The Dark-Hunters (690 page)

Patting Dev on his arm, Aimee left him and went upstairs to dress herself in a conservative gray suit. She’d never been to the council before and had no idea what to expect.

Dev met her downstairs, dressed in jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt. He stood next to Maman. Aimee paused as she saw them there together. Her mother was so statuesque and exquisitely beautiful. Regal to the marrow of her bones. Her mother possessed such a feminine elegance that Aimee had always felt like an ugly duckling in comparison.

Though they didn’t always agree, she loved that woman with all of her heart. And she wished she could be more like her and make her proud.

Dev was his usual kicked-back, charming self. Though he lacked Maman’s refinement that had been passed to Zar and Alain, there was something absolutely compelling about his down-to-earth charisma.

“Are we ready,
mes enfants?
”

Aimee took Dev’s hand. “We’re ready.”

Maman flashed them to Neratiti, the mysterious island home of Savitar. It was an island that moved constantly throughout the world as Savitar, a devout surfer, sought the perfect wave. He was a being of a thousand contradictions and mysteries.

And one Aimee had only met a few times in her life. To be honest, he scared the bejesus out of her.

But he wasn’t in the room when they arrived. Breathing deeply in relief of that, Aimee took a moment to look around the large circular room. Decorated in burgundy and gold, the room had large open windows that spanned from the top of the gilded ceiling to the black marble floor under her feet. Lushly decorated, it should have been tacky, and yet somehow the elaborate colors and designs worked together to create a beautiful canvas.

A large round table was set in the middle of the room with an impressive throne resting off to the side. She would take a guess that was Savitar’s seat.

Most of the Katagaria were already there and seated at the table. Aimee stepped back, somewhat intimidated by them. Dev stayed by her side with a stoic look that made her wonder what he was thinking.

Maman smirked at the vacant seats as she stepped near a tall, dark-haired panther. “Looks like the Arcadians are holding true to form, eh, Dante?”

“Always chickenshits, Lo. They won’t face us alone even here.” He looked past Maman to meet Aimee’s gaze.

Maman smiled warmly as she introduced them. “My daughter. Aimee, meet Dante Pontis.”

Aimee extended her hand to him. “You own the Inferno in Minnesota.” Though not an official sanctuary itself, it was still a well-known club.

“You know it.” He shook her hand, then held it out to Dev. “Good to see you again.”

“You too.”

Aimee frowned at the brotherly familiarity between them. “How do you two know each other?”

Dante winked. “Scouting bands … and other things.”

Aimee held her hand up in protest of what he was about to say.

“That was before Dante mated.”

Dante tapped his heart. The love in his eyes said it all. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way, Dev. One day, I hope you know the joy Pandora brings to me.”

“Yeah, that’s not what you said when she was pregnant.”

Dante laughed.

Fury and Vane entered the room, their faces grim.

Aimee went over to them immediately. “Have you heard from Fang?”

“No.” Vane’s voice was filled with emotion. “I was hoping you had.”

She shook her head as the rest of the members flashed in and took seats at the huge round table.

She and Dev stepped back as two large doors were flung open with primal powers that shook the room. Savitar, dressed in a long flowing robe that reminded her of an Egyptian design, strode in with an aura of power so potent, it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

His long dark hair flowed over his shoulders. Dark-complexioned, he had a well-trimmed goatee, and when he scanned the room, his deep lavender eyes seemed to glow.

Every member stood as he walked over to his throne. He appeared to be furious and there was a noticeable panic emanating from every creature present.

Savitar glowered at them. “Cop a squat, animals and folks. I don’t want to be here any more than the rest of you so make it fast and get out of my hair. Let’s quickly run down the bullshit pedagogy. Hear ye…” He paused as if holding back a desire to hit something. “Who the hell wrote this crap? Welcome to the Omegrion Chamber. Here we gather, one rep from each branch of the two patrias. We come in peace”—he paused to snort derisively—“to make peace. I’m your mediator, Savitar, and if you don’t know that by now, you need to be hit in the head with a jackhammer and replaced because you’re too stupid to represent your patria. But in case you’re dense and forgot, I am the summation of all that was and what will one day be again. I make order from chaos and chaos from order, which is how I got drafted into this shit. Now let’s get on with this before I start splitting your hairs.”

