“There are a couple of reasons. My territory is getting crowded and I have a shortage of leaders.”
“Starting another franchise?” Garrett was laughing.
“Yeah. The other three packs worked out.”
“What are you two talking about?” I looked from one to the other.
“Aaron is always buying up property and establishing new packs. They’re mostly autonomous but he has the final word if there’s a serious dispute. He gives them the start up money for a pack-based construction company, lends them his experts to teach them the business and even finds them customers. When they start making a profit, he gets a cut, which he disperses to whichever pack members need the help.”
“I don’t take much. It just becomes part of an emergency fund for all my packs to draw on when they need to. I try to stay out of their way, but I do insist that they follow my basic set of rules for governing a pack.”
“Aaron, please don’t take this the wrong way, but if your packs are so large and getting overcrowded, why do you encourage them to create new wolves?” I was hoping that I hadn’t just stuck my nose into something he didn’t want to share.
He grinned. “It’s natural to want kids and to want them to be like you. My mated weres are allowed to adopt two kids per couple, and when the kids turn 18, not 16 like the Los Altos kids, they can choose to be bitten. I’ve never had one kid say no. But I also take in rogue wolves who’ve been bitten outside a pack and have no idea what’s happening to them. Only about half of them survive and adapt. If any of my wolves are responsible for the bite, they’re brought up in front of the council and punished.”
“You sound pretty tough. I always thought you were so easygoing.”
“I’m easygoing around you and Garrett because I’m usually off duty when I’m here. Weres need strict discipline or the pack falls apart. The shit that went down in Los Altos would never have happened in my pack.”
“Even if it was your own kid who was the sorcerer?” I asked, sitting on the fountain ledge. He leaned forward in his chair. “If one of my children was a sorcerer, I’d make sure that he was trained by the best witches and sorcerers around, the good kind. He’d learn very early on that blood magic was forbidden. No exceptions. I’d put him to work helping the pack with his magic, give him responsibilities and make him proud of his gifts so he wouldn’t want to experiment. If he was caught dabbling in blood magic he’d be punished severely. If he did it again, I might have to kill him.”
“You couldn’t kill your own son.” Aaron walked to me, his body moving with the natural grace of the animal he transitioned into every month. There was nothing threatening in his manner, so I didn’t move away as he sat down beside me. He just needed me to understand, so I gave him my full attention.
“If he betrayed the trust of the pack, jeopardizing its safety and the safety of the surrounding communities, I’d have no choice. The fact that I’m his father would mean very little, although it would break my heart and in the end, probably mean my resigning as alpha. Still, as Alpha, I would have to execute him myself.” I shook my head in disbelief, but his expression was implacable.
“Wolves aren’t shifters. Stress sets us off in bad ways, so it takes enormous control to keep ourselves in check. Fights over women, disputes over money or property are common and often violent. So we live by strict laws. We have codes and rules that help us cope with the effects of the infection that makes us two-natured. shifting into wolves at the full moon. I require my pack members to change more often. It relieves pent-up tension to hunt. I transition at least three or four times a month along with my top advisers and our mates.
The Pack and its laws are what keep the wolves in check and the shifter and human community safe. I’ve been a wolf for over 200 years and I’ve seen what happens when an alpha loses control.”
His gaze scanned Garrett, Liam and then me. “I might as well tell you now.” Garrett raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Because the Los Altos pack was bordering on going feral, the WPC issued an order of martial law. We went in and took them into custody very late last night. Any members we feel can be saved will be assigned to other packs. Those that are beyond help will be tried and executed. The Western Pack Council is taking all responsibility. I’ll probably have to deal out the executions myself. It’s not something I enjoy, but it comes with the job.” He grabbed another beer from the cooler and sat back down.
This was the first time I’d ever heard Aaron talk so seriously on any subject. “So you’ve already taken them all? In one night? Even Karl? Without a fight?”
“Oh, some fought, but we outnumbered them three to one and we had the advantage of surprise. Only a few were injured. I took care of Karl myself. He's locked up very securely. All the pack’s children have been fostered out with members of my pack. The teen boys were there, as Quentin had said they were. They’re in the hospital, dehydrated, anemic and hungry, but they should be fine.”
