A Council of Betrayal

by Kim Schubert

  “However short that might be,” Logan growled.

  I smiled at him. “I find that acceptable.”

  Sophie nodded. “Now, how much does Hash know? He was at The Conferences.”

  “I don’t know. I certainly haven’t given him any information, but Grams is a different story and I wasn’t with her the entire time.”

  Sophie nodded. “He’s going to be a wildcard. I’m hopeful he will stay out of this, but rumor has it he is running for the Senate and using this as his platform.”

  I groaned.

  “Now—“ She was interrupted by my cell phone ringing.

  “Crap, sorry, I thought I had it on silent.” Grant’s two missed calls popped up and I answered, worried.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Are you at the attorney’s?” he questioned rapidly.

  “Yes,” I answered. “What’s wrong?” I repeated.

  “Put me on speaker phone,” he demanded.

  I did as he said, holding the phone. “Grant, what is wrong?” I was losing my patience.

  “All the bills are behind at the manor, not to mention Blue hasn’t been paid in over a month.” I could hear him typing in the background.

  “What? I saw the accounting report, that money was debited.”

  “The money is also missing from the bank, but it hasn’t been used to pay for what she claimed it was,” Grant answered.

  I sat there dumbfounded. “She was stealing from me?” I whispered. Her betrayal stung deeply, but I had assumed it was recent and Hash-inspired. “She has been planning this.”

  “Are you able to pay the bills now?” Sophie asked.

  Grant paused. “No, Grams went to all the banks and froze the accounts for impending legal action.”

  A pit of despair opened in my stomach. She had not only frozen me out, but all the children. Cold steel hardened my growing hatred.

  “Is Logan there?” Grant asked. I heard a door open and footsteps falling.

  Grant hesitated. “Can we take a loan from Logan?” Ali asked.

  “NO!” I responded.

  “Of course,” Logan answered, looking at me.

  “I will not be a kept woman!” I told him, furious.

  “Olie,” Ali started softly, “we don’t have much of a choice. The power was shut off about twenty minutes ago.”

  My jaw was in danger of snapping off from how hard I was clenching it. Logan reached out and massaged my neck lightly.

  “Call my office and ask for Francisca. I’ll text her now and tell her to get you anything you need. This isn’t a loan. Olie is part of the shifters now, the funds are hers.”

  I grunted, feeling my independence being stripped from me.

  “I’ll keep track, Olie, and try and keep expenses minimal,” Ali offered.

  I sighed, releasing my jaw. “Do what you need to, Ali, to ensure the kids are taken care of. And pay Blue, no wonder he’s been so pissy.”

  Logan laughed, finishing his text to Francisca. “Well, that and other things,” I amended.

  “I hate to ask this, Olie, but you don’t have a stash of cash somewhere as a getaway fast fund?” Grant questioned me.

  I huffed an amused snort. “No Grant, I do not. I do not tuck tail and run when shit gets difficult.”

  “No offense meant,” he muttered.

  “Do you have anything else to tell me?” I asked, feeling the stress wearing on me. I’d love to get attacked leaving here, I thought.

  “Yes, we have the name of Grams’s attorney.”

  Grant relayed the information to Sophie and I thought about killing the attorney, just to send a bloody message. It was too public, though, too showy.

  “Good,” Sophie declared. “I have what I need to get started. I’ll be in touch.” With that, we were dismissed.

  …

  “I can’t believe this,” I muttered to Logan over an early dinner. We had missed lunch running around with the meetings and we both were hungry.

  Logan leaned against the black wooden chair, stressing the joints. He put an arm over the empty chair next to him, watching me.

  “Do we need to revisit the kept woman issue?”

  “No, I took the money, didn’t I?”

  “You are planning on paying it back.” he tapped his temple.

  “Bah, blasted mate bond,” I grunted.

  Our server arrived with another waitress in tow, swiftly filling the table with all our orders.