His gaze went straight to Maman. “Nicolette, there have been a number of complaints against Sanctuary lately.”

Aimee’s panic swelled.

Maman, on the other hand, kept her composure. “Complaints? From whom?”

Savitar leaned to the side as he narrowed his gaze on her. “A group of jackals who say you not only refused to help them apprehend a wanted criminal but that you also gave him their location and set him loose on them.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but Savitar held his hand up to silence her. “A pack of wolves has said that when one of your Sanctuary staff attacked them unprovoked in an alley outside of Sanctuary, you not only condoned his actions, but refused to hand him over. Likewise, you knowingly allowed Wren to be falsely accused and pursued by this council. And that you personally attacked a tiger in your own home. There have been others who say that you pick and choose who you help and when, rather than welcome everyone in as you’ve sworn to. What have you to say?”

Maman didn’t blink or flinch. “They’re lies.”

Vane stood up. “I back Nicolette with all good confidence.”

Savitar’s attention swung to him like a potent laser. “Boy, I haven’t even started with you yet. Right now your word doesn’t mean much.”

Aimee cast a scared look at Dev.

He took her hand and held it while he motioned for her to remain silent.

Savitar pinned Nicolette with a harsh stare. “Did you or did you not have your son warn Constantine that a group of jackals were after him?”

“They attacked my daughter in my own club. They threatened her life.”

Aimee looked at the blank seat that was Constantine’s. What had happened to him? Why wasn’t he here to back Maman?

Savitar gave her no quarter on the issue. “You should have told me, Nicolette. Unleashing their enemy on them is against the neutral code and you know that. And you still haven’t answered my question. Did you tell him?”

“Yes. I, not my children, informed Constantine that they were after him.”

She felt Dev’s hand tighten on hers at the lie. Dev had been the one who told Constantine. Maman was protecting him while offering herself up on the chopping block.

“And when Eli Blakemore and his pack told you, in sworn testimony, that his son and friends were attacked outside your club, did you fail to hand over the attackers?”

Aimee stepped forward.

“Don’t!”
Dev snapped in her head.
“Savitar will kill you.”

“This is wrong!”

“Aimee, don’t embarrass Maman. You know better.”

She did, but it was hard to stand here and listen to her mother being attacked over things that were exaggerated.

Maman lifted her chin with the dignity of a queen. “I don’t trust his pack or the lies they tell.”

“Did you fail to hand over their attackers?”

Because of
her
 … Unshed tears choked her as she realized how much trouble she’d gotten her mother into. No wonder Maman was so harsh at times. While Aimee had known Savitar was unfeeling, seeing this …

What had she done? She’d endangered her mother while saving her friend.

And Maman was taking all of the blame on herself to protect them.

“
Oui,
I did in fact.”

Savitar shook his head. “And when we stood here and issued a warrant for Wren, did you not lie to the members of this council?”

“No, I spoke what I believed to be the truth.”

“Are you sure?”

“
Absolument.
Yes.”

Savitar let out a tired sigh while he thoughtfully stroked his chin. “Lo … of all the members of this council, you knew better. What were you thinking?”

“What I was thinking was that Constantine, as a Regis of this council, should be warned. His pursuers came in and held a knife to the throat of my only daughter and they attacked my sons. Had I not cared about our license, I would have destroyed them on the spot. Instead, I thought it only fair that I warn Constantine that these people”—she spat the word—“would not honor the laws of sanctuary and for him to not bother seeking one.”

Savitar sat forward. “Limani means sanctuary. Telling a marked enemy where to find those out to kill him isn’t the code. What about the other accusation?”

“Blakemore is a pig. His son attacked Wren in the back alley and we captured him there, again after he attacked my daughter who was trying to help Wren.”

“I have sworn testimonies from ten of their pack members that Wren was the one who hit first.”

“Only in self-defense.”

