he was at a loss to understand why she had chosen to come to him. Her father held a lot of sway amongst the wizards in this city. If a wizard in San Francisco was in need of any assistance, David Hamilton would be the most likely person to approach for help.
“This room is shielded from the rest of the Lair” he assured her as she remained silent.
She glanced uncertainly past him to the two other Shifters in the room.
“Duncan Hawthorne and Hawk Manotti” he introduced his Shifters. “You may talk freely before them.”
She acknowledged the introductions but ignored the other Shifters to look him in the eye, her gaze direct and composed. This one wasn’t very intimidated by him, Raoul reflected in some amusement. Mingling in the kind of circles that David Hamilton frequented certainly made one less in awe of power.
“I’m a friend of Tasia Armstrong’s.”
“I know” he responded cryptically.
“Before I say anything further, I’d like to ascertain something, Alpha.”
“I’m listening.”
“Is Tasia still under Pack protection?”
The Alpha merely raised his eyebrows, venturing no other response.
“I suspect that Tasia is in danger and I’d rather not waste my time here if you don’t intend to help her” she said evenly.
Raoul sensed the instinctive start Hawk made at the girl’s remark but Duncan shot his Second a quick look and Hawk went impassive once more.
“She has the protection of the Pack” Raoul acknowledged quietly, meeting the girl’s gaze steadily.
He gestured her to a chair and waited for her to seat herself. Duncan, after a shrewd glance at Raoul, made sure to seat Hawk and himself beside the young wizard.
“Why do you suspect that your friend is in danger?” Raoul inquired as he purloined a chair to join the little group.
“I was to give Tasia a ride home from work today – she has been staying with me. She called me this afternoon to say that she was headed to the Registry and would meet up with me at home later. The Registry had left her a message about a glitch in her paperwork and she intended sort it out. That was the last time I spoke to her. And that was almost seven hours ago.”
“Perhaps this glitch in Miss Armstrong’s paperwork is merely taking a little more time to sort out” Duncan suggested gently.
“That’s what I thought at first” Caroline agreed. “When she didn’t call or show up, I eventually called the Registry to inquire about her. They deny that she was in there today. They even deny leaving her any message about the problem with her paperwork.”
“Is there a problem with her paperwork?” Raoul inquired.
“The Registry says no. I checked with them.”
“Why’d you suppose Tasia went in to the Registry today?” Hawk asked abruptly. “A snafu with her paperwork doesn’t seem that urgent.”
Caroline stared at Hawk speculatively for a moment before answering his question.
“Tasia wants to resurrect her Registry status for Mfector work. She cannot do that unless her paperwork is in order.”
“One of the restaurants Tasia works at is downsizing and she’s worried about being out of a job soon. The extra money from side jobs through the Registry will come in handy” she added after a brief silence.
The Alpha’s expression tightened at her words.
“Someone at the Registry got their wires crossed and left her a message intended for a different wizard” he interjected. “It happens.”
“It does indeed. The Registry is not really known for its efficiency” the young wizard stated frankly. “And that’s what I’d assume too except I know for a fact that the people at the Registry lied to me about one thing. Tasia texted me an hour after we spoke about an interesting job prospect listed on one of the Registry bulletin boards. I know that she hasn’t been there in weeks – she couldn’t have seen the posting unless she was down there today. Someone at Registry is lying about Tasia never having shown up there. It makes me wonder what else they’re lying about.”
The Alpha’s gold eyes narrowed thoughtfully at her. It did sound like Caroline Hamilton had grounds for being suspicious of her friend’s disappearance. Although he was still curious about why she’d come to him with it.
“You could’ve gone to your father with your suspicions” he suggested. “He’s the highest ranking wizard in San Francisco and is the right person to handle the investigation of a missing wizard. Why come to the Pack?”
Caroline took a deep breath.
“There’s a Guardian in town. It’s all hush-hush and no one is supposed to know about his presence here. I only found out about it accidently when I overheard my Dad on the phone. I find his presence here right now rather suspicious. The way I see it, a Guardian is one of the few people influential enough to make everyone at Registry fall in line to cover up Tasia’s disappearance.”
