by Petra Landon
“So what’s the story on the local Alpha, he of the snide comments?” Sienna asked the Shifters. “Tasia says that he has a history with your Pack and he seemed to know most of you.”
“A serious pain in the ass is what he is” Hawk said easily, plonking himself down beside Tasia. “So who have you assigned as my room-mate?” he inquired.
“You’re bunking with Duncan” Tasia responded.
“Whoopee. I hope you don’t snore, Duncan.”
“Well, if I do, I hope you plan to keep it yourself” Duncan retorted placidly.
“You, Elisabetta and the Alpha are the only ones to get a room to yourselves, Jason. The rest of us will need to share” Sienna piped up.
“Lucky me” the Guardian smiled.
The Alpha sauntered in just then.
“So Raoul, do we have a functioning Pack Room?” Duncan asked him.
“Yes” Raoul nodded. “Somewhat to my surprise, it seems in working order.”
“Pack Room?” Sienna inquired.
“It’s what they call the room where Pack business is discussed” Jason explained. “It’s sound-proofed for privacy.”
“Hmm, the superhuman senses thingy.”
“Yup” Hawk piped up.
“You were asking about Jerome Carter, I think?” the Alpha addressed Sienna.
“Yeah” Sienna responded. “Has he always been such a dick?”
Hawk let out a laugh and Duncan chuckled softly. Even the Alpha was not immune. Tasia noted the gleam of amusement in the usually glacial gold eyes.
“Always” reiterated a female voice.
Tasia craned her neck to glance towards the doorway. It was Elisabetta who had responded. She stood just inside the room, looking as impeccable as always with not a hair out of place. Behind her, Luis lounged by the doorway. They were obviously back from their errand.
“Now that you are part of this team, the first thing to keep in mind is that we’re guests of the local Pack. At any given time, you can bet that the place is crawling with Shifters” Raoul pointed his thumb to indicate the grounds surrounding the Guest House. “You never discuss anything openly that you do not want overheard.”
“I’m guessing that we don’t want this particular discussion to be overheard by the natives?” Jason inquired.
“Not if you want us to be candid” Raoul said, his glance encompassing his Shifters.
“Please! We want you to be very candid” Sienna asserted strongly, a twinkle in her eyes.
“Then perhaps it’s time to put our temporary Pack Room to use” the Alpha invited.
As everyone trooped out of the room to follow the Alpha up the stairs, Tasia turned to Hawk curiously.
“How did you test that the Pack Room works as advertised?”
“Alph shouted from each of the four corners while I wandered the perimeter outside the House to test if I could hear him” Hawk said simply.
“Primitive methods, I know” Hawk chuckled at Tasia’s astonishment. “But they work just as well.”
Their temporary Pack Room was a small room with a worn-down couch and two chairs. Tasia plonked herself on the floor by the door, followed by Hawk. The Alpha leant indolently by the wall across the doorway with Duncan beside him, facing the two wizards on the couch. Elisabetta took one of the chairs while Luis shut the door to lean against it.
Here’s a mystery worth solving, Tasia mused, eyeing the tall commanding figure who held the room as he lounged casually by the wall. Why was he suddenly so amenable to satisfying Sienna’s curiosity about the other Alpha! Shifters, no matter what their differences, tended to close ranks against outsiders. Most Chosen did that to some extent but the Shifters were masters of this mentality. And the wizards certainly fell in the category of outsiders by most Shifters’ standards as Tasia well knew.
“Jerome Carter was once a Were-Alpha in the Northern California Pack” the Alpha began. “This was when the Pack was led by my predecessor.”
“He wasn’t well liked by his Pack mates” Elisabetta continued. “But he was very dominant, so as long as he stayed out of our affairs, the rest of us left him alone.”
“He was also very ambitious” Luis chimed in quietly to his rapt audience “Ambitious enough to lust after the big prize.”
“The big prize” the Guardian inquired.
“Alpha Protector” it was Duncan who answered the question. “He wanted to lead the Pack.”
