𝔹𝕖𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝔻𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞 𝕁ℝ 𝕁ℝ
"You have my heart
I die with you, honey
I die with you"
Cedric POV
I head for my meeting with a tight gripped fist, my knuckles turning white, ready to beat anyone into submission just because I'm annoyed. And pissed. I'm always pissed when I have to be separated from my mate. It's hard to control myself when Hendrix isn't near.
Of course, this time is different though, I won't be gone long, and I'm here to make sure that her near death situation is resolved, and that the CPO pays for what they've done. I won't leave until it's ensured.
I'm here alone, Ryk wouldn't leave his pregnant mate, and I already made Ezra leave his mate to come with me to Virginia. Then there's Savannah, thankfully she offered to stay and take care of Hendrix while I'm gone. It's only a two day trip. I'll get in and get out, then I'll be back home like nothing even happened. At least, that's what I hope will happen. You can never tell with these things. They're too unpredictable.
I never would've guessed that I would ever have to deal with something like this. A CPO agent sent to kill my mate, an operation that knew about the possibility of a human lycan conception. It just sounds like some massive conspiracy theory.
A few meetings here at the Guard base, then I'm free of this drama and this hatred I feel boiling underneath.
"Alpha Veiler, you made it." A male voice interrupts my thoughts, and a lycan stands in the doorway of the conference room up ahead.
I narrow my eyes at him. He's new, and how he knows me. I try my best to remain inconspicuous, but it never seems to work. The scars are obvious, even with my sunglasses. I perch them at the top of my head.
He holds out his hand for me to shake which I take firmly, testing his strength. He shakes it, smiling grimly at me like he knows it's not the most pleasant circumstances to be meeting. He would be right about that. I'm still killing mad. This is about my mate, and all the other humans that they were "protecting". It's not exactly going to be a good time.
"Councilman Shepherd." He introduces, and I see him through new eyes. He's fully matured, but very young looking, and fresh faced. He seems inexperienced to be a Councilman. He's Cole's replacement. The past lycan Council member has been arrested because of his ties to the Red Alpha, he never told anyone that it was his daughter the whole time, or that he's the one that drove her to her insanity.
He killed her mate, causing her to drop off the deep end for good. The killing of a lycan's mate is a felony in our world for that very reason. Luckily, the Red Alpha, otherwise known as Tea Cole, wasn't fully matured when her mate was brutally murdered. If she had shifted before she met her mate, it would've been a whole different story.
That's why it's so dangerous for me to have a mate. If I die, Hendrix's body wouldn't be able to handle it, she would soon follow me. If my sweet mate died, it would take an army to stop me from slaughtering millions.
"Let's get started." Councilman Shepherd invites me in, and I take a peek at my wristwatch, realizing I'm already 5 minutes late. No wonder he was waiting impatiently outside the door. These people are nothing if not proper. It bugs me.
There are quite a few people in the room, already sitting, most of them I don't know and don't care about. I've never seen them before, but it doesn't matter. I won't be here long anyway. No need to become acquainted. I'm not here for a meet and greet.
"Please, sit." Shepherd motions toward an empty chair with an open arm, wiping at his forehead with the other hand to rid it of nervous sweat while he takes his own seat.
I oblige, sliding smoothly into the leather and drumming my fingertips across the black tabletop impatiently. Everyone eyes me warily, and I glare back at anyone who tries me. Councilwoman Ardeta smiles at me, a familiar face in a sea of fearful glances.
A female clears her throat, and I look up at her. I recognize her. She's from the CPO. I don't know what district, but I already don't like her by the way she stares at me with evil eyes.
"I really don't see why you're even considering closing us down. We didn't do anything wrong, Councilman, you have to understand."
Shepherd holds up a single finger, going from stressed to direct in a second. The CPO is controlled by the Council, and funded by the Guard. The way she speaks to him is childish, and disrespectful. His motion shuts her up quickly.
"You are head of the child rehoming committee, Miss Vastis. Clearly, you knew about what they were doing to the human women, I say women because I'm sure there were many more than Alpha Veiler's mate, weren't there?" He presses, and her fake sweet disposition shifts into something more sinister.
Her face is twisted in a glare, and she huffs like she doesn't have time to explain her crimes.
"There were a couple, yes. But you don't understand, humans are worthless. A couple of them being killed to preserve our species, our pups, it's no sin. No one will miss them." She makes the mistake of letting those words out in front of me, and I'm out of my chair and snarling before she can take them back. She gasps, having the nerve to put a hand out as if it could possibly stop me.
"Now, now. Calm down. We have this under control. The Council has already made its decision." A female speaks up, she's clearly a goblin with her curled fingers and ears, a superior look shot at the CPO woman.
