Leader of the Pack (51 page)

“Where the hell are you,” Cadifor growled.

“Where I always am. Why?”

“Cullen you were summoned to a meeting three days ago. No word. No appearance. You better have a damn good explanation.”

“I can honestly say I never received word that I was due at a meeting.” Cullen looked at Keith and Sarah and they both shook their heads uncertainly.

“We called the pack heads for a council. The government is on our asses. For the first time in centuries, we’ve been contacted by the Circle. You wrote the reports that instigated all of it, and you never received our message,” Cadifor ranted. “Fine. I’ll accept that. I’m going to have the messenger tracked down and find out who did receive the message. You need to find out why all the calls from anyone less than me have been intercepted and rerouted to avoid getting a hold of you for three days. In the mean time, get your ass here.”

“By nightfall,” Cullen said gravely and heard the other end of the line click.

“Well,” Keith said as Cullen let the phone fall away from his head. “Don’t keep us in suspense.”

“The government and the Circle. And a missing message.” Cullen didn’t have to track down why the lackey’s phone calls were intercepted. He’d told them not to disturb him. “Keith, find out why I didn’t get it. Sarah what’s going to happen when I go downstairs?”

“Honestly, if you’re referring to you and Aislinn and all this, I don’t really think there’s much to worry about. Most of the pack is okay with us pretending you’re behaving. There are just a few elders who are siding with Terrick and think you should have shown Godlike restraint and waited until it was appropriately condoned by the elder council. It won’t be too bad. But don’t expect them to not be suspicious,” she said. “And I’d like to point out that you’ve used up your allotment of me taking the fall for you for quite some time.”

Cullen looked over at Sarah gratefully. “Thank you,” he said.

Instantly her anger faded. It was kind of hard to glare and stay angry at the guy when he was in such a compromised position on the floor and thanking her for helping him get there. “I’ll survive. Besides, I’m assuming Aislinn doesn’t get to go with you to the Pack Council. At which point the heat will all be on her once you’re gone.”

Keith started laughing. “Did you say it that way on purpose,” he chuckled, knowing that she didn’t.

“That wasn’t that funny,” Cullen growled at him, and Sarah rolled her eyes. “Both of you get out of here. I need a car ready to leave within the hour. I’ll be down as soon as possible.”

Luckily Aislinn’s heat was so close to being over. He didn’t really know what he would have done, if he’d gotten the message when it was originally sent.

Chapter 21

Cha sgeul-rùin e ‘s fios aig triùir air.
It’s no secret if three know it.

-Gaelic Proverb

Aislinn crawled onto the disheveled bed, dragging a blanket with her. The pillows were strewn across the floor, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to get some sleep. She could hear the shower running and knew that Cullen would be leaving the minute he got out. She couldn’t decide if she was happy or upset about that. Her body desperately needed a break and at the very same time didn’t want one. Aislinn closed her eyes and instantly fell into a sleep that could only be induced by days of sex and exhaustion.

Cullen knew the minute she fell asleep. The soft murmur in the back of his mind, telling him she was concerned about him, faded into a nondescript whisper of contentment. He smiled to himself. He didn’t care how it happened. She was his, and he was pleased about it. The pack elders could go to hell, and he would tell them as much if they caused any trouble. The pack was technically only a democracy in as much as the alpha was willing to let it be.

Cullen snuck into the bedroom and pulled some clothes out of the closet. He didn’t want to wake Aislinn. Cullen dressed in his standard black jeans and black shirt. Then he went over to the bed and placed a gentle kiss on Aislinn’s forehead before sneaking out of the room. He ignored the mess that the place was in. He didn’t even want to think about what the omegas would say to the rest of the pack when they got back from cleaning the mess up. He never pulled anything like this before. He grinned happily thinking about it.
It certainly has been a nice week.

Cullen managed to get to the garage and on the road in short order. He spent the entire drive dwelling on Cadifor’s phone call.

* * * *

Aislinn found herself walking through the Tairneach manor again. Sweating, it felt as if the place was on fire. The shadows bled along all the walls, as she looked around. She had no idea where she was going. Aislinn tried some doors, but none of them would open. Frustration grew. The more she tried the more the vision seemed to slip away from her.

Aislinn stopped and closed her eyes.
You’re doing too much.
She told herself.
Just let it happen. Relax.
Aislinn opened her eyes, finding herself in a room with no windows, only a couple chairs, and several men and women who were standing over a large table. Bottles full of different colored liquids balanced on stands with burners under them. Several mortars and pestles contained herbs and various plants, as well as animal parts. Books and papers lay scattered about the tables.
The
books and papers. The place smelled absolutely foul and Aislinn covered her nose to mask the scent of burning flesh.

Aislinn waited for whatever brought here to reveal itself. She briefly considered going to look at the things on the table more closely, before deciding that it would be best to let the vision tell her what the fates thought she should know. She watched and waited.

One of the men turned and looked directly at her. He seemed relieved to see her. He looked beaten and bruised. A black eye and a swollen lip marred his features. Suddenly she realized that she was looking at the present. He walked toward Aislinn, but the others didn’t seem to notice.

Taking a deep breath, he began to whisper. Aislinn couldn’t understand what he was saying at first. She closed her eyes and tried to relax some more. Finally the words began to clear. He was speaking in Gaelic.
Tell Nora Senach that they’re using the bone dust of a dire wolf
, he repeated over and over and over again.

Aislinn nodded when she finally understood. Relief and some admiration calmed his strained features. When Aislinn blinked, he was suddenly back at the table amongst the others, and they all continued to work diligently on whatever it was they were doing. The scene faded to black foreboding, and Aislinn feel into a fitful sleep.

