by Lexi Ander
"Are you having second thoughts?" I asked instead of answering his question.
"It's a big move, but I think it's a good one if you're prepared to be ruthless." His expression was open, allowing me to see his confidence in me. "I was saying it didn't need to be now. Bahbelle is safe in the new location. We have our people back. You haven't settled into your role yet."
Watching the vehicles park, I considered double checking my reasoning, making sure my motives were sound. The remaining tents in the northwest field told me that yes, this next step was necessary, crucial even.
"Thank you for checking." I squeezed Corey's forearm before descending the steps, putting on a wide smile.
Having chosen carefully who to invite onto my land and into my home, I was ready. The investigative reporter was well known for being a stickler for facts and eschewing sensationalism. The people who exited the SUVs were several members of congress and senate Jory had thoroughly investigated. They were as honest as congressmen could be but had a certain integrity that would benefit me.
"Mrs. Chavez, it is nice to finally meet you in person," I said. We'd been speaking on the phone for a couple of weeks now. The politicians joined us and once the introductions were taken care of, I asked, "Would you like to take a tour of the ranch before we start the interview?"
"If you don't mind my asking," a congresswoman stepped forward, "what are they doing?"
She indicated Jory and his recording equipment. I grinned. "We will be filming along with Mrs. Chavez's crew." I wasn't stupid. The different political parties represented here could and had in the past cut and pasted news coverage to suit their agendas. Having a second source not controlled by them gave us some assurance they wouldn't attempt to screw us over—yet.
The tour started with the ranch and I explained how we'd been making a living breeding horses and bulls for the rodeo circuit, providing stud services from our prized stock. When Mrs. Chavez asked about the tents in the far field, they were taken to meet the warriors who lived there. As we walked through the makeshift city, the warriors who'd volunteered to be filmed sat outside their tents. The abuse was still evident in their emaciated and scarred bodies. Looking at them hurt and protectiveness swelled within me as my wolves answered the probing questions posed by Mrs. Chavez and a few of the congressmen. Their questions were careful, and the humans darted glances at me as if gaging my reaction to every word they said. When I thought the warriors had had enough, I escorted the group back to the house where the rest of the day was taken up by Mrs. Chavez interviewing Brian, Ushna, and me.
My beast was constantly on alert with so many non-Lycans in our territory. I shamelessly probed the humans through the Earth, gaging their emotions and reactions throughout the day, and I didn't relax until after our guests departed. The last person to get in the van was Mrs. Chavez. She had the look of a woman energized. "Your Highness, I wanted to say thank you for trusting me with this information. I will do everything in my power to make sure your voice is heard, that those wounded find justice." A fire promising retribution burned in her eyes. I would have to thank Jory for choosing her. "It has been an honor meeting you and I hope next time will be in different circumstances." After saying goodbye, I watched them leave. Corey had sent warriors in wolf form to follow them and make sure no one attempted to stay behind.
Exhaustion beat at me. The ongoing stress of the last several weeks weighed me down and all I wanted to do was fall into bed, but there was one more thing I needed to accomplish before I could call it a day.
"We can postpone this until tomorrow." Ushna wrapped his arms around my waist. "It can't hurt. You've been pushing yourself for weeks now."
Nathan had sacrificed much so that we could finally live without threat or fear from the Gods. I wouldn't waste the opportunity he gave us. I'd carefully planned this next confrontation. Everything was in place and the time to strike was now.
"I'll slow down after today," I promised, sneaking a quick kiss.
We wandered in to the cafeteria and dined with the warriors, listening to their conversations and engaging in light banter. Each new smile given to me was a treasure that caused my dragon to rumble with pleasure. With every passing hour I yearned to put something more comfortable on. When I attempted to leave my suit jacket behind, Neesie tutted at me, watching closely until I slipped back into it. As the time to initiate the next phase of the plan neared, Brian, Ushna, and I walked to the main house. We gathered in the living room. Corey, Jynx, Devlin, Nacht, Bixx, Stan, Randy, and finally Jory joined us.
"Are they still meeting tonight?" I asked Jory. He'd been promoted to head of intelligence, my personal spy master. He found his job especially thrilling when I authorized him to bug and hack certain influential places and people.
"They're ten minutes into their conference now." He typed with one hand on his tablet.
"Nacht, we are ready for the Shadow Movers."
He opened the front door and a half dozen shadowmen stepped inside. On the coffee table was the binder that held copies of the official documents I'd need, and I stooped to pick it up.
"I just took the power grid offline." Jory waved his tablet at me. That was our cue.
"Gentlemen, it's time." I took a deep breath before taking Nacht's forearm. Brian and Ushna grasped him as well and we all stepped into the void to emerge in a dimly lit room.
Low red lights gave just enough illumination for me to see the men and women sitting around a huge oblong table that put mine to shame. Around me, the rest of my team arrived with their shadowmen.
"Mr. President, I suggest we move you to a remote location until we discover what happened to the electricity."
