Chapter 114 Outsmart

(Jean Luc POV)

I arrived in Paris ahead of schedule. The meeting was set for tonight, but I had many things to put into order. The most important item on my agenda was to make myself the new Caïd, but in order to achieve that, I had to put all my other plans in motion.

My informant had told me the Caïd had emptied all his bank accounts as well as his safety deposit boxes of his valuables. The same was done by the Parrain a few days before. Evidently, they were on the run. This only means the position of Caïd is vacant. If an election were to happen tonight, all I needed to do, was coerce all the other members of the mafia. Easy. I had my army of wolves to do that.

Poor Maximus. Once I become the boss, I will strip him of his temporary title and take over his operations. Then I will kill him and his little Beta, Fang. Then, everything will be mine, even Celeste.

But first, I had to make them vulnerable and unfortunately, I would have to use Celeste to get what I wanted. She will not like it, but I will make it up to her for as long as I live, once she becomes my Luna.

She had called me to say she was in Paris and after hearing her brother was not with her, I invited her to lunch. She had said her brother and Maximus were still in the South of France making sure a shipment proceeds out to sea on schedule. I wasn't informed they were there. I have to make sure my spies will be punished for their incompetence.

"Are the men ready?" I ask my Beta. He nodded his head.

"Alpha, are you sure you want to kidnap Mademoiselle Celeste? Maximus was once Beta to the Rogue Lord. He will kill us." My Beta has always been scared of Maximus. It was really discouraging.

"No he won't. He cares for Celeste. I have seen it. Once I take everything from him, I will make Celeste my Luna and I will make sure she will be happy leading by my side."

"And Fang? If you kill her brother, she will never forgive you. A beautiful woman like she can make a man beg."

"Then I will either make her my slave or throw her to the wolves to have their way with her." My Beta shakes his head. Obviously he does not agree with me.

"And if Fang escapes death? He will surely avenge his sister even if you make her your Luna." What an imbecile. He will not escape death. I will personally kill him. I will use wolfsbane to incapacitate both him and Maximus, then I will rip their heads from their bodies.

"Just stick to the plan. Place the men on standby. When I know the venue of the meeting, your men will go there and take over the guards of the Caïd. Then, we will scare all the members present to ensure my position as Caïd of the French Mafia. Have you made my reservations for lunch?"

"Oui, Alpha. Table for two at your favorite restsurant," he confirms.

"And what about the search for Jacques? I asked for a facial composite. Where is it?" My nephew was around here somewhere. I needed to find him before he finds his way to the pack to regain his birthright.

"The Alpha from the neighboring pack said he could not give it because he was busy trying to find the money you want him to pay even when his operations are temporarily closed."

"What?!" Merde! He thinks he can outsmart me, eh?

"He said if you knock off a week, he'll send you the picture of the facial composite sketch of your nephew."

"A week? Fine. Tell him he better give me something worth the week of money if not, I will pay him a visit and he will not like what I will do to him." I was surrounded by wolves who were idiots. Once he gives me the sketch, I will just say it's rubbish and make that Alpha twice what he owes me. Never double cross a double crosser.

My accountant had arrived on schedule. He had already made an appointment with the bank and will be meeting the new VP to make sure the money will be laundered accordingly. I also instructed him to retrieve the contents of a safety deposit box. It had an old photograph of Jacques and some clothes I had placed in plastic which was vacuum sealed to retain the scent of the clothes. If it is true he is here, I will be able to find him. His stink was like the old man I had kidnapped. The old man' eyes did not have the certain translucency of Jacques, but, all the same, the color grey was a rare eye color. I assumed he was distant relative.

The old man admitted he was a werebear, an old enemy of my pack. I kept him alive because he knew of the stories of the past, particularly the one with the golden eyes. I had brought him to the dark witch so she could extract everything he knew. Too bad, her store had burned down to the ground and if my assumptions are correct, Jacques has the old man.

My ancestors had led the extermination of their kind due to a prophecy that a bear which stood on two legs would rule dominion over bear and wolves alike. My ancestors did not want to be dominated by the bears, a sentiment shared by the werecoyotes. They created a rebellion against the leaders of the wolves who had kept an alliance with the werebears. These leaders were said to have golden eyes and lead the wolves for such a long time. Fortunately for my ancestors, the Moon Goddess shifted territories and those wolf leaders diappeared and could no longer come to aid the bears.

One by one, they killed the bears. The bears retreated into the mountains of the Alps thinking my ancestors were cowards and would not risk their lives trekking through the dangerous terrain of the mountains. They were wrong. My ancestors lingered in the mountains and when they chanced upon a bear who had wandered off, they would kill it. However, they could not find the community of the bears.

My ancestors were cunning. They did everything in their power to lure the bears out. For a time, they even called for peace. But when news of a yellow diamond ring which once belonged to the wolves was said to be in the possession of the bears, the wolves and the coyotes went back to the mountains to search for that one ring. It was all a lie. There was no ring. Although, there was a trail of dead werebears left behind due to that so-called witch hunt.

I had all of those living in that village, the one where I found the old man, killed. My men had said they were sure the villagers were human, but I couldn't rely on their judgement. So to appease my doubts on whether or not the villagers were werebears, I had all of them massacred. It was much easier that way.

