Chapter 73 Second

*Diana*

Every wolf of stature and importance was at the Four Seasons. After the men had arrived from their excursion, it was time to go to the hotel. I asked the High Lord Wolf to lend me Otis's services. He knew every dignitary there and could easily point out every wolf our group needed to know without me having to do it.

While Ethan and Alpha Connor's men drove to make sure we had cars ready for us at the hotel, we took a helicopter to the Four Seasons away from the ground entrance. Wolf Troops made sure the helipad and the floors to the suites were secure. While every wolf in the hotel was busy making last minute business transactions, Onyx and I have been listening.

The High Lord Wolf had left us to tend to some last minute preparations. When he left, all of us gathered in one suite, to make our own plans. We all sat on the couches in the living room area of the suite and had turned on the TV to mask our voices.

My dad waved Jonathan's journal in the air. "It says here the combination on Minerva Allen's briefcase is 11-24-75 just like the Andrew's code. It's Andrew's birth date," he said.

Alpha Connor brought the briefcase they had found in Minerva's vault and placed it on the coffee table. He turned the dials on the briefcase to match the combination and opened the briefcase. Inside was a pile of folders with names printed on each folder tab. Alpha Connor took one folder and started reading it. My father looked at each folder until he found the one he was looking for. I had a feeling it was the folder with information on his father. Uncle Mike took one so did Ethan, Athena, Didi, Matt and Colt. As they scanned through the contents of the folders, their expressions changed from shock to dismay.

Alpha Connor put his folder down on the table which Otis scooped up to see what was in it. Alpha Connor then searched through the folders and found one particular folder he wasn't expecting to see.

"This is a folder on One, the asshole who almost exterminated my pack. This I need to read." He stood up from the couch, sat down at the small dining table near the balcony of the suite and started flipping through the papers inside the folder.

"The former Elder could not have done this alone," Otis said as he flipped through a page. "She obviously had help and paid good money to get copies of these transactions. Usually, you can only get these documents through an assistant if the assistant is given access. There is no assistant who would be willing to betray their master, but of course, I may be mistaken." He paused and looked up in the air "They could have broken into the offices or homes of the Elders and High Councilmen or someone was able to blackmail them out of these documents."

"Most of the transactions as you can see aren't just solely done by one member. To ensure no one will double cross one another, each wolf kept evidence. Imagine if any of this were to leak," I said. "That is where Minerva Allen steps in. She knew the Elders and High Councilmen had shady transactions and were more keen to serve themselves rather than the wolves. It took her years, cash and many bars of gold to gather all this information." Otis nodded his head after he heard the word gold realizing he was right.

"Minerva Allen had several bars of gold stashed away in her vault, but no money," Ethan said. "I guess she used all her cash."

"Yes, she used all her cash to pay for information and since gold is hard to come by these days, she was saving it for bigger things. Dad, where are the pictures you found in Jonathan's medicine cabinet?" He took an envelope out from his jacket and placed it on the coffee table.

"There's a picture of One in there," my dad said. Ethan took the envelope and emptied its contents on the table.

"One? There's a picture of One? Let me get a good look at who he is so I know who to pick out from the crowd," Alpha Connor said. He stood up and approached us to take a look at the pictures.

I smiled. One was a constant thorn among the wolves. "All of you, take a good look at One and Second. One is like Minerva. He also has dirt on everyone here because of debts wolves have racked up at his casino. Second is here now at this very hotel with a group of rogues with him and are planning to disguise themselves as servers at the ball this evening. They are ordered to abduct Athena and me. As for you Dad, they have been given the go ahead to slit your throat infront of everyone." I saw my dad instinctively swallow.

"And how do you know all of this, Diana?" My dad asked.

"I have been listening to all the wolves in the hotel," I said.

___________________

*Alpha Connor *

Rogues in the hotel disguised as servers, or rather disguised as humans. Now that didn't seem fair. I looked at the photos of Eric Lockwood and his other son, Chase, talking to a short haired bearded man who was dressed like a mobster, with a huge ring on his finger. I wagered the man beside him was Second, his right hand man.

