Page 86 of Protection of the Pack

Chapter 32

I’dsummonedthetopthirteen members of the pack and Greg had called Wokeshire. We had a telephone number for the Red Guard so I called it and left a succinct message, but so far there’d been no response. I guess we weren’t playing ball. I had kind of figured that the enemy of my enemy was my friend, or at least my ally, but I guessed vampyr–werewolf prejudices died hard. Maybe they’d played ball with Lord Samuel, an alpha of some repute, but I was a low-down nobody alpha. It looked like they weren’t going to give me the time of day.

Of the thirteen, Mark was dead and still hadn’t been replaced, and Archie was out because of the pain from the scrying. That left us with eleven, and we couldn’t take them all. Ace and Lauren had already proved to be deadly and deceptive; they’d struck at us in the heart of the mansion not once, but twice. I wasn’t willing to leave us undefended in case of strike three. This was ourhome.Our stronghold.

Elena showed up looking pale but determined. She had something to prove. David looked equally determined. As the others trickled in, there was an energy and tension in the mansion I hadn’t felt before.

My phone rang with an unknown number. I answered it, hoping it was a ransom demand from Ace or a lead from the Red Guard. It was neither of those: it was Joyce, the dryad. ‘Hi, Lucy.’

‘Joyce? This isn’t the best time.’

‘The elders asked me to ring you because some werewolves are sniffing around the elder tree. They are very disappointed – they thought this issue had been resolved. I’m sorry, but they’re really quite upset.’ She was shooting for an even tone, but I could tell she was upset too. She’d put her neck on the line to help me and Jess, and I guess it reflected badly on her.

‘Do you know the wolves?’

‘No, but they must be local. They’re with Amber DeLea.’

Oh shit! ‘They’re not local. I’m on my way. Don’t approach them,’ I cautioned. ‘They’re dangerous.’

‘This is the Other. Everyone’s dangerous,’ she said drily before ringing off. She wasn’t wrong.

‘We’ve got a location,’ I confirmed. ‘The dryads’ elder tree. Ace and Lauren have attacked us twice here in our home, and I won’t risk a third attack. This could all be an elaborate ruse to draw us away and attack here again. I’m taking Greg, Elena, Liam and David with me, the rest of you stay here and secure the mansion. When we leave, roll the metal shutters down, shift and stand ready for attack. I won’t be blindsided again. Let’s move!’

I was gratified that no one argued, though I saw some raised eyebrows particularly when I called David’s name. This was his opportunity to prove himself, to carve a place in my pack, and I hoped I wouldn’t regret giving him the opportunity. As for the others? It was simple: I trusted them. I hoped it was enough to keep us all alive.

Greg gave those that were staying a quick overview of the security system. When he was satisfied that they’d grasped the basics, we piled into Elena’s car and peeled off to Black Park. On the way I left another message for the Red Guard. They were my solution; if I killed Ace and Lauren, I was going to suffer consequences from the council, but if I didn’t kill them, I’d suffer consequences from my pack. I was between a rock and a hard place, but the Red Guard might be the solution I needed. I was happy to use anything to get the result I wanted, even the werewolves’ sworn enemies.

However, they seemed determined to ignore me, which frankly pissed me off. I wasn’t used to being ignored. If they weren’t playing ball, I was leaning towards option one: kill Ace and Lauren and rescue Amber. I’d deal with the council later. That was a problem for future me – poor, dumb bitch.

I texted Bastion because it seemed rude to have had his help this whole time and not give him the chance to be a part of the final takedown. Also, if the Red Guard let me down, maybe he’d be willing to slaughter Ace and Lauren for me. He could kill someone and satisfy his urges, and I got my enemies dead. It was win-win.

I could feel Esme growling in my head. She wanted the blood onherclaws; Ace and Lauren had hurtherpack and she would bring retribution down on them.

We parked up and decamped from the car, heading the rest of the way by foot. It was a weekday so the park wasn’t too busy, but I was still aware that there were Common civilians out and about, vulnerable and unaware of the dangers lurking amongst them.

Half of us shifted and half of us remained on two legs – Greg shifted and I stayed on two legs, for now. I called a halt four hundred yards away from the elder tree, closed my eyes and reached towards my piping magic. I brought it to the surface and held it there, bubbling and impatient. I touched the nearest tree, reached out to it and the tree network it was a part of.

I needed to see the elder tree. I rustled through the trees’ consciousness until I came to the clearing. Sure enough, there were Ace, Lauren and Amber. Lauren was on four legs, determinedly sniffing and digging as she walked about, clearly searching for something. Ace was still in human form.

‘If you don’t locate Mark’s little stash,’ Ace growled to Amber, ‘I’ll happily rip your throat out.’

‘I’m trying,’ she protested, ‘but I need more time to prepare the proper runes.’

‘You’re supposed to be the most powerful witch in the area, touted to become the next Symposium member, and you can’t even do a proper locator rune?’

‘Firstly, I’m the most powerfulhealer;secondly, if you knew exactly what object I was locating then I could do it easily. How am I supposed to locate something without knowing what it is? Magic can only do so much.’

‘It’s Oates’ blackmail material. It’ll be photos, or a USB drive, or a bloody floppy disc, for all I care. Whatever it is, however it’s stored, you have half an hour to find it or I’ll spill your blood here and find a new witch who can.’

‘There’s no need to be rude,’ Amber glared back. ‘Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?’ As she said ‘manners’, I swear she looked right at me, in the trees. Somehow, she sensed me. I knew next to nothing about a witch’s powers; I’d thought they were all runes and potions.

‘My mother taught me to win at any cost,’ Ace snapped. ‘Manners are for weaklings. I don’t need to say please, I take what I want.’

‘And how is that working out for you so far?’ Amber asked facetiously.

‘It would have been fine if Mark hadn’t died so suddenly. I thought we had hours left to torture him and find the evidence, but the fucker died. He was as inconvenient in death as he was in life.’

‘And you attacked Archie, hoping he’d know where the blackmail material was.’

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