Leader of the Pack (58 page)

“Why don’t we start with that tour I was told to give you,” Aislinn said.

Makeda shrugged. “Whatever you like. I tend to find people much more interesting than buildings. But anything’s better than sitting in this room all day.”

* * * *

By noon Cullen, Sarah, and Cadifor with the help of Malik were entrenched in compiling a list of confirmations of lycans that would be joining the Arnauk on the reservation until after the mating ceremony. A group of Senach had arrived and were being more a little secretive as they sat in confidential groups in different areas of the great room, library, and any other gathering place they could get to. A meeting had been held with the elders, who were in awe of the fact that Cadifor was actually in the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh. A general announcement was made about what the druids were doing there and why. The pack was told that Cullen and Aislinn would be mated and that the druids were being brought in as well as other lycans from outside packs as a diplomatic message for the future relations of the Circle and the Pack Council.

Cullen had complained about not giving the pack the truth. But Malik and Cadifor had been adamant that it was a need to know basis. This way if word did leak to Jenna she would only get the impression that she was being left out of a party. Not that they were preparing for war.

When Keith finally arrived he looked haggard but happy. “Two girls,” he announced and there was applause. He got a lot of pats on the back and jokes about sympathy for the new father of two girls.

Cullen stepped up to Keith and shook his hand, then pulled his best friend to him and hugged him hard. “Thanks,” he said.

Keith laughed. “No problem. What for?”

“Another reminder as to why I bother with the rest of this bullshit,” he said and indicated the reports on his desk that the group had been working on.

Malik watched with pleased interest as the alpha interacted with his men. He knew that Nora would be happy to know that not all alpha lycans were war mongers. The Circle had been concerned about the forced re-involvement with the lycan population. But Malik was coming to the conclusion that it might not be as detrimental as they were thinking.

Malik continued to help with phone calls and by having very specific messengers relay information to alphas that Cadifor wanted involved. Their intent was to make it into a diplomatic meeting just like they said it was. With the correct alphas and a small group of betas from the various trustworthy packs in the area, in combination with the druids it would be much more difficult for Jenna to win this fight. They were still concerned though that they didn’t know exactly what they were up against. Unfortunately Malik had no connections inside any lycan packs. The druids had kept their distance from the lycans. It was one thing to hide amongst a human population. But lycans knew their own and that made observation of inner pack workings impossible for the Circle.

Malik was more than happy to help Keith however, and the two of them were more able to get information out of Keith’s contacts in the Tairneach. Between the two of them it was much easier trying to ferret out what exactly Jenna was up to and none of the word he managed to get was good.

* * * *

It seemed that everywhere Aislinn looked there were strange faces. As much as she wanted to speak with the druids that were arriving she found that they were no easier to talk with than the lycans had been in the beginning. The druids kept to themselves and managed to make everyone uneasy since it seemed that they were watching everything.

Makeda was a great deal more helpful than Aislinn had ever dreamed and she started to wonder who was giving the tour to whom. Makeda appeared to be an expert on lycan and druid behavior. Aislinn would lead her into an area of the den and Makeda would study the lycans about the room then point out to Aislinn appropriate and inappropriate things that were going on. Then she’d watch the druids for a while and tell Aislinn what had their attention and why. Aislinn loved the fact that Makeda was frank, honest, open and actually seemed to be enjoying explaining pack behavior to Aislinn. In that one morning Makeda managed to cover everything from the way Cadifor and Cullen had behaved in the bedroom to why the different ranked lycans were behaving in different ways toward the new arrivals, lycan and druid.

“I don’t get it,” Aislinn said after a while. “I don’t understand why you have no problem telling me all this and no one else seems to think I can handle it.”

Makeda shrugged. “I have nothing to gain or lose by it. The rest of the pack is concerned that they may say or do something wrong. It doesn’t matter if the consequence is that you’d misunderstand and become upset or do something that may upset the alpha. You’re real problem is that Cullen Arnauk is a strong leader and his pack cares for him. They’re trying to not scare you away and they don’t know what will do it. I on the other hand have no concern for his feelings or truly for yours. Mostly I’m fascinated by your reactions to all of it and the fact that you could be here for even a month and still be in the dark.” She grinned in amusement. “There’s something very sexy about your naivety.”

“You always turn things into sex.” Aislinn raised her eyebrows at Makeda. She was growing to like the woman quite a bit.

“After you’ve lived as long as I you find that the only true pleasure in life is pleasure. If you do it right then it’s better than any drug or food or thing you could own,” she stepped up to Aislinn. “It combines control, risk, domination, submission. Can you think of a single thing right now better than what it feels like when you come?”

Aislinn’s breath caught in her throat. Makeda’s eyes sparkled. “See,” she said huskily. “I grew bored with other pursuits a long time ago. I have more than enough money to buy anything else. But there’s nothing quite as exciting as a new conquest,” she grinned at Aislinn. “Especially if she puts up a fight.”

“Fight,” Aislinn said shakily, grabbing onto the last thing Makeda said. Regretting having asked the sex question. “How about some sparing. I’m told I’m not too bad and that I’m supposed to ‘establish my rank’ around here some time soon. There’s a gym in the basement. I really can’t think of anything else to show you up here.”

Makeda smiled. “Alright. Though I may not be comparable to the others around here.” She knew that Aislinn didn’t really know who she was dealing with. There wasn’t a woman who knew her that would have suggested such a thing. But it had been a long time since she had been treated like everyone else and she liked it.

* * * *

Jenna sat at her father’s large mahogany desk. She wasn’t sure what he had always done while he was here but she had never seen him sitting at the desk and not hard at work on something. She fingered the large ruby ring around her neck in frustration.

