Order of Protection

Alpha Sven’s POV

I was furious as I ran out of the trial room. “Lockdown procedure, all without defensive assignments to the safe rooms. Warriors to your posts. Beta Shura has escaped and he must have had help.” I could see two of my warriors with Linnea, escorting her from the room, so I knew she was safe. I tried to link the control room and got nothing. “You four with me,” I said to the men waiting for me at the door.

We went through the passageway and I punched the code in for the basement door. The hallway was clear, and I punched another code to enter the control room. I froze as I looked in.

My two men were collapsed over their terminals, and Alpha Michael was on the floor. I could hear their heartbeats, they were slow but steady. I moved to Michael, the syringe was still in his neck. “Take them to the clinic,” I told my men. Each man took one in a fireman’s carry up the stairs, leaving me with one warrior and an empty room. The monitors were blank, and the hard drives we used to record data were on the floor in pieces. ”I need computer techs and control room trained personnel to the control room immediately,” I said. Turning to the last man, I told him to assist in getting surveillance back up, then I went back up the stairs.

I ran out of the house and across to the shed, where the entrance to the cells was. Alpha Stan and Chairman Robert were both coming out, along with a number of warriors. I saw four men being carried to the clinic. “Let me guess, injected?”

Stan nodded. “All the guards were knocked out. One of the prisoners said a masked man came down, unlocked Shura and left with him. One of the trucks is gone, a blue F-150 quad cab. We’ve given a description to all the men and sent patrols in all directions. Shura’s scent was lost when he got into the truck.”

Shit. “The surveillance is a no go, the control room was taken out, Alpha Michael and two of my men were hit with injections and the recordings destroyed. I’ve got guys coming to look at it but I’m not hopeful.”

Robert looked around. “So, we have multiple guards from two Packs taken out with drugs, which means someone they trust got close enough to inject them.”

I nodded. “Probably multiple people, there wasn’t much time to get this done after we brought the last group out of the cells.” We had gathered a group of senior people, so I went over and grabbed a map out of a Pack vehicle and spread it out on the hood. “Any of you have people staying offsite?” A few nodded, they were at hotels nearby. We marked the locations, and they sent their men to block access roads. Vehicles filled with warriors were sent in every direction, and Stan got the helicopter pilot on the phone, he’d be here in thirty minutes. “Anyone spots them, call in at 218-555-1212. Let’s go.”

“Alphas, I’d like to meet with you in Alpha Sven’s office, alone,” Chairman Roberts said. I nodded and led them that way. All the excitement must have been getting to me, because my heart was racing and I was breathing hard even though I hadn’t done much.

Alpha Stan’s POV

I got off the phone with the helicopter service and linked with Jessie and John. “Can you guys go to the cells, see if Jessie can do that thing to locate Shura? We don’t have any idea where they went,” I said.

“In a few minutes, I’m with the Pack doctor, helping to clear their systems of the drugs with my magic,” she replied. I called warriors to me, when we got a location I wanted the helicopter ready to go. “Go find a clear spot for a helicopter landing zone, take some flares with you to mark the spot. No trees or power lines around,” I told the first two. The next two, I told to go arm up and wait by the helicopter.

I joined the Alphas as they followed Sven into the conference room attached to his office. The guards were left outside, the doors closed, the soundproofing making the conversation private. “We’ve got someone working against us here in this room,” Robert said. “The Council is taking over as of now. Put your phones on the table please.”

There was an outcry from the assembled Alphas, but when the Council enforcers and Council members stepped in, their dominance level was enough that none of us could withstand it. I took my phone out, placing it on the table before me. One of the enforcers picked it up and placed it in a bag before leaving.

I looked around at the others. “None of us have any reason to help Yuri,” I said. “He’s killed my Pack members, Sven’s too.”

Sven nodded. “My friend Michael is in the clinic now. I don’t see the European Alphas in this room. If anyone has a reason to spring Shura, it’s them.”

“Chairman Francois is taking care of his people as we speak. We are in agreement on this; Council business has been interfered with, and the Councils will handle it.”

“But who did it?”

“We are going to start narrowing things down now. The proceedings were taped, we are going over them now to get a list of everyone who was in the room at the time. What I need from you now is a list of any of your Pack members who were not in the trial room, and where they were.”

Sven went to a cabinet and started passing out pads of paper and pens. “I’m going to need help from my Betas on this,” I said.