Reaching through the Earth, I called all metal in the room to me. Whether on people's clothes, electronic devices, or side arms, I gathered every nonessential scrap. I left the television and the line for its external feed alone. Once I heard the metal locks on the doors engage, I asked Jory for low lights. The reaction to my voice was explosive, sending the humans scattering away from me, only for some to stumble as pants fell down. The panic button was useless, and the chairs tumbled into pieces. The secret service reached for guns that weren't there.
"The surrounding perimeter is secure." Jory relayed, letting me know the stealth contingent of Magi had taken care of any agents outside the room for the time being. "All cameras are recording."
We remained quiet and waited for the panicked humans to realized they weren't being attacked. The person I was most interested in speaking to had been pushed into the corner by the barred doors. I didn't have to see him. He only needed to hear me.
"Mr. President." I ignored the distrustful stares. "I'm sorry we had to meet this way, but you gave me no choice when you denied my request to discuss your actions against my people."
"The United States does not entreat or negotiate with terrorists." His reply was high pitched but not unexpected.
"We both know that is an untrue statement. If I were you, I would be careful how you speak. I've watched the news. You shouldn't need me to tell you terrible things are happening to people who break their vows." The stringent odor of someone peeing their pants made my nose itch.
"Do not threaten me. Is your terrorist party the one responsible for these acts of violence against the American people?" The self-righteous edge to his voice told me he was gearing up for useless verbal combat. Fool.
"I am not threatening you, nor are my people terrorists. We are not responsible for the magical backlash humans are experiencing when they break their vows, and neither are we here to harm anyone in this room. To this I swear." I grinned at the prickle of energy that swooped in and grabbed my promise.
The moment the magic tied to the president and his joint chiefs and staff, the humans reacted. Some looked relieved, others trembled and visibly flinched.
"It's obvious all of you have experienced the binding of the promise. You know that if I'd lied or if my intention was contrary to my words, something terrible would have alr
eady happened to me."
Some of the humans relaxed further and moved away from the cluster. Patient, I rolled the largish ball of metal in my hands, waiting for them to decide what they would do.
"Who are you?" asked one of the military personnel. He stood, relaxed, on the periphery of the group. Judging by the stripes on his arm, because his other decoration had fallen off without the metal, he was a high-ranking officer. General Hamilton was stitched on the breast of his uniform.
"I am King Tristan Ksathra Janick of the Lycan people. I needed to speak to the President regarding the breach of our treaty." I pulled the binder out from under my arm, placed it on the table, and slid it across the surface.
"That's a lie! This act of aggression will not go unchallenged!" The President pushed his way through the crowd to the obvious exasperation of his secret service agents.
"Jory."
The flat screen on the wall flickered. Video of military personnel and doctors, lab techs, and other government personnel going in and out of the labs that once held my warriors played. We'd discovered the laboratories' video footage of the torture, of which I ruthlessly picked the most terrible incidents for this meeting. Those who'd been captured had been identified. Their fates relied on what happened here tonight.
"Within these three facilities Lycans were experimented on against their will. My people broke no laws, but were bought like cattle and caged. Since Mr. President was the one who brokered a deal with Daniel Sullivan, a former criminal, I'm willing to accept restitution for each individual involved under Article IV of the treaty. But if it happens again, I will consider your continued aggression toward any peoples under my rule as an act of war and respond accordingly."
"You have no evidence we've done anything. Besides, these facilities no longer exist." The President's face flushed crimson as he blustered. Several people murmured in horror as they watched the video. More than one was barely able to grab a nearby trash cash before losing the contents of their stomachs.
"Oh, I have proof of the transactions, and the emails from your personal account that facilitated their unlawful imprisonment. A copy of everything has already been handed over to the press and members of congress."
The daytime video switched to night. The room was silent, captivated. The expressions of the President and a couple others revealed their poorly hidden anger.
"The facilities don't exist because I destroyed them." The film focused on me—my identity concealed by the dark facemask—then panned around until the facility came into view. With me standing before the building, the ground under my feet rippled before the structure crumbled, the soil turning over as if some underground beast opened its maw and swallowed the building whole.
The humans gasped and cowered back into their small group—except General Hamilton and the President.
"You said you're Lycans." General Hamilton waved at the paused video. "You are creatures—"
"People," I interrupted, frowning at him. "Creature implies we are animals without intelligence. We are a people not much different than you, other than we have a different origin. For several millennia we have lived alongside humans. We go to school with them, play sports, build families, go to work with them. Our day-to-day is similar to yours."
"We have no guarantee we won't be attacked by your people." The President spat the last word, his derision barely concealed.
I dug deep, searching for a thread of patience. I'd known this meeting wouldn't be easy but I despised that I would have to continue to deal with him. At least for now. "We were one of the first peoples to settle in this country. When have we attacked this government? You're here now, aren't you? Alive and well? You haven't had any incidents of Lycan altercations with humans, have you? We are very careful in our interactions with those different from us. We follow your laws, and—"
"But you have your secret city on U.S. soil." He said that in such a way I expected him to pump his fist.
"Yes, and as the treaty states, that is permissible. When you reviewed the documents after you took office, you mentioned nothing of it. Your predecessors were aware and had no issue with us. All of them abided by the treaty. You can't claim you were unaware because you've had several meetings with our ambassador since you took office." Several people sent a startled glance at the president.
