“If you mentioned garlic, he probably hates you now.”
The wolf alpha just winced and sat down “Honest mistake.”
Gael, however, looked quite serious. “The disbanding of the Council had some severe repercussions. The bond that should have been there between the others disintegrated. Instead of teaching our offspring about our heritage and other species, we crippled their knowledge out of spite.” The vampire studied the pair sitting across from him. “In our time, we knew everything there was to know about every species that existed.”
Shaking his head, he opened a drawer, and taking out a bundle of files, he placed them on the large, polished desk.
“These are shifter packs that mysteriously vanished over the years. Vampire clans that were torched, alpha pairs that went missing, fairies that disappeared without a trace.” His face was grim. “In short, every other case that could not be explained.”
Fergus glimpsed the date on one of the files, “1,347?”
Gael crossed his fingers and studied the wolf alpha. “One of the largest panther packs in this area vanished overnight. Their alpha pair was found dead a few months later, but of all the elders, pups, and soldiers vanished. No one was ever heard from again. I don’t think this was the first. Nobody would be stupid enough to take on one of the most vicious packs in the region, unprepared. No,” he leaned back in his chair, “they probably had trial runs on others before they changed their tune.”
Diana was quiet as she looked at the huge pile of files. “These aren’t all of them.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
“No, they’re not. You know something?”
She shook her head. “Humans like to brag. I caught snippets of conversations from them. What I could gather was that this wasn’t the only torture chamber. There are a lot of them. One of them had a book, a log of some kind, where every time one of us was taken to the table, they would make an entry in it.”
“We found books,” Fergus said.
“You found some of them,” Diana cut him off. “They had a hiding place built under the chambers. I never saw it myself, but I think they contained gathered logs and data of that place.”
Fergus frowned, “We burned it down.”
“You can’t burn stone. They might have survived.”
Fergus looked at Diana, “It’s possible.”
“I’ll send my men to retrieve the records if there are any left.” Gael tapped a finger on the table. “What I want to know is why they kept you alive for ten years.” He looked at Diana who didn’t flinch at his gaze.
Her wolf had settled inside her skin, and could be seen through her eyes.
“I don’t remember when I was brought in. That part is a blur to me. But…” The pain of the memory made her take a deep breath and find her courage. “They wanted to know things from me. They asked me questions. And when I couldn’t answer them, they skinned me.”
The chair that Fergus was sitting on splintered under his grip.
“They thought I would die. I thought I would die, but I didn’t.” She blinked slowly. “My skin grew back overnight, and they called in a man. If I saw his face, I can’t remember. He’s the reason they kept me alive. Apparently, I was something new to them.”
“You were one of the Council. Your healing is faster. The fools didn’t know what they had under their control,” Gael’s words were quiet in his anger.
“Their questions didn’t stop. They wanted to know about my pack.”
Fergus sat up. “What about the pack?”
Diana looked at him. “Pups. They wanted to know about the pups. Where they were? Where they slept? Who looked after them? But I didn’t know. I didn’t know who the alpha was. I didn’t know his routine. I just didn’t remember.” A shuddering breath and a fire in her eyes. “And if I had remembered, I still wouldn’t have told them. They were monsters. I wasn’t about to hand over innocents to those creatures.”
Fergus wrapped his hand around hers in silent comfort. He felt a sense of pride at the strength of his mate. Diana held his hand in a tight grip.
“I find it strange,” Gael murmured, “that they let you escape so easily.”
Fergus cocked his head. “What do you mean by ‘let her?’”
The vampire studied Diana. “Something so hidden – a hideout so carefully concealed – must have had some form of protection. I refuse to believe that three wolves were all it took to bring down one of their hideouts. No,” he got up and started pacing, “there’s something deeper in play here, something more intricate that we can’t see yet.”
Fergus could see the logic behind Gael’s words. “You think they followed her?”
“Even if they did, they would find it significantly harder to break into this place.”
At Fergus’ questioning look, Gael twirled his finger in a circle, encompassing the whole building. “This entire mansion – its gardens, its location – exists in a time loop. The first Caillagh did it. This was the first Council headquarters, you see? Its protection is unlimited.”
He paused.
“It’s more than that. This group is very organized. Too organized. They’ve survived for a very long time, and they’ve taken out more of the others than we know about.”
“Why is the Council getting involved now?” Fergus demanded.
Gael turned his back on them and looked out the window as if in contemplation. “When I started gathering this information, it was just a hunch. Nothing more, nothing less. By the time, I became certain, the Council no longer existed. I did what I could, but there was very little I could do by myself. With Nina here now, this is our first priority. Which is why, you,” he said to Diana, “need to learn how the gifts given to you can be utilized.”
“Gifts?”
“What do you know of the Council?”
The female wolf raised a brow. “I remember nothing of anything. So, nil.”
Fergus leaned back and watched Gael try to explain what the Council was to his mate. Diana just watched him. “So I’m one of you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Gael stared at her. “I beg your pardon?”
