by Petra Landon
The leeches liked to live well — the ones who could afford it, that is. As usual, the Mistress was richly dressed and elaborately coiffed, with diamonds glittering on her neck and ears.
“You did summon me, Franciszka” the Alpha greeted her with an old-fashioned bow. “It can’t be that much of a surprise, surely.”
The leeches clung to the traditions of an earlier time and expected the courtesies of their era. Raoul was always careful to show them the respect they deserved. The Chosen diaspora had given the leeches a seat on the CoC. To Raoul, it meant that a Mistress who led the local nest deserved the same courtesy as the other Chosen who led their factions in San Francisco.
“So I did” she responded with a disappointed pout. “But you don’t always have to wait for my invitation to visit me, moj drogi.”
The Alpha ignored her subtle complaint. The Mistress was a canny and shrewd Chosen, though her behavior tended to veer to that of an old-fashioned, spoilt and self-indulgent pasha.
“You wanted to see me, Franciszka?”
She glanced past him to where his two Shifters waited silently, their watchful eyes on the Vampires that surrounded them.
“As always, you’ve brought the faithful Duncan” she greeted the English Shifter delightedly. Duncan reciprocated with a respectful nod.
“And who’s this? Someone new?” She stared curiously at the good-looking Shifter with the bright blue eyes who returned her stare with interest.
“Stefan Simeonov” the Alpha made the introductions. “He commands a were-pack in my Pack.”
“Ooh … a Were-Alpha” Franciszka trilled delightedly. “You must be powerful to be one in Raoul’s Pack.”
“I am” Simeonov acknowledged arrogantly, a hint of a smile playing about his eyes.
“Hmm.” Franciszka’s eyes scanned him with a greedy expression in their depths.
“Franciszka” Raoul reminded her mildly. “Business before pleasure.”
“Of course, Raoul” she complied immediately, her attention snapping back to him.
“I want to warn you about something, moj drogi. That’s why I invited you to visit me” she said, her expression suddenly more serious.
The Alpha looked unperturbed by her somber statement. “What did you want to warn me about?” he inquired.
“There are some new Pure Bloods in town.”
“Visiting?” Raoul arched an eyebrow.
“You could say that. Their leader was courteous enough to pay me a visit.”
The leeches were almost as territorial as Shifters. Just as implicit rules governed the movement of non-Pack Shifters through Pack territory, the leeches followed their own elaborate customs when trespassing on another nest’s land.
“He says that they’re here on a short visit and do not mean to interfere in our business” the Mistress continued.
Raoul waited patiently, knowing that Franciszka would take her own time to get to the point. Hurrying her would be pointless — he’d dealt with her enough times to know that.
“The word on the street is that they’re after the Pack” she said slowly.
“My Pack?” Raoul inquired steadily.
“Yes. They’ve been asking questions.”
“What kind of questions?”
“Whether the Alpha Protector has an Achilles’ heel. Who the vulnerable Shifters in the Pack are. Those kinds of questions.” Her response was immediate, succinct and to the point.
“I see. What did you tell them?”
“Me? Nothing.” Franciszka looked offended. “My Pure Bloods have been told to steer clear of the outsiders. I value our relationship with your Pack, Raoul. Unfortunately, I can’t kick them out of this city. My Master has directed me to co-operate with them.”
Raoul met her gaze steadily, a subtle question in his gold eyes.
“He didn’t command me to not warn you” she said simply.
“Is that what you’re doing, Franciszka? Warning me?” the Alpha inquired thoughtfully.
“Yes. The Pure Blood who leads them has a rather unsavory reputation amongst us. Be careful, Raoul. This one’s dangerous.”
“I can take care of myself” the Alpha stated softly. “As you know very well, Franciszka.”
The Vampire Mistress studied the Alpha’s impassive face, her own expression reflecting a wary awareness. The last time they’d met here, he had successfully reduced her to a screaming pile of agony in this very room without lifting a hand, for daring to accost one of his Pack.
“I know what you’re capable of, Raoul.” Her expression was sober. “But this one, he doesn’t play by the rules — any rules. My advice would be to watch your back and keep your vulnerable Pack members close to home.”
