Sword of Inquest (La Patron's Sword Book 1) (16 page)

Chapter 26

Clap. Clap. Clap. The sound bounced around the room. Hawke looked around the building to locate the noise even though he recognized the scent. Greggor. Did the man have a death wish?

“Well done,
you have pardoned the person responsible for breaking and entering as well as theft,” Greggor said walking further into the clearing. Two large hybrids stood behind him.

“
You accuse my uncle of enslaving wolves but he has not been to the castle in over a decade. So who enslaved the full-bloods?” He looked around at his audience. As performances went his was not bad.

“
Be calm, Hawke. Let Angus handle this. La Patron is furious and may blow the room
,” Asia warned.

“
Blow the room?”

“Wait
.”

“The man standing with Patron’s Ambassador, Hawke has been the lead researcher at the castle for the past thirty years.” The mood shifted in the room as everyone stared at Hawke.

“I have watched him with my own eyes do the things Patron claims to despise and –”

“Silence,” Angus roared. The room expanded and then righted as Silas released a wave of energy. The Alphas hung onto
their chairs and the full-bloods looked at each other in shock.

Hawke stared at Asia.

She shrugged. “
I told you
.”

Angus walked toward Greggor,
she and Hawke followed and stood at an angle to watch the crowd.

“Why is a human here? Who allowed
him into this room?” Angus looked at each Alpha, his green eyes blazed with indignation. “You complain of humans knowing of your existence and no one stopped this human when he entered?” he growled.

No one spoke.

Greggor glanced at Alpha Verrick and then at Hawke.

“
He came to me to explain. I thought we should all hear,” Alpha Verrick said into the silence.

Angus glared at the man. “Do
you see those hybrids standing behind him? Those were full-bloods once. You allowed him to bring wolves that his uncle experimented on into a meeting to discuss the foulness of test wolves?”

Alpha
Verrick’s gaze swung from Angus to the hybrids and then to the Alphas staring at him. “He says the big one do tests, not his uncle.”

Angus grabbed Greggor by
his shirt and lifted him. The hybrids moved. Asia and Hawke stepped to the side and faced them.

“Why are
you here?” Angus growled through lowered incisors.

“
My uncle wanted me to tell his side,” Greggor stammered looking around.

Angus looked around the room and called a wolf
over. The full-blood looked toward the Alphas and then obeyed.

“Are
you a full-blood?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Can you smell a lie?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Angus looked at Greggor again. “Why are you here?”

Hawke smelled Greggor’s fear. The man never thought beyond the moment.
He had lived in his uncle’s shadow for so long, the idea that someone was not afraid of Boris never occurred to him.

“
My uncle wanted me to tell his side,” Greggor whimpered.

Angus looked at the full-blood who said. “
He’s lying.”

“Why are
you lying?” Angus asked Greggor.

When
he didn’t respond, Angus shook him. The hybrids started to move.

“
Wait, don’t shift. Not yet
,” Asia said.

“If
they move again I will rip your head off before they reach you,” Angus said in a hard tone.

The hybrids stopped.

“Last time, why are you here?”

“Hawke.
I’m here for Hawke.”

“Why? Why do
you want him?” Angus pressed.

“
My uncle wants his property back…”

Hawke could not believe Greggor said that. But then again
it went a long way in clearing his name.

Growls filled the room.

“If he ran the lab, why are you here?” Angus shook Greggor once more.

“Because the chip in
his brain isn’t working. We can’t control him anymore.”

The room erupted in howls and growls.

“I did not know. I swear I did not know,” Alpha Verrick said shaking his head. “He come to me, ask to tell his side.”

“How did
you know of this meeting?” Angus asked.

Hawke stood at an angle watching the three Alphas, none of
them blinked at the question. Each seemed curious for the answer.

“
I was told to go to Alpha Verrick and tell him what I needed. He told me to come to the meeting.”

“
He lies. He asked to come to meeting. He knew when he came to me.” Alpha Verrick stood and took a step forward.

Angus looked at Greggor and then Alpha Verrick. “
You are right, he is lying. Which means there is someone other than his uncle he fears more than you, and more than La Patron who holds his life in his hand.”

“What?” Greggor squeaked.

“You challenged my Alpha. I accepted the challenge on his behalf.”

“
I… I… I did not. I talked about Hawke.”

“But
you noted he was with a member of La Patron’s pack. Any challenge to a member of the pack is a challenge to the Alpha.” Angus looked at the Alphas seated. “At least that is how we operate.”

Alpha Andrei cleared
his throat. “We do as well. I do not know this human. I cannot believe his uncle sent such a one to represent him. He had to know what would happen when in the presence of so many wolves. I suspect there is more afoot.”

“Such as?” Alpha Frederick said.

“Some sort of trickery to gain information,” Alpha Andrei said standing and moving closer to Greggor.

“
Trojan horse?”
Hawke said to Asia.

“
Could be. I will inform Mistress.”

A few moments later Angus dropped Greggor and stepped back, the three of
them formed a triangle inside the bubble.

“Gentlemen,
I suspect Alpha Andrei may be correct. Dismiss your packs and leave this place. We have seen incidents where explosives were carefully hidden to avoid detection.”

