(The picture above is of Matthew Nottingwood, the new head druid. Enjoy!)
"How dare they even think of putting the blame on me?!" Blake exclaimed and paced through the classroom while Pyramus seemed to read some random book. Blake had no idea if he was listening or not.
"That is how it usually is. Why do you think that there are only two Hedgewitches left? The rest left when they heard of Fingal Keir. They knew that they would be blamed and ran as fast as their legs could go," said Pyramus.
"So I'm stupid not to run?"
"No, just more courageous. Most of us have stopped fighting it, we just know that unfair treatment is common when you are a Hedgewitch."
Blake leaned over Pyramus's desk and he looked up from the book.
"I don't think that I need to say this but... do nothing for the coven. If they are so eager to put the blame on Hedgewitches then they don't need our magic!"
"Well, haven't you grown a spine, little representative."
"I am dating an Alpha wolf, fought a mad druid, have two spirits, one of them is the evil twin of God and I'm bunkered with an Alpha Asian Golden Cat. Grow a spine? I had to grow metal on the damn thing to not be eaten alive. Now-"
"I haven't done any business with the coven. But others might as it's their livelihood. We hedgewitches aren't like the coven. We have no clear leadership and no real unity. Everyone does what they want and take responsibility for what they do," Pyramus shrugged," most likely, why we are such an easy target."
"So we have no prominent figures among the Hedgewitches?"
Pyramus put the book away and stroked his beard with a distant look on his face.
"Well, there is Cainen Harwen..."
"Harwen, I have heard before that they were Hedgewitches but abandon that when they entered the Elan witch coven," Blake mused.
"That is accurate, but one of them, Cainen Harwen, left the coven to go back to his roots. He believes that the Harwens sold out for power," Pyramus explained.
"But?"
"But what?"
"I am assuming there is a but there somewhere?"
"But Cainen might not want to help you. He left the coven because he didn't want to be a part of their intrigues. When trouble hit the fan, he left. I'm not sure that you can pull him back here but if you do... Well, he is rather famous among the Hedgewitches here and rather charming," Pyramus said with a shrugged. Blake cocked an eyebrow and Pyramus replied with a laugh.
"No, I haven't slept with him. I do prefer women, mind you. But Cainen has charm and is a tad of a rebel. That makes him charismatic to other Hedgewitches."
"Which will be of help if I want to gather their support," Blake muttered and noticed that Pyramus had started to write down something on a piece of paper. He ripped it off, folded it and handed it over to Blake.
"What is it?" asked Blake.
"Cainen's phone number. You might have to try several times as he is often... Occupied but persistence almost always works."
"Thank you!"
"Don't thank me yet. Cainen is an expert of avoidance so it might be hard to convince him-"
"I'm sure I can convince him!" Blake said eagerly and ran off with another thanks.
"You better not get your hopes up," Pyramus muttered and pulled up his book again.
*****
"So Elliott wants you to... What? get them under control," Aeron said with an expression that told of his disbelief.
"Pretty much... You should have seen Blake go up against that Graycrest hag. He looked so cute," Jaxon said and released a sigh at the thought of Blake.
"Dieu, aide-moi. I'm fairly sure that cute wasn't what he was going for," Hadrien muttered.
"Can you believe that those witches want to put the blame onto Blake for Fingal Keir's action?" Jaxon exclaimed while ignoring Hadrien's comment.
"I didn't the first five times you asked that, but damn it, the thought is finally hitting me," Aeron exclaimed dramatically and got a slap over the head as a response.
"This is serious!"
"We got it. I above everyone else is furious that they want to let Fingal Keir go but what can we do?" Haley muttered and refused to look at them. He had just pulled up his hood and wanted nothing to do with the world.
"I think..."
"Oh dear," Aeron muttered but Jaxon ignored him.
"That we should go there and beat them up!"
Everyone stared at Jaxon who looked deadly serious.
"And then what?" asked Haley.
