An Alpha's Pride [tribal bonds 2] (9 page)

Daniel watched as Carlton sat down in his chair very carefully, leaning slightly to the side. He knew why his anamchara was sitting so carefully, and as much as he didn’t like the man being in any sort of pain, he couldn’t regret
why
he was in pain. In fact, he was pretty damn elated about it.

Carlton had not only submitted to him for hours the previous night, he had given Daniel back a part of himself he had thought he had lost. Daniel felt invigorated, strong. Something he had felt a decidedly lacking in the weeks following Carlton’s departure.

Daniel was still a little worried that two strong alpha males couldn’t be in the same relationship, but he was willing to see where this led. He needed Carlton too much to let him go. If it came down to it, Daniel would do whatever it took to keep Carlton, even submit to him.

Daniel leaned closer to Carlton, bumping shoulders with him.
“I’ll kiss it all better later, anamchara.”
Carlton stilled for a moment then turned to look at him with heat in his eyes.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
Daniel grinned then turned to face the others sitting around the room. He felt his face flush a little when Luca looked at him and arched an eyebrow. There was a knowing look in the electus’s eyes. Daniel just shrugged. He had nothing to be ashamed of.
“Carlton,” Luca said as he sat forward, “after you were shot, Daniel and I decided to send out four separate teams to investigate, not only the area where your wolves were attacked, but where the vampires from Daniel’s tribe were taken from and two known locations where hunters gather.”
“What did they find?” Carlton asked.
“Well, as of now, only three of the teams have reported in. There were signs of a scuffle where the wolves were attacked and the vampires taken. One of the locations where the hunters gather was vacant. In fact, it looked like they hadn’t been there in weeks.”
“And the fourth team?”
Luca shook his head. “They haven’t reported in. I hesitate to contact them in case they are someplace that they can’t talk, but if we don’t hear from them soon, I’ll have to do something. I can’t just leave them out there in the cold.”
“Has anyone gone to look for them?” Daniel asked.
“Or sniff them out?” Carlton asked.
Daniel blinked then turned to stare at Carlton. “Excuse me?”
Carlton chuckled. “Wolf shifters have very good noses, mate. If there’s a scent, we’ll be able to follow it.”
“I’ve already considered that, Carlton,” Luca said. “Rowan informed me of that little ability of yours. The problem is that we’re not exactly sure where our team is at the moment.”
Daniel was confused. “I thought you said they went to check out a location for hunters.”
“I did. Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact location, just a general idea. And I don’t think it’s a good idea to plan a rescue mission unless we can pinpoint exactly where our people are.”
“Any ideas?” Daniel asked.
“At the moment, no. But I’m open to suggestion.”
“What do we know about the hunters in the area?” Daniel asked.
“There seems to be two factions at the moment,” Luca said. He didn’t look happy. “The main one is more of a policing unit. They pretty much leave us alone unless there’s an issue with one of our own.”
“And the other one?”
“They seem to be a fringe group that started sprouting up several months ago. They are more of the ‘annihilate them all’ theory. There have been several small attacks in my territory over the last few months, most of them simple assaults and such.”
“There’s nothing simple about someone wanting to exterminate us,” Carlton grumbled loudly. “I’m a little confused as to why I am just hearing about these hunters now. I never even knew they were in the area, let alone attacking our people.”
“That probably means you don’t have any rogue elements in your pack,” Luca said. “The main group of hunters doesn’t bother us unless we allow one of our own to cause problems.”
“Like what?” Carlton asked.
“If I have a rogue vampire that starts feeding indiscriminately, the hunters will contact me. I’m usually given twenty-four hours to deal with the problem on my own or they will step in and hunt the perpetrator down.”
“And what happens when one of theirs is the perpetrator?” Carlton asked.
Daniel glanced at Luca because he didn’t have an answer for that. Luca was frowning. Daniel was pretty sure the electus didn’t have an answer either. “We need to contact Roman and set up a meeting.”
Luca sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I know, but I was really hoping to avoid that if I could.”
“Is Roman that bad?” Carlton asked.
“No, Roman is actually a pretty decent guy for a hunter, but he always brings his little brother, and if Sam throws one more bottle of holy water on me, I’m going to smack his head right off his shoulders.”
Daniel chuckled when Carlton’s mouth dropped open.
“He throws holy water on you?” Carlton asked.
“Every damn time,” Luca said.
“Does he know holy water doesn’t work on vampires?”
“He knows.”
“Oh.”

Daniel didn’t know what to think when he considered hunters, but it wasn’t the men that walked into the small park they had all agreed to meet at. They were dressed just like everyone else—jeans, T-shirts, and the occasional leather jacket.

They didn’t look like hunters until one looked closer and saw the bulges under their jackets. Even Daniel could tell that the hunters carried weapons. But they kept their hands out in front of them or at their sides in an unthreatening manner.

When the hunters stopped in front of Luca, Daniel took a step closer to Carlton. He didn’t care that they were under a flag of truce at the moment. If a single one of them stepped in Carlton’s direction, they were dead.

