Louisa quickly shook her head. She wasn’t sure she could explain it to him even if she wanted to. She needed to hear what Davey had to say. Her feelings never led her astray and if he was causing them to go haywire, she needed to know why.
“I am greatly disappointed in the inability to follow my direct orders,” Davey’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “As an elder under the authorization of Urseth himself, you should always respect my decisions.”
His eyes met Louisa’s and her panic turned into anger. She did not feel ashamed for saving that girl’s life. Why was he singling her out now?
“I fear that my authority was ignored and we are in greater danger now than ever before.”
A few gasps sounded around the room and Davey held his hands up to signal for silence.
“Breslin Connor has been sending humans into our town to leave messages for us. These messages have not been ignored. It was not long ago that an innocent human couple was slaughtered and the first of these messages appeared. Does anyone remember what that message said?”
Everyone knew what that message said, didn’t they? They will all die. Louisa remembered hearing Mrs. Bamey talking about it one night. She was upset because she’d known the poor woman who died because of Breslin’s thirst for blood. It was tragic.
“Not only are we in danger but so are the humans,” Davey continued. “And we cannot hope to protect them if I cannot trust you to respect my decisions. What I say is law in this town and if you feel the need to be insubordinate then I am asking you kindly to leave.”
What?! Louisa’s jaw nearly hit the floor as she stared at him. He didn’t mean her, did he? He couldn’t mean her!
Quiet murmurs soared through the crowd of confused and concerned ursithropes as they contemplated what Davey was saying. They surely did not know what had happened when Louisa stumbled across the two men carrying a helpless human to her death. They didn’t know she approached Davey and he all but disregarded her worry for what would happen to Amber.
Did they?
“Kadenburg is our town,” someone said. Louisa turned her head to see a dark haired man standing in the back. His thick accent was hard to miss. Where was he from? That dialect sounded oddly familiar to her. “We should all be doing our part to protect it from the likes of Breslin Connor. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? We came back to protect our home.”
Several people mumbled in agreement as he stepped out into the aisle and slowly approached the podium.
“What’s your name?” Davey asked as he cocked his head to the side. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“They call me Antonio Barcenas.”
Did she know anyone named Barcenas? It sounded beautifully exotic. His name most certainly matched the rest of him.
“Barcenas,” Davey echoed before he nodded in recognition. “You are from the spectacled bear clan. You have traveled a great distance to be here with us, haven’t you? When did you arrive?”
“I do not believe the exact moment of my arrival is important right now,” Antonio gave a small bow of his head and Louisa knew that meant he was trying to show his respect. “My father was once an elder of this town during the eighties. He was an extremely kind and compassionate man. I don’t think it will come as a surprise that I disagree with your need to rid Kadenburg of any ursithrope who chooses to disobey you,” Antonio stated boldly. “We are not meant to take orders from anyone but Urseth himself.”
The silence was nearly deafening as Louisa watched Davey’s eyes widen. The veins in his neck began to bulge as his mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish out of water. He seemed to be at a loss for words.
“With all due respect, Mr. Berdine, we are supposed to work together. Our founding ancestors did not banish those who possessed the ability to think for themselves. They did not stand by and watch as humans were slaughtered whether by lycanthropes or other humans. Are we not meant to do whatever it takes to protect the human residents of this town? Is that not how our ancestors came to be?”
“Do not ask me such a dang stupid question,” Davey scowled. “Of course I know how our ancestors came to be, Mr. Barcenas. To be honest with you I don’t really think it’s any of your business how I choose to run things around here. I am an elder and we have always been in charge of the important decisions that ensure the greater good for our families. Are you questioning that?”
“I have not asked my question yet,” Antonio replied sharply. “I would like to know why it is that when a young ursithrope approached you with concerns for a human you asked her to remain silent.”
More murmurs rushed over the crowd and Louisa’s fingers were far too tight around Greg’s. She could sense his concern for her and she knew he wouldn’t remain quiet for much longer. She hadn’t told anyone what Davey said to her. How did someone else know?