Diana crossed her arms over her chest. “Why? What makes me so special that I’m a part of this? I’m barely holding onto my sanity right now, and you’re telling me I’m part of a group that is responsible for protecting and maintaining order among the others?” A humorless chuckle. “Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? I could barely take you in a fight. What am I supposed to do against an organization that held me captive for ten years?”
“You’re going to serve and protect,” came a feminine voice from behind them as the door opened.
A young woman stood there. Her black hair was short, and those crystal blue eyes held a wealth of wisdom in them, along with kindness. Behind her stood a tall man – a shifter, Diana realized.
Her eyes were drawn to the woman who smiled at her. There was something about her, something so familiar, almost as if she was coming home.
“Hi, Diana.”
“My Lady.”
“Nina,” Fergus introduced.
“You’re…” Diana struggled to identify this woman. “The second Caillagh.”
“That’s right. I felt like I was needed here, so we changed our route.” She entered the room and nearly stumbled, letting out a surprised cry, before she was swooped into the shifter’s arms.
“Careful,” he grumbled. “Third time, today.”
Nina scowled at him. “Why are you counting?”
“To keep track,” the shifter retorted.
“Be gentle,” Gael snapped at the man.
Kevin bared his teeth at him and set Nina on the floor. “Next time, I’m letting you fall on your face.”
“No, you’re not.” She leaned up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his jaw. “Where’s Totters?”
The shifter looked around. “He was sitting on Sebastian’s shoulder, last I saw.”
Nina sighed and then
turned to Diana. “This is Kevin, my mate.”
Diana didn’t know what to say. This woman did not seem like a stranger, but she didn’t know how to speak to her.
“Could we have the room?”
Fergus hesitated, and Nina looked at him. “She’ll come to no harm with me.”
“Yeah,” Kevin added. “You should be more worried about what Nina might end up doing to herself than to your mate.”
He yelped when his mate smiled and stepped on his foot.
When the room was cleared out and the door closed with a snick, Nina turned to Diana. “Why don’t you take a seat?” she said.
‘When did I get up?’ Diana wondered.
She sat down and her eyes followed the young witch as she, too, took a seat.
Now that she had seen her, there was something oddly delicate about her. It was hard to imagine that this accident-prone witch housed a massive power within her.
“You’re not weak, you know.”
The female wolf looked startled at those words, and Nina’s lips curved into a small smile.
“The power that resides in you is incredible. I don’t choose who becomes a part of the Council. We are nature’s choice – who she thinks is a suitable vessel to protect her and her people.” Nina touched her hand, a featherlike feeling. “Your affinity with wolves, your strength of character, your will to survive; that is what made you a candidate, and not Fergus. I know you wondered that. Your mate is strong, but he is not you. Losing you crippled him. Although he holds great strength of heart, you are his first choice. He will always protect you first. And although you love him...” she shook her head at Diana’s jerk. “You do love him…your instinct is to protect the weak.”
Diana snatched her hand away, and her voice shook. “You’re making Fergus sound like a cold hearted–”
“Because he is,” Nina said. “Not in a bad way. He is smart and he is kind, but you are his whole world. If something happens to you, he will not survive it again. He knows that. His existence now begins and ends with you. You are his heart, Diana. He will do anything to protect you. But you, you are stronger. Maybe not in strength, but in ways that matter most.”
Those blue eyes followed her as the wolf wrapped her arms around herself. “Fergus is wonderful. He cares for his pack. You don’t–”
“He would abandon the pack in a heartbeat if they stand against you.”
Diana’s head raised in startled shock. “How do you–”
Nina looked patient. “Because I can see it in his heart. You, and only you, matter to him. Like I said, it doesn’t make him a villain. He acknowledges his faults. He’s a good alpha, but there is something lacking in him that exists in you.”
Diana studied her and stamped out the tremor in her voice. “I can barely protect myself. How can I assume responsibility for all of the others?”
Nina leaned back, satisfied. “Because you asked that question. Because you are practical. There is a wildness in you that attracts the wolves. Your strength doesn’t have to be physical. That’s not what makes a Council member. It is what lies inside you. You will never walk into a situation unprepared. Your humbleness will attract others to you. You will be trusted above all others, because of who you are. You don’t make a show of power. You will surround yourself with allies that will become your power, your force.”
Diana found herself sitting down. “You’re making me out to be–”
“I’m making you out to be just who you are. The powers that came to you because of your status are something that Gael and I can bring out in you. But, I can’t provoke you the way Gael can, so that is his task alone. You need to trust him, and you need to have faith in your mate.”
Diana didn’t say anything for a moment, and then asked, “Did those people do something to me that makes me untrustworthy?”
She didn’t know where that question came from.
Nina studied her. “Has anyone made you feel like that?”
Diana shook her head, making the witch smile. “Trust me when I say this, Diana. If ever comes a time where you might be in a position where you might have to betray your pack or your mate, you will never let that happen.”
Diana scoffed. “You don’t know that.”
Nina just smiled. “Oh, but I do. Do you want to know how?”