"What? That is the entire plan."
"Okay then, how about the smarter Alpha comes up with a plan this time," Aeron said and both he and Haley turned to Hadrien.
"Hey!"
"Well, I think we should focus on Rowe and leave Fingal Keir be. Just because the Graycrests wants him released doesn't mean that he will be. The Justicar determines that and from what Blake has told me, he doesn't seem that convinced of Fingal Keir's innocence," Hadrien shrugged. "So just leave it for the time being and focus on the problem at hand."
"Now that is a plan of an Alpha!" Aeron clapped his hands and got another slap over the head from Jaxon.
"I thought my idea was better..."
"You always do," Aeron muttered. "Now how should we handle Mark Rowe? should we let Haley knock his socks off again?"
"I would," said Haley.
"Yeah, so would I. He sure has a very hittable face," Jaxon muttered.
"Decided then?" said Aeron but Hadrien frowned as he pondered the idea.
"Not really sure if it's a good idea. He got beaten twice last semester and just got rowdier..."
"Then what do you suggest?" Jaxon asked with a sullen pout.
"The reason why Rowe is such a cocky bastard now is because he thinks he has the backing of Ronan. Let's remove that factor. Make Ronan despise Rowe. Abandon him. Then he has no backing and can only submit to us," Hadrien mused with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
All three looked at him with disbelief.
"Are you sure that you are a wolf? You sound more like a cat," Aeron muttered.
"I think Hadrien is right. We need to clip his wings," Haley said and Jaxon frowned.
"He is a wolf. He doesn't have wings."
Aeron groaned and rubbed his forehead like he had a headache.
"Ignore the stupidity of our dear Alpha and just focus on Hadrien's idea. It has merit. But how do we put these two at each other's throat?"
"I suggest we speak to Elliott. We will need to know more about Ronan Walsh and then trick Rowe into doing something that even Ronan would shun," Hadrien said and all three looked over at Jaxon who groaned.
"Fine, I'll talk to Elliott."
*****
Elliott knocked on the door to Joshua's room. Somewhat reluctantly as he had no idea what to say to him. Sorry, I wasn't able to get revenge for you. In fact, I got my ass handed to me on a silver platter... Yeah, that sounds about right.
"Oui, entrez," Elliott could hear Joshua's muffled voice from the other side telling him to enter. He did so but carefully like he was afraid of getting hit or thrown out. Joshua laid on his bed and looked up to see who had come to visit. He immediately smiled, making his handsome face look even more irresistible.
"Mon amour, you look far better than me."
Elliott cleared his throat and tried to avoid turning red but he was fairly sure that he failed. He watched Joshua's half-naked state and Joshua was not shy flaunting it as he leaned back on the bed making sure that Elliott could get a good look.
"Well, wounds of an Alpha may take longer to heal for a Beta but not for another Alpha," Elliott muttered fully aware that he was staring at Joshua's abs.
"Mon amour, mes yeux sont là," Joshua said and pointed at his eyes which gleamed amusingly.
"If he doesn't want me to look then why is he flaunting?" Elliott thought and forced his eyes away. Joshua seemed almost disappointed. Why? He was the one that told him to... Frenchmen.
Elliott rubbed his temples before opening his eyes again to meet Joshua's brown eyes. The same color as milk chocolate though when Elliott looked closer, which he liked to do, he could see some hints of grey in those eyes. Maybe even green. Joshua grinned that flirty smile again and rose from the bed much to Elliott's dismay as he was far from healed. Joshua even wobbled a bit as he rose but it didn't seem to stop him from walking over.
"Did he hurt you, Alpha?" Joshua asked gently.
And there was the concern. His gentleness made it hard for Elliott to let go of the thought of them being attracted to each other. But the word Alpha seemed almost like a cold shower. Like he wanted to make sure that Elliott knew his place.
"I am... Healed up which is more than can be said for you," Elliott said and looked at the bruises left by Ronan.
