Chapter 101 (Book 2: The Ascension of the Werebear King) Haut Conseiller Jean Luc

(Jean Luc POV)

The years have not been so kind to me. I study myself in the mirror, looking at the gray in my hair and the wrinkles that lined the leathery skin of my face.

I was getting myself tailored for a new suit for an event of La Mafia Française which will be held in a week's time. It took me decades to rise to the rank of Haut Conseiller, but I was still hoping for the day I will be called Caïd or The Boss.

Our current Caïd had more lives than a cat. Every assassination attempt done to him was either a miss or if it was an actual hit, he'd lick his wounds and live to tell the tale. The hits on the Caïd became more frequent when he reached the age of 50 and during each attempt, I would pray to the Moon Goddess for her to take him like she took my dear sister, Salome.

The Parrain or our vice leader was no different. Second in command and a bit more ruthless than the Caïd, he would challenge his attackers to face him for a one on one fight in the pits of the underground death match arena, boasting no one will ever be able to kill him. So far, he has been lucky, but luck can run out.

Each day as High Councillor was a day I was not The Boss and irritated the hell out of me. I was almost tempted to poison him like I did my poor trusting sister so, I could become Alpha of the pack.

I wonder what has become of her son. After my Beta left him with that old coot who liked playing with little boys, he ran away, never to be heard of again. Although, there was that one instance when my Beta said he thought he saw the boy living in an expensive villa near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. When I came to investigate, the villa was empty although I did catch the faint scent of his stink. I will never forget that horrid smell. His father's smell was like it before him.

Henri, I knew, was not a wolf. My sister always believed he was, but he never once shifted in our presence. When he came to live with us at our territory, he told us he used to live in the mountains with his parents until he had been taken prisoner by wolves and was forced to work in the mines. However, even slaves knew how to read and write...Henri, for some reason, knew neither. He was something else and those wolves who had imprisoned him probably decided to keep him in confinement knowing he was an actual menace to society.

During my visit to the expensive villa my nephew was seen last, I asked the people who lived in the vicinity regarding the identity of the owner. They shrugged their shoulders and said the true owners lived in London and the person who had been staying there, rented it. The tenant was a young french woman who smelled of heavy perfume. They never saw a boy with her though,  just her bodyguards.

I searched every nook and cranny in France looking for the young french woman and the boy. I had planned to snatch the boy and ask for ransom knowing whoever took him in, would pay a pretty penny for his sake. After the ransom paid, I would sell him and never see him again.

I never found them in France which made me move my search outside France within the cities of the neighboring countries here in Europe. Alas, I came out empty handed and angry I wasted so much time and energy searching for my nephew.

I, instead, focused on growing my criminal empire. I started small...forced sexual human trafficking of minors. The orphans of my pack were many and there were many clients to satisfy. At the beginning, it was a lucrative business and I chastised myself for not thinking of it sooner.

However, my clients got sick and tired of the orphans of my pack. They wanted variety, they wanted virgins, they wanted certain body types, skin color, they wanted more boys. They also complained the children were becoming too old. Apparently, a 9 year old child for them was way up there in years. So, I ordered my Beta to start kidnapping the vagabonds on the street. After a harsh scrubbing and delousing, they smelled of soap and their lice were gone, ready to service the next client willing to pay for them. And for a good while, the operation of my small business brought me in good money.

Yet, the amount that came from the children was not good enough for my men. They wanted more. As for my Beta, who did most of the work, complained I was giving them pennies. We decided to create sex dens around our area, first using the young she-wolves of our pack as sex slaves then kidnapping students and drugging them to become sex slaves as well.

Now, drugs were very hard to come by and cost a significant amount of money. I didn't want to pay for the drugs anymore so, my men and I, shifted into our wolf forms and brought down the men of the drug cartel in our area, claiming the drugs for ourselves.

This did not sit well with the reigning drug lord of the west region of France and as expected, took vengeance for the small cartel we exterminated. The shock on their faces when we shifted still makes me smile until this day. The drug lord, I ripped into tiny little pieces. Well, after I had him sign over all of his operations to me. I did promise him his family would live, I just didn't promise him he would.

From there, I became the head of all criminal activity here in the western region of France. The police could never bring me down. They have sent agents into my territory, time and again, who I have sent back...in a box.

Unfortunately, controlling the western region was not good enough for the French Mafia. I started from the bottom and had to work my way up to what I am now, High Councillor. It was high enough in the ranks, however, it was not high enough for me. I still wanted to control everything, yet that would be a painstakingly long process, if the present Caïd would not die.

My Beta suggested being Parrain first. I told him that position was reserved for the Caïd's most trusted right hand man. The Caïd, I knew, did not fully trust me, although the mafia itself trusted me enough to put me in the third highest position. Besides, I didn't want to become Parrain. I wanted to be The Boss.

Although, if I did become Parrain, I would always be in the presence of the Caïd. It could give me enough opportunity to poison him. Then again, I would have to kill the Parrain first, which was just too much effort for me. He was younger and much more suspicious of everyone, including me.

Fortunately for the Caïd and the Parrain, I was facing another small dilemma. The French Mafia had just appointed a new Conseiller who, to my dismay, has risen within the ranks in such a short time. He was big and menacing and brought money to the Caïd like money grew on trees. His size and appearance always made me nervous and I knew I would not be able to overthrow him by challenging him. I would have to be sneaky when dealing with him, however he was very sharp. He knew everything happening around him, even the cargo that I had planned to steal from him. He has never yet spoken of the incident, but I knew he was waiting for the perfect time to throw me under the bus.

One particular attribute that I hate most about this new councillor is the fact that he, too, is a wolf. His human form already scared me. There is no doubt his wolf form is even scarier. My Beta cowered in his presence, something I had not seen throughout all our years together.

This new councillor had a young Beta and was a stark contrast to the master he served. A very handsome fellow who was called by the alias Fang. The Caïd first thought he may be police, he is a very dashing young man after all. So, one night the Parrain lured Fang into the pits of the underground death match arena and made a wager against Fang, he would not be able to get out alive. It was a costly mistake. Fang killed two of the Parrain's best fighters. That night Fang had gained the respect of the Caïd, but, in turn, gained the ire of the Parrain.

My phone starts ringing. It was one of my men keeping an eye of the villa of the new councillor. I answer wanting to know what information he has gathered watching them

"Haut Consieller, a beautiful woman has arrived at the villa." He's updating me on a whore?

"And so? Whores are many. This is not important. Call me when you have something to say which is useful."

"Sire, this woman is not a whore. The men manning the compound, they bowed to her when she arrived, showing their necks in submission."

"Is it possible she is the new Conseiller's mate?" I ask.

"I do not think so, Sire. The new Conseiller bowed to her as well. The only one who did not bow was the young Beta. She called him... brother." Now this was useful information. The young Beta had a beautiful sister. One I could kidnap if ever I had the need to do so.

"Follow her. I want to know where she lives." I hang up the phone and sneer at my reflection in the mirror.

If she is as beautiful as her brother, she can become my whore.