Chapter 16: The Other Plan

Randall sped to the east wing, feeling in good shape despite his human age of 58, but the last hundred meters were almost too much for him. He asked one of Lachlan's men he met if Alpha and Lord Alaric had begun their meeting. The young hunter muttered something about the meeting hall before heading off toward the training field.
The Black Hollow pack's leaders gathered in the manor's largest meeting chamber. Lord Alaric was seated in a huge leather chair at the center of a long, large table. He was leaning in close to Cassian, muttering something, when Randall went across the hall and up to the head table.
As he approached, Alpha Callum offered him a nod, but his brows met when he saw Randall's flushed face. "Is everything okay?" he asked his beta.
"Everything's fine, Alpha." Randall reassured him and sat between him and Ares in his chair.
"For a second there, I thought you were going to tell us about some rogues finally being sighted," Lord Alaric remarked half-jokingly.
Randall furrowed his brow and cocked his head to the right. "Rogues? No, my lord. I was-um, I had some stupid disagreement with one of my daughters that caused me to sprint all the way here... " he trailed off.
Ares' shoulders drew up even more than usual, and he immediately thought of Vanya.
"Ah! They mature and begin to speak up for themselves too soon, don't they? Doesn't it make you wish they'd never grown up? I mean, wouldn't it be fantastic if they remained toddlers forever? But who would take our place if that were the case? Right? When the time comes, who will look after our old and sagging asses?"
"Absolutely, my lord," was all Randall managed to say.
Lord Alaric then leaned forward in his seat, his elbows resting on the table. "As I was saying to these gentlemen here, Cassian has already given me his report after scouting your territory with your troops for days and nights. He hasn't seen a single rotter, close or far. If the lone rogue reappears, I'm sure your men will be able to handle it."
"I agree," Alpha Callum stated emphatically. "Lachlan and his unit will continue to scout as usual. And if we observe anything out of the ordinary, we will immediately notify The Royal Council."
Lord Alaric turned to Cassian. The knight remained calm and vigilant as usual, his eyes sharp and golden.
"If you are asking me, Alpha Callum," Lord Alaric replied, "I will have to say that there is no need to get The Royal Council involved. I absolutely believe the lone rogue doesn’t pose a threat at all. Not to the Royal Council, and especially not to the Royal Coven." He looked over to Ares. "I’m sure General Ares here would be able to handle the rogue himself."
"If I may say so, Alpha Callum," Lord Alaric said, "there is no need for The Royal Council to get involved. The lone rotter, in my opinion, poses no threat at all. Not to the Royal Council, and particularly not to the Royal Coven." He turned to face Ares. "I'm confident General Ares here could handle the scoundrel himself."
"I agree. There's no doubt that General Ares or I could take out the lone rogue on our own," Lachlan affirmed. "Vanya is an excellent hunter, but she may be no match for the rogue. She's nearly had him a couple times already." 
"Or perhaps your good hunter couldn't resist the rogue's charm," Lord Alaric playfully speculated. He grinned, but neither Randall nor Alpha Callum reciprocated. In particular, Ares, who merely looked at him with his jaw clinched.
"That's impossible," the general instantly countered. Randall shifted his gaze to him. Ares' general's eyes were a steel blue, as they had always been.
"You are correct, General. I’m only joking."
"Of course, my lord," Lachlan said graciously before clearing his throat and turning to face Alpha Callum and Randall.
"Look, I just need one of you to take care of the rotter." Lord Alaric continued. "You've got two weeks. Have a hunter－"
"Vanya," Randall said.
"Yes, her. Have her, or anybody as good, hunt for the rogue, and then I want you to put an end to its filthy existence before the next full moon," the lord turned to Alpha Callum, "In the meantime, I will let the Royal Council know you've already cut the beast's head off so they don't trouble you. Deal?"
"You will tell them that we’ve already killed the rotter?" Alpha Callum asked, unsure if he was up for it. He still didn't know who leaked the information on Killian to The Capitol; what if the traitor found out about him and their little lie?
Lord Alaric rose slowly. "I know what you're thinking, Alpha, but think about it: if your men kill that animal, it won't be a lie anymore, will it?"
"Don't worry, Alpha Callum; my soldiers and I will make this a priority," Lachlan assured the Alpha.
"There you have it. And I shall reassure the Royal Council of your capacity to govern your pack and the rest of the territories in the west. I'll be praising this year's Alliance Visit once more. Lord Mitchell has shown an interest in visiting your pack for the Royal Alliance Visit next year. More Lords are eager to pay your pack a visit."
Alpha Callum gave the lord a long look before flashing a brief, weak smile.
Lord Alaric opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again before whispering to him, "And－uh, regarding that thing you asked me, I’ve spoken to Lady Catarina and she’s agreed."
Alpha Callum gave him an appreciative nod. "Thank you very much, my lord."
"Anything for my favorite Alpha in the west." Lord Alaric smiled and said to his deputy, "Tell everyone to get ready. We'll return to The Capitol tomorrow evening."
"I will, my lord."
"And I think we're done here," Lord Alaric announced. Everyone at the long table stood up and watched him exit the meeting hall quickly, followed by Cassian and his deputy. 
"How could you agree to his lie, father?" Ares quickly walked up to Alpha Callum.  "Vanya has been trying to apprehend Killian for months. That rotter managed to stun her. We'll need to find out more about him."
"I agree, son. And if I hadn't known the truth, I'd say Lord Alaric was right."
"Alpha, Vanya mentioned that Killian could connect with her through her mind," Randall said, "That's how she knew his name."
Alpha Callum shifted his gaze to Ares and Lachlan. "Okay, I don't want Lord Alaric's white lie about the rotter to reach the Royal Council. Find out more about him..."
