Alpha King by Sara Fields
Chapter 11
Lawson
The days following the battle were hectic and hollow. I had to bury more than fifty of my wolves and that settled heavy on me. I hated losing my own, but I knew I had to bear that weight and stay strong as the leader of my pack. Ava put together a touching ceremony honoring those who gave their lives to protect the pack. It was beautiful, but even in our overwhelming sorrow, Ava shone like a beacon among us. She remained her spirited self despite everything she’d gone through and that made me the happiest man alive.
I touched her, kissed her lips, and told her how much I loved her every chance I got. There would be time for us soon, but there was much to deal with in the aftermath of war.
The battle against the Venuti had garnered media attention, but with some swift work on Genzo’s part, he was able to change the narrative to one of a gang war that had spiraled out of control. We disposed of all the vampire corpses through various avenues, my favorite being a shipping container on a storage vessel that was going to be accidentally sunk in the middle of the Gulf.
There was a significant amount of damage to my home and the surrounding landscape. I met with several local contractors and had them get to work as quickly as possible. Additionally, weapon stocks needed to be replenished just in case the Venuti were dumb enough to challenge us again. Fortunately, it appeared they’d run off with their tails in between their legs. There were no signs of their existence in the quarter, not in the bars, the shops, or even the ports along the Mississippi. My men patrolled the rest of the city, looking for any sign of them and finding none.
The city was ours.
However, I knew the Venuti. They’d been around for a very long time and even though we’d destroyed a fair number of them, there were many more waiting in the ranks. They’d retreated for now. I wasn’t sure for how long or if they’d stay out of New Orleans forever. I’d enjoy this temporary reprieve however long it lasted, but I would be prepared if they chose to come at me once again.
Two weeks later, I picked up the phone and called the Council.
The Council had existed for centuries. It was an organization of all the families in the world, shifter and vampire alike. It was only a matter of time before they came calling and I wanted to be the one to reach out to them first. As the alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack, one of the most formidable shifter families in the world, it was within my power to call a meeting of all the reigning kingpins in the United States.
That meeting happened three days later.
I didn’t go alone. I brought Ava along with me.
I dressed her in a very expensive Christian Dior dress. It was blood red, edged with decadent lace, and tight enough to show off every curve of her body. It was designed in a way that showcased my mark on her shoulder, ensuring that it was clearly presented so no one could question that she was my mate.
I took her arm with mine and walked into the massive southern home on the edges of the city. I was guided into a central dining room. The Council had prepared a full meal for the shifter families. For the vampires, there were several goblets full of fresh warm blood. I tried not to turn my nose up at the scent of it, but it was rather rank.
It only worsened when the other figureheads started taking their seats at the table. I chose to sit at the head of the table, moving a chair closer to me so that Ava could sit alongside me. The table slowly filled until at long last, a representative of the Venuti walked through the door.
I studied his face. I already knew his name.
Vincenzo Lozano was a particularly vicious vampire. When he was a human, he’d fought and died in the Civil War. The uneasy years that followed proved to work in his favor and I knew of at least a dozen small massacres that he’d been a central part of. His reputation preceded him, and I knew he would be even more difficult to deal with than Nicolai had been if things went sour between us.
I didn’t plan on allowing that to happen. Today, I was going to expose the Venuti’s master plan of an all-out war between the wolf shifter families and the vampire clans.
When everyone was seated, I looked around the room. The men and women here in this room with me had the power to destroy North America with a phone call or a snap of the fingers. We could crash the stock market, empty every single bank in the country, or bring world trade to a close. Our power wasn’t restrained by the borders of the United States. It went much farther than that, extending into Europe, Asia, Australia, and the rest of the world.
A group of waitresses surrounded the table, pouring glasses of whiskey or wine for the wolves and passing goblets of blood to the vampires. When everyone was served, I cleared my throat and I peered around the room, meeting eyes with each powerhouse at that table.
Cole, the leader of the Gray Ridge Pack and also a close ally of mine, dragged his gaze from me to Ava with a knowing look. He finally grinned and I returned the sentiment. There were several more wolf families that acknowledged my mate silently, but I planned to introduce her publicly to all of them.
“I’d like to welcome all the families to this meeting of the Council. We have much to discuss, so if it’s convenient for everyone here, I’d like to begin,” I said boldly. The table quieted and all eyes fell on me. I didn’t miss the vindictive glare in Vincenzo’s red eyes either.
I’d have to watch out for him.
“The first order of business I’d like to bring to the table is the woman sitting beside me. She is my mate and as such, she is my responsibility.”
“She should pay for what she did to Nicolai,” Vincenzo spat.
I glared in his direction.
“I have dealt with her in the way that wolves deal with their mates. That matter has been settled to my satisfaction.” With a sidelong glance, I saw Ava dip her head and I was pleased to see a pink blush spread across her pretty cheeks. She showed the room a demure sense of a punished and very contrite mate by my side.
