Dark Wolf(34)

Razvan sent Gabriel and Lucian one silent look, turned on his heel and  abruptly left the doorway, striding away, the set of his shoulders the  only thing that gave away his absolute rage. There was no doubt in  anyone's mind that he intended to go find those who had murdered his  daughter.

Ivory stepped inside the door and walked straight up to the Lycans,  fearless. Her back was covered with tattoos of wolves. The wolves stared  at the Lycans with lifelike eyes as she moved through their ranks. No  one said a word. No one moved, not even when she emerged from the pack  of Lycans to go up to Rolf and look him in the eye.

"He does not lie," she announced. "It appears as if none of the members  of the high council were aware of this betrayal, but I cannot tell if  all of those who guard them were unaware of this treachery. There is the  smell of conspiracy here. Which ones are guilty, I cannot say."

Ivory stepped back from Rolf. "You do not know me, but I am wolf as  well, not in the sense of blood, but I have had my own pack for  centuries. I can tell you, someone wants a war between Carpathian and  Lycan. I do not know who would benefit from such a war, but there are  those of your kind working against you."

Rolf frowned at her. "I hear the ring of truth in your voice, but there  has been no hint of such a treachery. It would be difficult to hide from  us."

Ivory gestured around the room. "Whoever is behind this now has the  perfect weapon available to them. These warriors will go to get their  children. None will stand down. None will stop. They will hunt every  Lycan who took part in the killing of their children. No one will be  safe. No one. You and Mikhail must find a way to stop this."

Abruptly she turned and walked out, following her lifemate.

"Rolf." One of the guards, a man by the name of Lowell, pushed forward.  "We should get all of you out of here, before this escalates."

Another guard, Varg, nodded in agreement. "We have no confirmation that  any of this is true. This could be their conspiracy to kill all of us  and throw the Lycan world into chaos."

Several guards pulled swords so that the light struck the silver, making  it gleam as if in eagerness. More than one began to shift from their  human form to Lycan, half wolf, half man.

Two of the elite hunters Mikhail recognized moved into position to  defend Rolf. Daciana and Makoce, two of Zev's elite pack, exchanged  uneasy glances. They were aware, more than the others, of the danger all  the Lycans were in. There would be a bloodbath here, if the tension  continued to escalate between the two species.

The De La Cruz brothers spread out immediately, a clear sign of  aggression. Jacques Dubrinsky, Mikhail's brother, and several other  Carpathian males moved into the spaces around Mikhail. The two species  faced one another, moving warily to give themselves fighting room, yet  careful not to trigger an attack.

Rolf did not take his eyes from Francesca's grief-stricken face. "We did  not know. When we heard that a Sange rau had been taken . . ."

"Dimitri is not Sange rau," Mikhail reiterated, ignoring Gregori's  warning hand and emerging from the line of fierce protectors that had  placed their bodies between his and danger. "He is Hän ku pesäk kaikak,  Guardian of all. He saved the lives of your Lycans, and they repaid him  with treachery. Would the Sange rau have risked his own life to save two  of your people?"                       
       
           



       

Rolf shook his head. "Most of the others have never had to experience  the complete destruction such a combination causes. We forbade contact  with Carpathians in order to prevent such a mixed blood from rising."

"If you know Dimitri couldn't possibly be Sange rau, a rogue vampire/wolf mix, why would you hold him at all?" Mikhail asked.

In spite of the low, cool tones of both leaders, the tension in the room  continued to escalate. Mikhail pinned Zacarias with piercing eyes.  Zacarias was the leader among his brothers, a fierce, wild predator who  remained untamed and uncivilized in spite of finding his lifemate. He  was the most lethal man in the room, and the most unpredictable, a  throwback to the old days when Carpathians hunted without fear of  discovery.

He knew Zacarias was a law unto himself. He had been too long in the  wilds, an ancient hunter on his own, far from home, with darkness always  tearing at him, yet he had stayed an honorable man.