Ares cast a glance towards Lachlan. "Tell your men to get ready," he said as he hurriedly exited the hall.
"Lachlan, Randall," Alpha Callum called out to his leaders as they neared the door. He slumped back in his chair as soon as the large door closed behind Ares. "Take a seat. I need to talk to you about Vanya."
"What about my daughter?" Randall asked, not bothering to sit.
"I’ve made some arrangements with Lord Alaric,"
"You've made some arrangements with the Lord regarding my daughter?" Randall asked, his voice solemn.
"Yes. This is for her own safety," Alpha Callum stated, looking as if he had anticipated his beta's reaction, while Lachlan was simply perplexed by what he had just said. "Lord Alaric has made plans with Lady Katarina in The Capitol, and she is willing to accept Vanya as one of her ladies-in-waiting."
"What?" Randall usually looked quite calm, but the news had brought a look of shock and annoyance to his blue eyes. "I doubt Vanya would want to be a lady-in-waiting. She's a hunter. And this is her home."
"I don't think you realize, Randall, that I don't really care what your adopted daughter wants or doesn't want," Alpha Callum roared.
"Alpha, if I may ask," Lachlas spoke, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "May I know why we are sending Vanya to The Capitol? She may not be a natural born shifter, but she is one of our best hunters."
"I trust your leadership and judgment, Lachlan, and I want you to do the same right now. I want you both to trust me on this and not question me."
"Is this because she's your son's－" Randall tried to probe.
"Don’t!" Alpha Callum bellowed. "I don't want to discuss it or explain why I'm doing this." He looked at Lachlan. "This weekend, you will accompany her to The Capitol."
"But, Alpha," Randall met the Alpha’s eyes without hesitation.
"And you will ensure she leaves the pack without drawing any attention to herself," he told his beta before. "And Ares could not know about this."
Randall felt his wolf roar inside him as he tried not to exhibit emotion on his face. His blood pounded in his veins. Not wanting to anger Alpha Callum, he answered, after a little pause, "I will do everything I can to persuade her, Alpha." 
He stepped out of the meeting hall and took a moment of silence to settle himself. 
He shut himself in his office with a bottle of his favorite rum for the next few hours after learning what Alpha Callum had planned for Vanya. How could he persuade Vanya to leave when he didn't want her to leave? And Vanya would never agree to be Lady Catarina's lady-in-waiting.
He took a deep breath and made his way to his home with a heavy heart when the clock struck six o'clock in the evening.
"You're almost late for dinner," Celeste remarked as she kissed Randall.
"Is Vanya here?" Randall asked, dismissing the comment.
"You know, she doesn't come down here too often. She's either still in the woods or in her west wing room. I'm still not sure why she's up there."
"I’ve explained everything to you already, Celeste. Lachlan didn't give her that room because he favoured her. Hunters and scouts sleep in strategically designed rooms."
"Whatever. You've had a few drinks." Celeste gave him a whiff. "Are you all right?" she asked, her face wrinkled with surprise and concern.
"I needed a few glasses of rum," Randall said as he led her to the living room of their own suit in the enormous pack's manor, where the four of them had lived together before Vanya was assigned to one of the rooms in the west wing.
In the living room, Selene sat on the couch, a slight smile on her lips at what he was reading on the phone in her hand. "Dad." Her smile widening as she looked up at her father.
"Hello, sweetheart."
 "You smell! What happened?" she asked, placing her phone in her pocket and looking a lot more attentive. 
"A lot more than I was expecting," Randall muttered as he flopped onto a couch, Celeste joining him. "Did you see your sister today?"
"Yeah, I believe I saw her this afternoon. Is there a problem?"
"Yes. Alpha Callum has asked Lachlan to accompany her to The Capitol."
For a little while, the room was silent before Celeste and Selene began questioning him.
"The Capitol? What exactly is she planning to do there? Why aren't they sending me instead?" Selene asked, irritated.
"Sweetheart…"
"Randall, you know Vanya, she’ll only humiliate the Alpha," Celeste quipped.
"Whatever the Alpha wants Vanya to do, believe me, I can do it better. Tell Alpha Callum to send me to The Capitol instead, Father! You know I’ve been wanting to go there."
"You don’t understand..." Randall mumbled.
"Vanya isn't ready for The Capitol. She's too unruly," his wife added, "Selene is more qualified than she is."
" The Alpha is sending Vanya away for good. She won't be coming back," he finally said. Stunned silence followed, which allowed him to continue easily. "Lady Catarina has agreed to accept Vanya as one of her ladies-in-waiting."
"What?"
"I tried to reason with Alpha Callum, but he's already made up his mind," Randall said as he slowly rose to his feet.  "Lachlan is taking her to The Capitol this weekend, and I have no idea how to break this news to her.
"Why don't you simply tell her?" his daughter wondered.
"You know your sister, Selene. She’d run away. I can’t have that . Please keep this between the three of us for the time being until I figure out how to tell her," he decided as his wife and daughter exchanged glances. "I'm exhausted. I'll take an hour off."
Selene stood up from the couch, her gaze fixed on her father's retreating back. "I'll be right back."
"Where are you going, sweetheart?"
"I forgot I needed to talk to Rowan about something, mom."
As she slipped out the door, Celeste watched her daughter leave with a curious expression. She had suspected that her daughter was up to something. But whatever it was, she decided not to question her and let her go without further questioning her.
Selene hurried along the manor's hallway and into the west wing. She raced up the stairs as fast as her legs could take her.  As soon as she arrived at the door at the end of the corridor, she turned the knob and hissed when it was locked.  She pressed her lips together and knocked quickly and loudly on the door.
"What the hell, Selene?" Vanya asked as she pulled open the door. "What do you want?"
"They’re sending you away to The Capitol."
"What?!"