  “Everything look okay?” The server asked. We nodded with our mouths full. “Alright, dessert will be out in about thirty minutes, and you wanted two of everything on the menu?” he asked again for clarification.

  I nodded around a mouthful of garlic knots.

  Logan and I were eating in peaceful silence, the bond between us taking care of the fight we were having.

  A throat cleared behind me and Logan’s eyes flicked over my shoulder, his raw sienna gaze darkening at being interrupted or because of who was there, I wasn’t sure.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt your meal,” Blake began.

  “Oh, fuck no,” I hissed, turning around, ready to lay hands on him.

  “Olivia,” Logan’s sharp tone had me stilling my movements, which had to look foolish as I dropped my hands back down, easing into the seat again.

  I pulled my attention off the asshole known as Blake and noticed the terrified little boy and his parents.

  “What?” I growled.

  “I was hoping you could spare a few moments to meet my friends, the Daniels family,” Blake recovered smoothly.

  “Why?” I asked, peering intently at the little boy. My shields were up at one hundred percent to keep the packs and those around me from my volatile emotions. It was unnerving, this extra responsibility.

  I smashed the mate bond into a metal ball inside my head, and then I felt it. Looking back at the little boy, his terror and wonder washed over me.

  Blake made a self-satisfied grunt and I turned my laser-focused attention back to him, trying to control the look of disgust that expressed my wish to rip his fucking throat.

  “You found a baby succubus?” I asked Blake. “Do you want an award?”

  He shifted slightly as he stood.

  Blake leaned down and I felt Logan pushing at the mate bond, unhappy with my treatment of it.

  “I need you to help them without involving the rest of your Council,” he whispered.

  “No,” I told him, easy and fast. I felt the little boy’s hope dim. “I’ll help them, but I’m not playing your games, Blake, and I will not allow them to be caught up in the games you are playing. Now, if you are finished.”

  He sneered. The handsome man I had fallen in love with was gone, replaced by a vampire with ambering eyes who didn’t like the fact I was over him.

  That thought surprised the hell out of me and I opened the mate bond back up to a rush of anger. Trampling it back down, I gave Logan a pointed glare. He eased back in his threat of bodily harm, slightly.

  “You can’t have them if I can’t be a part of the process,” Blake hissed to me.

  Pushing my chair back I closed the short distance between the boy and me.

  He must have been eight. He stood with his hands held tightly together, as though that would keep his emotions from flooding the room.

  I knelt in front of him.

  “My name is Olivia. I am the Head Executioner of the Supernatural Council and a powerful succubus.” His wonder washed over me, his mouth slightly parting. “You are an incubus. Our powers are strong, but they must only be used for good.”

  I was pretty sure I heard Logan laugh behind me. I would deal with him later, at least he wasn’t still throwing anger around.

  I slipped my card into his hand. “Call me if you need help.”

  He nodded before his parents hustled him away.

  “You’re dismissed,” I informed Blake before sitting back down.

  He seethed, his eyes glowing. “You will regret this,” he informed me a
round a mouth of fang.

  “Not nearly as much as I do you.” I met his gaze, letting my features harden. I was done with him and he needed to learn that.

  He left and I exhaled a long, deep breath, turning to Logan.

  “Do not block your mate bond from me again. Promise,” he demanded.

  I opened my mouth to tell him to back the fuck off, but his worry about keeping me safe washed over me. His base desire to protect and love me silenced the protest on my lips.

  I nodded, not trusting my voice, as his love warmed me from the inside.

  …

  The conversation with Blake annoyed me and kept eating at my conscience.

  “I’m not sure I handled that situation well,” I admitted to Logan at the manor.

  He stopped looking at new homes on his laptop to look at me.

  “With Blake?” He said the name with disdain and I felt his lion’s possessiveness.

  “The Daniels boy,” I answered, coming to sit next to him on the couch in the living room.

  “Why?”

  I chewed on my thumbnail. “I didn’t even ask the circumstances. What if there really was a logical reason why the Council shouldn’t be involved?”

