“Shit, I’m ready to find out what this thing is about so I can be on the next flight out of this cold-ass place.” Santiago rubbed his arms once and turned in the direction of the building.
“For once, I agree with you, Santiago. Let’s get this over with, gentlemen,” Drako stated, indicating the building with a jut of his head.
Conall was already moving to the entrance. Max’s disappearance, coupled with the fact that Evelyn’s mother had been in Maximilian’s covenant and the timing of the meeting, convinced him even more that the Grand Wizard was behind it all. He just needed it confirmed.
There was a rule of “sacred ground” that applied to every building that housed a Council meeting. Conall took a deep breath as he approached the door that would take him into the building. He prayed he would maintain enough control not to break that rule by killing Maximilian Cronin tonight.
***
Maximilian barely resisted the urge to snarl at the fact that werewolves controlled the majority on the Council. There were ten seats in total, but four of them belonged to the wolves, while the witches and vampires had three each. It was another reason for his repulsion for the Council.
He turned to his right, then left, where Tiberius Carlyle and Wilhem Blackstone sat. He knew instinctively that Tiberius would support anything he did. The Grand Wizard owed him much. It was Wilhem who would have a harder time falling in line. He was younger than both Maximilian and Tiberius and likely the youngest member at the table, but Maximilian had heard of his exploits. Wilhem hadn’t become Grand Wizard of one of the largest covenants in the state by being weak.
A slight murmur went around the room when the door opened and the vampire Elder stepped through. Agar. He’d been appointed to lead the Council meetings for the year. Agar took a seat and opened the folder he held. He briefly scanned the papers before him using his thin, pale fingers to trace the writing. Seconds later, he lifted his gaze and surveyed them.
“Good evening, all. Before we begin, I will briefly go over the rules of sacred ground so that there are no misconceptions of what the violations entail.” He quickly ran through the rules, citing any type of physical confrontation as a breach, and the member who breached it could and would be replaced on the Council. “Is that understood?”
Ten heads nodded at once, and Agar nodded in approval. “I declare this meeting open.” He turned and looked directly at Maximilian. “Maximilian?”
There was a ripple around the room and every head turned to him. The reasons for the meeting had been kept secret up until now, and everyone, including Agar, was anxious to know why a third meeting had been called.
Leaning his body forward, Maximilian began, “I called this meeting because something of import has been taken from my community.”
Another ripple went around the room as some shifted in their seats.
Conall tensed. It was as he’d suspected. Maximilian was going to try to claim kinship over his mate and her twin. Try being the operative word.
“Two girls, both belonging to my covenant, have been kidnapped by Conall Athelwulf’s pack.”
A murmur resounded around the table as witches, vampires, and werewolves began to speak. Conall’s blood heated; his breathing came fast and shallow. He picked up on the sound of the blood pumping through Maximilian’s jugular, and his head lowered. The wolf was surfacing, and he couldn’t control it, didn’t know if he wanted to control it.
Agar slapped his hand against the table, causing it to vibrate under the power. “Silence!”
The murmur faded slowly, until a tense silence prevailed.
“Explain yourself, Maximilian,” Agar demanded. Santiago, seated to Conall’s right, and Dominic, seated to his direct left, had their eyes on Conall as well, while Drako alternated between looking at Conall and watching Maximilian.
***
“Of course, Elder. Vivienne and Cassandre Bordeaux are two witches who have been living as humans for the past years. They are the grand-daughters of Annabel, my covenant-sister, whom I loved as my own blood.” It was a lie, but he was so practiced in the art that even the most trained of creatures would be unable to tell. “Five years ago, I learned of their existence, and searched them out. It was one of my reasons for relocating my covenant to New York. I owed Annabel that much.” Agar’s expression softened, and Maximilian continued. “A few days past, I learned of their locations, and sent my most trusted trackers to bring them home.” He turned from Agar and looked accusingly at Conall.