Maon was having a very difficult time finding out when Cullen’s mating was to take place. She was starting to wonder if he was hiding the date on purpose. Maybe he knew her intent. She just thought it would be fitting for her to destroy him during his mating with the bitch who had ruined her first set of plans. Jenna was firmly convinced that if Aislinn hadn’t come into the picture then Rafe never would have appeared, Cullen would have just sucked it up and mated with her, and Brennus would still be alive.

Seeing Rafe’s death had been healing. But seeing Aislinn destroyed would finish it. Maon knocked on the door and then walked in. He was getting less and less formal with her. Jenna knew full well that none of the pack was taking her seriously and if she was going to keep control she was going to have to act soon. She was also more than aware of the fact that Maon thought her best bet would be to let him mate with her and give over the alpha position to him. He was a definite contender for the position anyway.

“Do you have the list of volunteers,” she asked.

Maon handed her a paper with a couple dozen names on it. There weren’t as many as she would have liked. She took a pen to it and crossed a couple off. She was no fool. There were some men in this pack who didn’t need any more power than they already had. Maon noted the men who were crossed off and smiled. She was definitely a thinker.

“You’re not on the list,” she cooed at him. “I have to ask why?”

“I’d prefer to wait until we’re standing in the stone circle. Though I don’t fear pain. I’d rather the alternative that exists.” Maon watched her eyes. He was judging her reaction. He was coming to the point where he was growing tired of her games and he was considering just taking her and putting her in her place.

She let an amused grin play about her lips. She needed to make the entire pack stronger. But not stronger than she would be. If Maon was turned in the stone circle then he’d be stronger than her, since he was starting out stronger. That might put a dent in her plan if he chose to be difficult. She still needed him. “If there were anyone I would trust that much it would be you,” she cooed at him.

He smiled. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that was a promise. “They don’t know that there is an alternative to what they’ve been shown?”

“As you said. We showed them Devon. They know about what it will do. But they’re all willing to endure the pain for the end result. I will warn you that there are a significant number of our own who don’t like this. They’re saying that Rafe fucked you up and this is proof that you’ve gone mad.” He was blatant. He liked the idea of power as much as the rest. But he knew this would start a war with the Arnauk. There was no guarantee that the Tairneach would survive that. He was concerned that Jenna would destroy the pack before he could his hands on it. The only thing holding him to his current path was the fact that he wanted to mate with her so badly and he wanted her to be willing.

Jenna glared at him. “What right do they have?”

“Anyone can say as he likes. You’re behavior is questionable. You’re not above pack opinion. You haven’t earned their respect yet. You were on your way. The way you helped to deal with Rafe certainly had them all looking at you differently. But most of them have been content to be allies with the Arnauk for centuries. Brennus arranged that. They respected him and his decisions. Starting a war with the Arnauk for no apparent reason has some of them concerned.”

“Anything else,” she asked angrily.

“We’ve managed some word on what’s going on with Arnauk’s mating. I told Terrick that if he gets us what we need to know then I’ll give him access to the ultimate steroid. I promised him that he’d be stronger and faster than Cullen when it was done. He’s suddenly become more helpful. Though it’s still reluctant. When he asked for more details about what I meant I told him he’d find out if I got what I needed. So he told me what was going on at the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh. He’s only giving out information that we probably would manage to get in the long run. But at least we’re getting reports of something. Apparently the Pack Council is turning the Arnauk mating into a circus. They’ve arranged for druids and others to be present due to the fact that the woman he’s taking is one of them and the Council is setting up ties to the Circle.” Maon watched her begin to seethe.

“How is it that the little galla seems to have come out of nowhere and gained more power in her short existence than I’ve been capable of gaining in a lifetime? She’s not even lycan!” Jenna’s eyes were on fire. She couldn’t believe that Aislinn had not only managed to get Cullen Arnauk, but now the Pack Council. Jenna stood up and began pacing back and forth across the office. Her voice took on a deadly calm. “I want her dead. That’s it. So when is the mating?”

“That is still being determined. But soon. They’re already bringing people to the reservation. I know your intent is to disrupt the mating. But with the number of people who will be present that’s looking more difficult. Wouldn’t it be better to go in and make use of the stones when there isn’t an entire army there?”

Jenna glared at him. “What kind of show of power would that be?”

* * * *

Keith and Malik walked into Cullen’s office with smirks on their faces. Without a word Keith walked over to the nearest chair and plopped down then propped his feet on the edge of Cullen’s desk, right on top of some papers Sarah had been writing on. Sarah looked as though she might rip his head off.

Cadifor shook his head. Keith and his blatant lack of concern for superiors was interesting. Cadifor gave him credit for appearing to know when to turn it on and off, but this wasn’t one of those occasions.

Keith looked around at all the glaring people. Malik at least had the courtesy to wipe the smirk off his face. “Okay okay, I give in I’ll tell. Guess why I can’t find out when Jenna intends to attack.” There were more glares. “Alright I’ll give you a hint.”

“Keith,” Cullen growled. “Enough.”

Cadifor smirked this time. At Cullen’s tone the look on Keith’s face immediately vanished and he sat up in the chair. Sarah brushed the paperwork off and gave him the kind of amused look a big sister gets on her face when little brother is getting yelled at by dad.

“Sorry,” Keith said. “I just find it amusing. From what I just found out it seems that the reason I haven’t been able to track down when she intends to come over the border is because she’s trying to find out when the mating ceremony is. I think her plan is to hit the ceremony. Turn about being fair play so to speak. She’s pissed that you and her got interrupted so she’s looking for revenge. Actually when I stopped and thought about it I wondered why we hadn’t come up with it in the first place.”

Cullen sat back in his chair. “I wish I knew how to stop this. It’s pointless. I had really hoped, after Rafe was dealt with, that Jenna had gotten a grip and would back off.”