Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment on
Out of Darkness
. I love constructive criticism and feedback. I hope you continue to read, comment, and vote on the saga of the Baxter and Bertrand/Kardos packs.
And, as always, a huge thank-you to my editor, Archangel_M, who makes writing so much more enjoyable.
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As always lately, Carr's office wasn't big enough for their meetings, so the American and European Councils, the Alphas of the Baxter and Bertrand/Kardos packs, and their seconds would meet in the dining hall. Alistair took his place at the front of the room and waited for the last to arrive.
He smiled as Guillame Bertrand breezed into the room, his second, Zsigmond, close on his heels. The Belgian were had come here only a month before. At the time, he had no idea his trip would lead to his reunion with his long-lost mate and her family. And no one had expected the newly reunited Hungarian werewolves to bond with him as their Alpha. Soon, the Bertrand/Kardos pack would be ready to move to their new homes on the land Carr had given them nearby.
"Guillame, we felt you needed to be included in these meetings. We know that Gary had some use for the Vlkolak women, and since they are your family, you need to be involved in any decision-making." Alistair smiled at the Alpha of their newest pack before returning to the business at hand. "Now, Sandalio, I believe you said you had an update for us?" The white-haired were took his seat.
The Spaniard stood and nodded slightly. "Thank you, Alistair. I've heard from our operatives in Italy. Apparently we are not the only ones looking for Silvano Cavallo." He saw a few surprised looks. "It's obvious to me that Erobos went for the father when the son disappeared. But I guess Silvano knew better than to wait to be found. He and his mate have disappeared. We are doing our best to track them. I would assume the son warned his father to run."
"What now? We don't have a chance in hell of finding either Silvano or his son. They're going to be doing their best to hide from their Alpha. They certainly aren't going to be easy for us to find." Even though Xylon had just found out Silvano had been in league with Gary and had something to do with Gary's plans to transform werewolves into Dire Wolves, he still couldn't stop thinking of him as a friend. He was worried about him and his family.
"We have every available agent at our disposal working on this. We won't give up, Xylon." Sandalio couldn't stand the thought of any more deaths at the hands of Erobos and his pack.
"Maybe it's time we find out from Rudolf what he knows about Erobos." Rhys had been silent in the back of the back of the room, but he wanted to know what the former head of the European Council had been hiding.
"Yes, I agree. Carr, could you have him brought here, please?" Alistair glanced at the Alpha who nodded, and then a moment later, nodded again. Rudolf was on his way from the security building.
Rudolf had been locked up in the security building since he attacked Konstantin. Alistair scanned the room. No one looked comfortable. Well, almost no one. The Czech werewolf seemed completely unperturbed. He did, however, take a quick look at his arm, flexing it, proving to himself that the broken bones were completely healed.
There was a loud commotion in the hallway, and all heads turned as the doors opened. Rudolf Metzger was surrounded by Baxter Pack betas and shuffled his way to the chair they pointed him towards. He had shackles on his legs and a waist chain with wrist shackles attached. They assisted him in sitting and then took their positions surrounding him. Each wore a tranquilizer gun in a holster at his side. After Gary and Paul's escape from the security area last month, they'd become a little more paranoid. If he made a move, they wouldn't hesitate to put him to sleep for a while. Actually, they'd rather put him to sleep for good.
Brett stood to Rudolf's left, Bryant to his right, and James behind him. None of them would let him out of their sight. Each had a hand resting on the butt of his gun. Steve and Craig were outside the door, waiting to be called if needed. They weren't taking any chances.
The German werewolf looked around the room. He wasn't sure why he was here and wondered if they had finally sentenced him to die for his attack on Konstantin. He sat quietly, trembling slightly, waiting. He had spent almost a month in that prison, and no one had told him anything that was happening. Maybe he was here because the remainder of the European Council had forced his release. Yes, that was probably it.
Sandalio walked slowly towards the smaller male seated in the chair. He towered above him. He looked down at his former leader and couldn't believe they had allowed him to lead for so long. What kind of power had he had for all those years?