"Flesh wounds, they will heal with time. Emotional wounds are harder to heal," Joshua said as he inspected Elliott's face like he wanted to discover his deepest secrets.
"Well, they surely aren't going to be on display on my face," Elliott said and forced himself to have an amused expression though he found nothing amusing at the thought of what he experienced when he was young.
"It might surprise you how much can be seen on the face," Joshua said quietly and stroked Elliott's cheek. Elliott's heart started to beat faster and his face slowly became warmer. Joshua bit his lip which only made Elliott's wolf, Silvergale, howl in delight. She made it no secret what she wanted.
Elliott almost lost his breath when Joshua leaned closer. His breath hit Elliott's face and he opened his mouth to gasp when Joshua's hand ran down his chest. A sound that only made Joshua smile as he came closer...
The door flew up as someone kicked it in and Elliott's heart stopped as Joshua leaned back with a displeased expression. Jaxon marched into the room with a determined look on his face.
"Elliott! I need to talk to you."
Jaxon walked over to them and pushed himself in between Elliott and Joshua like he hasn't noticed him. Hadrien walked in after him muttering something in French while rolling his eyes. Elliott could hear him mutter a sorry to his brother.
"Can it wait? I am busy," Elliott muttered and tried to meet Joshua's eyes but he looked away. Damnit!
"With what?"
Joshua hit Jaxon over the head and Jaxon replied with a groan. He turned around with a surprised look on his face.
"Joshua? What are you doing here?"
"This is my room."
"That explains why Hadrien followed me..."
Elliott so wanted to bury his little brother in the garden... He still might do it but right now he needs to get rid of his brother to salvage the situation.
"What do you want, Jaxon?"
Jaxon pouted at Elliott's displeased tone but still continued," I need you to tell me about Ronan."
Elliott frowned but was in no mood to talk about that asshole," Tall, wide, dark skin. Black hair. Alpha. A bully hiding behind tradition."
"Elliott you will need to-"
"No, I don't need to tell you anything," Elliott snapped. Jaxon winced at his brother's harsh tone but still persisted.
"You told me to get rid of Mark Rowe!"
"I told you to handle him," Elliott corrected," what does that have to do with anything?"
"I have come up with a plan!"
Hadrien cleared his throat and Jaxon grimaced. "Hadrien came up with the plan, I helped. We going to make Ronan abandon Rowe by making sure that Rowe does something Ronan wouldn't like!"
"That does sound like Hadrien's plan," Elliott muttered but it wasn't a bad one."Though, I'm not sure that I have any knowledge of Ronan that can be of help. He might not be the same person as he was when he was sixteen."
"I think you might already have given us something," Hadrien mused.
"Oui, you said he was traditional," Joshua added.
"So what?" asked Jaxon, clearly not keeping up with the two brother's devious thoughts.
"So he despises anyone who breaks tradition," Elliott clarified. It could work. That part of Ronan did not seem to have changed.
"So it could work?" Hadrien asked.
"I am uncertain. Ronan, for all his faults, believes that you don't abandon anyone. You just force them to adhere to tradition. Often by violence."
"Then it would be all for nothing?" Hadrien muttered.
"Pense plus loin, mon frère!" Joshua said who finally seemed invested fully in the conversation. "There is always a breaking point to which you do not return. Find Ronan's limit. What kind of horrifying deed must you do to be exiled from his pack? Something that breaks tradition and is unforgivable. Find that, and you might have a way."
Elliott felt his hair stand on end. Joshua's charm could not cover up the cruelty underneath. He seemed almost casual to speak of such horrors. After all, his younger brother would have to trick Mark Rowe to do such a deed which would, in the end, make him just as guilty. Which did not seem to bother Joshua at all. Not that it seems to bother Hadrien either.
Elliott had only seen glimpses of this in the two brother's but he could see how they are related to the Beast of Gévaudan.
They had the same killer instinct as one of the most dangerous wolves in history.