  Logan clicked the laptop closed.

  “Olivia.” I didn’t need the mate bond to feel his disbelief of Blake. “You take in wayward children all the time. Blake knows this. He knew you would help that boy, and trying to attach strings is his way of screwing with you.”

  “I hope you are right,” I sighed. “Did you find anything good?” I asked, needing a subject change.

  “A few, let’s take a look together to see if we can’t narrow down our options. I’d like to go tomorrow and look at some of these.”

  I snuggled next to him. He opened the computer back up, settling next to me, his contentment seeping through our link at our physical contact.

  “No, I am not living that far away.”

  Logan grunted, his contentment fading into annoyance.

  “Next,” I demanded.

  …

  It took a horrendous amount of time to sift through all the potential homes. My eyes burned and I was exhausted from debating the pros and cons. We ended up with thirty houses.

  I groaned. “You expect to see all of those houses tomorrow?” I questioned.

  Logan shrugged, his massive hands deftly manipulating the keyboard. “I emailed the realtor, some are occupied. We will see what we can get into on short notice.”

  I grunted, rolling up from the couch. “Let’s go find a fight to join,” I groaned, stretching.

  “A fight?” Logan questioned.

  “Yeah, I need a work out.”

  Logan rubbed his jaw, thinking. He stilled, looking up at me with a gleam. “I have an idea.”

  …

  “Seriously, Logan, I said I wanted to fight, not kill someone and bury the body.”

  He slid out of the SUV, giving me a pointed look before closing the door.

  “Can’t take a joke,” I muttered, slipping down onto the soft pine needles.

  I had running shoes strapped to my feet, thick leggings, and a moisture wicking top under my long sleeved jacket.

  Logan breathed deeply the crisp night air.

  He reached back, taking my hand before moving deeper into the clearing, leading us to a small animal path I would have missed if he hadn’t pointed it out.

  “You run here, I’ll run next to you,” Logan commanded, lost in his joy at being able to run.

  I grunted an affirmative as he began stripping out of his clothes, hanging them over a tree.

  “Aren’t you worried about vandals?” I asked, admiring the dimples in his ass.

  “The packs own everything within thirty miles and we patrol our territory well. I am comfortable with the safety of my clothing and my mate.”

  I dragged my gaze north, blinking, hoping I wasn’t drooling. “What?”

  Logan laughed, “Just try to keep up.”

  With that, he was gone into the undergrowth, a blur of magic and snapping bones.

  Heaving a sigh I started off, wishing for some action aside from organized running.

  Even if the moon was really pretty. I almost tripped twice staring at how full and low it was.

  Logan cuffed, Pay attention.

  “Oh, great, I can’t ignore you while in lion form now,” I droned out sarcastically.

  He lunged, bumping his flank against my legs. I danced away, tangling my legs in vines before I pushed through, picking up my pace. I didn’t have any delusions about who was the faster of the two of us.

  …

  My chest heaved for air as I sprawled on my back on the pine needles, my moisture wicking shirt pushed to the limits as sweat dripped down my temples. I flexed my feet, watching the moon sink lower.

  A cold nose nudged my side, followed by a blast of warm breath on my cheek.

  I grunted, physically exhausted and mentally refreshed after the intense run. Not that I’d admit it had helped.

  Logan shifted back, draping his warm body across my middle, resting his head on my shoulder. I ran my fingers through his hair in contentment.

  Chapter 11

  “Olie, wake up!” Tommy yelled, barreling into our room at the manor.

  His urgent tone had us flipping out of bed, Logan’s claws extended and my hand reaching for the blade under my pillow.

  “What’s wrong?” I rushed him, pushing him to Logan who moved him behind us as I surveyed the hallway.

  “You guys are NAKED!” he screeched.

  I turned, having found nothing worthy of my blade. “Speak,” I commanded.

  “I – I – got the chemical compound back from the labs,” he squeaked, covering his eyes.