“So he challenged the previous Alpha?” Sienna queried, asking the obvious question, the one that Tasia was most curious about.
“No” Elisabetta said firmly. “He didn’t. He wasn’t powerful enough to defeat the previous Alpha and he knew it. So, he played politics with the other Were-Alphas while keeping one eye on the position he coveted.”
“Then Raoul showed up to challenge their Alpha” Duncan said softly.
“Yes” Elisabetta assented. “He became the new Alpha. I think at first Jerome thought that this new Alpha would be easier to manipulate.”
“Why?” Jason asked curiously. “The new Alpha had just defeated the old one, so he was obviously a more powerful Shifter. Why would Carter think that the new one would be easier to handle?”
Jason LaRue couldn’t believe his luck. For some reason, the Shifters were willing to allow them to be privy to both their internal Pack politics and what went on in their Packs, something usually shrouded in mystery to the outside world. He had no illusions that the only reason they were being so amenable was because their Alpha had given his approval – the rest were merely following Merceau’s lead. This is how the Alphas ran their Packs as he well knew – as small fiefdoms with absolute control. Jason was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he was also not averse to satisfying his curiosity. If the Shifters were willing to answer questions, he was going to make damn sure that he asked the ones he wanted answers to. He might never get another opportunity again, so why waste it when the Alpha was in such an agreeable mood.
At his query, Elisabetta cast a fleeting glance at her Alpha who returned it evenly, a subtle light in the gold eyes that she understood well.
“The Alpha is younger than most Alpha Protectors. When he defeated the previous Alpha, it was well known that he had no experience leading a Pack or even a were-pack before. Jerome assumed that he’d be easier to influence than a more experienced Alpha.”
I guess that means he’s fifty years old instead of the usual one hundred and fifty that Shifters are used to in their Alphas.
Sienna stared at the Alpha in awe. How had a Shifter with no resume as a leader successfully challenged the Alpha Protector of such a large Pack, she wondered. Suddenly she understood where the legend of Raoul Merceau had gotten its early start. She had heard some whispers about him before of course, but it was Jason who had filled her in on the larger than life reputation the Alpha enjoyed in Chosen circles.
“Eventually when Jerome realized that the Alpha is not as easy to influence as he had assumed, he attempted a mutiny.”
“Mutiny” Jason exclaimed, puzzled by the term in this particular context. Faoladh, when he’d organized the Shifters into Packs with distinctly demarcated turfs, had clearly laid out how transitions between Alpha Protectors in a Pack should happen. He had done this primarily to prevent the kind of strife and discord seen within the Shifter community for centuries. If an Alpha Protector was not strong enough to control his Pack, then the natural order of things was to let the strongest Shifter depose him in a fight to the death witnessed by Faoladh. Political wrangling and mutinies were of no use in the endeavor to become the Alpha Protector of a Pack.
“He attempted to get a bunch of Were-Alphas together to move against their Alpha” Elisabetta explained. “He had little success, primarily because few Were-Alphas wanted to tangle with the Alpha and most disliked Jerome. It was more of an annoyance frankly since he was unlikely to get anywhere by attempting to mutiny against the Alpha. Then Duncan challenged him.”
“It was only a matter o
f time for I could sense that Raoul was beginning to lose patience with Carter” Duncan asserted calmly. “Carter came after one of my Shifters and I decided that it was time he was taught a lesson. Before I could challenge him formally though, one of his own Shifters beat me to it. They fought and Carter lost his were-pack to the challenger. The challenger broke with tradition, allowing Carter to live as long as he left the Pack. An influential Shifter in the Illinois Pack was willing to sponsor him into his Pack. Carter lost no time in making the most of his new opportunity. Since then, he’s been steadily making his way up the chain in his new Pack. Last year, he finally realized his ambition of leading a Pack.”
As the rest of the room digested this information, Luis surprised everyone by breaking his silence.
“I was the Shifter who challenged Carter” he said abruptly. “He was my Were-Alpha then. We were fed up of him for he was not a good Were-Alpha to the rank and file. We knew the difference very well indeed. Before Carter, we’d been led by a very good Were-Alpha, Stefano Manotti.”