“I will.” The Alpha paused for a moment. “What’s this warning going to cost me, Franciszka?” he inquired evenly. Nothing came free in this world, especially not a warning from the Mistress.
“A simple answer to a query will suffice, moj drogi” she responded with a small smile, losing her unusual sobriety.
“What query would that be?”
“What did you do to me the last time you were here?” she asked bluntly.
Raoul’s lips twitched. “Trade secrets, Franciszka. My powers wouldn’t be as effective if I told you all about them.”
“You’re a Shifter, Raoul — a very powerful one, but still a Shifter. No Shifter’s blood has ever had the power to injure a Pure Blood.”
“Well, I guess then I’m no ordinary Shifter.”
“Raoul” Franciszka said softly, her voice persuasive. “I’m not asking for much here.”
“Why do you care so much about this, anyway?” he asked curiously. “You should never have gone for the witchling once I warned you she was Pack.”
The Mistress took a deep breath.
“A long time ago, there was a group of First Ones whose blood was fatal to us Pure Bloods. We considered them our mortal enemies. For centuries, we fought a war to exterminate them. A threat like that could not be allowed to exist. Today, those First Ones are all gone. Your magic that day reminded some of us older Pure Bloods of those extinct First Ones.”
The gold eyes narrowed at the female Vampire, a cold fury springing into fire in them. The two Shifters behind him, attuned to their Alpha, straightened imperceptively as the air in the room seemed to charge up suddenly.
“Are you threatening me, Franciszka?” Raoul inquired, his voice vibrating with a whisper-soft menace.
“No” she made haste to pacify him. “Just telling you why this particular ability of yours concerns me.”
“Good, because I don’t respond well to threats.”
There was a short silence as the Mistress’ eyes searched the Alpha’s furious face. The Vampires in the room seemed to take a step out of the shadows into the dimly lit edges. Duncan shot a look at Stefan as they turned together to confront the new threat.
“Don’t do it, Franciszka” Raoul warned softly. “Remember what happened the last time you pissed me off.”
“I don’t want to cross you, Raoul. You’ve always treated us Pure Bloods with respect. The other Chosen in this town do not give us the time of day, as if we’re beneath their notice.” The last was said with an underlying thread of bitterness. “But what you did to me was done publicly in this room before my Pure Bloods. My Master will be unhappy with me, unless I can give him a satisfactory explanation for your unusual powers.”
Raoul sighed silently, his fury abating. Franciszka was worried about her Master’s reaction — the Undead could be ruthless and unforgiving when it came to certain transgressions. Much like the Shifters, if he were honest, Raoul knew. If he understood her correctly, an explanation from him would satisfy the leeches. It would be different, of course, if he’d killed a leech with his magic. Fortunately, Raoul had not, though his unexpected powers that night had shocked him, much as it had them. Not that he would ever reveal that to them.
“I’ve a lot of magic in me from my mother, Franciszka. Ma
gic I don’t like to acknowledge or use” he said brusquely. Raoul was counting on the Vampires’ limited knowledge of Wizard powers. “In my defense, you angered me that night. And, that will be my only comment on this matter. Take it or leave it.”
He stared down the Vampire Mistress, who sighed softly to give him a nod.
This is exactly what she had suspected. The Alpha’s Wizard ancestry was not a secret. Neither was the fact that he did not like to acknowledge that part of his heritage. This would satisfy her Master, Franciszka knew. A good thing because she couldn’t get the Alpha to provide more of an explanation — not this powerful Wyr, notorious for his reserve and unaccustomed to explaining himself to anyone.
“The Pure Bloods would like to thank you for your hospitality at the Lair last week” the Mistress said, her manner subdued.
“Hmm. This Vampire you warned me about … he wouldn’t happen to be one of the Lombardi crowd, would he?”
“Yes” Franciszka’s eyes widened. “You know of him, Raoul?”
“Rafaelo Bianchi” the Alpha remarked.
“Yes.” The Mistress looked even more astonished.
