A Council of Betrayal (8 page)

The sound of crying had me tilting my head,
confused. “Please don’t kill me,” whispered a female voice. My gaze
jerked up. I should let the murder happen, it would mean only one
person I had to kill, but I didn’t. Flinging the door open, I
pulled the heavyset man off of her and out onto the ground.

The woman screamed. “What the hell?” the man
asked, taking in my bloodied and soot covered exterior. I wasted no
time snapping his neck. He was only human, after all.

I turned to the woman, who was pulling her
clothing on. She looked at me with wary gray eyes. “What do you
want?”

“The truck,” I replied calmly.

“He dead?” she asked, calmly finishing
dressing.

“Yes,” I answered, narrowing my eyes. “Why
aren’t you upset?”

She laughed, pulling her tangled hair back.
“I’m going to guess you ain’t from around here.”

“I am not.”

She nodded. “Look, I need a ride out of here.
I can drive you somewhere relatively safe and you can have the car
from there.”

“I have a friend who is in need of medical
attention.”

“A hospital?” she asked.

“No, I’d prefer private help.”

She nodded. “I know of a guy, but he ain’t
cheap.”

“I can handle the payment. Wait here.”

It was a gamble, but what other option did I
have? Drag her out of the vehicle and drag Seven back? It was a
gamble that paid off. She started the truck and I covered Seven
with a thick, dirty blanket.

Shaking my head, I pulled myself back to the
present. “Wow,” Logan muttered.

“From there I built my empire.” I smiled on
the last word.

He raised his plastic cup. “To your empire!
But why share everything with her?”

“I never dreamed she’d betray me. She was the
one stable thing I had going. Besides, if I was ever killed, I
didn’t want there to be any problems with her taking care of the
kids. “

We finished eating in silence after my
confession.

Logan stood. “I have to get changed for The
Cages.”

“Wait, you never told me who you wanted to
take over the East as Alpha?”

“Alec.” He watched me closely.

“Yeah, I think he’s the best replacement for
Darren.”

“Good. We will announce it soon.”

“What are the cages?” I asked.

He stretched. “It’s a way for the more
violent Supernaturals to blow off steam in a semi-controlled
environment. It is, however, very dangerous and I do not want you
going in there.”

He was spared my retort by the door opening
and Grams’s laughter following it.

“Twenty minutes,” Logan told me before
leaving.

I heard Grams greet Logan with surprise
before turning the corner and finding me.

“We need to talk,” I told her
disappointedly.

“What about?” She waved her ensemble away for
this conversation.

“Did you know Hash would be here?”

She sighed, taking her scarf and shoes off
before turning back to me. “Yes.”

I clenched my jaw shut and my hands together,
trying to keep my anger under control. “Why did you keep it from
me?”

She shrugged, “I knew it would only upset
you.”

“I have a right to know what you have been up
to,” I gritted out, not mentioning the tapes I had watched.

She laughed, hauntingly. “I take care of the
children, run your businesses, manage the Supernatural Council, and
you want to know what I have been up to? That would imply you care
about any of the above.”

“How fucking dare you,” I hissed, standing
up. “They are all important to me. I
trust
you to handle
things in my absence, but if you cannot, I will find a
replacement.”

That pissed her off. She turned, pointing a
finger at me, “No one else could possibly put up with your shit and
handle all the prissy succubi as well as I do.”

“Everyone is replaceable.” Then, my eyes
narrowing at her, “You would do well to remember that.”

I turned away from her, not liking the way
this was going at such an important juncture, or the way I kept
screwing it up. I just needed her to be honest with me, honest
about Hash, about her concerns for her safety. I could—I
would
forgive all that had happened, if she would just tell
me the truth. But I had a meeting to keep, and at this point I
might end up in the cages.

Jerry was waiting for me in my room, an
outfit laid out. He rested his chin between his thumb and first
finger.

“I’m not sure about tonight’s outfit,” he
admitted.

I swallowed my anger; it wasn’t with him.
“Why?” I asked, coming to stand over his shoulder.

High-waisted white shorts were paired with a
navy blue crop top, but my favorites were the knee-high boots.

“These are hot,” I admired them, eyeing the
flat heels.