“That’s fine, you can link with them and have them list the assignments made. I understand you have a lot of people to deal with,” Robert said.

I worked on my list, looking up when I saw Sven wince in pain. “Are you all right?”

He put his pen down, gripping the edge of the table. He was starting to sweat, and when he took a deep breath he grimaced again. “I don’t know,” he said.

Something was wrong, I smelled blood, and I heard Linnea outside shouting at the guards. “He needs a doctor,” I said. “Get him to the clinic NOW.” The enforcers looked at Robert, who nodded. They helped him to his feet; I watched in horror as his eyes rolled back and his legs gave out. “GO!” One of the man picked him up and they ran out of the room, people making a path for them as I watched in horror.

John’s POV

“Can you guys go to the cells, see if Jessie can do that thing to locate Shura? We don’t have any idea where they went,” Alpha Stan asked me over the link.

“In a few minutes, I’m with the Pack doctor, helping to clear their systems of the drugs with my magic,” she replied. She was moving from bed to bed, using her magic to reverse the effects of the wolfsbane that was mixed with the strong sedative in the shots. The Pack doctor said the mixture prevented their wolves from linking and retarded their healing, allowing the sedative to work quickly. It was a pretty common combination for taking out a raging wolf without permanent harm, and all Packs had a supply with their warriors and doctors. The combination of drugs would keep them out for between four and eight hours, but we needed answers. Removing the wolfsbane would allow their bodies to metabolize the sedative faster.

She was halfway through the people who had been brought in, and she had started with the two in the control room and Alpha Michael. Alpha Stan had assigned two personal guards to her, they were standing near the walls. I was placed in charge of her security, and the guards had been ordered to follow her or my instructions only.

After the battle, our Pack recognized her value. With Shura still out there, she was still in danger.

“Alpha Michael is starting to come around,” the Pack doctor said as he walked over to his bed. I watched as Jessie finished her work, the glow from her hands fading as the magic pulled back out from his body. I followed Jessie as she walked to his bed. While the doctor was checking him, I moved the bed so he was sitting up slightly.

His breathing was changing, and it wasn’t long until he opened his eyes. Jessie stood next to me, the Pack Doctor and his mate Pamela on the other side. “Welcome back, Alpha Michael,” the doctor said as he opened his eyes.

I watched as he looked around, smiling as he saw his mate, then turned his head and saw Jessie. A look of sadness came over him for a moment, then it was gone. He turned back to his mate. “How… are they…”

“Everyone is going to recover, baby. You just rest, you gave me a scare.”

“Alpha Michael, do you know who it was who drugged you?” Pamela looked at me, but I needed to know. Shura couldn’t get away.

He sank back into the pillow, closing his eyes. “I heard the door open, then I was hit with the shot. I was watching the trial with the others, I didn’t see anything.”

“The smell? Did you recognize the person?”

“No… not a rogue, that would have tipped me off.” His mate gave him some water to drink.

“Anything else you can tell me that might help?”

He shook his head, then focused on his mate. Jessie started moving her hands over him, her powers showing up in the glow.

Suddenly, the Doctor ran to the door along with his nurses. “What’s going on?”

“The Alpha, something is wrong, he passed out in the conference room,” one of the Omegas helping out said, barely holding back tears. “It doesn’t look good.”

Everyone was focused on the door and the sounds in the hallway, except me. I looked back at Jessie, she was pulling her magic back, her eyes still closed. A movement caught my eye, Alpha Michael’s right fingers were moving a large ring around on his hand while his left hand held his mate. I heard a faint click, then his hand was moving towards her neck. “NO!!!” My hand shot forward, quicker than he could move his arm since the drug was still working out of his system. I caught his wrist just before it got to her, and I pushed his hand to the side as my body shoved Jessie out of the way. I ignored her squeal as she fell to the floor, focusing on the ring. A cover had popped open, and a needle was showing with a drop of liquid.

He brought his left hand across to hit me, but I ignored it. I put my left arm by his elbow and my shoulder moved behind my right hand, forcing his arm to bend back towards his chest. The sheets had pulled down, and when his arm snapped the ring was forced to his chest. He screamed in pain, his mate trying to jump across to attack me, but one of Jessie’s guards grabbed her and forced her to the ground. “RESTRAIN HIM,” I yelled as he tried to get up.

