Arabellaâs POV~
I am walking Loganâs family to the infirmary.. Sebastian is in his office going over surveillance from our cameras. I am infuriated! This is a boy! A childâ¦on the very cusp of life. His family is crushedâ¦rightfully so! And whoever shot him will pay! We have to step up our game! They will murder no one else!! Our pack is family! And no one hurts my family! Not having one for most of my lifeâ¦I will be damned if someone takes this one away!
I stepped up to Amy and asked âWhat can you tell me?â She shook her head and says âa 308 rifle shotâ¦probably from about 300 yards⦠pure silver bullet.. exploded on impact so I canât even get so much as a scent off of it. He died almost instantly. Thatâs a blessing but not much of a consolation for the familyâ I noddedâ¦
I stepped away and headed back to the office..I wanted my motherâ¦I linked her, just to hear her voice..âMom?â She responds immediately âIâm so sorry, my daughter. I knew it was comingâ¦it hurts that I canât stop the events headed your way.â I replied âI know, Mom. Itâs okay. We can handle itâ¦but I need a favorâ She says âIf it is within my powerâ¦consider it doneâ I whisper âLet them see him? Let Loganâs family see him and hold him one last time? Let them see him happy..and know he is okay. Let them say goodbye?â Her mother says âOh my sweet baby! Such a heart you have! Logan will have an hour with his family tonight! For you, my child, I would hang the moon!â And like she knew I would, I giggled. I said âgee thanks Moon Goddess! Youâre the best!â And it was her turn to giggle
I walked straight into the office and over to Sebastianâ¦straddling his lap I tucked into himâ¦breathing him in. He is my peace! He asked if Iâm okay and I nod against his neck. He says âtalk to meâ I said,,âI spoke to my mom. Sheâs going to let Logan see his family for an hour tonight. They need to know heâs okay..and this will give them closureâ Brayden says âHoly shit! She can do that? That is so fucking cool!â Cory chuckles âSheâs the Moon Goddessâ¦anything is possible â and Kaiden laughs and says âItâs probably only something her daughter can get away with asking her thoughâ and they all laugh.
I repeated what Amy told me in regards to the round she removed from Loganâ¦Brayden was linking the trackers to run a perimeter 300 to 400 yards from the border⦠they should pick up a scent. Sebastian looked at Kaiden⦠he says âKaiden, we need to look into mercenaries being hiredâ¦and I want intel on all the hunterâs groups in the country.. See if any of them are on the move. They know we will hunt them to the death if they are found killing innocent wolves. And we have had no reports of any feral rogues roaming loose in our vicinity. It seems too patâ¦a single gunmanâ¦in and out..a one-shot kill? I want answers!â
I sat there and mulled that overâ¦heâs right..That was a perfect shotâ¦indicating sniper or military training.. that changes the game. I said âWhat was the purpose? What reason do they have to shoot a patrol wolf? A warning? A heads up for whatâs coming? Who ordered a potshot at our border? It feels like they are trying to force us into some kind of actionâ¦Iâm just confused, as to why!â
Cory chuckles and says âAllow meâ¦.The shooter isnât against usâ¦he didnât want to kill our wolf, but he had no choice. It was either an initiation into a hunterâs organizationâ¦or proof he would fight in the rebellion. He had to kill a wolfâ¦he chose our pack wolf as way of getting information to us. And it worked. Sebastian figured out they have either mercenaries or huntersâ¦possibly bothâ¦fighting on their side. If I may suggestâ¦Kaidenâ¦start following the money. To hire people like thisâ¦you have to know a guy..who knows a guy. There has to be evidence of money exchanging handsâ
I said âWow Cory! You just deduce this shit with so little info? Youâre mind must be a scary placeâ Everyone laughs. Cory says âI have a degree in behavioral sciences. It comes in handyâ I clapped my hands and aaid âYayyy! We have our very own profilerâ Sebastian chuckles and whispers âI love how you get so excited over little things â
Sebastian says âKaiden..did you figure a way for us to determine a bug is being planted? We may need it. Iâm just being linked Byron is here with two other alphas⦠I am having them set up in conference â Kaiden nods and replies âItâs simple enough really? I will hold the scanner/detector in my hand..under the table and unseen.. I will turn it on as the meeting is wrapping up. If it alerts..we take the culprit into custody!â Sebastian stands and says âletâs get this show on the roadâ
Sebastian is speaking before he reaches his seat âByron, I told you to present the event of your claim and schedule an appropriate meeting with a mediator. You blatantly disregarded an order from the Kingâ¦which in and of itself.. carries a weekâs stay in the cells. I am only forgoing that because I have a few hours of free timeâ¦and find myself in the mood to indulge your antics. Alphas Gerome and Alex..allow me to introduce your Queenâ¦Arabella McCallumâ I nodded at them both and we took our seats. Gerome spoke first âMy King.. allow me to apologize for my part in this intrusion.. We were under the impression our presence was requested. The land in dispute is of no concern to meâ¦other than my suggestion that a school be built to accommodate all three of our packs as it is centrally located to each of us. I have never vied for possession of it. My pack is large enough and I have plenty of land to expand onâ¦should a need arise. That being said..I would like to see the outcome of this meeting â Sebastian said âThank you for your candor and Iâm incredibly interested in the outcome, as well.â Causing the other man to chuckle.
Alex turned to Sebastian and asked to speak..Sebastian nodded and he began âThe property in dispute sits nearly dead center between all three packs..I wished to incorporate it into my pack mainly because it leaves roughly 500 yards of my border indefensibleâ¦however, once Gerome recommended a schoolâ¦my petition for occupancy became a moot point. As all three packs would be arranging protection for the school..my border would automatically be defensible again! And soâ¦like Geromeâ¦I fail to see the necessity for this meeting ââ¦
Sebastian looks at Byronâ¦starts to smile and says âThis? This charade is why it was imperative you have my attention? A resolution has been reached. And as you knowâ¦when more than two alphas are involved, the solution is always decided by a majority rules scenario. The majority has ruled. A school has been decided upon! Gentleman! A school shall be built with my blessing! If you draft the specifications and financing and provide them to my officeâ¦the kingdom is more than happy to fund this project! You are dismissed!â The men are walking out as Kaiden holds up a little box like thing in his handâ¦nodding at Sebastian..who speaks up âByronâ¦please.. a moment.. take your seat?â And Byron walks back over to sit down. Sebastian links me âBabyâ¦you want to take this one?â Ohhh hell yeah!!!
I sit up straighter in my chair. I pour myself a glass of whiskeyâ¦then Sebastian⦠never taking my eyes off Byron..I pour him a glass. Passing the decanter to Kaiden.. I still watch Byron..until we all have a drink. I take a long sip and speak âByron..is it? I want you to tell me a story.. I want you to explain to me..why the subterfuge..the dramaâ¦the inane reason we would get involved in such a trivial dispute, such as thisâ¦and before you begin.. I want you to understand, I am not a fool! Nor do I suffer fools lightly. You need to be prepared to give me the unvarnished truth. Because I want you to comprehend that I know more than you think I know and nothing less than the truth is acceptable. If you blusterâ¦and try to blow smoke up my ass..youâd best knowâ¦That dog wonât hunt!