I dressed quickly, with Jerry and Mark
waiting to escort me to Logan’s room. In the extra five minutes we
had, Jerry smeared more makeup on me and pinned up my still dark
brown locks into an artful mess.

I was admiring my boots and the very neat
hiding places they had for my knives when Logan, Hudson and Alec
entered, surprising me. I turned my attention to them, smiling.

“How did it go with Grams?” Logan asked me,
coming to walk next to me.

I groaned, “Not well.” I was closed-lipped,
not giving away any more. The walls had ears.

He nodded and we all piled into the elevator
together.

“Those shorts are hot, Olivia,” Hudson
stated, admiring my long legs.

“Jerry picked them. I have zero sense of
style.”

“That’s true,” Alec confirmed.

“Although it doesn’t have pockets for my
phone,” I muttered, holding up the object to Logan. He stored it in
his pocket with a small smile, his warm fingers brushing my
own.

…

The ride went quickly, all of us listening to
Hudson and Logan talk about their past exploits. Logan was far
older than I had originally thought. Like World War I old.

The noise level surprised me when we arrived.
I could hear it from the street as we forced our way between pack
bodies into the huge building. I locked my arms around Logan’s
waist, not wanting to get lost. Finally making it into the main
rooms, I was taken aback by the raw needs flooding the space.

“Whoa,” I muttered, leaning heavily on
Logan.

“You alright?” he asked, turning and resting
an arm around my shoulders.

I nodded, stepping back, bracing myself. “I
wasn’t expecting that.”

“What?” Hudson asked. “I figured after your
sex tape, open displays of sex wouldn’t bother you.” He was
watching closely the two naked women in the corner.

I shook my head. “It’s not what is happening,
it’s the emotions underneath it all. I’ve never felt anything as
desperate before.”

Jerry and Mark surveyed the group. “Where is
Alec?” Mark asked.

“Shit,” Logan hissed, grabbing my hand and
towing me after him. “I fucking told him not to do this.”

“Do what?” I yelled at him over the
uncomfortably loud music.

We moved into an auditorium and at the bottom
was Alec, facing off against two opponents.

“Logan, they’re drugged. On the same stuff
Bear was,” I whispered to him, moving close.

He looked down at me in surprise. “How can
you tell?”

I shrugged. “The way they are holding
themselves back, the drool, the emotion they are kicking off. All
of it is exactly how Bear reacted.”

“We are still looking for a companion to
fight next to Alec!” the announcer boomed.

“Logan, you have to put someone down there,”
I hissed at him, desperate to protect Alec.

“What would you have me do, show him favor?”
He pulled me closer, whispering in my ear. “I am days away from
being challenged here.” I felt his anger and his fear in those
words as he pressed closer to me.

My shoulders lost some of their resistance at
his heat. I pressed my fingers tips against his chest.

“Watch him,” I told Mark, darting down the
stairs and running to the cage door. My shorts snagged on the
jagged metal as I skidded to a stop next to Alec.

“So, any rules I should know about?” I asked,
breathless, as the announcer boomed my arrival.

“Don’t die,” Alec whispered, not looking at
me.

“Got it.”

The sound of the bell had both shifters
across the octagon cage coming at us. The shorter one came at me,
fangs extended, mouth open as he aimed for my jugular. Ducking
under the attack, I slammed his body into the diamond black
metal.

“What is wrong with them?” Alec yelled at me,
raking his claws against his opponents back.

“They’re drugged. Their beasts are in control
and I’m not sure they know what’s going on,” I yelled back. My
contender came back at me with a roar, sporting claws to go with
those fangs as I watched him shift into a giant panther.

He was going to die. I almost felt bad about
it, almost.

With a shake of his black head, all human
thought fled those piercing yellow eyes. He lunged at me with a
roar, his mouth closing around the soft flesh of my thigh. I pulled
my weight off the injury as he tried to death shake. Pulling the
dagger from my other boot I stabbed down into his brain. The teeth
in my thigh tightened and I yanked the dagger up before slamming it
home again, feeling the teeth relax.

I looked up to see Alec finish, bloody with
his own kill. The entire crowd was silent for a breath before their
insanity ratcheted up a couple notches. The noise was
deafening.