* * * *

Frustration seethed through Jenna. The Pack Council insisted that all the alphas be present before holding the meeting. She had hoped that they would proceed without Cullen, but apparently she underestimated his importance. At least she knew that Terrick took her suggestion to heart. Cullen wouldn’t have ignored a call to Council.

It pissed her off that the Council was acting as though Cullen Arnauk was an integral cog in the workings of the Pack Council. In addition to that, they showed her no respect whatsoever. All of the Council members apparently believed that she hadn’t earned her position and were only allowing her presence based upon the fact that she was the ‘current’ Tairneach alpha. In secret, the quiet consensus, was that they believed she would be replaced in relatively short order. None of them were even being friendly toward her. Her father was always treated with friendly, mutual respect. It only made her more determined in her current plan.

Most everyone gathered in the great room. Lycan pack alphas from the neighboring areas lounged in various places about the room. Some of them spoke to each other. Some ignored each other. It was accepted that this was neutral ground and that there would be no fighting here. The lines were obvious between the alphas that got along and the ones that didn’t. Jenna knew Stephen La Rayne, Neill Odgar, and Sean McDougal, but the others were new to her. Alone, in her corner of the room, Jenna watched them all. Mingling wasn’t her priority tonight. She had more on her mind than remembering the names of lycans who ran packs too distant from her to be a concern at this point . Especially, when she considered that none of them appeared impressed by her or interested in speaking with her.

Cadifor stormed through the door, and everyone stood up. He was unmistakable. Jenna remembered her father taking Cadifor very seriously. Jenna never met him. However, when Cadifor summoned, Brennus Tairneach ran to answer. Her father’s reaction impressed upon Jenna that this lycan was not to be messed with.

Cadifor looked almost albino. He was clean shaven and had short, white-blonde hair just turning silver, pale leathered skin, and frosty yellowish eyes, even in human form. He tended to wear a white collar shirt and suit jacket with jeans, in a way that only a man with power could manage. He was an ancient. Still he looked formidable. He was smaller than most of the men in the room, nevertheless he seemed to tower over everyone. No one knew how old Cadifor was. Rumors held that he had once been alpha of a pack that spanned the entire northern continent. But, rumors that old were often exaggerated. He supposedly gave the control of his pack to several sons and stepped down, when he grew so old as to not care for running the pack any longer. Jenna had a hard time believing that any alpha would choose to leave his position. Still, that was the rumor. Cadifor was one of the original members of the Pack Council and the lycan representative for North America.

Anger and annoyance radiated from him throughout the meeting. The longer it took for Cullen to show up, the angrier Cadifor became. Jenna smiled, more than a little amused at the situation.

Stepping into the middle of the room, Cadifor glared menacingly at the assemblage, commanding attention without saying a word. “Arnauk is on his way. The meeting will begin at nightfall.” After silent nods of acknowledgement from all the gathered alphas, Cadifor left.

Jenna excused herself from the great room, rooting her cell phone out of her pocket as she went. She left Maon in charge of urging the druids to finish their job, and she wanted to know how far they had gotten. As far as Jenna was concerned, with four of them working on, there was no reason why it should take too much longer. When Jenna threatened the lives of the ones she was holding in the basement, the others promised that they would find her a solution to what she wanted.

Several rings and a deep male voice answered the phone. “Mistress.”

Jenna smiled. She liked hearing him call her that. “How goes my project?”

“They’ve been working nonstop. Unfortunately, we can’t tell if they’re just making it look like they’re doing something, or if they’re actually making progress.”

“I take it that they haven’t offered a completed formula yet,” she growled.

“No, mistress, but they claim they are close.”

“Fine. Find a way to speed them up. Arnauk has finally surfaced. I should be back from this meeting tomorrow, unless it takes longer than one night to deal with whatever the council wants. Father was never gone that long.”

“I’ll attempt to have it for you upon your return,” he said.

“I appreciate your efforts Maon. I’ll find some appropriate reward for you,” she purred.

Maon knew exactly what his reward would be, and that was more than enough motivation for him to make good on his promise.

* * * *

The drive to the manor always impressed Cullen. Paved roads stopped miles from the manor. Without an SUV or some kind of off road vehicle, getting to the manor was nearly impossible. A number of the alphas took motorcycles out in the summer, but the scenery was spectacular any time of the year. Over-grown dirt paths, which passed for roads, led up the side of the mountain. An incredible view, off the southern roads, looked out over forest and fields. Off the eastern roads you could see the lights of a nearby city. Either way, it was breath taking.

Immense and imposing, stone work made the manor look like it had been imported from some bad horror flick. Too new to look like a legitimate castle, it had all the trappings of modern society. From the heated stone floors to the Jacuzzis in the suite bathrooms, it was more like a luxury resort than anything else. Not that you could that from the outside.

Cullen pulled into the parking area, which was really just an open field, and walked up the stone pathway to the manor. The front doors opened for him, and he was ushered to Cadifor’s office with a haste that virtually left his head spinning.

Cullen knocked on the heavy wooden door and waited.

“Come in,” called an annoyed voice.

Cullen winced, knowing Cadifor’s temper. He wasn’t usually the one who pissed off Cadifor.
Ah well, a first time for everything.
He considered telling Cadifor what the delay had been. The thought brought on a smile as he walked through the door.

“I’m glad to see you’re in such a good mood. Perhaps then this discussion won’t upset you unduly,” Cadifor growled. He waved at a chair on the other side of the desk.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have an answer as to when or where the message was intercepted, yet,” he said with emphasis. “I left before Keith was able to dig it up.” Cullen nodded respectfully and sat down. Being friends for decades, most ceremony was long since dispensed with, when the two of them were in private. Cadifor had come to respect Cullen as one of the few lycan alphas in this era, who could run a pack as he did when he reigned, centuries ago.