Davey’s eyes found Louisa’s again and she could feel the anger bubbling beneath his skin. His gaze was full of fury as his palms smacked against the top of the podium and he grunted.
“Louisa Xiong!” He yelled.
Louisa flinched as every set of eyes in the building turned to her.
Oh no. Oh no. Her heartbeat became irregular and her nerves got the better of her. This could not be happening.
“Stand. Now.” Davey commanded.
Louisa knew how town meetings worked. She had been to them before in her own village and she had witnessed what could happen to an ursithrope who broke the laws of their kind. The only laws that had ever mattered to her were those given by Urseth and Davey Berdine was most certainly not the god of bears. Her knees trembled and threatened to give out on her as she stood from her seat and straightened her posture as much as possible. She would not be intimidated.
“What is the meaning of this?” Mrs. Bamey asked as she stood abruptly from her seat and placed her hands on her hips. “Louisa didn’t do anything!”
“You need to sit back down, Charlotte,” Davey growled as he thrust a finger in her direction. “She’s done plenty and I will deal with it accordingly.”
“Now you just hold on a damn minute here,” Mr. Bamey huffed as he pushed himself up and towered by his wife. “You don’t speak to my wife like that, Davey. You owe her an apology.”
“I’m sorry,” Davey snarled before his eyes found Louisa’s again. “But you know very well what you’ve done wrong, Louisa Xiong. I am disappointed in you. You understand you must be punished for this.”
“That’s bullshit!” Greg was up from his seat in an instant and his anger hit Louisa like a tsunami. She reached out quickly to touch his muscular forearm and could feel how hot his skin was. Was he going to shift? “Louisa didn’t do a damn thing and you’re abusing your power as an authority figure!”
“That is enough, Mr. Kress,” Davey snapped. The veins in his neck looked like they were about to explode as he loosened the tie around his neck. “You younger folks don’t know how to respect your elders and you are already walking on a thin line, half-breed.”
A sharp gasp sounded from somewhere in the crowd and it didn’t take Louisa long to figure out that it came from Mrs. Kress. The emotions flying around the room were intense and nauseating. Louisa had no idea how Presley was handling this. In fact, she worried it would do more damage to the pregnant ursithrope than good.
“And speaking of half-breeds,” Davey continued as he moved around the podium and crossed his arms over his chest. “I have been far too tolerant about the wolves living in this town. They need to go. We cannot trust them.”
“That’s not fair!” Presley shrieked as she flew to her feet. “Dimitri has done nothing but help us since he arrived! He was Liam’s mate. You can’t throw him out!”
“Be quiet!” Davey roared as his face reddened. “Did you hear nothin’ that I just said, Miss Goult? Breslin Connor has been sending humans in here because they can slide under our radar. Why would we suspect humans? We wouldn’t. But you need to see things from my perspective. Werewolves can’t be trusted and
I ain’t gonna take that chance. Do you understand me?”
“Don’t tell my niece to be quiet,” Arnold Goult said in a dangerously low voice. Every head turned to see the blind ursithrope as he made his way down the aisle and carefully passed by Antonio Barcenas. His fingertips touched each pew as his feet carried him closer to where his niece was located. “She’s got a right to talk here just as much as you do, you big bag of hot air.”
Louisa bit back the laugh that wanted to escape as relief washed over her. If anybody could talk some sense into Davey Berdine it would be Arnold Goult.
“I’ve got this under control, Arnold....” Davey started quietly.
“Do you?” Arnold blinked and his sightless eyes rolled. “Because it sounds to me like all you’re doing is pissing people off and insulting our women. I’m not too sure that Urseth would like that, would he? I think you need to shut your trap and let Louisa speak.”
And that’s all it took to shut Davey up. Arnold faced her then and grinned crookedly. “Go ahead, Lou. Tell us what happened.”