Liam spoke up. “Lord Argon and his family will be angry. They’ll want revenge for Brina.”
Garrett shrugged. “We’ll deal with that at the meeting tonight. Kaera is coming.” He looked back at his cousin. “I can’t say that I’m unhappy about your council’s move. It saves me from having to take action against them. I only have Gabriel to deal with now. If you want to take him, he’s yours.”
“Do you want to meet him?” I asked. Aaron nodded and so I flashed upstairs. Farrell was there with Gabe and we acknowledged each other in the usual way.
“How are you, Jacqueline?”
“I’m fine. Could you bring Gabriel down? Aaron wants to meet him.” Farrell took his arm and we all flashed back to the patio.
Aaron sat quietly on the fountain ledge and looked at the confused young man wearing the rumpled sweatpants and tee shirt that Garrett had lent hm. "Did you have more questions? I really don't know anything else." He hadn't noticed Aaron yet.
“Please take off the cuffs, Farrell." Farrell nodded and unlocked the cuffs with a wave of his hand.
Gabe looked a little shocked, but said, "Thanks," rubbing his wrists and looking at the rest of us. When his eyes met Aaron’s, they widened in surprise.
Aaron stood slowly and sniffed the air in a very canine way. "My name is Aaron, Gabriel. I represent the WPC and have some questions of my own."
The younger wolf acknowledged the Alpha’s dominance by looking at the ground. As Aaron circled him slowly, a low growl coming from his throat, Gabriel spoke softly. “It’s an honor to meet you, alpha.”
“Did I give you permission to speak?” Gabriel shook his head, eyes still on the ground, smart enough not to answer the question. “Call me Aaron. Only members of my pack may call me alpha. Have you regained your energy?" Gabe nodded. "Good. Lift you head.” He did. “Don’t shift.” Their eyes locked and Aaron’s turned amber, looking much more wolf than human. Aaron pushed at him with an alpha’s unique power. I watched Gabriel work hard at not changing, fighting the urge with all of his strength until his entire body trembled from the strain. Still, he held onto his human form. Aaron smiled and let go of his hold, his eyes turning sapphire blue once more. Gabe stumbled and almost fell, but regained control and lifted his chin to meet Aaron's gaze.
“Good.” Aaron turned to us grinning. “Can you feel it?”
Liam answered. “Yes, the wolf magic is thick around him.”
He focused again on Gabriel. “I know they’ve asked you these questions before, but I need to ask anyway. Just answer simply. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Have you participated in any spells or rites using blood magic?”
“No.”
“Did you have anything to do with planting or setting off the bomb that injured Sinc, Brina, Kaera or Jackie?”
“No.”
"Did you know the bomb was there?"
"Yes."
“Did you harm or kidnap those teenaged boys or any other children?”
“No.”
“Do
you feel that you deserve to be punished for the part that you played?”
He hesitated. “Yes, but I will continue to protect my mother.”
“Sit down, Gabriel.” He sat on the iron bench that faced the fountain and Aaron sat on the fountain’s ledge. “You have a right to know what’s been going on. Your pack no longer exists. They’ve been taken into custody by the Western Pack Council. One council member was injured as well as several of your pack.
Your brother, Karl, your father, your mother and Jake are in custody. The children of your pack are being fostered until their parents are investigated and cleared. The ones we feel have broken greater pack law will be brought before the WPC and judged. You’ll be called as a witness and expected to tell the truth.”
“I tried to tell them, al—Aaron. I tried to get my mother away. She wouldn’t leave Karl or my father. Is she injured?”
“They weren’t hurt and have been treated more kindly than those three children were treated.”
“May I ask a question?” Aaron nodded. “How do you…” he pointed at me. “How do you know Jackie and Garrett?”
Aaron grinned. “I’m Garrett’s first cousin; our mothers were sisters. We grew up together. I’m the smarter one.” Garrett laughed and tossed him another beer.