I wasn’t letting go of his broken arm, and I didn’t have leverage to punch him while leaning half over the bed like I was to press his right hand to his chest. I head butted him, his nose crunching as I hit his face. While he was disoriented, the guards and Jessie rushed to assist. Two of Sven’s warriors came in, sedating Luna Pamela before cuffing both of Michael’s legs to the bed along with his good arm. I was still laying on his right arm, and they used ropes to tie it off at the elbow and wrist to the bed rail before I was able to stand up again.

“Stay clear of his right hand,” I said as I let go and backed off. I looked over at Jessie, she was standing near the wall, her guard in front of her. “Are you all right?” She nodded, still looking at the Alpha and trying to figure out what just happened.

Council Chairs Robert and Francois came into the room, surrounded by Council Enforcers. “What’s going on here,” Robert asked.

“Alpha Michael tried to poison Jessie,” I said. “Look at the ring on his right hand.” The enforcers and chairs came over and looked, seeing what I did. The cap was still open, the needle visible. “Whatever it was, it’s in his chest right now. He tried to poke Jessie, but I caught his hand and forced it down into him.” You could see the drop of blood on his chest from where it

An enforcer put on gloves, then held his hand as he put the hinged cover back in place and removed the ring. A plastic bag was brought over, and it was dropped into it. An older man in a lab coat walked in and stood by Robert, he was the Council physician. “You called sir?”

He pointed to the bag. “Smell that and see if you can identify what it is.”

He put his nose to the bag, his eyes opening wide. “It’s a powerful poison, it attacks the circulatory and respiratory systems of a werewolf. Over the course of four to eight hours, it causes chest pain, racing heartbeat and shortness of breath. As it progresses, the lung tissues are damaged, and the victim starts coughing up blood. Death occurs in eight to twelve hours.” We all looked at him for what was next, and he shook his head slowly side to side. “There is no known cure.”

Robert’s eyes got wide. “Alpha Sven was just brought in with a racing heartbeat and chest pains,” he said.

“He’s across the hall in the trauma room with the Pack doctor,” I said.

“Go,” Robert told his doctor, who left immediately.

“Let me help,” Jessie said. “I don’t know if my magic will work, but do we have a choice?”

Robert looked at her as I pulled her into my side. “What do you want done with him?”

“Roll him into the trial room and let him die with everyone watching, the way he tried to kill me,” Jessie said. “The way he wanted Alpha Sven to die.”

He nodded, linking with his men. “Go do what you can, Jessie. He and his men will be dealt with.” I led Jessie out, our guards falling in behind us. As the door closed, I heard Robert again. “Send people to the Iron Range Pack immediately. Alpha Michael is removed as Pack Alpha, the Council will be in charge until further notice.”

I hoped to hell they found Shura up there.

We went across the hall and the trauma room was a flurry of activity. “Stay out of here,” the Doctor said.

“Jessie is here to use her magic,” I said.

“Fine, she can stay, the rest of you wait outside.” She kissed me, then went to the sink to wash up. I backed out of the room, linking with Alpha Stan so he was up to date.

Jessie’s POV

I moved over to the table, looking down at my friend. He was pale, his breathing labored. The doctors had put an oxygen mask on and had IV’s in, and were talking about how to reduce his heartbeat. Machines were beeping away, and EKG pads were attached to his body in about ten places. While they talked about what to do next, I placed my hands over his chest and allowed the power to flow through me.

When John would ask me how it worked, I honestly didn’t know. The power flowed from my body into his, and it would find the problem and fix it as long as I had the energy to keep it going. It had healed me from gunshot wounds without me even being conscious, Father Kempechny had healed me partially while dying, it just seemed to know what to do. I closed my eyes, letting it do what it needed to do until it felt like I was done. I opened my eyes as the glow faded, then I stepped back.

“He’s stabilizing,” the Council doctor said as they watched the monitors. His pulse dropped back down to eighty, and his blood pressure was returning to normal. “What did you do?”

“I healed what I could,” I said. “I don’t know if I removed the poison or just repaired the damage the poison caused.”

“Keep transfusing blood, if the poison is still there we can reduce the amount,” he said. “We’ll keep monitoring him to see if he degrades again.”

“Keep me posted, I’ve got something else to do,” I said as I walked to the door. As soon as I came out, John had me in his arms and I melted into him, just letting him comfort me. “Thank you for stopping him,” I said as I looked into his eyes.

“I’ll always keep you safe, as long as you don’t fly off on me again,” he said.

“Come on, we’ve got a Beta to find.” Hand in hand, we left the Clinic to return to the Alpha’s conference room.