Tasia sensed the sharp, almost involuntary, movement from Hawk beside her before he went still again. Tasia glanced at the deliberately calm face.
So, Hawk’s father had once commanded the Were-Pack that Luis now led. That means Jerome Carter was the Were-Alpha who had opposed Hawk and Sara’s entry into the Pack.
“There’s a reason the Alpha wants us to tell you about Jerome Carter” Luis added, in his smooth voice. “He’s dangerous and he holds a grudge against us. None of us can afford to lower our guard while we’re here as his guests.”
“I can’t say that I was happy when Faoladh informed me that there would be two wizards tagging along” the Alpha said bluntly. “But we’re here on a mission together and I believe that we can make this work. Now that there’s a real chance that Lady Bethesda still lives, there might even be more opportunities in the future to work together. So, I’m going to consider you part of this team when I give you a piece of information that does not leave this room.”
“There’s something not quite right with Jerome Carter” Raoul continued after a short pause. “That’s why I wanted him off my Pack. Unfortunately, we need to accept his hospitality on this mission because not doing so would break Shifter tradition and Faoladh is loath to do that since he’s having Carter investigated.”
There was a collective gasp of astonishment around the room, more so from the Shifters than the wizards who for once seemed to take it in their stride.
“I’ve got your back, Tasia” Hawk whispered into her ear. “Alph warned me about this before we got on the plane. I’m to be your shadow while you’re here in Chicago.”
“What do you mean by something not being quite right with Jerome Carter?” the Guardian asked curiously.
“He’s this side of a psychopath” the Alpha’s response was succinct.
“Forgive my plain speaking but that could be said of a lot of Shifters” Jason plodded on, equally blunt. “That’s usually not enough for Faoladh to investigate a Shifter.”
Raoul’s lips quirked subtly with unexpected amusement. The Guardian certainly had gumption, he’d give him that. Both wizards were turning out to be very different from his assumptions, he mused thoughtfully. Perhaps this assignment might not end up being as much of a headache as he had originally anticipated when he’d been asked to include them in this mission.
“Touché” he responded. “You’re right, that’s not enough.”
He contemplated the Guardian for a moment before he spoke again, the gold eyes direct on the chocolate brown ones.
“The only reason a Shifter gets investigated by Faoladh is if he’s suspected of losing control of his beast. Usually, his Were-Alpha or his Alpha would be responsible for handling such a situation. In this case, since he’s the Alpha Protector, no one in his Pack will dare oppose him. So, the job falls to Faoladh.”
“I see.”
“So watch your backs, stay in groups and always be alert. Remember, he’s got an army of Shifters at his command. He’s the Alpha, it means that he can direct them to do what he wants. For now” he added.
“We’ll make sure of it” Sienna answered soberly. “Thank you.”
“In the same spirit of being part of one team, there’s something I’d like to share” Jason announced. “Today on the plane, you identified the young vampire with Lady Bethesda as part of a well-known Family.”
“The Lombardi Family” Raoul acknowledged.
“There’s something you should know. Five years before Lady Bethesda, another powerful and well liked Guardian …” he paused as if searching for the right term, “defected from the GCW, for want of a better word. He announced that he was walking away from the GCW because he was disillusioned with the whole system and wanted nothing to do with us. There were strong whispers at that time that he went to work for a powerful vampire Master. I’m not sure but I think that it might have been the Lombardi Family.”
For a moment, there was absolute silence in the room. The Shifters were clearly shocked by this information.
“This is what you wizards call co-operation?” Elisabetta inquired sweetly in an acerbic tone. “Lady Bethesda breaks into The Vault accompanied by a young leech and you guys forget to tell us that another powerful wizard a few years before had swanned off to work for the same Family that the leech is known to be part of.”
For once he agreed with Elisabetta, Raoul fumed. It was typical of the wizards to ask for and accept their assistance while insisting on keeping their sordid little secrets.