The wolf looked ready to jump across the table at him, and Maximilian hoped he would. It would start a fight that would transcend this meeting, and if he could manipulate it, things would go back to the way they were before these useless laws were implemented. “My people were attacked by Conall Athelwulf and his pack, and the girls were taken.” He looked around the table once more. “I appeal this Council on the grounds of kinship to demand that Athelwulf return both Vivienne and Cassandre Bordeaux to my covenant, where they belong.” Leaning back, he nodded once to indicate he’d said his part.
Agar, and the rest of the Council members, shifted their gazes to Conall. “What have you to say?”
***
Conall called on every higher power for control, and almost sighed when the beast retreated slightly and he could put together coherent words in his head. Maximilian obviously didn’t want the Council knowing that Vivienne and Cassandre were actually druids, not witches, and he didn’t care to find out how the Council would react to the existence of two druids, particularly when one was his mate.
Cracking his neck, he leveled his eyes on Maximilian and spoke. “Maximilian Cronin cannot claim kinship over Vivienne or Cassandre as their mother is still alive, and has already claimed it herself—”
“I claim kinship over Evelyn as well. She is always welcome to return to her covenant,” Maximilian interjected quickly.
Conall held onto his control, reminding himself that outside of the Council meeting, he could kill Maximilian Cronin as he wished, but right now, his only recourse was to persuade the Council that Maximilian had no grounds for kinship.
He relaxed his voice, leaned back, although his back was still ramrod straight, and looked around the room. “The last I checked, gentlemen, it was not mandatory to join a pack,” he looked to the werewolves, “a covenant,” he looked directly at the witches, “or a clan,” his gaze lingered on the vampires. “Evelyn was never inducted into Maximilian Cronin’s covenant. In fact, her mother, Annabel, left the covenant years before Evelyn was born. Neither Evelyn, Vivienne, nor Cassandre have met Cronin.” Conall paused for that to sink in. Kinship was an old but fickle law. “And Vivienne and Cassandre, despite being referred to as girls, are both adults and capable of deciding for themselves if they wish to join a covenant. They do not.”
Another round of murmurs went around the room and Maximilian pressed his lips together tightly. “They are unaware of the dangers that exist outside of a covenant—”
Agar slammed his hand against the table once more and gave Maximilian a pointed stare. Conall continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “I counter Cronin’s claim of kinship over Vivienne—”
Maximilian pushed forward in his chair and shook his head. “You have no grounds for that.”
“—as her mate.” He snapped his teeth together and pressed his body forward. Santiago shifted closer, getting into position to haul him back if there was need, and Conall forced himself to relax. Relaxation was getting to be something he remembered vaguely, like a vacation he’d taken hundreds of years ago. “Vivienne is my mate, and I will challenge anyone who tries to take her from me.”
***
Maximilian shot from the chair, sending the piece of furniture flying. Immediately, Conall stood. Agar brought his hand down on the table, and when that didn’t work, he stood and said in a loud, commanding voice, “Gentlemen! Please take your seats. This matter will be discussed and resolved. Remember that you are on sacred ground.”
Conal
l sat slowly. The chair behind Maximilian righted and moved forward until it was directly behind him. Scowling all the while, Maximilian did the same.
When he was seated, he turned to Agar and said, “It is forbidden.” In a louder voice, he repeated, “It is forbidden for a witch to mate a werewolf.”
Tiberius nodded briskly. “I agree. Our laws strictly forbid witches from mating outside of our species.”
Before Conall could reply, Verenus spoke. “One has to wonder how the warlocks came about then, no?”
Eyes narrowing, Tiberius glared at Verenus. “Few choose to break our sacred laws, and you know as well as we do, vampire, that the creation of the warlocks was based on the cruelty of your race more than anything else.”
“Do not speak of things you do not know, witch.” Keitaro Matsumoto, the third vampire coven leader, leaned forward menacingly, his eyes shifting red as his bared his teeth. The vampires followed suit, tensing.