“We’ve had run-ins before” Raoul responded thoughtfully. “Although I wasn’t aware he was in town.”
Franciszka stayed silent while the Alpha studied her. “I thank you for the information and your warning, Mistress. The Pack will not forget it.”
“You’re welcome, moj drogi.”
“What do you reckon, Raoul?” Duncan inquired later in the privacy of the car as they drove back to the Lair.
“Bianchi sniffing around here is not a good sign. He’s looking for a way to force my hand on Sienna.”
Duncan shot him a look. “Might want to warn Jason about him.”
Raoul nodded; he knew what Duncan was hinting at. He’d been aware that LaRue escorted Sienna outside the Lair. Raoul had said nothing about it, for it was none of his business. Sienna’s safety had been entrusted to the Guardian by the First Wizard. Raoul had merely guaranteed Sienna’s well-being while she resided in his Lair.
“Gather the Were-Alphas at the Lair tomorrow, Duncan. It’s time I brought them up to speed on this. The Shifters will need to be on guard while Bianchi’s in town. He’s canny and can be very dangerous.”
He’d also have to warn the witchling, Raoul realized. She’d have to stay confined to the Lair while the leeches were in town. He hated to ask that of her, but it couldn’t be helped for now. Bianchi would not make his move without sufficient backup this time, not after he’d been outsmarted in Chicago by superior numbers. The two Shifter escorts who watched over the witchling when she ventured outside the Lair would find themselves out-numbered if Bianchi came at them with an Undead army at his command. The witchling’s welfare reminded Raoul of other unfinished business he needed to take care of.
“Stay away from the witchling, Simeonov” he directed abruptly. “She’s not to be played with.”
Stefan glanced at his Alpha in shock, clearly astonished by the unexpected dictum. The Alpha was known to stay above the fray on matters like this — he never involved himself in the personal lives of his Shifters. Simeonov glanced at the Shifter beside him, hoping for a clue to the Alpha’s unusual behavior, but Duncan was studying the Alpha with an unreadable expression. Luis continued to drive the car silently, albeit with a watchful look on his face. Silence descended in the car as gold eyes bored into the Shifter in the backseat.
“What if I’m not playing, Alpha?” Stefan inquired quietly.
“Aren’t you?” said the soft voice relentlessly, the Alpha’s gold gaze meeting his blue eyes directly. “You’ve had plenty of time to do something about it, if you were interested, Simeonov.”
There was another moment of silence before Simeonov’s eyes lowered before the Alpha’s implacable gold gaze.
“I’ve given her Pack status” Raoul reiterated, the underlying warning in his voice clear to his audience. “But she’s not a Shifter and doesn’t understand these types of games. Stay away from her.”
Duncan glanced up from his book as Sienna excused herself to exit the Pack Room. When the Shifter on sentry duty peered in, Duncan gestured discreetly at him to shut the door. Placing his book aside, he approached Tasia, busy diligently perusing and analyzing documents from the Office of the First Wizard. She’d been quieter than usual this afternoon, a preoccupied air about her. This was the perfect time to have a conversation with her. Raoul was busy in the Alpha’s Room and soon, the hordes would descend on the Pack Room to socialize and conduct business within its confines.
“I hear that you had an interesting encounter this morning” he remarked to Tasia.
At his words, Tasia glanced up, astonishment writ large on her face.
“Joaquim told me about it” Duncan explained. “He was concerned about you.”
Anything you’d like to talk about?” he invited as Tasia remained silent.
Tasia pondered the offer. The morning’s encounter had seriously perturbed her. While unclear about the import of Maartje’s machinations, Tasia was smart enough to appreciate that there were Shifter and were-pack dynamics at play here. To craft any response to Maartje, she’d need to understand the Pack dynamics better. Hawk was too close to this matter — Tasia didn’t intend to discuss this with him. Duncan understood the Pack like no one else, and he would give her unbiased and sound advice, like he had many times in the past about navigating it.
“Yes” she accepted his offer gratefully.
Duncan seated himself across from her to study her.