Miss Vastis pales, a flicker of hope in her eyes. She opens her mouth, but Shepherd speaks before she can ask.
"We'll let you know as soon as we get everything we want to know." He pauses, flipping open a folder and scrolling his eyes down the information typed before him. "Is it true that you had permission, at some point, from a Council member? Or was that forged?"
She gulps, nodding her head.
"We had permission. Before, we did it without any approval, which was risky. We knew what we were doing was right, but that not everyone would understand how ethnological our operations were, but someone found out. Someone leaked it to a Councilman, and he came straight to my office. I was scared he would be angry and put a stop to us, but he didn't. He was glad with the idea. He even asked for a favor in return of his stamp of approval."
My stomach sinks, and I think I know what and who exactly she's talking about. I can only hope that I'm not right. Oh please, Moon Goddess, let me be wrong.
"And whom, may I ask, was that?" He continues.
"Why, Councilman Cole of course." I cringe, looking down and sighing. I was right after all.
"What favor did he want in return?" I demand. The female dares to look put off by my question, as if I don't have the right to ask her. "I am your King. I may not be ruling anymore, but I can take back my rightful throne as soon as I want. That's part of the Guard's system, part of the law I wrote. You want to know why? Because I built this government, and I can take it away, just as easy as I can take away your pathetic life. So, do you feel more like talking now?"
She's shaking, putting arms around herself and nodding her head reluctantly. Every eye in the room is on me. I couldn't care less.
"He had a bastard child with some human woman. He wanted the pup taken, as we do in that situation. He didn't want to keep the kid, but he wanted to be the one to kill her. So, we let him." She shrugs, as if the poor woman's life meant nothing to them. It's because it didn't. They think because human lives are more fragile and shorter that they mean less than ours. I used to agree with that, and more fool me for it.
The Moon Goddess obviously decided to prove me wrong in the best way possible. She gave me Hendrix.
I think of Ezra, and my heart breaks. When he finds out, damnit, when he finds out. Cole deserves to rot where he is. He's been sentenced to the most high security supernatural prison there is. Mortem Malum. It's hard to get in for a visit there, but I might be able to pull a few strings just to get some closure for him. And vengeance. It's his right to hurt the male that killed his Mother.
"Damn." Councilman Shepherd sighs, and I don't blame him. It's awful. Those poor women, so defenseless, just like Hendrix, having their babies taken away and their lives ended. It's not right. It's just evil.
"So, what has the Council decided?" She presses reluctantly, her voice nervous and trembling.
Shepherd glances at Ardeta the vampire.. She clears her throat, taking over.
"We will be investigating your branch, and you will be terminated, and put on trial for treason. We will find anyone involved in your scheme, and bring them to justice. All children in your custody will be turned over to us." She takes a deep breath, glancing at me, and then back to Miss Vestis. "The CPO will hereby be shut down until further notice. Clearly, we have some work to do to make sure we're running a morally sound operation."
Vestis had gone mostly quiet, but gasps at the last revelation, along with a few others who are on her team. They've all been silent until now. They yell their objections. They're furious
One idiot stands, slamming a hand on the table in outrage and glaring at Shepherd and Ardeta.
"This isn't fair." He hisses, in reply, the vampire girl stands as well.
"What's not fair is the way you treated those poor females." She looks to the door seconds before it opens, a flock of Guard soldiers marching in. All Ardeta has to do it nod her head towards them, and they take them away. Several fight, kicking out and trying to get away from the highly trained officers, and failing miserably. Some cry, some even sob, others are begging for their release.
They're carried away, screeching profanities and cursing our names as they're brought to somewhere where justice will be served, justice that's long overdo.
"Ardeta." I say simply, she turns to me with raised eyebrows. She's in the middle of packing up her things after everyone has been dismissed.
"Was that not sufficient for you, Veiler?" She asks, cocking her head in amusement. I shake my head, leaning closer to her as many council members stand to leave. The meeting is over, and people have places to be. This trying is insane, the CPO being closed for any amount of time. They've been operating for over 200 years. I'm sure everyone has something to do as they scramble.
"I need information on the favor that Cole asked for. The child? The lycan pup he has with a human woman? It's my Gamma. Cole is his Father, and we have limited knowledge on his Mother, but I put two and two together..." I trail off, letting her figure it out for herself. Her smile sags.
She puts her hands on her hips.
"I'll see what I can dig up for you, but you owe me one." Ardeta says, and I'm immediately taking her hand to shake it.
"Yes. I insist, I'll be indented fo you. Please. He needs it."
"I'll see what I can do."
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