Chapter Two #2
“I can’t leave the pack, not right now. We lost people, and we’re hurting.”
Harmon cleared his throat. There was something no one here seemed to have thought of, but he had, maybe because he was a coven leader. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to speaking up, but he felt like he didn’t have a choice.
“Harmon?” Kieran asked.
“What about the prisoners?”
Taylor’s eyes widened. Clearly, he’d forgotten about them, too, even though he’d been locked in a cell next to them.
All around the room, the reactions were pretty much similar.
Harmon didn’t blame these people for not thinking about the prisoners.
After all, they’d left the pack, and it hadn’t been amicable.
Kieran nodded. “That’s also something to think of. We can’t leave them with the dragons, but I’m not sure I want them back with the pack.”
“That’s understandable considering what happened.
I agree that you can’t leave them with the dragons, though, which means someone needs to speak up for them.
It would probably be better to send someone there to ensure that they’re still alive and free them.
They don’t have to come here, but they can’t stay in those cells. ”
Kieran slowly nodded. “That might be a good idea.”
“What?”
“Sending someone there. That way, we can find out what’s going on.”
“They’re not going to welcome us with open arms, though.”
Kieran reached for something on his desk. Herman frowned when he saw it was a phone because he didn’t understand why Kieran would need one right now. He should have known that Kieran was way ahead of him and everyone else in the room.
“They might not want us there, but they won’t have a choice letting us in.” He unlocked the phone and scrolled for a bit. Eventually, he shrugged and tapped the screen a few times.
The sound of the phone ringing startled Harmon. Who was Kieran calling on speaker?
“Who is this?” a man answered.
“My name is Kieran, and I’m the alpha of the wolf pack your clan attacked a few days ago.”
The man was silent for so long that Harmon wondered if he’d put down the phone. Harmon might have in his place. Why would he want to talk to Kieran of all people?
“What do you want?” the man eventually asked.
“You have wolf shifters in your cells. I want them back.”
“Martin—”
“Is dead. He’s not coming back, and neither is your beta. Someone else will have to make decisions for them.”
The man snorted. “Yeah, it’s not going to be me.”
“I don’t care who it’ll be. You lost. If you don’t want us to destroy your clan, something has to change. You won’t be allowed to continue behaving the way you did when Martin was leading you. You hurt enough people, including my pack, but that’s over now. I want to talk to your current leader.”
“Not possible. We don’t have a current leader. It’s only been a few days.”
“Who’s making the decisions, then?”
“No one. Everyone’s fighting and threatening each other.”
That didn’t sound good. The clan was out of control, which could make it even more dangerous than it had been when Martin had led it. At least they’d known what to expect from Martin. They had no idea what to expect from the clan now that their leader was gone.
Rex leaned closer, temporarily distracting Harmon. “I’m not a leader, but that’s not good, right?”
“Well, it might cause the clan to self-implode. If enough people feel that they should be the next leader and start fighting, there might not be much for us to do except wait. Of course, the infighting might also make them dangerous to us and everyone else. They’re dragon shifters.
They fight with wings, claws, and fangs.
That’s not good for anyone they might involve.
If they decide to take the fight to town, everyone will be in trouble. ”
Rex nodded. “So we have to stop them.”
“Which might be just as dangerous, depending on how they react. Our luck right now is that they don’t have a leader.
Their efforts will be scattered if they even manage to set up anything.
It doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous, just not as dangerous as they would be if they had someone giving orders and directing them. ”
“Well, I need to talk to someone,” Kieran declared.
“Yeah, you’re not the only one,” the man said.
Kieran pinched the bridge of his nose. “If no one is making any decision right now, what’s happening with the clan?”
Harmon wasn’t sure the man who’d answered would give Kieran any details. He seemed to be as informed as they were, which was not at all.
“People are fighting.”
“And who calms things down when it’s needed?”
The man paused. “Jacob.”
“Then I want to talk to Jacob.”
“Okay. Wait.”
Kieran rolled his eyes, but he did as asked and waited. There was nothing else any of them could do.
“What do you think Kieran will do with the prisoners?” Rex asked.
“Well, you know him better than I do. What do you think he’ll do with them?”
“He’s softhearted.” Rex glanced at Kieran, who was talking with his partner, Robin. He’d cupped a hand around Robin’s elbow and was leaning over him. “He’ll probably let them back in.”
