The Council Ch. 02

"What?" Millie asked with a bemused look on her face as her sharp gaze took in the other woman's expression. There was a certain tenseness about her friend, a coiled excitement.

Loretta took a deep breath. "I was just thinking what a sneaky, manipulative bastard Andrei is," she sighed softly. She took a deep breath. She couldn't really keep it from her Alphas any longer. They had a right to know. "I suppose I should let you both know this, Andrei Romanov is my mate."

The two Alphas stared at her with completely stunned expressions for a long moment.

"You're absolutely certain of this, Loretta?" Millie finally managed to get out when it became clear that Jared wasn't going to say anything.

The Beta nodded. "Without a shadow of a doubt. He's my mate whether he likes it or not," she sighed again. "I'm guessing he's not going to be too keen on the idea."

Jared let out a deep groan, a dark scowl crossing his face as his mind immediately started whirling furiously, trying to work out just what Loretta's bomb shell meant for the pack. "You do know this is impossible? It's unheard of. A vampire and a Were? Loretta, you do know how dangerous this is? He could kill you."

She met Jared's eyes with a level gaze. "He won't hurt me, Jared. He's my mate," she answered confidently. "I know there are potential issues with it, the whole one bite and I'm dead thing. He knows it too. We're just going to have to work around it somehow. My wolf is completely certain of it. You know we can't argue with our wolves when they choose our mate."

Jared's expression didn't soften, his agitation starting to increase. "The vampires are not going to meekly accept something like this," he bit out through clenched teeth. In one sentence his Beta had managed to soothe his concern over what the vampires were up to, only to turn around in the next sentence and make his heart sink completely.

Loretta met her Alpha's worried gaze and frowned. She had known he wasn't going to be pleased with the news but his reaction was a bit more intense than she had expected it to be. "How is it any different than any other vampire choosing a mate and taking them under their protection?" she asked quietly.

Jared cursed loudly and then glanced guiltily down at his daughters. So, they wouldn't understand what he had just said but he didn't want them subjected to angry emotions. They could sense that. "Study," he ordered softly, watching Loretta stand and head out.

"Jared, I know you're worried, love, but don't go off half cocked," Millie said quietly, a concerned expression on her face. "If he is her mate then there is nothing she can do about it. What it means for the pack? Only time will tell but whatever happens, you know the pack will come together as one just as we did the last time."

Her mate reached across and brushed his lips lightly against hers. "We've only just recovered from the last war, Millie," he sighed wearily. "There is so much more at stake now, too." His gaze travelled to his babies, his beautiful little girls who meant the world to him.

Millie understood his fear, her own gaze caressing her sleeping children's faces, a rush of overwhelming love welling up inside as she looked down at her babies. "Yes, there is," she agreed. "And not just for us, for all of the pack. We stand as one, Jared. We always will. We have powerful friends too who count us as family. If Andrei accepts he's Loretta's mate then we also have an ally on the vampire Council."

Jared let Millie's words sink in, taking a deep breath and trying to calm his whirling thoughts. He automatically thought of the worst case scenario. His mate looked at things from a more optimistic viewpoint. He allowed a little hope that her way of looking at things would turn out to be the right way.

"I love you," he whispered softly, kissing her slowly and deeply, feeling her love for him rush through their bond and soothe his soul. He allowed himself a brief moment more and then his mind started plotting, working out what he needed to start doing to protect his family and his pack.

Millie's soft laughter broke through his thoughts and he pulled away from her lips, a quizzical expression on his face as he saw amusement in her eyes.

"I think that's the first time you've ever kissed me with such complete disinterest in what you were doing," she smiled ruefully.

Jared flushed, a contrite expression crossing his handsome face. "Sorry, baby," he groaned pulling her gently into his arms and burying his head in the side of her neck. "I can't believe I just did that." He kissed her again, this time putting his heart and soul into the long, drugging meeting of lips. His body hardened and he groaned softly as his arms banded tightly around his woman.

His breathing was harsh and ragged when he raised his head, his deep blue eyes shining with love and need for his woman. "Better?" he asked huskily, smiling when Millie sighed softly and her lips curled into a sultry smile. "I'll take that as a yes," he chuckled, relieved to feel a lessening of the tension in his body after Loretta's announcement.

"Come on, baby. Let's get the girls up to bed and then I can finish up with Loretta," he smiled. "Then we can maybe discuss the pros and cons of my kisses a little more?"

The hopeful expression on his face had Millie laughing softly. "That might be a very short discussion," she laughed. "Can't think of any cons offhand."

She gathered up Alicia into her arms as Jared picked up Mina. He balanced his precious little bundle in one arm and wrapped the other around Millie's waist as they walked upstairs with their family.

Loretta was pacing nervously up and down the study waiting for Jared to arrive. She hoped Millie had managed to work some magic on her Alpha because he hadn't looked very pleased with her.

She had never anticipated that her choice of mate would create such an issue for her Alpha. Always when thinking of her prospective mate, she had assumed he would have been, or would become, part of the pack. Andrei was a completely random variable thrown into the mix and his being a vampire appeared to be of great concern to Jared.

She turned when the door to the study quietly opened and Jared walked in. His expression didn't seem as intense as before, in fact he looked quite relaxed considering his earlier outburst.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I wanted to get the girls to bed just in case this turned out to be longer than anticipated," he said with a small smile crossing his face. He motioned to the chair in front of his desk and then slid into his own chair. He regarded her thoughtfully for a long moment.