"So tell me, Rudolf, what do you know about the Alpha named Erobos?" He stared into the small black eyes and saw the startled look.
"I don't know what you are talking about." But Rudolf's answer came too fast and loud. They knew they had hit a nerve. He definitely knew something.
"Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. What information do you have about the Sardinian Alpha?" Sandalio stared down at him, his face a stern mask. He showed no anger, but no patience either.
Rudolf couldn't meet his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to look at any of the weres in the room. His wolf had his tail tucked between his legs and had curled tightly into a corner of his mind. Their human half had been the one that wanted power. Well, he would have to deal with the consequences.
Guillame suddenly jumped up from his chair, startling the others in the room. He and Zsigmond exchanged glances and ran to the door where they were met by an enraged Istvan, who was trying to push his way past the guards outside the door. His eyes were wild, and he seemed barely in control of his wolf.
"Istvan, what are you doing here?" Zsigmond had grabbed his brother by the shoulder, making his best attempt at calming him before he did something he might live to regret.
The Baxter betas stayed out of it. This was a pack or family matter and none of their affair.
Istvan's face was a mix of anger and grief. "I found the wolf who killed Zsálya!" The beta stood toe to toe with his brother, his dark eyes flashing, tears beginning to form. His fingers were caked with dirt. He looked like he'd been digging.
Both Zsigmond and Guillame were too stunned to respond. Zsigmond couldn't believe it. He finally found his voice. "Where? Where is he? I'll rip him apart!"
"He's dead already, brother. He's in a grave out in the desert. I was hunting, and I caught the scent. I'd remembered it all these years. He was here, Zsigmond, he was here!" Istvan couldn't control his rage and picked up a chair, throwing it across the room, where it crashed through a plate glass window.
The betas guarding the building outside jumped as the chair and glass flew around them. Carr quickly sent them the message that all was well and not to let anyone inside. They set about cleaning up the glass before anyone got some embedded in a paw.
Guillame made a straight line for Carr, his eyes blazing with anger. "How is it our sister's killer is buried just outside your property?" He could barely contain his own outrage.
Carr looked confused for a moment and then realization dawned. "The only were that's been buried near this property was Niklas Metzger. Rhys killed him after he manipulated one of my pack members into attempting to kill his mate. He killed your sister?" Carr was at a loss for words.
"Metzger. Your kin, Rudolf?" Guillame turned slowly to face the captive, who was now cringing. He approached him slowly, his anger barely contained, his mate's brothers close behind.
Brett and Bryant looked at Carr. What should they do? What if they attacked the prisoner? Carr shook his head. They backed up and gave Guillame more room. Rudolf looked at them in surprise. He had expected them to keep him safe, not leave him at Guillame's mercy.
"If he was in Hungary, then he was the real spy you sent. So you knew what he'd done." Guillame's anger was building as he circled the once-powerful were. He saw the sweat beginning to form on Rudolf's forehead. "You sent him to America to save him from the justice he deserved. You robbed her family of their revenge." He leaned in closely to whisper in the ear of the restrained, petrified male. "Then we shall have our revenge now, Rudolf."
Rudolf looked up into Guillame's cold blue eyes. He heard the growling from the betas on either side. "I didn't know, I didn't know she was anyone important." His face twitched uncontrollably.
"Important?" Guillame couldn't believe his ears. "You think any young female is unimportant? Do you know what he did? Do you know what he caused?" Guillame stood behind him, his hands resting on Rudolf's shoulders. He leaned in close, "Do you know what we lost?" His hands tightened, breaking first Rudolf's left and then his right collarbones.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Rudolf screamed out in pain. "Please, stop! I didn't know he would do something like that. I'm sure it was an accident. He was my cousin; I had to help him." His breathing was labored as the pain tore through his body. He could feel the pain subside a bit as the healing process began, but it was still immense.
Everyone in the room had heard the snap as each bone broke. No one came to Rudolf's aid.
