CALIFF
“That’s the fifth time in one minute.”
“What?” My eyes narrowed at Duke.
“You, sighing. Shadow will come back. She’s probably just running into the forest.”
“You’re not helping.” Kindra sat on the armchair and wrapped her arm around him.
“Tor and Zack are back, and she wasn’t there when they woke up. Those two idiots slept when it was their duty to safeguard Shadow. Fucking awesome. Truly reliable!”
“Calm down before you shift in front of us.”
“I trusted them. If something happens to Shadow, I swear they will see my wrath that they haven’t seen before.” I blew out a breath. “The problem is, she left the car, Duke. Lyon can send men to look for her, but she clearly doesn’t wanna be found.”
“Do you feel anything?”
“Other than my wolf is fucking annoying, I’m pissed off, Duke. Why did Dad do what he did?”
“I don’t know, man. I didn’t even notice you were small and weak. There must be another reason.”
“Yeah, aside from the witches being scared of a Lycan and a witch ruling the world, I’m still puzzled.” Kindra rolled her eyes. “What is your decision about your dad?”
“Elders will be here shortly.” I looked at my phone again. There were still no missed calls from Shadow. She didn’t reach out to our link, and I couldn’t reach her thought. “Wait.” I fished out the necklace the witch gave her.
“What’s that?” Kindra asked.
“A gift from the witch. It turned red when Shadow met Dad.”
“Wow.”
“Maybe I can reach out to her or something.” I closed my hand around it and drew a deep breath.
“What are you doing?”
“Shush.” I raised a finger at Duke to silence him, then I closed my eyes and thought of Shadow, but my phone rang, which disrupted my attention. It was a new number.
I picked up the call. “Who’s this?”
“Zarah, the witch who gave the necklace to your mate. I see. She took it off. Then I can’t protect her anymore.” A woman, a witch named Zarah, just called me. It worked, but I wanted Shadow and not her.
“She didn’t come to you?”
“Already trouble in paradise?”
“What’s this necklace all about?” I raised it. Nothing special, but lately, there was more to everything around me than met my eye. Like my hybrid mate, my father. It was getting complicated, and now I was talking to a witch. How did she get my number? I didn’t fucking know.
“It will show her the danger.”
“What do you know about what happened to her parents’ pack?”
“You know the answer to that, Alpha Califf. If Shadow took off the necklace and you reached out to me, it only tells me one thing. Your father and your mate have met.”
“So you knew and didn’t tell or warn her?” I rose to my feet, walking towards the window.
“It’s not my story to tell. I reached out to Aurora to leave the pack, or everyone would die, but she loved Samuel and her daughter. And you know what happens if a mate leaves her other half.”
“So, you witches took advantage of my father and his pack?”
“He accepted what was handed to him because of you. The rest was on your father’s hand.”
Closing my eyes, I rubbed my temple. The witch was right. My father could have just turned it down but he was also greedy for power. “I want you to stay away from my mate.”
“She reached out to me. She wanted answers that she couldn’t give, and that’s what I gave her. And Alpha, you should ask what I saw in her future.”
I gulped down as I looked at the phone when the witch hung up on me. My stomach knotted with dread. I already had a feeling it was not good.
A soft knock on the door caught my attention from my phone. “Come in.”
“What did she tell you?”
I shook my head at my Beta because I honestly didn’t know, other than her confirming my father’s involvement and what he had done to that pack.
The Elders came in, including my mother. Duke stayed while Kindra left for her work.
I went to my desk, facing the four elders. “You know the reason why I called this urgent meeting discreetly. Before you reach out to the council, I want you to know that I have no knowledge about the attack thirteen years ago, and I am not trying to excuse my father’s behavior. It goes against any pack law.”
“So you were saying?” Elder Alastair asked. He was one of the oldest members.
“My father is sick. He hasn’t had a long life to live. All I’m asking is a little leniency.”
“You want us to consider abdicating your father from his crime? Is this what the meeting is all about? Then, we should not punish those who made mistakes and broke the pack law. You know, as an Alpha, you’ve read our law that there’s no excuse than death to those who killed others of our kind, with the exception of self-defense. From what I can see, there was no self-defense when he went to murder those werewolves in that pack,” Alastair said, and fucking pissed me off that he was right.
