by C. Gockel
“Oh, yes? And do you think it coincidence that there are only four Houses left in LA and not a dozen or more like the old days? Do you think it’s your threat, the threat of shifters who my people consider mere animals to be subjugated, and not ours that keeps them away? If you do, I feel sorry for you. They stay away because Gavin, Michael, Rachelle, and I keep them away. Gavin more than the rest of us in truth. His reputation is enough of a deterrent for all but the most determined. LA has a fierce reputation among my kind, but don’t think for a moment it isn’t looked upon as a prize by envious eyes.”
Jonas intervened. “We’re straying far from why this conclave was called. I think we’ve heard all we need to. Raymond Pederson, Alpha of the Alley Dog Pack of LA stands accused of raiding House Edmonton—vampire House of LA—against the customs and laws we all abide by. I will now hear your words before making my decision.”
Leon Pullen went first as Alpha of the second strongest pack. “I don’t like what he did, but he spoke the truth when he said he didn’t plan to attack House Edmonton. To me that means he isn’t guilty of anything except stupidity. I mean, anyone with an ounce of sense could guess what would go down at the club. Raymond Pederson is a bloody idiot, but that’s not against our laws. Maybe it should be.”
“So, innocent of the charge then?” Jonas asked.
Leon nodded.
And so it went. David listened with growing dismay as each Alpha responded with similar sentiments. In different words, they made excuses for Pederson’s idiocy. Each time his stupidity was brought up, he flushed angrily, but it meant nothing. He had them all on side and bamboozled, but if he thought that would help him, he could think again.
He had promised himself and Mist that he wouldn’t let Ronnie be taken. He exchanged looks with Stephen, and nodded to let him know he was ready to kill Pederson and take his pack. Stephen’s eyes narrowed just a trifle as he caught on, and nodded back his permission. David didn’t need permission, not for this. Ronnie would be his one day even if she didn’t know it yet. He would woo her, but in the meantime, he needed to fix her current situation.
“...innocent of the charge. I would like to see some kind of punishment. A tithe maybe?”
The Alphas rumbled agreement.
Jonas nodded his thanks. “So, the consensus is that Raymond is a frigging idiot who should have known better, but one who is innocent of a premeditated sneak attack upon House Edmonton. I’m advised to levy a tithe as punishment.” He grimaced unhappily. “I see no option but to comply with the conclave’s wishes. A tithe of twenty thousand dollars is levied, and will be given to House Edmonton in lieu of damages.”
Pederson yelped. “What damages?”
“It’s a figure of speech, you moron,” Jonas snarled. “For the inconvenience of you and your cretins attacking his people at the club, and for disturbing the peace. You have a week to cough up the cash before I send my boys round to take it out of your hide.”
Pederson snarled silently, and then nodded reluctantly.
Stephen’s face was cold and hard.
“Before I call it done,” Jonas said. “Any other business?”
David hesitated a moment too long.
Pederson spoke first. “I wish to propose that we deal with the vampire’s status among us once and for all. He’s not Alpha and his band of misfit rogues are not a pack. It’s time we cleaned this up.”
Jonas hesitated.
“Seconded,” Leon said. Jonas shot him a look of surprised betrayal. “Sorry, but it’s better to get it out of the way. Stephen is a friend to the packs of LA, all the remaining vamp Houses are, but they aren’t pack. Maybe it’s time we recognised that. We need to figure out exactly what they mean to us and begin treating them as what they are, not what some of us think they are or should be.”
23
Blood Drinkers
“Okay,” Jonas said. “If the shit is going to hit the fan no matter what I do, let’s wind the fucker up to full blast. State your case, Raymond.”
“There are four vamp Houses in LA, but only House Edmonton is treated like pack. Treat Edmonton no different from House Lochlain or the others, like the vampire House it is.”
“That’s all?” Jonas said in surprise. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Wait!” David said noting the flash of victory on Pederson’s face. He was sure he’d seen it. “Wait, wait, wait!”