Damn my sister. She had mated with a werebear. All the guilt I had for killing her disappeared once I discovered Henri's true nature. He was a werebear and Jacques, a hybrid. Jacques. There is no space in this world for an abomination such as that.

After meeting with my accountant, it was time to meet Celeste. With Fang and Maximus in southern France, her only companion would be her driver slash bodyguard named Alex. He will be easy to subdue. One hit on the head and he will be unconscious. If he fights back, well, we'll kill him.

I could already smell her by the door of the restaurant. The scent of a bouquet of fully bloomed long stem red roses. It was heavenly.

She was seated at a table at the center of the restaurant, the sun forming a halo on the top of her head. She was wearing a sleeveless floral printed maxi dress that was tied with a small bow at her waist. Her beautiful long hair cascaded on her shoulders and arms in soft curls. Her feet in dainty sandals. When she saw me, she stood up, took my hands in hers and kissed me on both cheeks. Her face was lit up in wide smile showing her white teeth, she looked so happy to see me. I felt my heart leap from my chest. For a second there, I wanted to change my mind and just leave her out of my business. But I needed her. I needed to bring Maximus and Fang to their knees.

"I apologize, Celeste. I hope I did not keep you waiting." I tell her. I help her with her chair and seat myself opposite of her.

"I just arrived a moment ago." She smiled sweetly. "I see you have many men with you. Is there a problem?"

"Ah no. Just extra security." She raises her eyebrows at me, concern in her eyes. I must have scared her. "What I meant security for us. I am with a beautiful woman. I do not want anything to happen to you." She laughs.

"Nothing will happen to me unless you will it." I let out a nervous laugh after hearing her statement. She spoke the truth. I fidgeted with the utensils on the table, trying to find something clever to say.

"Let us order. I am famished." Celeste opens her menu.

"You must try their Coq au Vin. It is their specialty." She nods her head. "How about if I order for you. This is one of my favorite restaurants in the city of Paris."

"Sure. Surprise me." Celeste closes her menu and watches me intently as I browse through the restaurant's menu.

I order all my favorite dishes for her and a bottle of their best champagne. I had my star chemist provide me with the drug to sedate Celeste. My men use it as well on the women they find at the night clubs. This makes abducting the women so much easier and provides me a constant turnover of fresh meat in my human trafficking ring.

When she goes to the restroom, I will add the powder to her drink.

"Where is your bodyguard, Alex?" I ask her.

"At the bank." She pointed at the building of Société Agricole which was across the street.

"He has business there?" Now would be the best opportunity to take her. Her bodyguard was away. But she will definitely put up a fight and cause a scene. I will just stick to the plan.

"You may say that. There are a few properties that I have had my eye on. I heard the owners are selling." Her eyes twinkle mischievously.

"You are a rich woman. What is your net worth?" She looked at me stunned I could be so straightforward.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? Usually it is us women who are pegged as gold diggers." She laughs. "Let's just say, I can buy the things that I want without looking at the price tag. Same goes for you of course?" The waiter places our glasses in front of us and pours the champagne.

"I need to go to the washroom. I prefer to wash my hands before I eat. I will only be a moment." She stands up and walks away.

I take the small pouch of powdered Rohypnol and place a small amount in her glass. I swirl it until all of it dissolves and place it back.

My phone suddenly rings. Merde! Who could this be?  I take my phone from my pocket and look to see who is calling...Maximus. Celeste comes back and I raise my finger asking for one moment as I answer the call. She nods her head and I step away from the table to talk to Maximus.

"What is it Maximus? I am busy." I glance at Celeste who was looking at the bottle of Champagne.

"I am flying to Paris. The venue for the meeting is in that area. You will be going to the meeting, yes?"

"Of course. I am already here in Paris. I am just waiting for the location." I tell him impatiently.

"It is at the Caïd's hotel. The one with the penthouse bar. I hope to see you there tonight." He hangs up. I motion to my Beta and I tell him the location. He nods his head and turns to the men to give them their orders. My men leave while my Beta stays behind to help me transport Celeste when she falls asleep.

"I apologize again, Celeste. How about a toast?" I raise my glass to her and so does she. "To new beginnings."

"To new beginnings, Jean Luc." To my utter delight, she drinks all the contents of her glass. I down my glass of champagne too, excited everything was falling into my lap.

The waiter comes and fills our glasses. Now I just had to wait for Celeste to feel sleepy.

Our soup comes and she happily starts eating. She started talking about how wonderful it would be to settle down and have a family. I agreed with her, I wanted that also. I raised my spoon to start eating my soup when I felt my face go numb. I tried to speak, but the words would not form. I glance around the restaurant looking for my Beta, but he was no where to be found. I started to panic. This can not be happening. Fighting the wooziness I was already experiencing, I take my glass of champagne and I notice particles of the powder on the rim of my glass. I look to Celeste, stunned. She had her glass raised in her hand, a sinister grin on her sweet lips.

"I dislike it when people try to drug me. But you know what I dislike even more, Jean Luc?  When someone thinks they can outsmart me."

She was the last thing I see and hear before I pass out.