Takeover

Alpha Brent’s POV

Sulphur River Alpha Office

I didn’t say anything for a while, I didn’t have to. My daughter’s actions and words had been far beyond anything I could have done. I was so proud of her; she was a strong female, a good mate for my son and would do great things in her life.

I watched the clock as Alphas argued back and forth and general chaos reigned on the call. At four minutes in, I muted everyone. “I hate to cut off the discussion, but my daughter DID give out a deadline that is kind of important,” I said. I unmuted one square. “It is coming up on five minutes. Councilman Lee, do you resign your position?”

“Hell no,” he said. I muted him before he could continue.

“Councilman Miller?”

“I resign,” he said with a sigh.

“Councilman Black?”

“I resign.”

“Councilman Pierce?”

“Fuck you and her,” he said before I muted him.

“Councilman Ricardo?”

“I resign.”

I muted everyone. “You heard it, we have positions open for three regional Council members and one Council Chairman. As for the two remaining Council members, you don’t have quorum to make any decisions. I have here a copy of the Council bylaws,” I said as I pulled up the appropriate page. “Nominations for the open positions must be in within one week. Once the nominations are in, the candidates will have two weeks to campaign. A vote of two-thirds of the Alphas in the region is required for Council members, and a simple majority for the position of Council Chairman. Any questions?”

“Councilman Lee, I call for a vote to recall you as representative of the East Coast Packs,” Alpha Johannsen said.

“So moved, a two-thirds majority of members is required to remove a sitting council member.” We went through the Alphas, all but two wanted him out. “Councilman Lee is removed from his position as Council Representative for the East Coast. Of course, you didn’t resign so I would keep watching my back, the Alpha Killer might kill you at any time.” I just laughed.

Councilman Pierce survived his recall, with six of eleven voting to remove him. “I’m not going to worry about that, now the Alpha Killer knows who is first. I fully expect we’ll be taking nominations for your replacement by the end of the week,” I said. “Before we end, I want to thank you all for your patience. I know my daughter can be scary, but she is just. She does not kill without reason. She wants us all to live in peace, well, except those who she has sworn vengeance on. Those people will see her bad side.” There was some nervous laughter. “Nominations are due into Chief Enforcer Jones in one week by five PM eastern time. Thank you for attending the call.” I muted the microphone and watched all the Alphas drop off.

“Fuck, Dad, that was intense,” Dusty said. “I thought those council members were going to shit themselves when Talia came into view.”

“She’s impressive,” Bear said. “I’m just not sure if her presence in our packs makes us more of a target because she’s a threat to others, or if we’re safer because no one would dare fuck with us.”

“They don’t even know Randall and Erica are like Talia now,” I said. The phone on my desk rang, caller ID said it was Robert Steelman, a close friend and Alpha of the Texarkana Pack. “Robert, how are you?”

“I’m a little shaken up by that display, Brent, but that’s all right. Talia does what is right in a direct and brutal fashion, and my wolf and I appreciate that.”

“She’s special. Randall is a lucky man.”

“I know you’re busy, but I need to know. I’ve been thinking about the best candidate for the Council Chairman position. I think it’s you. I wanted to talk to you before I put your name in officially to see if you are interested.”

“Why me, Robert? There are others, retired Alphas out there.”

“Please. I saw the way you ran this meeting, the way you were on the last one. You are the kind of wolf I’d trust to be in charge of things.”

I sat down, I hadn’t thought about this at all, I was an Alpha. “I’m still Alpha, the Council members have to be retired Alphas.”

“You’ve been Alpha for a long time, my friend. Dusty is old enough and more than capable of running your Pack well if you move up.”

I linked my mate, asking if she thought I should put my name in, and she immediately responded. ”You’ve already got Dallas up in Colorado, and I expect Bobby is going to end up in Wisconsin. You’d be perfect, love.”

“Fine. Put my name in and we’ll see what happens.”

“You’re going to win, I’ll make sure of it. You’re what we need to reestablish confidence in the Council, and you’re best suited to work out a deal with the Vampires.”

“Thank you, Robert. Say hello to Rachelle for me.”

“I will. Bye.” I hung up and Dusty was looking at me. “It’s just a possibility, Dusty.”

“Too late. Kimberly is already sending me ideas for how we can redecorate the Alpha Suite when you move to New York.” He kept the serious look for about five seconds before he couldn’t anymore and he and Bear broke out laughing. “Hey, it’s not that far from the truth.”

I hugged my son, I was so proud of him. “When the time comes, you’ll be a fine Alpha for this Pack,” I said.

“Thanks Dad.”

“Now come on, we need to talk to the Vampires.” We walked out of my office and downstairs; I had set them up with the videoconference feed, no camera just a slave of my screen. “She’s efficient, isn’t she,” I said as I entered the safe room where the Vampires were sitting.

“She always has been,” Jarrod said. “I will need to report back to the Vampire Council, I just want to know if there is anything from this that I shouldn’t relay to them.”