“Not to mine,” Vincenzo growled. I took Ava’s hand in my own and stared back at Vincenzo, challenging him in silence with just a look.
“Since you spoke up so quickly, Vincenzo, why don’t we discuss why she got involved with the Venuti Clan in the first place? Why don’t you tell the Council what you were trying to contract her father to do for you?” I pressed.
With a furious glare, he went quiet.
“Why don’t I tell them myself then, Vincenzo?” I said, sitting back with a hard look in his direction. He didn’t speak up anymore and the other families appeared ready to listen.
I started to tell the story, explaining how the Venuti had tried to contract Ava’s father to create weapons for them that would be detrimental to wolf shifters. I explained the silver-tipped bullets, the studies into the application of wolfsbane, as well as a number of other high-tech weapons they wanted.
I told them that her father had refused, and that the Venuti had forced him to do what he did that day. I didn’t detail the massacre. I didn’t want to in front of Ava, but the mention of her father’s name was enough for the surrounding Council members to suck in a halted breath.
They knew who he was. They knew what he did.
I continued without pause.
“The evidence we found in the Venuti tower was damning. Not only were they coming after the Crescent Moon Pack, but they had intentions to go to war with every wolf family in the country. After that, they intended to expand throughout the world,” I continued.
Everyone at that table turned toward Vincenzo.
“If you need to see what we found, my beta is here with me. He has a copy of the extensive records that the Venuti kept on this topic,” I added.
“I don’t think that is necessary. After the meeting is concluded, the evidence can be circulated amongst us so that everyone here can see it,” Cole said. A chorus of agreement echoed around the table.
The leader of the Asamire Clan quietly looked from me to Vincenzo. I knew a little about their family, but not much and they liked it that way. From my understanding, they were a vampire clan of pretty badass assassins. They were generally quiet and liked to be surrounded in an air of mystery. They didn’t cause trouble though. They kept to themselves. I didn’t know his name, but the way he stared at Vincenzo revealed just how disgusted he was in the behavior of his fellow vampire.
Even the king of the Lasombre Clan sat back with an air of annoyance. He was dressed in all black, as vampires from his clan generally were. They had just as much power as the Venuti, but they usually fought amongst their own clan rather than with anyone else.
“We don’t want war with the families. What can we do to avoid this?” the Asamire kingpin said, his voice quiet but powerful all the same.
Ava cleared her throat.
“My mate would like to speak on behalf of the Crescent Moon Pack,” I offered, and she stood up beside me, pressing her fingers against the table.
“It is our demand that the Venuti fully surrender the city of New Orleans. They will conduct business in their own territory and never set foot in ours again.”
“That’s bullshit. She’s nothing but a human,” Vincenzo spat.
“She’s my human,” I growled. “She bears my mark on her neck and you will treat her the same as you would anyone sitting at this table.”
Cole slammed his hand on the table.
“Enough, Vincenzo. The members of your clan are guilty of the intention of starting a war that would involve everyone sitting at this table. If you continue, all of us here will have to vote on the ending of the Venuti family name.”
He hadn’t said it, but the threat of extermination was ripe in the air. In the history of the world, only one family had ever been exterminated, the vampire clan responsible for the Dark Ages in the human world. No one spoke of their family name because it had been lost centuries ago, wiped from history and forever from memory.
“Both Nicolai and Lola Claiborne are dead. Much to our knowledge, they were the two vampires that were responsible for both Ava’s father’s death and the stoking of war between the families,” I continued. “I wanted to ensure that the Council was aware of such dangerous behavior so that if anything more came of it, we all would be ready to deal with it.”
“I agree,” Cole echoed.
“I would also like to ask for a contract of peace between my pack and the Venuti. I want their detailed surrender and retreat from New Orleans documented, so that if anything further occurs in the future, a written record is kept,” I added.
The men at the table nodded in agreement. Ava sat back down beside me.
Vincenzo continued to glare at me, but I no longer cared. I knew this meeting wouldn’t resolve anything more than an uneasy peace agreement between us and that he could turn around and attack my pack tomorrow.
The rest of the families had needed to know what they were up to though so that they could make their own preparations too.
Under the table, Ava slid her fingers in mine and squeezed them tight. Beside me, she lifted her chin with pride.
I turned my head, admiring the way her pretty blue eyes sparkled beneath her long lashes. Her hair hung down her back in waves, soft and supple. She turned to me with a smirk edging at the corners of her lips. The tip of her tongue slid slowly along her upper lip, and she turned back to the table, watching the proceeding with a regal air that I hadn’t seen radiate from her ever before.
Her shoulders were pulled back and her chin was held high. I glanced around the table once more and saw that the other family heads were looking back at her with respect and admiration, like she belonged there.
I grinned.
She did belong there.
I was king of the Crescent Moon Pack. She was my mate, but that’s not all she was.
She was also my queen.
