Xylon Lukos watched the exchange at the staircase between Cole and Logan and felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He saw the Alpha's office door ajar and made his way slowly, unsure how to approach what he had to say. He stood at the doorway for a moment, took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, exhaled slowly, and walked inside.
Carr looked up when he heard footsteps. "Xylon, what can I do for you? I'm really busy right now." Carr was thinking about contingency plans if things went sideways in California. Brett had some friends from a nearby pack in Gilroy, California that he was going to pump for information about this Jensen Pack.
Xylon cleared his throat, unsure of how to drop the bombshell. There was no way to sugar coat it. He blurted it out. "I think the Jensen Pack Alpha could be a Dire Wolf." His face blanched when he saw Carr's reaction.
Xylon was a Council Member and outranked the enraged Alpha before him. But anyone looking into the office would think it was the reverse. Carr walked slowly around the desk, clenching his fists. "And when were you going to tell us there were more Dire Wolves?" It took all of his control to keep his wolf in check. He really wanted to have Xylon on his back begging for his life.
"I'm sorry Carr, things have been happening so fast. I'd been making a list of Gary's friends and trying to do my own research to see if any were possible Dire Wolves. He is the one I suspect the most. I remember comments from other employees about a marked change in physical appearance and a rise in aggression. He left my company four years ago, and I didn't think anything of it until this incident with Gary. It all fits." Xylon would not back down. He wouldn't fold. He'd been an Alpha in his day. He could hold his own against Carr. But he hoped he wouldn't have to. He liked Carr. And he was very sorry he hadn't brought it up sooner. But it had been on the agenda for a Council Meeting to be held tomorrow.
"I'm sorry Carr, but it isn't Council policy to discuss pack issues with other Alphas. Four years ago we had heard rumblings about a challenge to the Alpha in the pack and that Rolf had taken over. Of course it surprised us all. Rolf had been an Omega when he came to work for me. Very bright, very excited about the discovery of the Dire Wolf gene in our species. He didn't seem like someone who had aspirations of being an Alpha. And he had two older brothers who were high ranking Betas." He watched as Carr sat down on the desk, seemingly calmer than a moment ago.
"There were no complaints from the pack, no muttering from the surrounding California packs that anything was unusual."
Carr looked at Xylon and gave a long exasperated sigh. "This is a disaster." He looked over his shoulder at Brett. "Stop the plane, tell Cole to hold off for a bit. We need to figure this out. Who knows how many Dire Wolves are in that pack. I'm not sending anyone else in there without a plan. Trey and Troy are still alive, and I can feel two others in the Alpha bond. They obviously mated with the females."
That news made Brett's head spin. Two more panthers? They'd been expressly told not to mate. But maybe they didn't have a choice. Carr didn't seem to be upset by the fact. Brett strode out of the room, already on his cell phone to the airport telling the pilot there would be a delay, and possibly more passengers.
Bryant came running into the office. "Yes Alpha?" He'd been asleep until about three minutes ago when the Alpha sent for him through their bond. With the hunt and other festivities last night, he'd hoped to be able to sleep later. Obviously that wasn't going to happen.
"Have the Council Members come to the dining hall."
Bryant stood and stared at Carr. "Now?" He was pretty sure none of them had returned to their quarters much more than an hour ago.
"Yes, now!" Carr fortified the command through the bond. He wasn't playing around, this was serious.
Bryant wasn't going to ask again and left the office in a hurry.
Cole barged into the office. "Carr, why'd you stop us? What's going on?" Cole was ticked off. They'd just been about to leave for the airport when Brett stopped them. "We need to get moving." He noticed Xylon sitting across from the desk looking fairly sheepish. He looked from the Council Member to Carr. Something was up. "Well? What gives? Trey and Troy are alone there with two human females, they need all the help they can get."
"I'll explain when the Council arrives." Carr walked out of the office without a glance back at his little brother.
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Rebecca looked out the cave opening into the clearing sky. The moon was low, just over the mountains, about to disappear. There were still a few clouds but the rain had almost stopped and they were going to be leaving this cave soon. So much had changed in the last twelve hours, and her life would never be the same. She looked over her shoulder at the tall muscular man that was now her mate and smiled. She'd never been so happy. She couldn't wait to get home, back to the Baxter Pack where they belonged.
The sharp whimper of pain caught her attention and she ran over to help with the poor little brown wolf. They'd thought her leg had started healing after Danielle's strange compulsion to lick it. But once again, it had stopped healing, and she cried out as she re-injured it.
Danielle had tears in her eyes as she held Anneke's head in her lap. "Why isn't it healing?" She looked up at Troy as she gently stroked the brown fur.
"I don't know, maybe your panther should lick it again." Troy had been amazed at how the healing had started after that. But then it had reached a plateau and stopped. And now this, re-breaking it.
Trey got down on his knees in front of Anneke. "We need to talk, I'm sorry, we'll have to take the chance and have you shift Anneke." His dark eyes were sad. He knew what he was asking. There was a chance that when she shifted with broken bones they could cut through the skin, blood vessels, or nerves. And then what? Especially since it wasn't healing. They had always taught the cubs to never shift after breaking a bone. Wait until the Doctor says he has it in a good position. But they didn't have a Doctor. Trey had done everything he could. He needed Anneke's help to know what to do for her next.
Trey took the splint off Anneke's rear leg and had her lay on her side with the broken leg on the ground. He held her leg as gently as he could above and below the break and nodded his head.
Anneke's pale blue eyes were filled with pain but also determination. She may just be an Omega, but she had been raised to be tough when she had to be. And the last four years had toughened her even more. She closed her eyes and concentrated to trying to dull the pain. She didn't even feel Trey's hands holding her leg, all she felt was the incredible pain coming from the bone itself. She gritted her teeth, whimpered, and shifted.