"What do you know about this Second?" I asked Diana as I pointed at him. She was the Alpha Omega amongst all of us. She knew all.

"He and One are close. When One set foot in the East Coast, he met Second. They lived together, worked together, and everntually conned people together. When they reached New Jersey, the wolf known as One, rose to be the leader of the rogues and his bestfriend became Second. Second has been consumed with his status as number two, although once upon a time, he also had ideals. Now, they intend to keep their hold of their "good fortune" in New York City in any way possible," Diana answered. "You take down Second, you hurt One. Right now, Third and Fifth are downstairs with him armed with sedatives and knives. The Christmas Ball won't start for another two hours. If you want to make your move now when everyone is busy in their rooms getting dressed, I will help you. You will need a disguise though, Alpha Connor."

"Uhm, no. You aren't going downstairs, Diana," Lucas said.

"Dad, they don't know who I am. They know you, who they assume Minerva killed, Aunt Athena, Ethan and of course, Alpha Connor.  And I can change my scent to be their most favorite thing in the world or I can make them sick. Onyx will help me. There are a group of seven rogues downstairs. If Second goes missing, One might just be wolf enough to gate crash the ball," Diana said.

"They assume Minerva killed Lucas?" I asked. "Ah, the wolves believe you're the missing Alpha Minerva killed." I playfully punched Lucas on his arm. "Yeah, Lucas, stay dead for now until the ball. It'll shock the hell out of all of them when they see you walk into the ballroom." I sighed and shook my head. "I don't want to use that elixir knowing a lot people had to die for that liquid, but if it means taking down the rogues, I'll do it. I can play their game."

"You don't have to, Alpha Connor. I will lure them to you. All you guys need to do is hide" Diana said.

"I should have taken more," Ethan sighed. "I only took several bottles from the boxes in Jonathan's wardrobe. I left the boxes for evidence. Anyway, I think it was a good thing because we saw the Chief put it in his car," Ethan said.

"That Chief isn't going to use all of it for evidence," Diana said which didn't surprise me. With Andrew in custody, elixir is worth so much. "The High Lord Wolf, on the other hand, is really angry the evidence Minerva had on the council isn't where it's supposed to be. He was going to use all this evidence to keep the High Councilmen and Elders on a tight leash."

"We can't trust the High Lord Wolf. He also has self-serving intentions. No offense, Otis," I told Otis.

"None taken, Alpha. I know the High Lord Wolf to be overly ambitious," he said with a smile. Otis knew these people personally, that was valuable right there.

"So, it's time to take out some rogues. Who's with me?" I asked.

"If Diana is going, I'm going," Michael said. He raised his finger at Diana who was about to protest. "One of my gifts is stealth. I am well-trained and can take out as many wolves without shifting. You need me, Diana. And I plan to take the place of Second as a server. I will just have to use this awful elixir to mask my scent."

"So, what disguise should I use?" I asked Diana.

"All you need to do is shave," she replied.

I smiled and looked at Matt. Goodbye beard.

__________________

*Diana*

So it was settled. Uncle Mike, Alpha Connor, Matt and the rest of Alpha Connor's men were coming with me. When it was an issue on rogues, Alpha Connor's pack members never backed down.

"Here, I got these from the High Lord Wolf." I handed Alpha Connor and Uncle Mike an access card. "It gives us access to everywhere in the hotel. Just be careful of the CCTV cameras
Don't look up. Always look down," I told them.

"Diana, here. Wear this." Uncle Mike handed me a baseball cap. He put his on and so did I. "Now our faces were covered." I looked at Alpha Connor and his men. They also had caps.

When we exited the suite, the Wolf Troops were not at their posts. They had gone to the floor below us to have dinner. We entered the elevator and rode it until the mezzanine floor. There was a service elevator there that would take us to the staff area and the unloading docks.

All I had to do was have the rogues go outside. That was easy. My scent would do that for me.

Most of the staff of the hotel were in the kitchen busy preparing for the ball. As for the rogues, they were inside a utility closet waiting for the ball to begin. They were busy getting dressed and I could hear Second barking orders at Fifth who just came after his inspection of the ground floor. 