I shook my head no. “I don’t mind if you take a recording of the whole thing and show them. We need to be transparent; the ones who experimented with vampires are dead or out of power. Jacque sent trusted Enforcers straight to Medical to seize the records of the experiments and arrest Dr. Himen. I will make sure this doesn’t continue.”

He shook my hand. “I’m making arrangements to fly out, I’d like to do so as soon as possible. The Vampire Council has demanded I appear before them in New York City. My familiars will be here shortly with a transport vehicle we use for daylight travel, it’s like a delivery van but the back is completely sealed from light. Erica will be traveling with us, as the Council has requested to speak with her.”

“That’s fine. I’ll have them pull into the garage and we’ll block the windows along the way.” I sent a mental command to the Omegas to get it ready. “Erica will be all right?”

“I will make sure of it,” Jarrod said. “Vampires rarely find their mates, and it is against our laws to harm them. I think they just want to take stock of what I’ve done.”

“She’s good with this?”

He nodded. “Eduardo will be with her, and they both need to learn about their vampire side. They are the only werewolf-vampire couple in existence, and that will make them the hope or the target of both sides.”

“How is her combat training going?”

“Surprisingly well. She got a decent base level of training at the La Crosse pack, and we’re building on that. Her fighting is… graceful? She moves so smoothly it’s like a dance for her, a dance at very high speed.”

I left them to get ready and went back upstairs to check the preparations. I met Patty up in the office, and the phone didn’t stop ringing. Dallas checked in, his Pack was coming around and he wanted Vivian and Austin to come up there in a few days to stay. “Has Talia decided against taking the Alpha spot?”

“She told me she will be busy for months cleaning up the messes, and she isn’t likely to take it. She won’t say for sure now, but she said it’s more likely she takes over another Pack than she does this one.” I laughed as I thought about this, there were two Council members that she was going to eliminate soon. If they went back to their former Packs and those Packs decided to defend them… well, there would be a few Alpha openings coming up too.

Talia’s POV

The werewolves at the Council Headquarters stayed clear of me as I stalked the halls. The plan Jacque and I had come up with on the plane ride here had worked perfectly. He pretended to have captured me, allowing us to penetrate the layers of security without delay. He took me straight to the conference room where he was on the call, and I’m sure he thought this was going to be his moment. The Alpha Killer, in custody, under his control, and everyone happy the danger was over.

The handcuffs had been modified so they wouldn’t lock. As soon as we reached the door, I broke out of them. Kicking the door open, I made my dramatic entrance to the Alpha videoconference. A few minutes later, the Chairman and the Chief Counsel, the men who had hatched the plan to capture Jarrod and I for their own use, were dead on the table.

“Seal the exits and get men you trust down to medical,” I said. “Arrest Dr. Himen and ensure the records are not destroyed.”

“On it, Alpha,” he said.

I had not told him to call me that, I think he did it to annoy me as I was technically the Alpha of Copper Mountain. I walked into the Chairman’s office, calling for his secretary to follow me. “Is there a way to call everyone together so I can talk to them at once?”

She showed me the PA microphone in the back of the office. I pressed the button. “This is Alpha Talia Stillwater. All Council employees and families not on duty are to gather immediately in front of the Headquarters Building. Trust me, you don’t want to make me track you down.”

She paled, then turned and almost ran down the stairs. I looked out the windows and the building was emptying like there was a fire.

My reputation had preceded me.

I walked downstairs, meeting a frustrated-looking Jacque as he came up from the basement. “Dr. Himen killed herself,” he said. “I’m sorry, there was nothing we could do. She stabbed herself in the neck with a silver-plated scalpel.”

“Coward. Seal the room, we’ll need to bring in outside people do go through the records. How many others were in the research lab with her?”

“Four, all have been taken to the cells. No live subjects were found.”

I nodded, at least there was that. “Leave only the guards, let’s get everyone else outside.”

He had a Pack link with the other members, one I didn’t have because I hadn’t officially taken over. I didn’t plan to either. He walked out onto the elevated stairs at the front of the building, holding up his arms for quiet. There were about seventy-five people gathered on the driveway and lawn in front of us. “The Chairman is dead, and until a new Council is elected I will be taking over all operations here,” he said.

“Who?”

“How?”

I stepped forward next to him, and I could smell the fear. Most recognized me, and those that didn’t were repulsed by the blood that still covered my clothes and body. “Your Chairman and Counsel hired rogues to abduct me as I was under the protection of my mate’s Pack. They failed, and I have killed them both in retaliation for their treachery.” I let that sink in. “Anyone who attempts to delete, destroy or hide information from the investigations coming will be severely punished. Return to your homes; if you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about. A new Council will be elected and life will go on. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a shower.”

I turned and walked back inside, going back up to the Chairman’s private quarters. I wasn’t going to be here long, I might as well enjoy it.