CHAPTER 17
Gauge tried to touch at Lena’s thoughts as she walked off with the alpha’s mate but came up against a wall. He could have broken through if he’d wanted but decided to let Lena have her privacy. She was becoming far too attached to him.
“Pops, my grandfather, is kinda the unofficial leader of the elders,” Raif said, having no idea Gauge’s thoughts were still on Lena.
“Why isn’t your grandfather the alpha of this pack?” Teo asked.
“Once he matured, my father ended up being stronger than him. Our people were growing tired of Pops’ old-fashioned ways anyway.
Normally an alpha would need to be challenged for the right to rule, but my father already had most of the pack standing behind him.
Pops didn’t argue much when they came together to ask him to step down.
I guess living on Earth, where voting on leadership is the norm, helped us.
We had to agree to form a sort of council to avoid an actual physical fight.
That’s where the elders come in. A royal pain in my side most of the time. ”
“What happened to your father?” Teo asked.
“Both my parents were killed in a car accident. Rule fell to me after that.”
“Your grandfather didn’t try to take back control for himself?” Gauge asked.
“No. He knew better. I inherited my father’s alpha power, plus I had the backing of most of our people. Pops and the other elders left well enough alone. But it doesn’t mean they can’t be pushy about their opinions on how things should be run. You’ll see for yourself when you meet them.”
“I heard your parents found a halfbreed vampire infant and raised her as their own. Is this true?” Teo asked.
“Yes. My sister’s name is Chloe.”
“Where is she?” Gauge asked, surprised their own council hadn’t demanded she be returned to Laizahlia.
Raif sighed, grimacing. “Long story. Remind me to tell you sometime. Chloe is living with another pack on the east coast.”
“Did she go willingly?” Teo asked.
“Yes, but we hope to get her back home soon. Haven thinks she might be Jax’s fated mate. Or I guess you call them an eillelé. Haven’s hoping Jax will come for her when he recovers from his ordeal with the Djinn and the rogue Hunter.”
“Interesting,” Gauge sent to Teo telepathically. “Perhaps this is the real reason why Jax chose to remain on the ship. He is trying to avoid coming face to face with his eillelé.”
“And possibly his ex-tracker,” Teo replied. “At least he isn’t denying the female is his mate. Not like someone else I know.”
Gauge chose to ignore his tracker, growing tired of this argument. Lena could not be his mate. It simply wasn’t possible.
“Tell me about the serpents of this world,” Gauge asked Raif.
“Um, you might be better off asking Aeson. I honestly didn’t even know we had dragon shifters here until just recently. I’ll take you to meet Aeson as soon as we finish speaking with the elders.”
“Thank you.”
“I know what you’re thinking, Gauge,” Teo sent. “You think to try to send Lena to them instead of returning her to Raiden.”
“It might be the best answer for her,” Gauge replied.
“She is not comfortable on Raiden. She would not have to worry about being claimed by a Raiden warrior, or more specifically, the insane prince. Even if Ngozi found a way to escape the serpents holding him prisoner, he could not find his way here. Lena would be safe on Earth, and she could find a suitable young serpent male to mate with.”
“And what about you, Gauge? Are you not considered a suitable male of worth? That swelling beneath your jaw is becoming worse by the day. How long do you have if you don’t claim a mate?”
“I am not important. I have lived a long life, Teo. If this is the end for me, I can accept that. You need to drop this nonsense about a mate, especially Lena. She would regret tying her life to one like me.”
“I won’t. You’re acting like a stubborn idiot, Gauge.
You’re wrong about Lena. If she is willing, and I’m sure she will be, you need to try to claim her.
You may not be able to the Laizahlian way, but you can create a Raiden mate bond through the shaprata that I know is maturing beneath your tongue. ”
“Okay, guys, get ready to meet the assholes,” Raif murmured as they walked up to a group of elder cougar shifters, completely oblivious to the conversation going on between him and Teo.
By their hostile looks, Gauge could see this wasn’t going to be a pleasant introduction.
He actually looked forward to sparring with them.
Anything was preferable to arguing with Teo about Lena.
There were six males here, all appearing middle-aged by human standards, though he knew they were probably hundreds of years old.
Two of them stepped away from the other four as they walked up.
“Pops, Tom, this is Gauge and his tracker Teo,” Raif said.