Gabe was stunned. “My dad hired the cousin of the top alpha on the west coast, the cousin of a WPC member, to investigate the kidnappings that he wanted kept secret.” He shook his head. Aaron laughed and opened the new bottle, taking a quick sip.
"A pack should never cut itself off from the rest of the supernatural community. Your father isolated his pack. It made him weak."
“Will I be punished?” He tried to look confident but his nerves were showing.
“The council has given your fate over to me. Can you fight, Gabe?”
“Yes. I beat Jake once."
“We’ll see if you can beat Franklin. He’s my Beta and he enjoys training young whelps. A few sessions with him and some training with me might be all the punishment you can handle. Eventually, you’ll be placed in another pack. None of you will be allowed to go rogue.”
Gabriel nodded. “I’ll swear my allegiance to you without hesitation. You’re a legend on the west coast and I’d be proud to become a member of your pack.”
“You know nothing about us. You and I will talk about your future after the trials and executions.”
Gabe looked a little paler. “Yes, of course. Could my mother come, wherever I’m sent?”
“If she’s found innocent or has served her sentence, I’ll make sure that she’s welcomed into my pack or any pack that you join. A hedge witch is an asset no alpha in their right mind would ignore.”
“And my father?” Aaron didn’t answer. Gabe’s shoulders slumped, his expression pained. “The council will kill him, won’t they? He changed when Karl...”
“He’ll have a fair trial. You’ll be required to testify.”
Gabe wrinkled his brow and looked at Aaron curiously. “You could have flattened me when you were pushing at me to shift.”
“Unnecessary force doesn’t earn you a man’s respect or loyalty. Ninety-five percent of my wolves would have changed. I found out what I needed to know.”
"You're not threatened by another Alpha in your pack?"
Aaron started to laugh, the sound getting louder and louder. When he'd finally composed himself once more, he took hold of the young wolf's shoulder. "Gabe, you're a pup with an alpha's potential. Nothing more. If you put in the physical work, you might eventually beta for a top alpha. If you add superior leadership skills, becoming a wolf your pack will lay down their lives for, courage, and a good head for finances then you just might make it to alpha.
I'd been so enthralled by this whole meeting of the alphas thing that I realized too late that the food had already been dished out by Liam.
“Come and eat, Aaron.” I looked at Gabe who’d backed away slightly. “You must be hungry too. Sit down. You too, Farrell.”
“I can’t eat at the same table as an alpha of Aaron's status, unless he invites me.”
“Whose bullshit rule is that? We’re at Garrett and Jackie’s house so you can sit wherever they say you can sit and eat whatever they're dishing up. Just be glad Liam cooked.” He whispered, giving me a teasing smirk. I threw a spoon at his head, but he ducked as Gabe managed to catch it.
Gabe looked shocked. “It was my dad’s rule.”
“Figures he had stupid rules about shit that didn’t matter. Sit young wolf, and we’ll talk about my rules.”
“Yes sir.” Placing the spoon on the table, he sat across from Aaron who casually slid him a beer. Gabe looked startled and then actually smiled. They started to talk about the pack.
I sent to Liam, Farrell and Garrett, “This is not the Aaron that I know. Did aliens replace him with a pod person?”
“No, this is Pack Leader/Council Member Aaron. He’s usually Cousin Aaron when we’re together.”
“I’m impressed.”
“He’s been a wolf for two hundred and eleven years; head alpha for over a hundred. He’s a serious badass, but he knows how to instill loyalty better than any other pack leader I’ve come across. He’s got four working packs. Almost three hundred wolves look to him as their leader.”
“And I thought you and your little nest were something.” Liam almost choked on his steak trying to hold in the laughter. Farrell looked from me to Garrett and back to me, not knowing if I was being serious or not, but Liam said something in Fae and Farrell relaxed.
Garrett sent only to me, “I’m the first person he calls to bail him out of trouble.”
Well, that’s okay then. I Just wanted to make sure that I hooked up with the right cousin.
“Later.”
“Uh huh. Plus tard.”
