Sharkbait Down Under

Alpha Leo Volkov’s POV

It had been four days now since the kidnapping, and I was out of patience.

I’d had many discussions on the encrypted video chat with Adrienne and Alpha Steven since Lawrence’s death. His killing neither proved nor disproved his involvement, but Adrienne brought up one important point last night before I left Jamaica. “Leo, either way, we have to take on the Council.”

“What do you mean?” If the Council wasn’t behind it, shouldn’t we leave them alone? “Shouldn’t I find out the truth first?”

“The truth doesn’t matter for Vicki and Amy,” she told me. “Let’s say the Council is behind this. What would you do?”

That was a simple question; I’d kill them all as my wolf had urged from the first phone call. “I’d kill everyone connected with this. If they tell me where the girls are, they might escape with their lives, but not all their body parts.”

“And if it is the vampires?”

That was a tougher ask. “If the Vampires have them, the treaty is void. I’d gather an army of werewolves and wipe them out.” The Volkov School of Diplomacy was pretty easy to learn.

“And which one should we go after, Leo?” I couldn’t answer. “If the Vampires framed Lawrence, they did it to sow division amongst the werewolves. If they don't get it, they might harm Vicki or the girls until it happens. I'd rather not have them suffer because we don't take the bait."

"You're brilliant," I said.

"That’s why I’m your mate, to guide you through things that will get you killed,” she said. I growled a little at the implication, but I knew she was right. “We didn’t know enough yet, and our one lead is a literal dead end. We’re going to have to bluff them into action.“

“How?”

“By being you, Leo. When you take Mary home, this is what I want you to do.” She explained her ideas, and she was right. I was far more nervous about what she had planned than what I was going to do.

Alpha Steven would remain in Cancun and run our command post while we were gone. It was dangerous, and it might get me killed, but we had nothing else to go on.

Alpha Stan’s POV

White Mountain Pack, New Hampshire

The entire Pack turned out for Lawrence’s final trip home. They stood shoulder to shoulder, lining the perimeter of the circular driveway in front of our big Pack House. The mood of the Pack was somber; Lawrence was well-liked, and his death was senseless. I couldn’t imagine what Mary had gone through over the last few days.

It was fortunate that Leo was there for her. Leo and I had been friends for decades, and I knew how close he had become to Lawrence since that Alpha Summit almost fourteen years ago now. Lawrence had defended Leo and Adrienne in front of the Council and had earned their respect and gratitude.

If Leo hadn’t been there, Mary might have killed herself as soon as the police let her go. It was the way of things; Leo and Adrienne’s work with the Council reduced the number of suicides, but it still occurred eighty percent of the time. Not everyone had enough courage to go on alone.

I saw the headlights through the trees, and with a mental command, every Pack member stood tall and extended their right arm towards the center. I’d sent two cars to the Boston airport to retrieve them, and a neighboring Pack supplied the hearse.

The cars took a slow lap around so each Pack member could extend their sympathy and support towards Mary. She and Lawrence did not have children; a virus took her fertility as a child, and they refused to use human doctors for aggressive treatments. Instead, they threw themselves into Pack life, serving and loving them all. No one had a bad thing to say about the couple, and there wasn’t a dry eye anywhere.

The cars stopped in front of me, and my Beta opened the door and helped Mary out. She was crying, and my mate and I had to hold her up as the pallbearers took their places at the rear of the hearse. I nodded my thanks to Alpha Leo as he took his place behind the senior Pack leadership.

The pallbearers removed the coffin and followed our Pack Elder down the trail leading to our cemetery. Our group fell in behind them, followed by the entire Pack in rank order. The air was cold, and light snow fell as we walked the quarter-mile to the hillside overlooking the compound and the valley. When we arrived at the gravesite, the men set the coffin on a stand and stood back.

The service flew by. Lawrence’s closest friends gave brief remarks, including Leo. I reminded everyone of Lawrence’s long and faithful service and his love for our Pack and asked them all to support Mary as she adjusted to life without him. Finally, the elder said a prayer to Luna just as the skies cleared, and the moonlight illuminated the clearing. The detail lowered the coffin into its final resting place, and his mate was first to toss a handful of dirt upon it.