The corridor that led outside was empty. Uncle Mike, Alpha Connor and his men walked casually to the exit while I was left to deal with the rogues.

Since they were busy, I opened the door a crack, stood near it and waited. It was warm in the corridor and I began to sweat.

"Can you smell that?" I heard Second ask. He made sniffing noises and coughed.

"What is that smell? It's so sweet, it's giving me a headache," another rogue said.

"I don't smell anything. Wait." I heard sniffing noises coming from Third. "It smells good. Like newly washed socks with fabric conditioner." I heard him inhale deeply. "But now my head is starting to hurt from the scent."

"Mine too. It's something inside this closet. We need to go outside and get some air." I heard a pause. "Second, you don't look too good." Second I guess was looking green.

"I don't feel so good too. Just like last night. You're right. Let's get some air." I heard them moving to open the door.

I hurriedly moved away and started walking to the exit as fast as I could.

"Hey you! Who the hell are you?!" I didn't turn to face them and just kept walking to the exit.

"The smell. It's coming from him! Get him!" I heard their footsteps quicken. I did the same. I pushed on the doors and walked outside as I felt a hand grab my shoulder.

"What the fuck are you doing here? Who the hell-" Second stopped in midsentence and bent down to vomit. Good thing I was able to get away from him before he vomited on me.

When he finished and was able to stand up again, Alpha Connor was infront of him. Uncle Mike had already twisted the necks of two rogues and was pulling them to the nearby dumpster to throw them in. The other four rogues, including Third and Fifth, were facedown on the ground, being held by Alpha Connor's men. Matt came from behind Second and twisted his arm behind his back. He yelled in pain.

"Why hello Second! I have been looking for you for eighteen years. Today is my lucky day!" Alpha Connor exclaimed, smiling.

"I barely didn't even recognize you without the pubic hair on your face, Alpha Connor," Second said before laughing. "You never learn do you? If you meddle into affairs that aren't your own, One will make sure that this time, you and your entire pack will be slaughtered."

Alpha Connor placed a hand on his heart. "Wait. Was that a threat?" Alpha Connor giggled like a girl. "Oh, I'm so touched you still have the heart to threaten me when I have you in my custody. Seems you don't care about your men." Alpha Connor gestured Matt to turn Second around to face his men. Uncle Mike, who was done tossing the two rogues in the dumpster, was now standing beside the struggling rogues who were down on their knees.

"Second, do you know my good friend Michael?" Alpha Connot asked. Second remained quiet. "No? He's Lucas Lockwood's Beta and he's going to show you how easy it is for your men to die. Say goodbye, Second," Alpha Connor instructed.

"FUCK YOU, CONNOR! YOU ARE GOING TO FUCKING PAY FOR THIS, YOU FUCKING COWARD!" Second yelled, spit flying out of his mouth.

Uncle Mike locked Fifth's head in his arms. "No, no, no please. I beg you. I will do anything. Please." Fifth began to cry. "Second, do something! ANYTHING!" That was the last thing Fifth said. It was over quickly. With just a sudden jerk of the head, Uncle Mike killed him. Alpha Connor's man, who was holding Fifth, let go and Fifth's dead body collapsed to the ground. Uncle Mike now went to Third.

"Go on. Do it. Kill me. One will never let our deaths go unavenged." Third raised his eyes to Alpha Connor. "Connor, see you in Hell." And just like Fifth, after Uncle Mike was done with him, he collapsed on the ground.

"Save me a spot, you bastard," Alpha Connor said to the dead body of Third. "You two, kill them. After you're done, dump their bodies in the dumpster," he instructed his men, then faced Second, waving his finger at him. "As for you, my little peanut, you will be coming with us. There are things I need you to do first before I kill you. If you try and do anything funny, Matt here will only be too happy to be the one who kills you. I prefer it be me, but dead is dead in my book." Second tried biting Alpha Connor's finger, but missed. Uncle Mike laughed at them and straightened his cap.

"Come on, it's time for all of you to go to a ball," Uncle Mike said. "If you guys need anything, just look for me and I will gladly assist you." He opened the door of the hotel and bowed at us dramatically.

"Ladies first."