“Guardian” Raoul exclaimed under his breath, his eyes flashing to Duncan. He knew the exact moment that Duncan realized the implications of Caroline Hamilton’s words. A Guardian would explain everything – all the little inconsistencies that had so been puzzling him! Was it a Guardian who’d hired the rogues to prey on wizards here in San Francisco?
“My Dad can’t help Tasia even if he wanted to, Alpha” Caroline remarked softly. “Tangling with a Guardian is way beyond his influence. I know that Tasia had been staying at the Lair. So, I took a chance in coming to you.”
Snatches of information gathered from interrogating the mercenaries swirled around Raoul’s head at staccato speed. The rogues seemed very aware of his reputation. Yet they had ventured into his territory on the word of a man who’d hired them to prey on wizards. The man had provided them with a current target list of wizards that implied some influence within the local Registry. He’d also assured them that their actions would not start a war between the wizards and the Shifters in the city. The rogue had claimed to not have a name for the man and yet had taken him at his word. Could it be because the man who’d given his word was a Guardian? That would explain the rogue Shifter trusting his employer to have the influence to stop any brewing civil war between wizards and Shifters. The Guardians had enormous influence when it came to wizard matters, even Shifters knew that.
“I’ll have Luis check it out, Raoul” Duncan muttered cryptically as he walked away with a short nod at Caroline Hamilton. Hawk, who’d been following the conversation, gasped softly as the implications of the cryptic communication finally hit him.
The Alpha contemplated the young woman who watched him quietly, her eyes holding a mix of hope, entreaty and anxiety. Tasia had a good friend in this wizard – one willing to go the extra mile for her friend. And one as dauntless and plucky as the witchling herself when the situation demanded. After all, it couldn’t have been easy for her to walk into the Lair and ask to see the Alpha Protector.
“The Pack will handle the matter from here, Miss Hamilton.”
“Caroline, please.”
“Caroline” the Alpha acknowledged.
“I’d like to come with you, Alpha.”
“No” Raoul shook his head decisively. “That would be a disaster for everyone concerned.”
The girl continued to gaze at him, her expression one of entreaty.
“If a Guardian is involved in this, any hint of your association would make life uncomfortable for you in the wizard world” he explained mildly.
Caro opened her mouth to protest that she could handle any fallout that came her way if it meant helping her friend.
“It would also bring down a ton of trouble on your father’s head” Raoul pointed out quietly. “You’ve done your part, Caroline. Leave this to us.”
Caroline agreed reluctantly. She knew that the Alpha was right. She’d be willing to go up against a Guardian for Tasia’s sake but didn’t want her family to be caught in the middle of this. At least, something was finally going her way this evening. She’d approached the Pack as her last option when every other avenue had been exhausted. One thing had definitely surprised her. She hadn’t counted on the Alpha agreeing so easily to rush to Tasia’s aid. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that Tasia was wrong about having no affiliation with the Pack any more. The Alpha Protector had certainly wasted no time in claiming her for the Pack.
“There’s something else that might help. I’m pretty sure they have her stashed somewhere inside the Registry building” she explained. “Tasia never made it out of there. I made some calls.”
It had taken some amount of snooping, calling in of favors and other creative methods to gather that bit of information but Caro was glad now that she’d spent the time and effort required in acquiring it. Walking into the Lair and asking to see the Alpha had been a huge gamble. She’d counted on her last name to get her an audience with him. He had a decent working relationship with her Dad and she had hoped that that would at least get her in the door. The rest had been up to her. And it looked like she had succeeded. If anyone could go up successfully against a Guardian, it would be the Pack and Raoul Merceau.
“That will certainly save us some time” the Alpha concurred.
“If you could let me know once you have Tasia …” she trailed off.
“I’ll make sure of it” he promised.
“Hawk, see Caroline to her car” he directed at the young Shifter who’d remained a silent spectator to the conversation.
“The Pack appreciates you coming to us with this, Caroline” the Alpha stated formally. “Tasia Armstrong is one of ours.”