“
I smell nothing,” Alpha Andrei said as he moved toward the exit.

Angus walked toward the double steel doors. The hybrids remained in place. Greggor lay gasping on the floor like a fish out of water.

“Hawke! Wait. I need to talk to you.” Greggor stood and walked in their direction.

“If
he shoots you with another dart I swear I will kill him,” Asia said as they cleared the building.

“
I appreciate it. Although I think he is his own worst enemy. He had to be crazy to walk into that place.”

“Or someone assured
him he would be safe.”

“Hawke, wait.
I need to talk to you,” Greggor said moving faster.

Asia stopped and turned. Hawke sensed
her frustration with Greggor and decided to allow her to handle things.

“Chacal will be here in a few seconds,” Angus said.

“Hawke?”

“What do
you want?” Asia asked Greggor.

“
I need to talk to Hawke.”

“
He is not returning to the castle, and he is not talking to you. Go home before I break my promise not to kill you for what you did to him.”

Greggor frowned, looked at
her and then Hawke. “Why would he kill me? We were friends, kind of. I never hurt him. My uncle just wants him back, that’s all.”

“Go home, Greggor.
I’m never returning to that place and we were never friends,” Hawke said over his shoulder.

Greggor’s face whitened and then
his eyes narrowed. “But…”

“Go. Leave,
I want nothing to do with you,” Hawke said hardening his tone.

“
You’ll regret this, Hawke. I will make sure of it.” He turned and headed back inside.

He
should kill Greggor and destroyed the hybrids to keep them from returning. He stepped backward as Angus moved forward in the bubble. Asia grabbed his arm.

“
We need to go.”

“Greggor is cancer that needs to be destroyed
.”

She
nodded. “
Yes. But not by you, not today. Today we represent La Patron, vengeance is done in his name alone
.”

Hawke had not thought along those lines and nodded.
He looked over his shoulder and met Greggor’s hate-filled stare.

“
He had a crush on you.”

“
I know. How did you know?”

“Remind
me to tell you how I entered the castle, it all started with Greggor
.”

Surprised,
he slid into the back seat of the Hummer next to her. “
That sounds interesting. I can’t wait to hear about it.”

“
What do you think, Asia
?
” Angus asked as the Hummer moved forward.

“These Alphas would not last a week under La Patron.”

“True, they answer to no one and are constantly defending their position within the pack. It is one reason they cannot organize.”

“And why
they fear and hate La Patron. They do not want him to touch down on their shores,” she said.

Angus shrugged. “
It is the way of the world. Someone bigger comes along. Do you think one of the Alphas work with the Liege?”

“No,
I did not sense deceit, did you?” She asked.

“No.
If they want to survive they need to band together even if it’s just to share information.”

“Greggor was too confident when
he walked into the room. No one questioned him, makes me think he has done that before. I found that strange,” she said.

“True. Silas was furious.
I thought he would kill the Alphas on the spot. Makes me wish Leon and Brix were here to challenge the bastards. They are weak and that’s not good.” Angus looked out the window as they drove through the countryside. “How many following?” He asked Chacal in a casual tone.

Hawke scanned the area and sensed full-bloods following the car which didn’t surprise
him. The Alphas were right to be nervous after that small display of power.

“Eight to ten on all fours and two cars behind the bend.”

“We need to get started on tracking down the test wolves,” Angus said looking over his shoulder. “I don’t trust any of those Alphas to go out of their way to help them. Plus I need to make a formal request to speak to the European Council. They may require both of you to stand before them to explain what happened.”

“Angus,
I am after answers of missing pups. Will speaking to the Council help me with that?” She asked as their vehicle picked up speed.

“
It could. But it would be rude not to appear.” He shook his head. “Not that you care about that one way or the other. We will play it by ear and make decisions as we go along. I am here to help with your mission not hinder.”

“
We will leave tonight to track down the nearest test wolf.” She looked at Hawke. “How much time will you need to cross reference the files?”

“Ten to fifteen minutes.
I need to build a mobile device to activate the kill chips.”

“Why? Why not break
their necks or something?” Angus asked.

“
It will be harder to explain. The chip should dissolve at death and it will look like a heart attack not murder,” Hawke said.

Angus nodded. “How long will that take? To build the device?”

“An hour or two, no more.”

“Good,” Angus said.

“We are coming to the curve of the bend, it is the only place for an ambush,” Chacal said in a bland tone.

“Okay,” Angus said straightening in
his seat.

On both sides of the road trees crowded the land. Hawke took Asia’s hand and squeezed.
She turned from the window to their joined hands. A moment later she met his gaze, some of the shadows were gone but not all. It was his duty to remove each one. They swerved and missed a car in the middle of the road. The Hummer drove along the narrow shoulder bypassing the vehicle.

A hybrid ran forward and slammed into the front of the heavy vehicle. Chacal did not press the brake.
He pushed the accelerator. The hybrid raised his hand revealing long claws and jammed them into the hood. They broke in half without penetrating the metal and flew off in the wind. After driving side to side the hybrid lost its fragile grip and fell onto the ground beneath the back rear tire. It screamed as the heavy vehicle cracked its bones leaving it rolling on the ground.