“What bothers you about the conversation?” he asked bluntly, getting to the heart of the matter as was his wont. It wasn’t Maartje’s request to influence Hawk that had struck a nerve with Tasia, and Duncan knew it.
“I won’t try to influence Hawk on Atsá or anything else.” Tasia was vehement on this point.
“I never thought you would” Duncan said calmly. “If Maartje knew you better, she’d know it too. But all she sees is a girl Hawk is enamored of. She thinks she can take advantage of the situation to convince someone naïve to our ways into doing her bidding. I hope you don’t blame her for the attempt, Tasia. Atsá is an old ally of hers. Were-packs are always jostling for position and influence in a Pack, and she wouldn’t be a good Were-Alpha if she didn’t take advantage of an opportunity that presented itself.”
He paused for emphasis. “With that said, if any threats were made, openly or subtly, Raoul will certainly have something to say about it.”
“No threats were made to me.” Tasia shook her head.
Duncan waited patiently.
“It’s not about being asked to influence Hawk” she said slowly. “I mean, the request shocked me, but since I would never contemplate doing so, it’s meaningless.”
“Is it the gossip, Tasia?” he asked as she seemed to scrabble for the right words.
Tasia nodded.
Duncan leaned back in his chair, wondering how to put her at ease on this. Joaquim had repeated the conversation verbatim to him and Duncan found himself mentally going down the list of Pack gossip that Maartje had exploited in her attempt to convince the young Wizard.
“Raoul would never, regardless of his personal opinions, ever interfere in any Shifter’s love life. As long as a potential mate does not create trouble for the Pack, he doesn’t give a rat’s ass who his Shifters choose to have a relationship with.” Duncan was blunt, knowing well that Tasia responded to such candidness better.
Tasia shrugged. “The Alpha told me himself that his Shifters’ love lives are not his concern.” To Tasia, the point was moot anyway, since she’d never get involved with anyone in the Pack.
Why, that sly devil, Duncan mused silently. What kind of courtship was the boy attempting here, he couldn’t help but wonder.
“Also, Maartje’s hint about influencing the Alpha on this matter is nonsense” Tasia remarked before Duncan could respond.
Duncan arched an eyebrow, his brown eyes twinkling.<
br />
“The Alpha doesn’t listen to anyone” Tasia said succinctly, as candid with Duncan as he had been with her. “The only person who has any influence with him is you, and you’ll never interfere in a matter you consider the purview of the Alpha.”
Duncan chuckled softly. The young Wizard was no fool. She never said much in Shifter company but she watched and learnt, and never made the same mistake twice.
“Markham” he stated shrewdly.
This time, Tasia sighed. Between Markham’s allusion and Maartje’s insinuations, Tasia found herself floundering.
“The Pack gossip …” She shook her head, the admission a tough one for her to make. “I’ve tried to lead an exemplary life at the Lair. Yet, every way I turn, whispers are rampant.”
“Tasia, there’s another way of looking at this. The Shifters ignored you at first because they assumed you were a temporary guest at the Lair. Now, they know better, and are starting to give you the attention they should have from the beginning. You’re a member of their Pack and yet different from everyone else. It makes you someone of interest and curiosity.”
Tasia slumped back on the couch. This was hard for her to accept. “My whole life has been about flying under the radar, trying my hardest to blend in and not draw attention. This kind of attention and gossip goes against a lifetime of belief, a lifetime of habit” she said, passion coloring her.
Duncan studied her silently, his wise eyes full of understanding. “I understand, Tasia. I do understand. Once upon a time, I too lived a life like the one you talk about. When I decided to come back into the fold, I had to fight hard to make the change. Remember this. Even if you decide to live away from all Chosen in the future, the lessons you take away from this experience amongst us will stand you in good stead.”
Tasia smiled wryly. “In other words, I should grow a thicker skin.”
“Let it all wash over you. You’re in a fantastic position here in the Pack. You couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity with any Chosen. With Raoul standing as a bulwark, no one will cross the line with you. This is your chance to observe and learn the dynamics in a Chosen collective, Tasia. I told you when you first joined us that Sara and you could learn a lot from each other. This is something Sara’s had to learn over time.”