  Logan grunted, pulling on a gray pair of sweats. I moved to dress quickly as well.

  “What’s in it?” Logan asked.

  Tommy flailed the arm not being used to cover his eyes. “It’s in my room.”

  “We are dressed, Tommy, let’s go,” I dictated to him.

  He nodded, uncovering his eyes cautiously and marching out of the room.

  In his own accommodations, he sat at the multiple computer screens, furiously typing. “The lab was able to identify everything, which is unexpected at best.”

  Logan leaned over the back of Tommy’s chair. “I’ll be damned,” he muttered, reading the long-ass words I couldn’t pronounce.

  “That would explain why they haven’t attacked more shifters,” Logan continued.

  I waited a moment, watching Logan’s eyes skim over the ingredients to make insta-beast.

  “What is it?” I asked, done waiting. Patience, not a virtue of mine.

  “The main ingredient is nesiota elliptica, also known as Saint Helen Olive, which is extinct,” Logan mused.

  “It doesn’t sound extinct.”

  Logan nodded. “I wonder where they are finding it.”

  I chewed my bottom lip. “That’s a break. We find out where it’s being grown, and we can stop it.”

  Tommy sighed. “That’s going to take a while—researching the plant’s habitats, finding greenhouses that can accommodate said habitats, and, barring that, surveying satellite photos of the plant.”

  I kissed Tommy’s cheek. “I have full confidence in you. Besides, if you need help, just call Becky.”

  He nodded and Logan and I excused ourselves while he was lost in thought.

  “At least he learned his lesson on knocking,” Logan muttered, stretching.

  “Too true,” I agreed, smacking his ass.

  “Keep it up and I’ll test how sore your legs are after that run,” he threatened.

  “Promise?” I asked, jumping onto his back.

  He growled and I giggled.

  …

  “Where are all the kids?” Logan asked, dishing out scrambled eggs.

  “School. The humans’ schooling starts at 8:30 a.m.”

  “I’m surprised you don’t home school them,” Logan commen
ted.

  I shook my head. “It’s important for them to be around humans to learn to gauge their control.”

  “Not to learn how to manipulate?” Logan asked with a smile.

  I laughed. “No, control is the essence of their survival,” I explained. “Once their control is excellent, we start their training on how to influence others.”

  “What about self-defense?” Logan asked.

  “Monday night is boxing, Tuesday is karate, Thursday is strength training and Friday, weapons,” I detailed.

  Logan stopped eating with a forkful of eggs, gaping at me. “And they do their school work?” he asked, shocked.

  “Yeah.”

  “But they are kids, Olie,” he said, dropping his fork on his plate.

  “They are succubi and incubi who don’t have packs to protect them. They have to learn to do it themselves. They have to learn to be strong. As proven by Grams’s betrayal, I won’t always be in a position of power to keep them safe.”

  Logan bristled at that. “You will always be my mate.”

  “And what happens if you want to retire?” I asked.

  His eyes narrowed and his lion pushed against his control. “Only death could take my title.”

  I let my mind walk down that path and found myself shutting down that train of thought rapidly. Logan could not, would not die. That, I was betting my life on.

  I rubbed my chest, uncomfortable with the sudden intensity of emotions.

  Thankfully, the ringing of my phone saved me from further introspection.

  “Garrick,” I answered.

  “Olivia,” he uttered on an unnecessary exhale, “do you have everything under control there?”

  I shifted uncomfortably. I debated telling him to fuck off and mind his own business. Instead I answered honestly. Garrick had always been an ally to me and I was betting he would continue to be.

  “I think so, I hired an attorney today. Logan and I are staying at the manor and Ali and Grant are now running The Council.”

  Garrick was silent for a moment. “And the finances?” he asked.

  I huffed, “Fuck, that just happened yesterday.” I groaned, looking over at Logan.

  “Grams called me, stating that you would be having financial issues and warning me this legal battle would be lengthy.”

  “She WHAT?” I hissed, slamming the counter with a fist and standing up.