“This will reflect on your performance as an Alpha, Alpha Califf. If you give leniency to Elder Waylon because he’s your father, I wouldn’t be surprised if your leadership weakens, our loyalty to you will be uncertain, and the pack will fall to the enemy. We can’t excuse the years of secrecy. We wouldn’t have found out if it weren’t for your mate.” Elder Auguste was the toughest son of a bitch. I got that.
I stole a glance at my mother. I could see the pain in her eyes. My father made a mistake, but she didn’t have to endure this agony. She didn’t deserve any of this.
“Elder Eletha, do you have something to add?”
“I agree with Elder Alastair and Elder Auguste. This kind of vicious act can’t be tolerated. You know that. Your father taught you that, and that’s why we have laws to uphold.”
“I’m not going to say anything because Waylon is my mate. I was hoping you could give him time before arranging a council presence. My mate is still recuperating. A week will be enough.”
“Very well, then. Where is the Luna, Alpha Califf? She should know her presence in this kind of meeting is necessary. I guess being a rogue for a long time changed her, and she hasn’t adjusted her life to be in a pack. And teach her some manners, Alpha Califf. How she acted last night isn’t-” Before Elder Aciano finished his words, the door opened wide, catching everyone’s attention in my office.
“My apology for being fashionably late. I mean literally.” My mate just walked in, making me smile. She was wearing different clothes from last night. She looked exhausted, though. Other than that, she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and with the confidence of Luna, she was just perfect.
“Where have you been?” I whispered as she came to kiss me on the cheek.
“You were talking about me, Elder Aciano, right? We didn’t catch up last night. I made an epic party ending, but this is not the reason why I came late. I talked to a witch, my mother’s best friend, and confirmed the story.” She paused. “Oh, wait, is it my turn to talk, or you wanna continue, Elder Aciano? Sorry for the interruption.” She gestured at the elder. “Please?”
I looked at the papers in her hand and wondered if she had gone to talk to Zarah in person.
“Say what you wanna say, Luna. We have decided to give Elder Waylon a week to rest before we bring this matter to the Werewolf Council,” said Elder Auguste.
“Oh, I don’t think you would do that. You don’t think Elder Waylon did it by himself, do you? How could he fight my father alone without help?”
I closed my hanging mouth as I watched all the Elders listen to my mate. Yeah, she quickly got everyone’s attention, including my mother, who looked at her in awe. Who would be the right person fit to be by my side if not Shadow? She made me more proud of how she handled the Elders, shutting them up.
“I was there, remember? The memory of a kid is different from that adult. Kids are still restoring information, and I remember every bit of the attack that night. Elder Waylon wasn’t alone. He couldn’t have done that alone. A witch, Zarah, confirmed that the order came from The West Coven, her coven. Well, if you wanna call a leader of the witch to a werewolf council considering your history, you won’t get it, and they will wash their hands for that slaughtered.”
“You’re saying, Luna, that we will just let this one go?”
“He’s sick. What punishment can you give that matters? Killing him. You make it easy and merciful. Banishment? Then what? And do that math. Don’t play dumb. Sorry for the word. You were a part of the pack when that attack happened. And here, I have the list.” She showed the paper in her hand. “Should I call everyone on this list?”
“You were the one who threatened to kill Elder Waylon last night. Why are you changing your mind?” Elder Eletha, the oldest member of our Native American representative, asked.
“Vengeance, the anger of losing your parents. It was my goal, but one thing I learned in the human world is revenge will give only a little satisfaction but won’t fill the void. And I didn’t kill him because I’m still the Luna. I can’t have blood on my hands. So either you let this issue stay here, or I will give the list to the werewolf council and get them called one by one.”
“So you just want this murder to go?”
“Something like that. Alpha Califf will decide the appropriate punishment for Elder Waylon.”
“You’re enjoying, aren’t you?” Elder Aciano wasn’t nearly impressed.
“No. I’m not. I won’t get the right revenge, but I am moving on. I just keep good memories of my parents, and you should do the same. I’m sorry if your son died in that attack, but so did my parents and my entire pack.” How did she know about this?
“My son wouldn’t have died without following orders.” Elder Aciano crossed his arms over his chest. “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone would stand up and challenge you, Alpha. You’re weaker.”
“Show some respect, Elder Aciano,” my mother said, glaring at him from across her seat.
“Or you can all do what you want, but I won’t stand as a witness before the council.”
“How do you explain this to the pack?” Elder Alastair asked.
“Leave it to me. As the Alpha of this pack, I practice transparency.”