She leaned forward and touched Diana’s temple. “You did this to yourself. You took away your own memories. Being a Council member, you have that ability. To protect your pack, you took away your own identity. And this is why you are part of the Council. Because you are selfless.”
Diana’s fingers clenched in the fabric of her jeans.
What? She had done this to herself?
She had barely gotten around to processing that information when Nina said, “Your mate blames himself for what happened to you. But he doesn’t know what I know. Now I may not know what transpired the night that you were taken, but there are some things that I am aware of. First,” she looked at Diana, “you were a candidate for the Council since you were born. And you became a full-fledged Council member when you found Fergus. The second thing is, that the reason you were captured was not because you couldn’t protect yourself. That’s not true.” The witch leaned forward. “You weren’t kidnapped. You went with them willingly.”
Chapter 10
The chair fell back on the ground with a loud clutter as Diana moved back.
“What?!”
Nina didn’t move from her seat. “I can listen to what the trees tell me. I can see some of their memories. I don’t know why. I don’t know what made you take such a decision, but I know that you went with them.”
“I’m a traitor?”
Diana sank onto the ground, her legs unable to support her weight, the shock too much for her to handle.
“A traitor? You do realize that you probably saved your pack with that decision?” Nina tapped a finger on the desk.
“I should have fought back,” Diana mumbled, trying to grasp what she was just told.
“And if you did, your pack would have fallen.” Nina kneeled on the ground next to her. “Diana, what you did, there was a reason behind it. You made a decision. In time, you will recall all of your memories. But, for now, there is a more serious threat on the horizon. You need to focus on growing stronger. We need you on this.”
Diana looked dazed, but she jerked her head in a nod.
She stood up, and when Nina opened the door, Fergus was the first one to enter, immediately going to her side.
“What’s wrong? Why’re you upset?” he demanded. He glared at Nina. “What did you say to her?”
Nina crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed. “Is there a reason you seem to dislike me so much, Fergus?”
Kevin sighed. “Here we go.”
“You and my mate were in here together, alone, and now she looks like somebody just ripped her a new one. So, yes, count that in the growing list.”
Gael stepped in front of him. “Watch your tone, wolf.”
“Oh, stuff it, Dracula.”
With all of them glaring at each other and Kevin looking oddly unconcerned, Diana saw Hill move into her line of sight. The human female saw Nina, looked startled, and immediately backed away.
Did Hill also not like the young witch?
She placed a hand on Fergus’ chest. “Calm down. Nina didn’t say anything to me.”
When Fergus wouldn’t stop scowling, she pushed at him to make him pay attention to her. “Look at me.”
Her mate turned his eyes on her reluctantly.
“We talked. She was helping me. So, stop growling.” She smacked the back of her hand on his chest lightly.
“Fine.” When the witch gave him an expectant look, Fergus made a face. “I apologize.”
She tilted her head smugly. “You didn’t have to. But I accept.”
“Nina,” Kevin said in a warning tone. To Diana, he said, “They’ve never gotten along. And I don’t think they plan to. Oh, calm your shit down, Gael.
She pushes him just as much.”
The vampire sniffed, “Language. She is the Caillagh. A certain amount of respect should be shown.”
The bear shifter shook his head, exasperated. “Let’s just get down to business.”
Nina leaned against her mate. “This is just a quick detour. We’re leaving in an hour.”
At Gael’s protest, she shook her head. “Cassie is going to have the baby any day now. Kevin and I want to be there. Meanwhile,” she looked at Diana, “when I walked into the room, there was something that unsettled me. Your right wrist – you’ve been rubbing at it.”
Diana blinked. “What?”
She looked at her hand, and sure enough, her thumb was rubbing circles at the base of her palm.
“Show me your hand.”
Diana hesitated before holding out her wrist.
Nina studied it, and her eyes suddenly turned a misty silver that had Diana stepping back in shock. However, her blue eyes turned back to normal within a second, and she winced. “Well, this is going to hurt.”
“What is?” Diana looked at her.
“There is something inside of your wrist. There’s a taint of dark magic in it, and I have to draw it out. Gael?”
The vampire stepped forward and touched two fingers to Diana’s wrist where Nina indicated.
The female wolf sucked in a sharp breath as her vision blurred for a second there. Fergus was suddenly behind her, and he held onto her, letting her lean into him.
Beads of blood appeared on her wrist, and a white-hot pain as her skin suddenly tore and something very tiny flew out.
Diana snatched her hand from Nina’s hold and licked on the wound. Ignoring Fergus’ quick snarl, she asked, “Well, what is it?”
Gael studied it, “A microchip, infused with dark magic.”
“A tracker?” Kevin asked sharply.
“I’m not sure. My lady?” He offered the chip to Nina, whose eyes glowed once again.
The chip disintegrated.
“Did you destroy it?”
Nina smiled at Diana, a hint of cruelty in her gaze that showed power. “Not at all. I sent it to the farthest corners of the Earth. Let them scramble around trying to find it.”
Loved by Alpha Wolf Page 7