Aislinn crawled onto the disheveled bed, dragging a blanket with her. The pillows were strewn across the floor but she didn't care. She just wanted to get some sleep. She could hear the shower running and knew that Cullen would be leaving the minute he got out. She couldn't decide if she was happy or upset about that. Her body desperately needed a break and at the very same time didn't want one. Aislinn closed her eyes and instantly fell into a sleep that could only be induced by days of sex and exhaustion.
Cullen knew the minute she fell asleep. The soft murmur in the back of his mind that told him she was concerned about him leaving faded into a nondescript whisper of contentment. He smiled to himself. He didn't care how it happened. She was his and he was pleased about it. The pack elders could go to hell and he'd tell them as much if they caused any trouble. The pack was technically only a democracy in as much as the alpha was willing to let it be.
He snuck into the bedroom and pulled some clothes out of the closet. He didn't want to wake her up. Cullen dressed in his standard black jeans, black shirt, and whatever. Then he went over to the bed and placed a gentle kiss on Aislinn's forehead before sneaking back out of the room. He ignored the mess that the place was in. He didn't even want to think about what the omegas would say to the rest of the pack when they got back from cleaning the mess up. He never pulled anything like that before. He grinned happily thinking about it.
It certainly has been a nice week.
Cullen managed to get to the garage and on the road in short order. He spent the entire drive dwelling about Cadifor's phone call.
***
Aislinn found herself walking through the Tairneach manor again. She was sweating. It was as if the place was on fire. The shadows were deep and dark along all the walls as she looked around. She had no idea where she was going. Aislinn tried some doors but none of them would open. She was getting frustrated. The more she tried the more it seemed to slip away from her.
Aislinn stopped and closed her eyes.
You're doing too much.
She told herself.
Just let it happen. Relax.
When Aislinn opened her eyes again she was in a room with no windows, only a couple chairs, and several men and women standing over a large table. There were bottles full of different colored liquids on stands with burners under them, there were several mortars and pestles, herbs and various plants as well as animal parts, and books and papers.
The
books and papers. The place smelled absolutely foul and Aislinn covered her nose to mask the scent of burning flesh.
Aislinn waited to see what she had been brought here to see. She had briefly considered going to look at the things on the table more closely. But she decided that it would be best to let the vision tell her what the fates thought she should know. So she watched and waited.
One of the men turned and looked at her. He seemed relieved to see her. He looked as though he had been beaten badly in the recent past. Suddenly she realized that she was looking at now. The man had one black eye and a swollen split lip. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt as were the others. When he walked toward Aislinn the others didn't seem to notice he had left the table.
He took a deep breath and began to whisper to her. Aislinn couldn't understand what he was saying at first. She closed her eyes and tried to relax some more. Finally the words began to clear. He was speaking in gaelic. He told her to find Nora Senach and tell her that they're using the bone dust of a dire wolf. He said it over and over again.
Aislinn nodded when she finally understood. The man looked at her with relief and some admiration. When Aislinn blinked he was back at the table amonst the others and they all continued to work diligently on whatever it was they were doing. Then the scene faded away.
***
Jenna was getting frustrated with the Pack Council. They insisted that all the alphas be present before holding the meeting. She had hoped that they would just proceed without Cullen, but apparently he was more important than she had originally believed. At least she knew that Terrick had taken her suggestion to heart. Cullen wouldn't have just ignored a call to Council. She smiled to herself.
But what was worse than the fact that they were all acting as though Cullen Arnauk were an integral cog in the workings of the Pack Council was the fact that she was getting no respect from any of them. All of the Council members apparently believed that she hadn't earned her position and were only allowing her presence based upon the fact that she was the 'current' Tairneach alpha. But the quiet consensus that she wasn't supposed to be catching was that they believed she would be replaced in relatively short order. None of them were even being friendly toward her. She had seen several of them interact with her father before and he had always been treated with friendly mutual respect. It only made her more determined in her current plan.
Most everyone was gathered about the great room. Lycan pack alphas from the neighboring areas were all sitting in various places about the room. Some of them were talking to each other some ignoring each other. It was accepted that this was neutral ground and that there would be no fighting here. But the lines were obvious between the alphas that got along and the ones that didn't. Jenna was familiar with Stephen La Rayne, Neill Odgar, and Sean McDougal. But the others had only just been introduced to her and she had more on her mind than remembering the names of lycans who ran packs to distant from her to be a concern at this point in time. Especially considering none of them appeared impressed by her or interested in speaking with her.
Cadifor came in and everyone stood up. He was actually on the Council. She remembered her father taking Cadifor very seriously. But she had only ever heard vague information about phone calls from the man. Or her father would be summoned by Cadifor somewhere and Brennus Tairneach would jump and run to answer the summons. That all by itself impressed upon Jenna that this lycan was not to be messed with.
Cadifor look almost albino. He was clean shaven and had short, white-blonde hair that was turning silver, pale leathered skin, and frosty yellowish eyes even in human form. He tended to wear a white collar shirt and suit jacket with jeans in a way that only a man with power could manage. He was an ancient. But he still looked formidable. He was smaller than most of the men in the room but the way he carried himself made him seem to tower over everyone. No one knew how old Cadifor was. It was rumored that he had once been alpha of a pack that spanned the entire northern continent. But rumors that old were often exaggerated. He had supposedly given the control of his pack to several sons and stepped down when he grew so old as to not care for running the pack any longer. Jenna had a hard time believing that any alpha would just choose to leave his position. But that was the rumor. Cadifor was one of the original members of the Pack Council and the lycan representative for North America. He had been pissed from the beginning of this meeting. But the longer it took for Cullen to show, the angrier he had gotten. Jenna smiled. Anything to throw Cullen off his game.
Cadifor glared menacingly around the room, and then stepped into the middle of the room commanding attention without having said a word. "Arnauk is on his way. The meeting will begin at nightfall." There was a nodded silent acknowledgement from all the gathered alphas and Cadifor left.
Jenna excused herself from the great room. She had a phone call to make. She had left Maon in charge of urging the druids to finish her job. There were four of them working on it at this point. When Jenna had threatened the lives of the ones she was holding in the basement, the others had promised that they would find her a solution to what she wanted.
Maon answered the phone. "Mistress."
Jenna smiled. She liked hearing him call her that. "How goes my project?"
"They've been working nonstop. Unfortunately we can't tell if they're just making it look like they're doing something or if they're actually making progress."
"I take it that they haven't offered a completed formula yet," she growled.