“We know well that your ancestors, some of your own blood, brutally raped hundreds of our kin,” Tiberius snarled. His irises faded to black in anger.
Agar prepared to slap his hand against the table once more. He found he didn’t need to.
“Should I be surprised that in the twenty-first century, despite the Council, the International Council, and numerous hybrids that currently exist in all of our communities, the laws of segregation are still being invoked?” That question came from Drako, who stared from Tiberius to Maximilian and back.
“Are you presuming to tell us, wolf, how to run our covenants?” Maximilian demanded.
Drako remained still for a few seconds before shrugging and shaking his head. “Of course not. You’ll run your community as you choose, as will we, but there are two communities involved in this particular dilemma: yours and ours.”
“I agree,” Dominic interjected, followed by Santiago’s thump and growl of approval.
Maximilian stared at the three of them before turning to Agar and saying in a low but forceful voice, “When the Council was established, we agreed to adhere to the laws of the individual communities. I claim kinship over Vivienne and Cassandre, two witches belonging to my covenant, as their Grand Wizard. I refuse to acknowledge any joining between Vivienne and an animal.” Conall growled, and Santiago’s eyes flashed yellow at the insult. “I petition this Council to give me kinship as is my right.”
Agar looked to the various faces at the table before swinging his gaze back to Maximilian. “The law of kinship remains one of our oldest because this Council recognizes the importance of family and family ties. Family is why we have survived turbulent times, have made successful places for ourselves across the globe.” He paused and looked to Conall, who had tensed. “With that said, Council laws account kinship by rank. A mate’s claim of kinship outranks all others, regardless of lineage and race, but a Grand Wizard’s claim of kinship over a descendant from his covenant outranks that of an outsider.”
Maximilian’s lips tightened. This was not going as he’d planned. He barely resisted the urge to unleash his powers on Conall Athelwulf. How could that dog mate her? This was definitely a blow he had neither expected nor anticipated. So he would have to find another way to get Vivienne, but Cassandre…his claim still outranked Conall’s. Plus, with Cassandre in his possession, he was certain he could lure the other twin.
“We shall put it to a vote. Gentlemen?”
Heads nodded in agreement. “On the matter of Vivienne, who of you thinks that Maximilian, Grand Wizard and ancestor to Vivienne, has more of a right to kinship than Conall?”
Maximilian and Tiberius raised their hands. Every other hand remained where it was. Maximilian expected that. He wasn’t happy about it, but he expected it. He passed a glare to Wilhem. The witch obviously had no loyalty.
“Who of you thinks that Conall, Pack Alpha and mate to Vivienne, has more of a right to kinship than Maximilian?”
Everyone else raised their hands.
“The Council has voted. Vivienne is Conall’s kin, and as such, protected under his pack. This matter is hereby declared resolved.”
Agar turned to Maximilian, who looked as if he was going to interrupt, but didn’t.
“On that matter of Cassandre, which of you thinks that Maximilian has more right to kinship than Conall?”
Maximilian, Tiberius, and Wilhem lifted their hands. Maximilian glared at the vampires, who stared steadily back at him. Keitaro, the smug bastard, even flashed white teeth in the semblance of a smile.
“Which of you thinks Conall has more right to kinship?”
Conall, Dominic, and Santiago agreed.
Agar frowned. “And who of you thinks that no one has a greater right to kinship?”
The three vampires and Drako voiced their agreement.
“Then it is settled. Neither Maximilian nor Conall will claim kinship over the witch named Cassandre. She will be free to choose. As to the matter of the mother, Evelyn, using the logic that gives the daughter the freedom to choose, it is only appropriate she be given the same treatment. This matter is declared resolved.” Agar pinpointed his gaze on Maximilian and Conall. After long moments, he nodded and stood. “This meeting is adjourned. Thank you for your patience in resolving this issue. Good evening.” With that, the Elder picked up his folder and made his way from the room.