“Well.....” Her voice was soft as she dropped her gaze to her hands for a moment. It seemed like a good idea to fidget nervously as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say. This was her opportunity to set things straight and hopefully Davey would come to his senses. The other ursithropes would believe her, wouldn’t they?
“It’s okay.” Greg whispered as his large hand found hers easily. He laced their fingers together and squeezed gently before giving her an encouraging smile.
“A few days ago I was taking a walk to clear my head because...” she glanced at Greg and blushed. “Some things happened and I needed to think them over. I overheard a conversation taking place between two human men in the woods and when I investigated I discovered they were carrying a body.”
“And it was Amber’s body, right?” Arnold asked.
“Yes. I thought she was dead already. I went to Davey straight away because I didn’t know what else to do.”
“And what did Davey say about all of this?” Antonio Barcenas inquired as his eyes narrowed at Davey. The elder ursithrope suddenly seemed very nervous.
“He told me to wait until after the New Year to say anything.” Louisa replied honestly.
Gasps of disbelief and shock echoed all around as Louisa dared to glance at Davey again. If looks could kill.....
“Why did he say that?” Antonio prompted further.
“Because he said going to the sheriff would only put Dimitri and Rutley in danger. He’s a werewolf hunter but I have a feeling you already knew that.....”
There was an odd sparkle in Antonio’s light brown eyes as he smiled and turned his attention to Davey once more. His chiseled jawline tightened and relaxed as he smirked.
“You were going to let the humans get away with a poor girl’s murder because you were afraid of putting the werewolves in danger? The werewolves, might I remind you, that you just stated needed to leave this town because you don’t trust them?”
“Now wait just a minute....” Davey was flabbergasted as his eyes widened and his face paled. “You’re taking that in the wrong way. I was just saying—”
“Oh, I heard what you said just fine,” Antonio interrupted. “We have superb hearing, Mr. Berdine. What I am most curious about at this point is why you were saying this young woman should leave town if she cannot follow your orders. I don’t believe your orders were justified. The human girl....she’s alive, correct?”
“Yes.” Louisa and Presley said in unison.
“And why is she alive, Miss Xiong?”
“Because Greg caught scent of her blood and we rescued her from Breslin Connor’s men. We took her to Dimitri Fridolf and he bit her in order to save her life.”
“Ah,” Antonio nodded and clasped his hands together as he approached the podium and grinned. He was a rather attractive ursithrope; dark and mysterious and the perfect amount of easy on the eyes. “So the werewolf you are so eager to toss out of town saved this girl’s life....which is much more than you were willing to do, oh magnificent elder.”
Antonio turned around to face the crowd again as he shrugged his shoulders. The charisma and charm seemed to leak from his pores as he smiled and made eye contact with every ursithrope in the front row. His presence was so commanding. Louisa watched as his fingers sank into his dark hair and that’s when she noticed the small patch of dark blond hair resting near his left temple. That was definitely the mark of a spectacled bear. She’d never met one in person before.
“I hope you all were listening to Miss Xiong just now. She says that Gregory Kress, the half-breed-no offense,” he winked. “Could smell the blood of the human girl and that’s when they acted on the natural instinct to save her life. So, that means that Miss Xiong did not go against Davey Berdine’s orders and he is wrongfully accusing her for a crime she did not commit. Isn’t that right, Davey?”
“Well, I...that’s...”
“That’s the truth, is it not?” Antonio probed a little too enthusiastically. “And furthermore my fellow ursithropes, this young woman and those werewolves should be allowed to remain in this town, shouldn’t they?”
Several members of the crowd nodded in agreement as Davey huffed in frustration.
“I make those types of decisions!” He cried. “I am the elder of this town!”
“On the contrary, Mr. Berdine...you may be an elder but you have no claim to making the decisions for this town,” Antonio replied quietly. “You left this place long ago just like the rest of us. Only two families remained and if anybody has the right to make decisions on what should happen in the name of Urseth it should either a Bamey or a Goult.”
“What?!” Davey howled.
“Huh?” Arnold Goult blinked.
