Page 9 of The Alpha's Ordeal

CHAPTER FIVE

Seeing that man this morning sent a chill down his spine. After last night, he thought that Bates would be out of his life. Eamon told him that he had been dismissed from the force, but unfortunately, that didn't dismiss him from the Pack. Troy wasn't excited about having to run into that jerk, even if it was rare.

"Yes, it was," Eamon answered slowly. "He wants me to reconsider his dismissal from the Sheriff's department." Troy was taken aback.

“The only person who may deserve a second chance is Mason. He didn’t participate in the abuse, but he didn’t stop it either.” Troy gave his opinion.

"Bates will never again work for any aspect of authority in Salida or in this Pack he showed his true colors, and I doubt you were the first person to be abused by him. You just happened to be high profile which brought his behavior to everyone's attention." Eamon was not considering him for forgiveness so that allowed Troy to relax.

"He is not getting his job back," Eamon said a bit more emphatically. "There was something about him that felt off. Idon't know what it was, but it wasn't right. As Alpha, I have the ability to read my people, not like I read you, more of a sense and a feeling, but I couldn't read him, not clearly anyway." Eamon was sincerely troubled by this.

“Were you able to get anything from him?” He asked and first Eamon shook his head but then spoke.

"There was something there, something that seemed concerning, but it was scrambled and blurred. I called Sean to have him look into it. He was going to have Noah, my lead enforcer, accompany him since he knows Bates. Sean is originally from a pack in Maine, so he's not yet as familiar with everyone."

“I don’t want to sound like an alarmist but what you described sounds like an inhibitor.” Troy suggested.

“Magic?”

"A form of magic similar to a glamour but affects the interior rather than the exterior. He doesn't look different, but he reads differently." Troy explained. "I'm just throwing that out there; I'm not accusing Bates of anything."

"You can accuse all you want. Please always speak freely around me."

"If it's magic, then it would have been bought or bartered. Wolves don't naturally possess such powers. Bates would have had to purposely acquire it with the plan to keep his thoughts and feelings from you." Troy added to his previous concerns. "But I could be wrong."

"This Pack nearly pulled itself apart after the Alpha died without a successor. The worst of us rose up and tried to take from the rest, and murder was not a deterrent to their greed for wealth and power. People who were thought of as loyal andhonest turned on their friends and neighbors, and we were very close to being destroyed. The Chamber of Elders, also referred to as the Council, and the Wise Ones, who are our moral and spiritual leaders, kept us from going over the edge, but so much damage was done." Eamon paused, a faraway look in his eyes, and Troy could see that he was reliving the pain.

“You put it back together Eamon. My brother and my Master watched what was happening here worried that they were witnessing the end of the Salida Pack, but you came forward, you and your friend Sean pulled it together and saved these people.” Troy reached across the table and took his hand. “There’s still work to be done but you and those loyal to you will succeed.”

"There are more good people here, but I fear there are still those among us who would prefer destruction," Eamon said with a heavy heart. "They are hiding among us, and it is going to take time to ferret them all out."

“I can help you.”

"You're helping me already. There are few I trust apart from Sean and Noah, but having you by my side means the world to me."

“There is no place I’d rather be.”

“There you are.” Councilman Martindale walked up to Bates who was seated at a back table in the Café. “You were supposed to come see me after you met with the Alpha.” He was mildly chastising him because they were in public but actually he was furious that Bates had dismissed him. “That spell I gave you can be turned in many different ways please don’t force me to do something terrible.” That got Bates’ attention.

"We're in trouble," Bates announced under his breath, and Martindale quickly took a seat. "The vampire was at the Pack House with the Alpha."

“Why is that a problem?” Martindale signaled for the waiter to bring him a coffee.

"The Alpha had a claiming scar on his neck, and the scent of the vampire was all over him." Bates slowly raised his eyes from his cup to lock with Martindale. "They're mates." He dropped the bomb, and Martindale sat back in his seat, clearly taken aback by the news. He quickly started calculating how best to make this information work in his favor.

"If he'd been able to pick up on my thoughts and feelings, I would be dead right now," Bates said and took a long drink of his coffee. "I need something stronger."

“This could be just what we need to get rid of him.”

"You're talking crazy. That vampire is the brother of the Coven Second, and if we interfere, we could both find ourselves dead." Bates was not seeing the big picture.

"Only if we're seen as the problem. What happens if the Alpha gets his mate hurt or possibly killed? How do you think the Coven will react to one of their own being harmed by a wolf? I don't think the fact they are mates will matter if the vampire is dead. Besides, with Castille Florin's reputation, I'm pretty sure his brother will not tell him of his bond with Eamon, at least not right away. We need to get to him first."

"How do we do all of that?" Bates had the nerve to roll his eyes at the councilman, but Martindale controlled his anger. There was time enough to deal with Bates later.

"Do you know any like-minded individuals who would be willing to assist you in removing the Alpha?"

"Yes, I know several that lost their positions in the Pack because they backed Jaron for Alpha. Eamon let them remain in the Pack because they weren't involved in the murders, but they knew about them. They knew what Jaron was doing and supported him." Bates gave a dark laugh but kept his voice down.

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