In The Beginning, Chapter 124
Daniel POV
I slammed the door to my office shut, outraged with Lander, knowing I had to tell them something, and knowing I couldn’t with so many warriors close by, able to hear everything we said. I walked to my desk, grabbed the knife and the contract we had already agreed upon from a draw, placing them both on the desk in front of the men. Kasa, who was sat in my chair, using the desktop and his laptop to run full diagnostics of Appletree’s system, shared a sceptical look with Lander but remained silent. Lander shot me a disbelieving look but dropped it when my eyes went to the door. He sighed but held out his hand for the blade. I sliced my left arm and handed it to him, he did the same, tossing the sheathed blade to Kasa before clasping my right hand tightly with his.
“I swear on the blood of my ancestors, my descendants and I will uphold the terms agreed upon in our contract.” We spoke together, our blood dripped down our arms onto our linked hands, sealing our vow. Kasa handed us each a towel to clean up the blood, as we signed the contracts, swapping copies, Kasa signed as our witness, every word having been argued over by our lawyers. I had already sent my notary to her mate’s pack; I had negotiated with Lyall to take Louisa and James Michaels, in the event of my death.
“Lander? Kasa?” I tested the new link.
“Yeah.” Landers replied, sounding annoyed.
“What is happening exactly?” Kasa enquired, picking up on the animosity.
“A lot that is sensitive and goes no further than the three of us! Understood?” I growled, barely containing my wolf. “Charlie was not at fault for this...” I indicated to myself, the weight loss, and lack of sleep obviously noticed by my friends. “Hermes daughter, the mother of all succubae, came to my office to seduce me, she released some kind of pheromone, she smelled like Charlie, she looked like Charlie! But it wasn’t and she... the real Charlie walked in, and we are only just turning a corner so don’t you fucking dare attack her like that again!” I seethed, squaring up to Lander, fully prepared to take a fist to the face. I wish someone would, I thought as I waited for their reactions. Lander stepped back; his shock written all over his face. “Which brings me to an important point, I think we should position our best marksmen, with their sights on the meadow.” I pulled out a small topographical map, spreading it on the desk between us. “If we have men, here.” I pointed to the attic of the barn, the window giving clear line of sight into the meadow. “Here.” I indicated a ridge off of the other side of the house to the barn, the view wasn’t as good, due to the apple tree planted at the end of the meadow, but they could pick off anything that came out of the treeline. “And here.” I pointed to the end of the meadow, where there was a divot that could be used like a foxhole, enabling them of a clear view of the whole meadow. “I think they can take out any succubae before they convince us all they’re our mates.” I ended bitterly. Kasa pat my shoulder sympathetically, unsure of what to say. “I nearly lost her.” I admitted, really feeling the fatigue for the first time.
“I feel like that all day every day.” Lander replied, taking a seat, and looking around expectantly. “You holding out on us or what? If we are gonna talk about our feelings and shit, you better produce some scotch!” He demanded in mock outrage. And I felt better and worse, a part of me wanted them to punish me, punishing myself wasn’t working, but I still couldn’t stop. Charlie was too kind, no matter how much I provoked her, she’d refused to blame me, she had said some unkind things, but she never blamed me. Even the part she struggled with most, was understanding how I could be fooled by that creature? She didn’t blame me for being fooled, she was disappointed and hurt I didn’t see the truth, and I couldn’t blame her.
“Before I agree to show you where I keep my booze, there’s more we need to discuss.” I explained. “I contacted the closest packs to us from the surrounding states... if things don’t go our way... I have made arrangements for every outcome. If all three of us go down, your mates will be notified immediately by my people, who will start the evacuation, and if the Alphas hold up their end of the bargain, they will flood our state with warriors. I intend to hold the line here. If we can’t stop them, we have to at least show we could have won with improved numbers. It’s the only way the other states have a shot, but we need to make the enemy bleed, it’s the only way to convince the other packs to join together!” I emphasised, I didn’t want to consider losing, but it was about more than me, if anyone could understand that it was two fellow Alphas, wouldn’t they? Kasa let out a long breath.