“You’re damn right.” Mr. Bamey nodded.
“They are not old enough to be elders,” Davey argued. “I will not stand for this. You cannot take my position away from me, Antonio Barcenas. I don’t care who your father was I will—”
“Was?” Antonio scratched at his chin in thought. “I think you mean is.”
Again the shocked murmurs and whispers of the crowed pulsated in Louisa’s head as she watched a very feeble body rise from the front pew. Had that man even been there a few minutes ago? How did she overlook him? He was probably a very tall man, but it was hard to tell with how he was hunched over. His vibrant silver hair was hard to miss as he lifted his head and then turned to gaze at her with dark eyes very similar to Anthony’s. He smiled gently and the wrinkles on his face became more evident. He reminded her so much of her grandfather.
“Julian Buchanan,” Davey stammered as his eyes widened. “I d-didn’t know you were—”
“Back in town?” Julian Buchanan asked in a raspy voice. “I was never much for making a big show of things, David. You, on the other hand, seem to have that mastered by now.”
“Alive,” Davey frowned. “I thought you died.”
“I’m confident you would like that, wouldn’t you?” The old man released a rich laugh and his entire body shook as he took a small step forward and reached out for his son’s hand. Antonio immediately assisted his father by grabbing his arm gently and guiding him to the podium. Davey steered clear of them.
“My fellow ursithropes,” Julian said in a tired voice. “I am not here to cause a scene and I can assure you my son was only doing what was necessary. I am not here to chastise David Berdine for abusing his power, but there is something I need to tell you that is greatly important,” his eyes scanned the room before settling on Louisa’s face and she was certain he was trying to convey a message through his gaze. “Danger is coming to Kadenburg and if we do not remain united we will surely be exterminated.”
“The hell we will,” Arnold Goult nearly growled. “I will not let Breslin Connor come into this town and take away what Urseth gave to us. We’ve fought him before and we’ll do it again!”
Several shouts of agreement boomed around the room as Louisa felt
a surge of courage and excitement thunder down on her. She squeezed Greg’s hand and felt him squeeze hers in return. This meeting was definitely one for the books.
“I couldn’t agree more, Arnie,” Julian smiled. “We will fight when the time comes, but in the meantime we must figure out what to do about the humans. They cannot remain in this town with the dangers lurking so closely in the future. Urseth would want us to protect them.”
Presley’s soft gasp caused Louisa to turn her head in her direction, but she wasn’t the only one who heard it as Julian Buchanan squinted his eyes and frowned.
“Do you have something to say, young lady?”
“I do actually,” Presley responded as she rested a hand against her stomach and chewed at her bottom lip. “I very much agree we must do something to protect the humans. Liam......someone told me that we should get them far away from Kadenburg before Breslin returns.”
Louisa tilted her head in confusion as she studied her friend. Presley was talking about Liam? As in Lorcan’s older brother?
“We will do just that,” Julian nodded firmly. “Antonio, I am confident that you, Mr. Bamey, and Mr. Goult can think of a sufficient plan that will get the humans out of harm’s way?”
“Of course, Father,” Antonio bowed his head.
“I ain’t agreeing to this,” Davey Berdine muttered as he shook his head violently. “You can’t just come back in here and try to take over, Julian. Ain’t nobody seen you for years.”
“Perhaps that is because it was not time to see me again,” Julian replied calmly. “Antonio and I are the last of our kind and we have lived harmoniously in Peru for the last twenty seven years. I know there have been many attacks targeting the elders of our kind, which I find odd by the way, but my brave boy fought for my life and here we are. Everyone else has returned home due to the invasion of werewolves. Why should I not return as well, David? Are we not welcome in our hometown?”
“You’re welcome here all you want to be, but that doesn’t mean you can just take over!” Davey was practically foaming at the mouth as he glared at Louisa. “This is your fault. I told you to keep your mouth shut until this was all over and——”
Kadenburg Revealed (The Kadenburg Shifters Series, Book 4) Page 15