Luca.
“Roman,” Luca replied.
So, this was Roman, the famed hunter. Oddly enough, he looked

just like every other human out on the street except for the air of danger that surrounded him. He held himself regally. He could have been an electus or an alpha.

“You asked for this meeting,” Roman said. “So, talk.” “Our people have been attacked unprovoked.”
The man named Roman just arched a dark eyebrow. “And?” “My people were attacked, Roman.”
“My people didn’t attack yours,” Roman said. “If we had, you’d

know about it.”
“Hunters attacked my people, Roman. They also attacked Alpha
Gregory’s people, killing some of them. We still have people
missing.”
“So?” Roman shrugged. “There are a few less bloodsuckers and
fur balls on the streets. Better for us humans.”
“This violates the peace treaty between us, Roman.”
“So, we go to war then.”
Daniel frowned. He saw several of the hunters tense when he
stepped forward, but he had to ask. “Going to war means so little to
you?”
Roman shrugged. “We’ve gone to war before.”
“And innocent people died,” Daniel snapped. He remembered the
war between the humans and paranormals several decades previous. It
was not something he wanted to repeat. “More will die if we go to
war. Is that what you want?”
“Collateral damage is a by-product of any conflict.”
Daniel was shocked. “My gods, you are a cold bastard.” He
glanced over at Luca. “This is a waste of time. He’s never going to
help us. Let’s go.”
Daniel started walking back toward Carlton when he heard a
snicker from behind him. He turned to see Roman looking him up and
down, a snide sneer on his face.
“The great Electus Everson.” Roman snickered. “And all of this
time I was afraid of you. If I had only known what a pussy you really
are.”
Daniel heard Carlton growl and turned just in time to see Carlton
start past him. He quickly reached out and grabbed Carlton’s arm,
stopping him. “Don’t, love. He’s not worth it.”
“Love?” Roman snarled. “You’re a fucking bloodsucker. You
don’t know the first thing about love. You know about killing and
sucking the blood out of humans until they are nothing but dried up
husks.”
The muscles under Daniel’s hand tensed. “No, Carlton. That’s
what he wants. Besides, his words can’t hurt me.”
“No, but if he really is your anamchara, this can.”
Daniel heard Carlton growl. He spun around to see a large gun
aimed in Carlton’s direction. He knew from the glint in Roman’s eyes
that the gun contained silver bullets.
Daniel didn’t even stop to consider the wisdom of his actions. He
just leapt over in front of Carlton, taking the bullet meant for his
anamchara. The pain was instantaneous, sweeping through Daniel
until his entire body felt like it was on fire.
“Fuck, that hurts,” he groaned as he slumped back against Carlton.
He immediately felt Carlton’s arms wrap around him and gently
lower him to the ground. He clenched his hand in Carlton’s shirt as he
looked up into the man’s worried eyes. “Did you get hit?” “No, baby.” Carlton shook his head. “But we’re going to have a
serious talk when we get home. It is
not
okay to step in front of a
bullet.”
“It’s silver,” Daniel protested.
“And?” Carlton didn’t look like he cared that the bullet was
deadly to his kind. He looked pissed.
“And we need to dig the damn bullet out so he can heal.” Daniel’s eyes widened when he heard Roman’s voice and saw the
man loom over the top of him. He stiffened, instantly fearing for his
anamchara. He hissed at Roman, baring his fangs at the guy as he
tried to sit up and move in front of Carlton. He needed to protect his
anamchara.
“Knock that shit off,” Roman snapped.
Daniel blinked when the hunter smacked him in the back of the
head and then pulled out a large knife and began digging the bullet
out of his shoulder. Daniel groaned when one particular jab of the
blade sent pain flaring down his arm.
“Your bedside manner sucks,” he snapped at Roman. He was
shocked down to his toes when he saw amusement glittering in the
dark eyes that turned to look at him.
“My bedside manner is fucking fantastic.” Roman chuckled. “But
this isn’t a bed.”
Daniel was thrilled that Roman found this amusing. Not. He was
getting more pissed by each passing second. He grunted when the
bullet was finally pulled free from his shoulder. Roman held it up then
dropped it in the palm of Daniel’s hand.
“It wasn’t a lethal round.”
“It’s silver.”
Roman shook his head. “No, it’s not.”
Daniel frowned in confusion. “But you said—”
“No, you assumed it was silver, and I let you. There’s a big
difference.”
“You still shot me,” Daniel grumbled.
“You’re a vampire,” Roman said as he stood to his feet. “It’s what
I do.”
“I don’t like you.”
Roman grinned wickedly. “You’re breaking my heart,
bloodsucker.”
Daniel’s shoulder had healed enough that he could move it, but
his legs were fine. He arched back and jumped to his feet in one leap,
and then glared across at Roman when the man started clapping. “Very impressive,” Roman said. “What other tricks do you do?” Daniel clenched his fists and took a step closer to Roman,
growling. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had pissed
him off as much as Roman was doing. He was going to beat the guy
into unconsciousness. Daniel didn’t care that the man was the leader
of the humans, or a hunter. He was going to plant his fist square in the
guy’s face.
“Uh, uh, uh.” Roman shook his finger back and forth. With the
other hand, he pulled a small black gun out of his jacket and waved it