“Even though they betrayed him?” Harmon had heard stories, mostly from Merrick. If it was up to Merrick, all of those wolves would stay in the cells they were in. They’d betrayed the pack, which meant they didn’t deserve a second chance.
Thankfully, Kieran was nothing like Merrick.
Harmon couldn’t say if allowing the people who betrayed the pack back in was a good idea, but if he was in Kieran’s place, he was pretty sure he would do the same.
He’d keep an eye on the traitors and would make sure they knew they weren’t trusted, but he wouldn’t abandon anyone in a cell, not even people who’d done what they’d done.
Hopefully, they’d seen the errors of their ways and would never betray Kieran and their pack again.
If they did, well. They wouldn’t get any more support from Kieran.
“Hello?” a new man’s voice said on the other end of the phone.
Kieran turned his attention back to the call. “My name is Kieran Gilson. I’m the alpha of the Gilson pack and the man who defeated your alpha and beta. We need to talk.”
* * * *
THE SILENCE COMING from the phone was deafening.
Rex wasn’t surprised that Kieran had shocked Jacob.
The dragon wouldn’t have expected Kieran to call or reach out in any way.
If Rex had to guess, Jacob had thought that if Kieran wanted anything to do with the clan, he’d attack them the way Martin had attacked the pack.
Rex had seen this before. For people used to living with the kind of leader Martin had been, it was hard to understand that not everyone was like that.
Most people weren’t. Alphas didn’t order their people to attack a mall full of people.
They didn’t keep people prisoner in their cells or torture their clan members.
Rex really hoped that the clan would have a better alpha this time around. He didn’t know if it would be Jacob or someone else, and he didn’t care as long as they didn’t attack anyone.
“What do you want?” Jacob asked.
Kieran frowned. “Am I talking to Jacob?”
“How do you know my name?”
“The man who answered the phone told me that you were the person in charge now that Martin isn’t in the picture anymore.”
“I wouldn’t say that I’m in charge. I try, but I’m not a leader.”
“But you’re the closest thing the clan has to a leader right now.”
Jacob hesitated again. “Maybe I am. What is it to you?”
“What is it to me? Your clan attacked my pack. If your leader had won, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. None of my people would. Why do you think I want to know who’s leading the clan now?”
That didn’t sound like Kieran, but Rex understood. The clan had put Kieran’s people in danger, and they might do it again. Kieran needed to ensure that they wouldn’t, and he wouldn’t do that by being nice.
“Look, I didn’t give the order to attack your pack,” Jacob said. “I wasn’t even there during the attack. You can’t blame me for the decisions Martin made.”
“I don’t, but I can blame you and your clan for not standing up to Martin.”
“You can blame me for whatever you want. It’s not going to change the fact that I couldn’t have done anything even if I’d tried. Now, did you have something to tell me?”
“I know you still have wolf shifters in your cells.”
“We do. If you want them, be my guest. I have enough to deal with right now that I’ll be happy to get rid of them.”
“I’ll send people to pick them up.”
“Good.”
“Those people will stay with you and your clan for a while.”
That gave Jacob pause. To be fair, it gave everyone in the room pause. Kieran hadn’t mentioned that earlier.
“What do you mean?” Jacob asked.
“Your clan has been defeated. You don’t have a leader or a second-in-command. That doesn’t mean you’re not dangerous. It doesn’t mean you won’t become dangerous again in the future. To ensure that my people are safe, I want to be involved in the choosing of your next leader.”
“Because you want someone you know won’t attack you.”
“Because I want someone who will be a good leader. You can’t tell me that you agreed with Martin’s decisions over the years.
Never mind my pack—he forced you and your clan to kill countless people and to create and deal drugs.
Is that what you want to continue being?
His death gives you the opportunity to get the clan out of the situation he created.
My people and I are willing to help if it means that the pack isn’t in danger anymore.
You can refuse, but remember that right now, we’re stronger than you. ”
Kieran was being forceful, which wasn’t like him, but it was the right thing to do. Still, Rex noticed several people glancing at each other as they listened to the alpha. They’d probably have questions once the call was over. Rex knew he did.
“We don’t have a choice, do we?” Jacob asked. He sounded bitter.