“You misunderstand me” Jason’s voice was mild. “You have to understand how we wizards think. For us, this whole thing is primarily an investigation to find out if Lady Bethesda is culpable for Chicago and bring her to justice for the deaths of wizards who perished in the explosion. No one on our side has bothered to trace the young man in the video with her. We don’t care about him, you see. You Shifters, on the other hand, are going about this the right way. If she did what we suspect her of doing all those years ago, she had plenty of help. By identifying her potential allies and investigating them, you’ve gotten a lot further than the wizards have. I suspect that’s part of the reason the First Wizard asked your Faoladh for assistance on this investigation.”
“Are you saying that you didn’t know that Rafaelo Bianchi was a leech?” the Alpha asked evenly.
“No, we were aware that he was a vampire but no one thought it important to track down what Family he belonged to. The first I heard about it was on the flight here. That’s when I remembered the other defection from the GCW a few years before Lady Bethesda. It was well before my time but I have heard of the affair. I’ve made a few calls to some fellow Guardians to ask which Family he was rumored to have gone to work for. I should have the answer soon.”
“What you’re essentially saying is that the wizards are looking at this issue as a single Guardian gone rogue” Duncan stated in his precise manner.
“Yes” Jason nodded. “There’re a lot of wizards who believe that Lady Bethesda was framed all those years ago. They resist the First Wizard’s efforts to broaden the scope of any investigation.”
“If Sienna is able to identify Bianchi as the man she saw as a child or if we’re able to verify that there was another Guardian defection to the same vampire Family, then we’ll have more leads to follow up” he added, holding the Alpha’s gold eyes directly.
“Yes, we will” Raoul agreed.
“There’s one more thing” the Guardian continued. “If you’re okay with me taking the lead at the Registry, I might be able to get you better co-operation from the wizards there.”
“My reputation precedes me, you mean” Raoul retorted blandly.
“Yes” Jason was blunt. “The wizards don’t know what to make of the San Francisco fracas yet. I can get you better access.”
“Okay, it’s a deal” Raoul agreed after a moment of quiet reflection.
“Do you plan to include Tasia in the delegation to the Regi
stry?”
The Alpha stared at him speculatively for a moment before he nodded his head sharply, the gesture one of confidence and decisiveness. In response, Jason looked searchingly at him, puzzled by the Alpha’s inexplicable actions with respect to Tasia Armstrong. Sienna had been ecstatic to see Tasia on the flight to Chicago this morning. He knew why she had been so overjoyed, of course. Sienna relished the opportunity to get to know Tasia, hoping to unravel a little of the mystery shrouding the wizard from her vision. At first, Jason had assumed that Tasia’s presence in the delegation was the Alpha’s way of stamping his authority on the team. A constant reminder, if you will, to Jason of the Alpha’s ability and willingness to mete out punishment and humiliation to a fellow Guardian. Perhaps even the Alpha’s way of protesting the presence of a Guardian on his team. Jason had no doubt that Raoul Merceau had resisted tooth and nail from including a Guardian in his delegation. The problem with this supposition was that the more he saw of Raoul Merceau, the less Jason believed this of the Shifter. Raoul Merceau didn’t strike him as the sort to play mind games – subtlety was never going to be the Alpha’s weapon of choice. He was far more likely to line up all his ducks in a row before mounting an assault from the front with overwhelming force. Merceau, Jason was beginning to understand, would have told him to his face that he was unwelcome rather than use Tasia’s presence as a subtle taunt. So why then, Jason pondered thoughtfully, had the Alpha brought the wizard with him to Chicago. Especially since their stay at the local Lair hosted by a psychotic Alpha under investigation by Faoladh exposed her to great danger. Here was a mystery that Jason wanted badly to unravel. Was the Alpha’s inexplicable decision related in some way to Sienna’s vision, he wondered. Or was there something else in play here that the wizards were not privy to. One thing was for sure – the mystery of Tasia Armstrong was deepening. He suspected that this very mystery surrounding her might explain how a low level nondescript wizard, with no powerful family or connections to back her up, could eventually end up facing the might of the Chosen world, forced to answer their accusations against her.