My mate and I sat next to Mary as the people filed past. They gave her hugs or words of encouragement after tossing a handful of dirt onto the coffin. When the last was through, we followed them back to the Pack House and stripped to make the change.

A Pack Run was how we celebrated and mourned; it was our expression of love for each other. We shifted and headed downstairs and out to the grassed area at the center of the driveway. Her friends brought Mary to stand with us, and as the last wolves joined, I howled to start the run.

I took off at a slow pace towards the short trail we used for ceremonial runs. Mary trotted in the place of honor between her Alphas. Behind us, Alpha Leo ran with my Beta pair, and the rest of the Pack followed. The circuit was about two miles in length, done slowly so even the smallest Pack members could keep up. When we returned to the Pack House, I let out a long, mournful howl. On my second howl, the Pack joined in, our plea for the Moon Goddess to welcome him to her presence.

We went back to the Pack House and changed back into our clothes, meeting downstairs for the wake. It went on until after midnight; my mate and others left, and I finally told everyone to wrap it up. “Leo, the guest room is open for you,” I told him as I stood up from the chair I’d been using.

“I have to leave early, Stan. I was hoping you might have time now to discuss some important matters in private.”

“Of course. We can use my office.” I dismissed my Betas, telling them to get their sleep, and led him down a quiet hallway to my office. Walking in ahead of him, I headed for the bar I had built into a bookcase behind my desk. “Bourbon?”

“Thank you.” I poured the amber liquid over ice and turned to hand his to him. His hand came forward, and before I could react, I felt something lock around my wrist.

It was a handcuff, a silver handcuff. “The fuck?” I dropped his drink and my own, but the silver was already working against me. I couldn’t link anyone for help, and Leo pushed me into the bookcase. He got my arms behind me and locked the other wrist in place, and now I was truly fucked. “Leo? What the hell are you doing?”

“We’re going to talk about my niece, Stan. You’re going to answer honestly, or you’ll die tonight,” he said as he pulled a knife out of his back pocket. He moved me to my office chair, pushing me down into it. “Why was Lawrence down in Jamaica?”

“He was on vacation with his mate,” I said quickly.

“Wrong answer,” Leo said before the knife stabbed down into my left thigh. I screamed, and Leo covered my mouth until I stopped. “No one can hear you, and you can’t link for help, Stan. You used to brag about the soundproofing in this room, and now it’s to my advantage.” He removed his hand. “Care to try again?”

“He took a job for the Council,” I told him. “Chairman Carver called and asked me for a favor.”

“When?”

“The day before he left. The Council wanted to deliver a message to Vicki, but the videoconference scared them off. They didn’t think she’d meet with them officially unless they broadcasted it live. Lawrence was a family friend, and as a retired lawyer, it was off the books.”

“What did he take to her?”

“I don’t know.” Leo’s eyes got hard, and the knife hovered over my right thigh. “I swear on my mate, Leo! I passed along the offer, and it was Lawrence who agreed to do it.”

I watched nervously as his eyes bore into mine and hoped he believed me. The knife moved away.

“Lawrence opened an account in Jamaica while he was there. Two deposits went into the new account by wire transfer, each of fifty thousand dollars. The first happened the day he met with Alpha Vicki. The second was the day after she disappeared.” The knife came up towards my eyes as Leo gripped my hair in his left hand. “What did Lawrence do for that money?”

“I don’t know!” The knife came close to my left eye, the point touching my skin just below it.

“Lawrence was a Beta; he didn’t take a shit that wasn’t approved by you,” Leo said. “The left eye goes first.”

“I don’t know, I swear!” I was shaking, and I couldn’t believe Leo, my friend, was doing this to me. “I told you everything!”

Leo stared me down, finally taking the knife away. “If I find out you are lying, nothing will stop me. I will attack this Pack and burn it to the ground. You will watch your mate die before you bleed out into the snow.”

I saw his arm swing towards my head and thought it was over for me. Just before the butt of the knife crashed into my temple, I heard Leo say he was sorry. Pain exploded on my temple, and it all went dark.