around just a little. “This one does have silver bullets in it.” “And I should believe you why?”
Roman pointed the gun at Carlton again. “Want to try me out?” This time, when Daniel tried to step in front of his mate, Carlton
growled at him, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t even think
about it.”
Daniel rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to smack Carlton on
the back of the head like Roman had smacked him. This is where their
joint dominant personalities conflicted. They both had a deep-seated
desire to protect the other one.
Daniel sighed and turned to look at Luca. “Can we go now? This
isn’t getting us anywhere, and I need to change my clothes.” He
waved his hand to the bloodstains on his torn shirt and glared at
Roman. “I’m sending you the bill.”
Roman just chuckled.
“Roman, this is serious,” Luca said. “Our people are being hunted
down and killed or kidnapped, people that have done nothing wrong.” Daniel’s jaw dropped at the swiftness in which the amusement
slid from Roman’s face to be replaced with a look that was so serious,
Daniel felt a chill run down his spine.
“You have a traitor in your ranks,” Roman said simply as if he
hadn’t just dropped a bombshell in their laps.
“What?” Luca snapped.
“I’ve suspected it for some time, but this is the first real
confirmation I’ve had.”
“And you didn’t say anything before now?” Luca shouted. “Why
the hell not? People could have been saved.”
“First of all, it’s not my job to save your people. It’s my job to
protect the rest of humanity from your people. The less of you that
there are, the less I have to worry about. Secondly, I have no proof
and no idea who it is. Do you really think I would come to you
without proof? I’m human, not stupid.”
Daniel couldn’t prevent the snort that escaped him. He heard
Carlton chuckle when Roman glared at him then felt arms wrap
around him. He smiled when he was pulled back into Carlton’s warm
body.
“Not nice, mate,”
Carlton said through their bond.
“Seriously?”
Daniel glanced at his mate over his shoulder.
“You’re chastising me for that?”
“Let’s try to be civil here.”
“Him first.”
“Daniel.”
There was a hint of warning in Carlton’s voice that
made Daniel shiver in anticipation.
“You do remember that he just shot me, right?”
“I do, and Roman and I will discuss that at a later time. Right
now, we need to concentrate on who is after our people.”
Daniel had to admit that Carlton made sense. He huffed in
resignation and turned back to Roman and Luca.
“Fine.”
“What can you tell us then?” Luca asked.
“Just my suspicions,” Roman said.
“I’ll settle for that for now.”
“We had a few members splinter off from our group about a year
ago. They started listening to this new guy that had joined up, a real
go-getter, if you know what I mean. He insisted that we needed to
exterminate the lot of you. He started sanctioning executions without
permission of our council.”
There was a council that sanctioned killing his kind? Daniel felt
Carlton’s arms tighten around him when he shivered. He sent his mate
a quick smile then turned his attention back to the conversation. “Luca”—Roman looked nervous as he rubbed the back of his
neck—“you know we don’t operate that way. Someone has to be
found guilty before they are sanctioned, and then you are given time
to deal with it on your own. We don’t just go out and kill people.” Luca nodded. “What happened to this guy?”
“He was asked to leave. He blew up a lot of dust before he did,
and some of our members left with him. I thought he had moved on to
another hunting ground, but about a month ago I started to hear
rumors.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed. “What sort of rumors?”
“Someone inside your tribe provided some iron collars to this guy
that cannot be broken. He’s got a real hang up about wolf shifters,
maybe even more so than vampires. I’ve heard rumors that he’s trying
to capture shifters to try the collars out on them.”
“Fuck!” Luca whispered.
“Luca, I have to tell you, this guy is a real piece of work. I have
serious doubts that he’s actually trying to kill shifters.” Roman
suddenly looked worried, which scared the crap out of Daniel. “He’s
not sane, Luca. He enjoys torture. It was one of the reasons he was
asked to leave the hunters. He likes to torture his kills before ending
their lives.”
“Who is this guy?” Luca asked. “Maybe he has our people.” “I have no doubt that he has your people if they are missing, but
you know I can’t tell you who he is.”
“Why not?” Daniel snapped. “Are you trying to hide him from
us?”
“Hell, no!” Roman snapped right back. “His kind give us a bad
name.”
“Then why won’t you tell us who he is?”
“None of the hunters use real names, Daniel,” Luca said. “It’s a
way to keep themselves safe from anyone overhearing who they
really are. It also helps keep their families safe.”
Daniel’s jaw dropped as he turned to look at Roman. “Your name
isn’t really Roman?”
“Oh, it is,” Roman replied. “When Luca and I established our
treaty, I wanted him to understand that I was being honest in my
dealings with him, so I gave him my true name. If I break the treaty,
Luca knows my family and wouldn’t hesitate to take them out. On the
other hand, I know his family, too, and will do the same if he breaks
our treaty.”
“Oh.” There really wasn’t much for Daniel to say after that except
for one thing. “So, how do we stop this asshole?”