“What are the terms for our packs?” He asked, at least trying to understand where I was coming from, and how I could make such an important decision alone.
“They will be treated as guests by the packs until the warriors can reclaim our state, at which time every pack member will be given the choice to return or stay with the pack that housed them. In return the Alphas, along with Maria, Astrid and Mia will create a board to oversee all our shared business interests, and Appletree, each receiving an equal portion of the profits until all of the heirs claim their titles as Alpha. Your private family businesses will be handled however you have decided to specify in your wills. The combined revenue from everything else has been estimated to be in the millions per year, they were very eager to sign the deal.” I explained.
“Can they outvote Astrid? Considering we have no heir, there could be contention for my title.” Kasa enquired, beginning to see the wisdom to my plan.
“Maria is to be chairperson, it would take a two thirds majority to overrule her, which they would not be able to get if Mia and Astrid vote with her. Johnson will vote with Lang, whose daughter was saved by Maria, Parker and Harkin detest each other, so you have another vote there. They'll be fine.” I reassured him, the women’s fate was tied together by us, whether they wanted it or not, they were smart enough to run rings around the other Alphas.
“What about Leif?” Lander asked finally.
“He will receive his seat when he becomes Alpha, Mia will oversee his integration, remaining on the board as an adviser, without a vote until she and Leif agree it’s time. Maria is the only one that can approve the removal of a member. If the removal is forced, it must be unanimous to pass, I have given them every legal protection. And the Alphas are men of honour, they can appreciate a good deal if nothing else, and it is a good deal.” I insisted.
“Is Vogel on the board?” Kasa asked. “Or Lyall?”
“Johnson, Lang, Parker, (who we heard request Alpha Evanston of Dogwood to look into his neighbour), Bures, Harkin, Stevens, Burgess and Stone. All have promised warriors and aid, a portion of which is on its way, will it get here in time is the question. Either way, they are going to be our last line of defence. We need this battle to get the attention of Zeus, draw him out, I’m sick of waiting for them to attack.” I growled, Kasa sighed deeply, having nothing to say to the contrary, he pulled a bottle of blue label out of the bag by his feet. Lander smiled, and grabbed three glasses from the set beside him, placing them on top of the map.
“Just let me get one in me before you tell me what half-baked, bat-shit-crazy, suicide fucking mission you obviously had planned.” Lander quipped as Kasa poured us a healthy dose.
“To dying a martyr... apparently.” Kasa muttered, clinking our glasses as he took his own, downing it in one before pouring himself another without waiting for us.
“I have done everything I can to keep them safe.” I tried to reassure him privately when he downed his second drink as quickly as the first.
“Hyacinth?” He asked in response.
“She meant well.” I chuckled.
“I need to see my pup before I die!” He pleaded with me, the pain in his eyes obvious, though Lander was busy pouring himself another and oblivious thus far.
“Plan for the worst.” I replied sadly.
“Maria is chairperson? Not Charlie?” He asked knowingly.
“I’ve planned for the very worst.” I replied, he froze as he understood my implication, patting my back sympathetically again as words failed him completely.
“Okay, I’m ready, what’s this plan to ‘make the enemy bleed’?” He mocked, I took a deep breath, leaning over the map again.
“Theia believes they will wait, they know we are expecting an attack, they want to weaken us by drawing it out, and I agree. They know they’ve lost the element of surprise, I would wait a couple of days, make sure my men were in peak physical condition... This has the added bonus of keeping us on notice, our men worn down by constant patrols, unable to rest, weakening them, and with the human authorities suspicious of what happened at Appletree, they will come at night.” I explained.
“Why?” Lander asked, throwing me.
“Why do I think they will attack at night?” I asked confused, he nodded his face giving away nothing. “Because Hermes was the one that didn’t care about revealing our existence to the world, he’s dead, the vampires have kept to themselves for centuries... I gotta think there’s a plan here, Zeus isn’t going to let the humans find out about us until it’s too late to stop him, and we aren’t there yet.” I explained, both Alphas moved closer, implying there was reason to my thinking, so with a sigh, I pushed forward.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