When every Council member except for he and Tiberius had left, Maximilian allowed his anger to show. His face turned a deep shade of red and his nostrils flared. The Council was worthless, completely worthless, and this decision reaffirmed his belief in that. As soon as he resurrected the druids and restored his powers, he was decimating the Council, and with it, Conall Athelwulf’s entire wolf pack.
“What are you going to do?”
Maximilian turned to Tiberius. He’d confided in the other Grand Wizard some of his plans for the twins. He hadn’t exposed that they were druids, just powerful witches with the ability to undo the curse that the druids had put on them. He hadn’t gone into detail, but it was enough he’d mentioned it. Like him, Tiberius was aged and surviving only because of the longevity spells he cast on himself. The Grand Wizard was desperate to have the curse revoked. He also had another reason for divulging the information to Tiberius: he needed the Grand Wizard to help him resurrect the druids. He doubted that his power would be enough. No attempts had worked in the past, and he wasn’t willing to take that chance, especially as this might very well be his last.
“We’re going to resort to the original plan. We’ll get them the old way.”
“Trackers?”
Maximilian pushed himself to his feet and called his cane to his hand. His bones felt fragile, weak, like an old man’s. He would have to enact a spell to make him stronger when he returned to his covenant. That thought only made him angrier. Had he been immortal, this would not have happened.
He began walking toward the exit. Tiberius followed.
“One tracker. We’ll use one tracker to find them.” He thought of Max, his stubborn son. He might have been proud of Max’s resistance to the treatment had he been in someone else’s holding cell, refusing to divulge information about his father and his covenant. He’d never seen a creature—witch, vampire, or werewolf—last more than three days against the convincing techniques of his specialty trackers. “He’ll lead us directly to them.”
Tiberius nodded.
“Athelwulf’s pack will declare war on us. The wolves will probably join him.”
“Let them,” Maximilian replied with a sinister smile. “By that time, our race will be restored to its former glory. If the wolves want a war, we’ll gladly indulge them.”
***
Vivienne couldn’t help the nervousness spiraling through her body as she waited for Conall to return. He’d told her about the council meeting, and Evelyn had helped to explain exactly what that was. Still, as Max had been taken to God only knew where, and Conall had left Raoul and three others to “wait” with her, she had the feeling the meeting was more dangerous t
han he made it seem. She was still very new to this whole…druid business, but instinct told her he’d hidden something from her. He’d said the meeting was routine, that it shouldn’t last more than an hour, but that had been it. He hadn’t mentioned why the meeting had been called. All she knew was that it was scheduled for six, and it was now after eight. Where was he?
She pushed off of the sofa in the living room and headed for the front door. Either Raoul or one of the men Conall had left would be on the porch. She’d just have a quick peek outside….
“Vivienne.” Her mother’s voice was sharp, and Vivienne stopped and glanced toward the staircase. “Please, stay inside, ma chère.”
This wasn’t the first time Evelyn had appeared before she could poke her head out of the door. Glaring up at her mother, she released a frustrated sigh and ran a hand over her hair. Evelyn came down the stairs quickly.
“Cassandre is awake. She’s asking for you.”
Vivienne nodded and cast a futile look to the front door. She’d spoken to Cassie sparsely throughout the day. After fainting last night, her sister had slept until mid-morning, and as soon as she’d awoken, Evelyn had been with her. She had spent most of the day comforting Drew, who’d gone to sleep in hysterics and had awoken with the same. She too was terrified about what could be happening to Max, but she held on to the vain hope that a father wouldn’t do anything to hurt his son. Even if the father was the one who was trying to hurt her and Cassie.
She entered Cassie’s room much as she had in the years that they’d lived in the house, with a rapid knock followed by immediate entrance. Her sister was seated cross-legged atop her bed, a pillow at her back, and the book of spells before her.
As soon as she saw her, Cassie smiled and quipped, “So, it’s one of two things. Either I’m not crazy at all, and that eco-friendly padded cell is just going to have to wait, or we have a history of madness in our family, and we’ll be upping that order by at least two.”
Taken by Moonlight Page 22