We will not be the ones to start the war, Zacarias. Keep your brothers,  especially Rafael, under control while I sort this out. Rafael was  lifemate to Colby, Paul's sister. He loved the boy and no doubt was  furious that the Lycans had dared to attack him.

"We have not interviewed Dimitri as of yet," Rolf said. "None of us have  ever laid eyes on him. We sent word to treat him with respect and care  as we were away. One phone call to Zev Hunter, and I will have a much  clearer understanding of what is transpiring."

"Zev is a good man," Mikhail said. "One we have trusted. He was not a  part of the taking of Dimitri and left soon after to track those who had  taken him."

Rolf shook his head. "Zev is the leader of the elite team. They would  not have acted without Zev's authority. It would be . . ." He frowned,  looking from Daciana to Makoce, two of the four members of Zev's elite  hunter pack that were there to guard them. "Treachery."

Daciana and Makoce both nodded their heads. "We were fighting the rogue  pack with the Carpathians here," Daciana explained. "Zev was with us.  The Sange rau projected an image, an illusion of himself, and we all  believed there was an imminent threat to the prince. While we fought  here, two members of our team, Gunnolf and Convel, slipped away, and  somehow this incident occurred with Dimitri."

"How do we get from two of your elite hunters fighting with us, to  betraying us, kidnapping the very man who saved their lives, torturing  him and murdering our children?" Francesca demanded.

Rolf looked around the room at the posturing warriors and shook his  head. "I do not have an answer for you. I can only reiterate we did not  come here to start a war. We came in peace to build an alliance with  you. An alliance between us would benefit not only your species, but  ours and humans as well. Allow me to step outside and make a call to  Zev. I'll get to the bottom of this."

"Why do you need permission for anything from those who harbor the Sange  rau?" Lowell, the guard who had insisted there was no proof of the  attack on the children, demanded. His raised his voice, a belligerent  sneer adding fuel to the fire. "Look at them, living in the mountains,  hiding from the world. They think they have the power to dictate to us,  but they are nothing at all. We don't need them. No Lycan would kill a  child." He looked around at his fellow guards. "They have contrived this  story in order to have reason to kill us all."

A murmur of agreement nearly ignited Rafael into action. He made a move,  his hands coming up, but Zacarias glanced at him, his face set in stone  and Rafael subsided.

"Lowell," Rolf said, his voice firming. "You will remain silent."

"It is my duty to keep you and all council members safe," Lowell  insisted. "I have a job to do, and while I respect your authority, in  this instance, I believe that it is important to save you from  yourself."

The majority of the guards seemed to agree, nodding their heads, or simply drawing more weapons.

Mikhail, you must leave now, Gregori insisted. This is getting out of  hand. Lowell is deliberately turning the other Lycans against us. He  wants to start a fight. Your safety is too important to risk you.

Perhaps that is so, Mikhail agreed, but once I leave the room, a fight  will start. I don't want to give up yet. Rolf is an honorable man. Not  only do I sense that, but Ivory confirmed my belief, and you know she is  extraordinary.

Gabriel moved up to Francesca's side. Lucian, his twin, slipped through  the ranks of the De La Cruz brothers to join his brother in protecting  Francesca.

"You will stand down, Lowell," Rolf ordered. "All of you. We are not  going to escalate this without knowing all the facts." He returned his  attention to Francesca. "I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine  what you must be feeling, but I promise you, I will get answers."

Francesca looked into his eyes for what seemed an eternity before she  nodded her head and turned to bury her grief-stricken face against  Gabriel's shoulder. As Gabriel turned away from the Lycans, his arm  around his lifemate, Lowell lifted his sword, executing a fast, fluid  sweep at the two Carpathians.

Lucian was faster. The legendary Carpathian met sword with sword,  parrying away the blow so that Gabriel and Francesca were unharmed. The  sound of metal clashing ignited the room.