After dinner, Farrell cuffed Gabriel in front of the upstairs TV and then returned to Faerie. Kaera arrived soon after. Since she’d been part of the original party, it was agreed that she should be in on the discussion.
She came early so we could warn her about recent events. She was angry. “So you have taken them into custody without consulting the Fae Elders? Liam, does your father know this, because my father, Lord Argon, does not. When he finds out he’ll be paying your Oregon pack a visit I’m sure, Aaron.” Her eyes flashed with gold and her hand clasped at the blade at her belt. Aaron was smiling at her, but his eyes had started to go wolf.
Liam stood up before this went any further. “Keara you are disgracing yourself in the home of our allies. We are here tonight to work this out, to reach an accord between our races regarding these wolves who’ve injured Brina but also Sinc and Jackie. Our fathers will be informed when decisions are made between us.” He said a few words to her in Fae and she continued to glare at him stubbornly. When his eyes flashed gold, I saw her flinch. Liam was 1500: Kaera 300. She may be an amazing fae warrior but there was no contest between them power-wise.
She faced me and Garrett. “I apologize for my—my outburst. I should have more control, but I am very concerned about my sister. Please forgive me.” She faced Aaron, whose eyes had returned to his normal blue. “I am willing to listen to what you have to say.” I guess that was the best Aaron was going to get from her.
“Is Brina not recovering?” I asked.
“She was badly burned. She will be fine in a week or so, but she is suffering greatly. Fae magic isn’t helping the way it should. I think there were lead particles in the fire.”
“I’ll go back with you tonight to see if I can help.”
“Thank you.” She looked relieved as she sat down across from me. We’d added a leaf to the kitchen table to fit everyone. Kyle & Ethan arrived soon after, as well as the three nest mates who'd just been out feeding. We had ten in all.
“And how is Sinc?” Kaera asked as everyone settled into their seats.
“Sinc will be coming home tomorrow and she’ll be staying here with us. She’s healing well.”
We turned to lo
ok at Aaron as Garrett spoke up. “Aaron is on the Western Pack Council and has information regarding the current state of the Los Altos pack.”
Aaron told the team everything he’d already explained to us. “Basically what it comes down to is this: they’re wolves and they can only be judged and either acquitted or punished by their own kind. This is our law.”
Kaera spoke firmly. “This law has no bearing on our rights. You must at least turn Karl over to us.”
“I must protect my kind. Karl is a wolf. He will be tried and executed by other wolves. I believe the Fae have a similar law. No one other than a fae can execute another fae for a crime, isn’t that correct, Kaera?”
“We will have retribution.” Kaera was trying to hold onto her temper but her violet eyes darkened with anger.
Aaron leaned closer and spoke softly. “It’s perfectly understandable that you want Karl to suffer as Brina is. Come to his trial and testify against him. Come to the execution. I have no doubt that he’ll be put down.”
“And how will you execute him? Chop off his head? Rip out his throat? Too easy a death.”
“If he’s found guilty of murder through use of blood magic, the usual sentence is to be chained in silver and burned alive. A fitting death, considering what he did to Brina, Sinc and those children, don’t you think? There’s evidence that he’s been killing and torturing children for at least five years, as well as quite a few human women.”
Keara glanced at Liam and something passed between them. “Yes. This would be acceptable. May my father come to the execution?”
“Of course.”
“And how will the WPC punish Gabriel?”
“Gabriel is coming with me. I’ll punish him as I see fit.”
“Gabriel would have killed Jacqueline, by not warning her. He intended for all the vampires to die and for Liam, Brina and me to die as well. He only wanted to save Sinclair.”
“How do you and Jackie feel regarding Gabriel?” Aaron looked at Garrett.
“Jackie and Liam questioned him last night. He didn’t set the bomb and he was told by his father that it would only be used to destroy evidence and not harm anyone. When it was decided that we should die, he was told by Karl that their mother would die if he warned us. He didn’t have anything to do with the blood magic rites. I’m personally willing to hand him over to Aaron. Jackie?”
Blown Away (Rogues Shifter Series Book 4) Page 15