“What?” Jonas said in annoyance.
“What does that mean?”
“What does what mean?”
“Treating Stephen’s house as a vampire House and not a pack.”
“It means what is says!” Jonas said in exasperation. “Basically, it means we acknowledge him as a vampire master and head of his House with the power and authority to rule his vamps and territory. It means he has the authority to make binding decisions and alliances, treaties and deals on behalf of his House. It’s a meaningless change, just terminology.”
“Is it though? Can a vampire master be a pack leader?”
“Of course n—” Jonas turned and glared at Pederson. “No, of course he can’t be a pack leader. Nice try.”
“But he isn’t a pack leader,” Leon said unhappily. “That’s part of the problem. We treat him like one, but it’s not real.”
Stephen just watched, stony faced.
“So if he can’t be a pack leader, where does that leave me and the others,” David said, waving a hand at Lawrence and Ronnie.
Stephen answered. “I believe it will mean I must turn you all out. Isn’t that your goal?”
“Not necessarily,” Pederson said. “You can employ whoever you like, but you can’t pretend to pack status. Any shifter wanting to stay in LA must join one, leave, or be killed. Those three choices are all there have ever been.”
“I warned you,” David said quietly, ominously. “I warned you what I’m prepared to do. Think very carefully before you push this further.”
“I will have an explanation for that threat,” Jonas said sharply. “Now.”
David kept his silence, his eyes boring into Pederson’s.
“Now!” Jonas barked.
Stephen chose to explain. “David has expressed an interest in Ronnie’s welfare. He has threatened to challenge Raymond for his pack before allowing her to be forced back to them.”
That startled Jonas. “Really? How interesting.”
“Rogues can’t challenge anyone,” Leon said reluctantly. He obviously would not have minded a change of leadership within the Alley Dog pack. “Sorry.”
“I’m not a rogue, I belong to Stephen,” David said, managing not to stumble over it. He must have been convincing, because they didn’t call him a liar. Maybe he really did think of himself that way? Damn. “I’m not going to allow Ronnie or anyone I call friend—and that means everyone currently under Stephen’s protection—to be harmed.”
“But Stephen’s status is in question,” Leon said looking around at the other Alphas. They all nodded. “If we revert to treating House Edmonton as the vampire House it truly is, all of the shifters including you will revert to loners needing a pack. Fail to join one, and all become rogues.”
He’d known that was coming. He glanced at Stephen, but there was no help there. He looked to Ronnie. She shrugged. Lawrence shook his head. There must be an out, but he couldn’t see it. He tried to stall.
“Is this what you really want?” he said, catching the other Alpha’s eyes. “What you really want? Stephen has been cleaning up your messes for decades. The city is a better place for it, you must see that. If you do this, if you force this issue, you’ll have to take over from him. You’ll have to hunt the rogues, take in the loners. Is that what you want?”
Jonas snorted. “If that’s what they wanted, they would never have abrogated their responsibility in the first place.”
“Theirs? You don’t do the same?”
“I run my territory my way and it’s not in the city. No one but me or mine hunts here.”<
br />
David looked the question at Leon.
“Same, but I’m also not in the city. Policing our territories,” he waved a hand at Jonas and back to himself. “Is a different proposition. We can hunt in full beast form easily. Coyotes are a pretty common sight in these parts.” He grinned. “Big suckers a lot of ‘em. Ask the humans. They swear they’ve seen some twice the size the text books say is normal.”
Chuckles swept along the table.
Jonas nodded. “A giant wolf or lynx running through the streets of LA isn’t something anyone can pretend is normal. It was easier to let Stephen handle it.”
“Then don’t change things and he can keep handling it.”
“No,” Pederson snapped.
Jonas sighed.
Suddenly he had an idea. It wasn’t something he was exactly eager to do, and he hadn’t discussed it with Stephen at all, but he knew Mist would prefer it to taking over the Alley Dogs. He wasn’t sure how to do it, but maybe Jonas would be receptive.