"You said Daniel Sullivan was a former criminal." The general leafed through the binder. "The article you mentioned says that if the governing body violated the treaty we owe... this can't be correct. The amount of land forfeit on the west side of the Mississippi is outrageous."
I grinned. Several people burst out with denials. I waited for them to quiet down before answering.
"Daniel Sullivan is dead. As for the compensation provision of the treaty, I will only take the land of my choosing, the full measure as stipulated in the document. I will be generous and stay within government owned property… unless my request is ignored. Then I'll take the whole block regardless of who is on the land." They should have calculated the cost of their double-cross before fucking with my people.
"What is your request?" General Hamilton narrowed his eyes at me, the wheels obviously turning.
"Any documentation you have on my people is destroyed. Do not attempt to acquire Lycans for testing or research or any other twisted ideas you have concocted. And you called us animals." I finally gave into the sneer I'd been holding back. "If you cannot meet these requests I will take all the territory west of the Mississippi and then head east until all of the country comes under my rule."
The President snort-laughed. "As if you could. You have what? One million? Two million people? There are three hundred and twenty million living in the United States. Half that number I can draft into the military."
Perhaps I was tired, or their barely veiled animosity wore on my nerves. My temper flared and I met the gaze of every individual who had the gall to stare at me, giving them a wolfish grin. "Make no mistake, gentlemen, we are not the werewolves of romance novels who grovel, hide, or run from persecution. We don't shy from silver or wolf's bane; we care not for your tanks or toys. We are warriors—sons of Sumeria. We are the children of Tiamat. We have the power to protect ourselves. Come after my people and I'll take away your modern civilization, knocking you back to the stone age. By the time I'm finished with you, the poorest country in the world will be richer than North America."
Brian cough-laughed. "Very diplomatic, Tristan."
The President and several others responded hotly but, surprisingly, General Hamilton grinned into his fist.
Ushna's alarm went off. "It's time."
Finally. "Gentlemen, I can't say it's been a pleasure. My PA will be contacting you, Mr. President." I pointed at the television. "In the meantime, I'll leave you with this. You were sorely mistaken if you thought we had no other avenues to gain justice."
Jory's tapping ended with a pleased grunt. "Oh, the program just started. I didn't think they'd be able to get this on tonight."
On screen Mrs. Chavez of the international TV station walked the ranch with me. It was only part one of several interviews. I looked strange on camera.
"Why are your people coming out now?" General Hamilton asked, the copy of the treaty tucked under his arm.
"Your government took my people and tortured them. Experimented on them, confident in their superiority, relying on us staying hidden, thus obscuring the rampant disease that encouraged these heinous acts of torture." My smile sharpened at the sick expressions on most of the humans. Boy, the shit storm had just started. "Jory, I'm ready to go home."
The lights went off, but the TV still played the exclusive interview of King Tristan Janick, the United States resident royal. The Shadow Movers took us away.
Once we were home, Corey gathered Jory, Stan, and Bixx. The four of them headed to the war room. We'd spent a couple of weeks carefully infiltrating the White House. Underhanded, I knew, but I didn't trust them. Humans had the potential to be compassionate in the face of the unknow
n, and other times exceptionally cruel. Only the weeks to come would reveal how my people coming into the open would go. If they wanted war, I'd do what I said. I'd take away the toys which made humans excessively dangerous. Until then I'd have to lay low, because I had no doubt I'd just painted a target on my back.
Ushna and Brian disappeared into the nursery, the one place we all tried to spend what spare time we had. I headed out the back door. Not far away, under the scrub tree, sat a stone bench next to a small head stone I'd had made for Nathan. Sitting there under the broad Oklahoma sky, I spoke to my big brother. I used to visit Brian's grave and talk to him. Now that I knew Brian had been in Stasis and had sometimes heard me, it gave me hope Nathan heard me as well.
"I hope Adapa isn't giving you too much trouble. He's a cantankerous old coot, but he has quick reflexes for someone his age." I rubbed the back of my head. "Well, we did it, Nate. I'm bringing our people out of the shadows. We've been hidden for far too long. We didn't start out that way. Makes me wonder if this is the right path. Am I pushing the humans too hard? I keep thinking about that tour of the underground home of the Children of Tiamat. So dreary. They weren't meant to spend their life down there, but they aren't like us, they can't blend into the population. And they shouldn't have to. Goddess, I wish you were here."
I stared at the star bedecked sky, trying to blink away the burn behind my eyes as the warm wind ruffled my hair. The back door opened; I scented Brian before I heard the familiar clomp of Ushna's boots.
"Look who's still wearing his suit," Brian purred. "I have a couple of ideas about what to do with that tie."
I grinned as the ache in my chest eased. "Oh, really? Why don't you show me?"
As Ushna and Brian manhandled me back to the house, I gave thanks. Not too long ago I was a broken Lycan warrior with simple desires. The three of us had kept being hit with obstacles that challenged us to grow into the men we needed to become. We came close to failing, but with them by my side, they reminded me why we had to continue on when doubt threatened to set in. My family grew beyond my wildest imaginings. I was rich in love. I had three sons who brought us so much laughter and joy. What else could I ask for?