“They are here representing the Laizahlian Council. Gauge, Teo, these are two of our elders. This is my grandfather. Everyone calls him Pops. The other one is Tom.” Raif didn’t bother to introduce anyone else.
It was obvious these two were their chosen spokesmen.
Gauge could see the resemblance between Raif and his grandfather.
They were both about six feet tall with brown eyes, though Raif carried quite a bit more muscle.
The elder alpha also had short, thinning blond hair with deeper lines around his eyes and mouth.
The one called Tom had eyes more of a hazel color than brown or gold.
His eyes were cold, hostile. They both wore the denim pants that appeared to be popular on this world and plaid shirts.
Gauge crossed his fist over his chest and offered the two elders a slight bow without lowering his eyes. Teo did the same, though his tracker remained tense beside him, having also picked up on the hostile vibes.
“We don’t need your help,” Pops snapped. “Your kind have always left us alone in the past. We would appreciate it if you did the same now. You don’t belong here. You need to go back to your own world.”
Gauge offered them a slight smile, though he knew it wouldn’t quite reach his eyes.
He could see the two elders fight not to take a step back.
“You may not want our help, but it doesn’t change the fact that you will need it.
You are lucky your alpha has more common sense.
If we left you to your own defenses, the Djinn would quickly destroy what you have built for yourselves here.
You have no clue the dangers they represent to this world. ”
“And you do?” Tom snarled. “I hardly think so.”
“As a matter of fact, I do. I was here three thousand years ago when Djinn ruled this world. I know firsthand the damage they can do, and what they will do again if given half a chance. You will not be protected here in your settlement. If you want to survive, you have no choice but to join with us.”
“Prove it,” Pops said, pressing his lips tight together. “How do we know what you say is the truth? You could be filling my grandson’s head full of shit for all we know. And he is just young and stupid enough to soak it all up.”
“Watch your tone, Pops,” Raif said. “I may be young and stupid in your eyes, but I’m still the alpha here. You will show respect.” Raif turned to face Gauge, his jaws clenched. “I apologize for my elders. They have no right to speak to you this way.”
Gauge offered the young cat one nod, then turned his attention back to the elders.
“How would you like me to prove it? Perhaps you want a demonstration of what true power is.” When they didn’t answer, he shrugged.
“A Djinn is an ancient species. Like me, they have lived for thousands of years. During those years their powers have continued to grow, much like my own. One on one, an ancient Hunter and a Djinn are considered equals.” Gauge glanced around at the people who were watching from a distance.
He could feel the tension building in the air.
“I am here alone with my tracker, yet there is nothing you could do to stop me if I chose to attack. What you elders fail to realize is that you are lucky we Laizahlian consider the shifters of this world our allies. We are not here to challenge or rule over you, but we will need your cooperation if we want to defeat the Djinn.”
“Then why expose us to humans?” Tom snarled. “We should have been given a say. This is our world, not yours.”
“No, elder. This world belongs to humans. Shifters are the guests. Now this world is at risk because of Djinn. If you want to continue living here in peace, you must join forces with humans to fight the Djinn. All shifters must join in this battle, not just cougars.”
“I’ve lived in these mountains for the last five hundred years and I’ve never seen any sign of these mysterious Djinn you speak of,” Pops said. “How do we know what you say is true? How do we know they even exist?”
“You have a young serpent living with you. Aeson has already fought beside two of our Hunters against Djinn. Did you even bother to speak with him?”
“No, they didn’t,” Raif answered for him. “I tried to get them to meet with Aeson, but of course they refused.”
“Why?” Gauge asked. He began to probe gently at the mind of Raif’s grandfather, suspecting he would be the more reasonable of the two. The other one, Tom, was filled with hate and rage.
“He is not one of us,” Pops replied, though he looked a bit uncomfortable now. “How can we know what the boy says is true?”
“What purpose would it serve him to lie?” Teo asked.
Because all outsiders lie, Pops thought, not realizing Gauge was listening in.
We don’t want your kind here. Why can’t my idiot grandson understand that?
He’s only weakening our pack by allowing outsiders to come in and mess with our minds.
Look what the little bastard already did, marrying a damn wolf!
Now he brings in bloodsuckers and dragons.
Maybe we’d be better off dealing with Djinn.
“You think we mean to rule over you?” Gauge asked.