“I have a proposal. Will you hear it?”
“Why the hell not? Might as well get all the crackpot ideas out in the open. My night is already shot.”
“Create a new pack. There must be a rule or something covering new ones? Make a new one and let us all join it.”
A rumble of surprise swept the Alphas. Leon nodded; he liked the idea. Pederson didn’t of course, but it was to Stephen that David looked to for approval. The vampire seemed intrigued, not supportive exactly, but not against either. He was turning over the connotations in his mind, racing along paths to find the downsides. And there were downsides. His House was strong primarily because of the numbers he could call upon to defend it. All of his shifters were loyal to him, and all of them were food at need. All of that would go away in an instant unless he could make other arrangements.
“Just like that?” Jonas asked. “Make a new pack and revert House Edmonton to its actual status of a vampire House?”
He nodded.
Jonas grinned and glanced at Pederson. He pursed his lips and surveyed the other Alphas. “Before we vote on it, let’s be certain we know what we’re voting upon. House Edmonton reverted, a new pack created to continue handling the loners and rogues?”
David hesitated. He should have considered that. It meant he would have to kill any loner who wouldn’t join his pack or leave. He didn’t want to do that. He knew Stephen and the other vamps handled rogues of their own kind themselves, like the Ghost so recently put down, but Stephen often had to handle rogue shifters too. He rarely handled that himself, preferring to send people like Lawrence. He could do that too, but he knew he would feel guilty if he did. He didn’t want to kill anyone, but sending others felt somehow worse. Cowardly. Maybe he wouldn’t have to. Maybe he could just force them out of the city. No one said he must kill them, only that they must die if they wouldn’t leave or join a pack. Yes, he could do this. He could have them brought to him, and if they wouldn’t be persuaded, he could transport them a long way from LA.
What do you think, Mist?
We must do this. We are alpha. Protect the pack and Stephen. He will need us. He will be weak without us.
Yes. We have to do something about that. Alliance?
Yes. Our den need not change. Nothing needs to change except how these outsiders think of us.
He nodded to himself. That was very insightful and true. They could live and work as before. As long as the Alphas here were happy, what business of theirs was it where and how they lived?
“That’s about the size of it,” David finally agreed.
“Well,” Jonas said. “It’s certainly a neat solution. Objections, Ray? I suppose I should warn you that the other option is still open.”
Pederson frowned.
“David can apply to join any pack to get around the rogue thing. It doesn’t have to be any of us, a small family pack would do. I’m sure if he offered them money, one of them would sponsor him. Once he’s a member in good standing he could register a formal challenge, kill you, and take over the Alley Dogs.” Jonas turned to David. “You sure you don’t want to do that?”
Pederson spluttered angrily and David smiled. He liked Jonas. He shook his head and Jonas shrugged.
“Very well,” Jonas went on. “If the vote goes your way, you can’t just kill Raymond you realise?”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“Because as Alpha of a pack, a challenge to another Alpha is a declaration of war. It would be your pack against his. There are a lot of Alley Dogs. I would strongly advise against it. Besides that, wars are frowned upon. The whole point of conclave is to settle disputes of that sort. Little spats and feuds are one thing; open war on the streets is something else. Keeping the humans out of our business is a big part of what we do.”
Stephen broke in, “And we have OSI sniffing about.”
“Yes,” Jonas said frowning at the reminder. “We need to talk about that later, but first let’s get this new pack business squared away. All in favour?”
The vote wasn’t unanimous. Pederson was against, and one or two others, but more than ninety percent voted for it including Stephen. Leon took over the meeting for a while in his capacity as clerk to register the new pack on his computer. It was all very organised, more like setting up a business than a werewolf pack.
“Name of pack?” Leon asked. “And don’t say Justice Lea—”
“—ice League?”
Leon sighed. “Goddess save me from people who think they’re funny. Seriously? You seriously think that no one else has tried that? I bet you think using something like my password on your comp is a good idea too don’t you?”
