Page 45 of Blood Pearl
“I’m not in the habit of making deals with mercenaries.”
“Perhaps not Council Warrior Gerry. Yes, I know who you are. If you don’t release me, my warriors will attack again, and this time there will be no ‘play fighting’. It will be to the death. The Alpha will be one of the first to die.” Seeing the look in his eyes, I have no doubt that he believes the conviction in his words.
“You say this knowing that you would be dead before her?”
“I have accepted my death many times over in my profession, Council Warrior. I do not have the responsibility of my men's lives as you do. They are here for the money, the excitement of the battle and because it is what they do best. We fight beside each other, not for each other. I tire of this. Decide and we can be done with this stalemate, one way or another.”
“Council Warrior Gerry. Agree to his terms. I would know who thinks my death is worth the cost of twenty mercenaries. They would not come cheap, I imagine.” Alpha Aurora’s voice has an edge to it that I cannot ignore.
“Very well. As the Alpha wishes.” Releasing the archer, I step back and wait while he makes a drama of brushing himself down.
“Council Warrior Gerry, you should look closer to home for the one that wishes the death of an Alpha female. Your precious Shifter Council members are not so chivalrous or honorable as they seem. I was not supposed to know who was making the payment for the Alpha’s death, however, your Council Woman Eve Planter was not as careful, or as confidential as she believed herself to be. It was a simple matter to backtrack such a large amount as she paid.” The grin on his face tells me that the shock of his revelation has not been lost on me or those around me.
“Remember your oath, mercenary. You will not come against any of the Blood Pearl pack, ever. Forget this oath and I will find you, and next time there will be no negotiating your release.”
“Oh no, Council Warrior. Don’t you forget my oath. YOU are not a member of the Blood Pearl pack. You,” wiping more blood from his face, “I would kill for free.”
Turning, he walks into the forest. Sensing them, rather than seeing or hearing, I feel his men dissolve into the forest with him.
Gathering ourselves together, and after I check Alpha Aurora’s injury, much to Raina’s disgust, after she removed the arrow and dressed the wound, we head back to the packhouse.
Once back and Alpha Aurora gathers the pack to inform them of the border infringement, I contact Flint and give him the news of Eve Planter's latest ‘indiscretion’. To say he is astounded is an understatement.
His immediate reaction was to dispatch myself and Roul to apprehend Eve and take her before the Council. With the revelation by the mercenary that Eve Planter believed she was distanced from the contract killing she had paid for, I thought I knew where to find her and would be quite alright completing the task alone.
When the pack truck leaves for the council with the traitor aboard, I take the opportunity to hitch a lift. Nearing the Shifter Council lands, I take my leave of the truck and made my way to Eve’s new home after she was demoted from the council.
Approaching from the road, the front garden that had been in full bloom when she was given the property, looks dried up and dead. Flower beds, borders and pots all look to have been neglected. There is none of the beauty that had been here when she took it over. It is like her evil character has permeated everything until it shrivels and dies.
Walking to the rear of the house, it is a copy of the front. Where there had been herbs and vegetables, there is nothing living. In places, it looks like someone has ripped the plants out by the roots and left them to die, spread upon the dry ground.
Looking to the rear window, which I thought was the kitchen, I see an ugly, haggard face staring back at me. Surely this is not Eve? The face moves away, and the door flies open as she runs into the garden.
“Get away from here! You’re not welcome and not wanted. GO!” The voice that screeches at me could belong to some long-forgotten creature of a fantasy world.
“Eve Planter. You are summoned to appear before the Shifter Council for your payment of the contract involving the killing of Alpha Aurora by mercenary forces. I am here to take you into custody and to ensure that you answer to the Council for these allegations.”
Turning back to the house, she goes back into the kitchen, and I cautiously follow.
“At last, the bitch is dead. You have no idea how long I have waited for this news. It makes my heart sing to learn of this. For so long I have been jealous of her position. I should have been their Alpha, not her. She was nothing, not even of an Alpha bloodline. That pack should have belonged to me, do you hear? It should have been mine!”
“You could have challenged for it, but you chose not to.”
“I was never warrior enough to make the challenge. I would have died in the circle.”
“There are worse things than dying. You have spent years wasting a life in hatred and jealousy. If you had challenged, at least you would have died trying. Died for something.”
Taking a jug of liquid, she pours a tall glass and drinks half of it in one gulp. Refilling the glass, she looks at me with her empty eyes.
“My wolf left me. Did you know that? She wouldn’t stand by me when I needed her. Misty said she was disgusted with me and asked the Goddess to take her away from such loathing and hatred. Said it was too much to be a part of me. Ha! I showed her. I got rid of that jumped up Alpha who thought so highly of herself.” Drinking more from the glass, she refilled it again. “I will not be going before your precious Council, either. I shall die here knowing that in the end, I WON!”
“You haven’t won. You are charged with paying for the contract. The contract was never fulfilled. Your mercenaries failed. Alpha Aurora lives and is still the Alpha of the Blood Pearl pack. You will face the Council.” Stepping towards her, she shrieks and drinks directly from the jug, then throws it at me. Ducking the jug, I freeze as she shrieks again.
“I will stand before no council!” Watching her eyes begin to glaze over as she falls to the kitchen floor, I realize what she means. The jug contained a poison. Damn. It had not occurred to me she would take her own life. She was right about one thing. She would not stand before the Council.
Chapter 25
AURORA