Alec and I turned to the cage door, ignoring
the announcer who tried to lift our arms in the air as the
victors.

“Come on, let’s go out the back.” He was
sullen. Logan was pissed at us, I had no doubt.

Limping heavily, I couldn’t take his offered
help. I needed to appear strong. We left the insanity and the noise
behind, walking out into the cool, quiet alley.

Alec was slammed against the wall next to me,
Logan’s caramel eyes darkening as his lion stared back at us.

“You could have gotten yourself killed.” His
voice was low with restraint.

Alec properly lowered his eyes.

“Why would you do such a thing?” Logan
hissed, his mouth crowded with his fangs.

“I wanted to prove I could handle the East
territory.”

Logan slammed the wall next to Alec’s head,
releasing him with a spray of concrete.

“We already think you are ready,” I told him
softly.

Logan turned his attention back to me, his
chest heaving.

“I’m okay,” I told him, crossing my arms over
my stomach, keeping weight off my leg.

“What were you thinking?” he growled at
me.

I lifted my chin defiantly. I sure as shit
didn’t need to explain what I did, even if I did want him to carry
me to the car.

“Let’s get moving. We have bigger issues than
why I decided to help Alec,” I grunted, stumbling as my weight hit
my leg. Biting down hard on my lip, I took another tense step.

Hudson reached out, swinging my weight easily
up into his arms.

Logan’s growl had him putting me back down.
“Well shit, if you ain’t going to—“ I wobbled for a moment,
reaching out to balance myself against Alec.

“Seriously, we do not have time for this.
Someone drugged those shifters Alec and I went against.” All eyes
riveted to me. “I think—“

Alec flung me to Logan. My arms windmilled
and I stomped hard on my injured leg. Logan in turn shoved me
behind him with Jerry. Hudson, Alec and Mark formed our first line
of defense.

“Dammit,” I hissed, pulling my lone dagger
from my boot.

Alec was engaged with two shifters. I peeked
around Logan’s broad shoulder, trying to determine if they were on
the same drug as the others. From the control in their movements
and the lack of their shifter essences in their eyes, I was hopeful
that was a no.

Jerry was chanting softly, his hands building
an icy white ball. His hunched shoulder straightened and he looked
for an opening. “Mark, down!” he yelled.

Snapping the neck of his current opponent
with deft hands, Mark squatted down, kicking at his next
adversary.

Jerry straightened, raising the ball over his
head before blasting the oncoming shifters, mowing them down with
the power ball.

“Wow,” I muttered, impressed at the duration
of the magic.

It cleaved a path through the oncoming attack
but it wasn’t enough, as Alec went down to a knee with a groan.
Hudson had broken the line formation and was now surrounded.

“Let’s go,” I told Logan, moving next to
him.

He nodded, cracking his knuckles, his dress
shirt straining at the seams as he called upon his lion.

Show off.

Without waiting, I moved in between Alec and
Mark. Being injured, I needed the extra protection on the sides.
Logan stomped past me, helping Hudson clear off the shifters
attached to his back.

Blowing out a long breath, I calmed my
nerves, blocking out the pain in my leg and focusing all my
attention on the task at hand. It wasn’t long before a dark haired
shifter launched himself at me.

My body hit the ground with a thump, my head
bouncing against the concrete. Warm blood spilled on me from where
he had jumped onto my blade. I carved it upward at an awkward
angle, cleaving him in two.

Rolling up took more energy and time than I
was willing to admit, long enough for a shifter to grab me from
behind, pinning my arms to my sides, my blade dangling. I wished
for heels as I lifted my good leg up, smashing it down in the hope
of finding toes to crush.

His chuckle brushed against my ear and I bent
at the waist, trying to fling him over me. He didn’t budge.

“Scream, bitch,” he whispered, before
releasing my left hand to dig his fingers into the tender flesh of
the bite wound on my thigh.

I hate to admit it, but I gave that asshole
exactly what he wanted. The scream tore from my throat as the pain
from his digging had my vision completely dissipating. His other
arm wrapped around my waist, holding my body up when the pain
threatened to be too much for me.