David shifted uncomfortably, and decided to change his password when he got home. “Of course not.”
Leon snorted. “Nice try, and don’t change it to 123456 either. That’s just as popular.”
Damn! This guy was good. Now he needed to think up something else. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said and Leon rolled his eyes. He thought for a moment. Something appropriate, something that would resonate with Lost Souls and the shifters loyal to Stephen. “How about... Blood Drinkers?” He looked at Ronnie and Lawrence. Both nodded.
Stephen smiled briefly.
“Blood Drinkers?” Leon muttered and ran a search on his computer. “It’s available. Name of Alpha?”
“David and Mist,” he said.
“Your second?”
“Lawrence and Farris.”
“Female Alpha?”
“Ronnie and Callia,” he said and Ronnie gasped. Pederson snarled curses, and she grinned widely at him.
“Your second, Ronnie?” Leon asked.
Ronnie hesitated. “Can I think about it? We don’t have many bitches at Lost Souls.”
“Call me when you know.”
“Okay.”
“Sponsor?” Leon asked.
“Me,” Stephen said.
“Objection!” Pederson squawked. “He’s not a shifter.”
Jonas raised an eyebrow. “Does that matter?”
Leon hesitated. “I don’t know. I’ll check.” He typed a search query and began reading. “It says a sponsor cannot be human because he or she must be a member in good standing with our community, but that’s all. Stephen qualifies.”
Stephen inclined his head.
“Lastly the big one. Territory claimed?”
David was at a loss but Stephen stepped in again. “I offer the Blood Drinkers pack formal alliance and hunting rights throughout the territory of House Edmonton. My territory is also theirs with the stipulation that I do not cede my ownership or any of my rights over that territory. Moreover, I reserve the right to terminate the arrangement at any time. I hereby release all shifters in my service to join David’s pack if they wish, but I do not release them from my employment unless they give a month’s advance notice.” He turned to David. “I’ll need to make arrangements to replace them. I can’t disrupt my operations.”
“I understand and it won’t be
an issue. Mist agrees. We don’t want things to change, not this soon at any rate. Maybe later, but we can discuss it.”
Stephen nodded.
“House Edmonton controls a huge territory,” Jonas said.
“Your point?” David asked.
“There are quite a few family sized packs resident in that territory. You’ll need to make some kind of arrangement with them. I don’t think Stephen bothered with formal alliances?”
Stephen shook his head.
“I’ll talk with them,” David said. “We’ll figure it out.”
Jonas nodded. “Then I think we’re done here. This meeting is closed.”
“I challenge Ronnie Burdett for her position as Alpha of the Blood Drinkers pack!” someone shouted.
“Accepted!” Ronnie shouted back instantly, and turned to confront Georgie. “You’re dead, bitch!”
“Oh bloody hell,” Jonas sighed.
David shot to his feet, already snarling and lunging toward Georgie, but he slammed bodily into Lawrence. His friend grabbed him, and forced him to back away.
“You can’t!” Lawrence hissed. “You can’t challenge anyone but another Alpha now!”
He couldn’t take his eyes off the smirking woman. She grinned at him, and his rage turned into an inferno, but Mist didn’t even twitch. He was so angry, Mist should have exploded out of their body, but he didn’t, the wolf just watched.
Lawrence was a big guy, bigger than him. He worked out constantly, but he was having trouble holding his position. There was strain and panic on his face, and David knew, he knew, that he could easily overpower Lawrence. That realisation brought him up short, and he realised why Mist wasn’t helping. They were Lawrence’s pack leader now and should act like it not some kind of mad rogue.
He stopped struggling. “Explain, and make it fast,” he growled.
Lawrence relaxed a little, but he didn’t let go. “Challenges are for dominance and rank in the pack. No one can challenge anyone ranked below them, and no one is ranked higher than the Alpha. You can only challenge your equal now, and that would mean another pack leader. It prevents abuse of those less dominant than us.”