Hawk ushered her out of the room a few minutes before Duncan made his way back in. Raoul’s eyes flashed to Duncan who nodded imperceptively in response. So it was true, Raoul mused in astonishment. It was a Guardian who’d set the ball rolling on this entire series of events. Were the Guardians hunting for someone and was that someone, the witchling?
“Why use Shifters?” he muttered. The wizards had other ways of making people talk. He should know – one of them had attempted to perfect her technique on him.
“This Guardian could be working on his own, Raoul” Duncan pointed out.
Could it be that the Guardian had gone rogue too, Raoul pondered? Off on his own mission without telling the GCW. Interesting! Perhaps this was evidence that there was more trouble brewing amongst the wizards than just the matter of Lady Bethesda.
“Get a party together, Duncan. Ask Luis and O’Brien to rustle together everyone they can get ready to go in thirty minutes. Elisabetta can continue working on the mercenaries. I want Hawk with us. I’ll be leading the party.”
“Are you sure I couldn’t be of assistance, my boy” Duncan inquired quietly.
“I need you here, my friend, in case we find ourselves out-numbered like the leech nest. There’s no one I trust more to watch my back or command the Pack in my absence” Raoul responded softly.
Duncan acknowledged his words with a glance before heading out to execute the Alpha’s orders. When he came back ten minutes later, it was to find Raoul gazing absently into the depths of the fireplace.
“Watch your back, Raoul. I’ve a bad feeling about this” Duncan warned as he came to a stop beside his friend. “Your opinion of wizards seems to be the stuff of legend now. Those rogue Shifters used it to convince themselves that you’d look the other way while they went after wizards here. You can be certain that the Guardian knows about it. He might attempt to use it to rile you up.”
“Believe me, Duncan. That is all well in the past. I’ve not let a wizard get to me for a long time now.”
Duncan stared back at his friend, his gaze steady.
“Except Miss Armstrong” he suggested softly, his eyes on Raoul. The knowledge of Raoul’s rage at the encounter in the Alpha’s Room lay between them. Duncan had chosen to not interfere and let Raoul come to terms with it himself. And he’d been proven right! Raoul seemed to have made some kind of peace with whatever was troubling him.
“Except her” Raoul acknowledged ruefully.
“She’s female and has a lot of magic in her. Besides that, she is nothing like the other one” Duncan pointed out gently.
“I know” Raoul sighed softly. “I didn’t handle that well” he confessed to the only man that he knew he could entrust with this c
onfession.
Duncan looked taken aback by the confession. It was unusual for Raoul to acknowledge a mistake, even to him. When he did make one, he generally proceeded to fix it without fuss or self-castigation. Raoul made an outstanding Alpha Protector and Duncan couldn’t be prouder of him than if he were his own son. However, the young wizard seemed to possess an uncanny ability to get under Raoul’s skin. Duncan, who was very fond of the man he’d watched emerge from very difficult circumstances, didn’t know what to make of this bit of mystery.
“You’ve decided that Miss Armstrong is still Pack then?”
“I never withdrew Pack status even when she chose to walk away from us” Raoul stated grimly.
“Chose to?”
“She saw the implications of being Pack up a little too close and chose to flee.”
“In other words …” Duncan prompted.
“I forgot for a moment that she wasn’t one of my Shifters and managed to scare the living daylights off her.”
“Raoul” Duncan said slowly. “Has it occurred to you that perhaps you wanted her to flee? That maybe you chose to show her one aspect of being Pack that you knew would frighten her away.”
“What’d you mean?” Raoul’s puzzlement was obvious.
“You might fool the world, my boy, but I know you better” Duncan answered with a smile. “I’ve seen you in action. You know perfectly well how to charm and get your way tactfully when you want to. You’re well aware that Tasia Armstrong regards you with a healthy dose of fear. That you chose to go full Alpha Protector on her instead of handling her with the lighter touch that the situation demanded makes me think that a part of you, perhaps sub-consciously, wanted her to reject the Pack and walk away.”
“Thus saving me the trouble of withdrawing protection from her, you mean?” Raoul inquired softly, his expression grim.
Duncan simply stared back at him in response, his wise gaze steady.