“He drew first blood.” Savitar’s tone was chilling.

Still Maman didn’t back down and for that Aimee had a newfound respect for her mother. “And Blakemore would have killed him where he stood had I handed him over. I won’t condemn even an enemy to die when he was pushed by bullies.”

Savitar rose to his feet, something that made several members of the council gasp. Maman, however, didn’t move a muscle.

Savitar moved closer. “If what you’re saying is the truth, why didn’t you notify me?”

“I didn’t think it was worth bothering you over.”

Savitar stopped next to her chair. “Your mistake. Effective immediately, your license is suspended for six months. One more violation and it’s permanent.” Savitar turned to Vane. “And you … I told you to bring your brother with you.”

It was Vane’s turn to show no emotion. “I don’t know where he is.”

Savitar gave him a cutting glower. “You really expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth.”

That didn’t go over with the big guy at all. Savitar looked as if he was about to unleash hell wrath down on all of them. “Very well. I see you need incentive to obey me. Have Fang here in forty-eight hours to stand trial or I’ll destroy the Kattalakis pack.” He narrowed his gaze on Fury. “Both of them. Adjourned!” He all but roared the last word before he vanished.

Noticeably shaken, the members began flashing out, but not before several made snide comments about Fang and the Peltiers.

Stunned by what had transpired, most of which had been her own fault, Aimee walked over to her mother. “Maman?”

Her mother didn’t show even the tiniest bit of emotion. But Aimee could feel it. She knew how hard this was on her. Without the license, anyone could attack them.

They had no shelter. Everything Maman had worked so hard for had been shattered.

What have I done?

Dev sank down beside their mother. “Maman, it’ll be all right.”

She took his hand in hers and studied it as if amazed by the size of it. “
Non, mon fils.
I want you to go and round up all of our family. Leave and don’t come back until the license is reinstated.”

Dev shook his head, his jaw tightening with that look of steely obstinance they knew so well. “We can’t leave you.”

Maman slapped him. Hard. “Do not question me. You go and do as you’re told. Now!”

Dev’s features hardened. She could see his desire to strike back, but he knew what she did. Maman was upset and she was acting on an animal’s impulse. She had just risked her life to protect theirs.

Without another word, he vanished.

Aimee met Vane’s gaze as she went to speak to him. “What are you going to do?”

“What do you think?” he snarled at her.

Horror filled her. “You can’t hand Fang over to—”
That monster
was what she wanted to say, but she knew she couldn’t. Savitar might hear her and the gods only knew what he’d do then.

“I have a wife and child. My mate is pregnant again, Aimee, and she’s human. Am I supposed to give her up for a brother who won’t even talk to me anymore?”

Maman came to her feet. She raked a cold, hostile glare over Vane. “This is all your fault. You wolves brought this down on me. Before you came, we had peace and now—”

“Us?” Vane growled. “My brother wouldn’t have been involved in any of this had it not been for your daughter! I stand to lose my pack and my mate, and for what? A bear?”

Aimee stepped back as if she’d been slapped by those words.

Vane gave her a hard, cold stare. “You better find my brother and bring him to me.”

“And if I can’t?”

“You don’t want an answer to that question, little bear. Trust me.”

Aimee winced as she realized exactly what was going on here. Vane was going to betray Fang one last time, and he wanted her to be the tool to do it.

CHAPTER 27

Aimee stood in her room, packing everything she had. Her clothes, her jewelry, her books. But unlike the rest of her family, she wasn’t going into hiding.

She was going to find Fang and they were going to run away from this crap for once and for all. There was no way she was going to be a part of handing him over. He’d been through enough.

A light knock sounded on her door.

“Come in.”

It was Dev. He had his hair pulled back into a ponytail and the sleeve of his T-shirt was pushed up, leaving his double bow and arrow tattoo extremely visible. Like him, she’d always found the tattoo funny—though she was sure it irked Artemis since he wasn’t a Dark-Hunter.

He hesitated in the doorway, his eyes sad and worried. “Are you going to travel in the SUV with Quinn’s mate?”