"This is a bit of a nightmare," he finally sighed. "Not just the danger to yourself, Loretta, which is very real and I seriously hope you both are going to take that into account. But there is also the question of how this will impact on the pack."

Loretta frowned deeply. She didn't see what the issue was for the pack but clearly her Alpha felt there was one. Was her mating with Andrei potentially dangerous for the pack? Was she being so blinded by her own personal desires that she was risking her friends and family?

"The vampires will not want an interspecies mating," Jared said quietly. "You know how much they loathe Weres as a whole and especially the Hanlon pack after that business with Graves. If we suddenly start mating with vampires, if a true mating is even possible with the whole venom issue, the vampires are going to try and put a stop to it immediately. And we all know the only way they deal with something they see as a threat to their kind. This won't be one rabid vampire we'll be dealing with; it will be the people as a whole."

Her frown deepened and her heart started thumping hard in her chest. She had never considered that the vampires would object so strenuously to a vampire/were mating. That they could possibly launch another war over it. No wonder Jared was so worried. Her choice of a mate could finish the job that Graves started a year ago and she suddenly felt very afraid. There was only one option open to her.

"I won't see him again," she said softly. "We had sex but it was just the once. There is a high probability that because of our different species Andrei probably won't even realise that it was anything more than a one off encounter. Chances are he didn't even feel the mating pull. He gave no clear indication that he did." Her voice shook as she spoke, her wolf howling mournfully as the words burst out of her lips. She was denying their mate, sentencing herself to a life of always being alone. It wasn't an easy thing to do but the pack's safety was at stake.

Jared stared at her stunned. Never in his long life had he ever heard of anyone successfully fighting the mating instinct. A few had tried and failed miserably. The only one who had actually succeeded had been a female in his Grandfather's pack but she had only succeeded because she had gone rogue and had to be taken care of. If Loretta tried to ignore her wolf then there was a very high probability that she too would go rogue.

"You make me so proud," he said, his pride shining clearly in his face. "You would sacrifice so much for the pack, Loretta, but I cannot allow you to do so. As Millie pointed out to me, the pack stands as one. We fought a war so Rafe could keep his mate. We will fight for you too if it comes to that. But you have my eternal gratitude and utmost respect for your brave offer."

She couldn't help the little sigh of relief that passed her lips. She would have done as she said; knowing the pain and misery it would bring her. It would have killed her not seeing Andrei again but she would have willingly taken the risk to herself if it could have avoided harm coming to the pack.

"So, Andrei has no idea that you're claiming him as a mate?" Jared said thoughtfully. "That buys us a little time. At the moment he just views you as a woman he's interested in on a casual basis? How long do you think that will last?"

Her Alpha's matter of fact summation of her current relationship with her mate actually hurt a little. There was no denying it was the truth but she still didn't like hearing it. She hadn't set any time limits on claiming her mate but she suddenly knew she was about to get some.

"It depends on how often I see him now that we've been together, Jared," she sighed deeply. "If I can keep away for long enough periods of time then I could possibly manage a month, maybe two before I have to tell him that he's my mate. Then there's the whole issue of whether or not we can actually mate if he's willing to do so. I don't see any issues with me biting him, though there's no telling if his vampire blood will neutralise the wolf gene and render it inactive." She sighed deeply at the thought.

"There is the thorny issue of him not being able to bite me without killing me so that could effectively mean all this concern is moot anyway. None of us know if a vampire and Were can mate."

The Alpha nodded thoughtfully. "So, now we have a starting point and a way to kill two birds with one stone," he said quietly watching a quizzical expression cross her face. "We need to find out if there's ever been an interspecies mating before. There's nothing in the archives here because I've been through everything and I'm sure I would have noticed something mentioning it. Someone needs to research this quietly. As we don't want it becoming common knowledge at the moment, that someone will have to be you."

Loretta grimaced even as she saw the logic to her Alpha's words. Researching would mean having to travel to the neighbouring packs and asking to go through their archives. That would keep her away from Andrei as well as hopefully turn up some information. It could keep her away for weeks. She pursed her lips as she looked at him.

"About keeping it quiet?" she said biting her lip nervously. "Cedar knows and I think Caleb does too." She waited for Jared to explode but apart from a slight tightening around his mouth he remained remarkably calm at the news.

"Explain," he sighed wearily running a hand through his hair.

"You know it was Alexei who told Cedar how to take down the vampires," Loretta answered. "It appears he may have been reacting to a mating pull when he did so only he isn't aware of it. Cedar is though. The night of the memorial when you asked Caleb about the Romanovs, the look he gave both of us that night made it appear as if he knew we were both interested in the twins."

Jared cursed under his breath and then let out a long sigh. Did it really matter that another of his Betas was claiming a vampire as her mate? The situation wasn't really that much worse having two matings rather than just the one. The dynamics of the matings were the same, the potential issues the same.

"So, what you're telling me is that two of my Betas and my closest friend all knew a year ago about this and not one of you thought that I might need to know?" he finally asked in a hard voice.

He watched Loretta wilt slightly and lower her head at his tone but he wasn't about to apologise for his ill humour. He had a right to be angry about it. He was the pack's Alpha and it was his job to protect each member to the best of his ability. He could have had a year to work on this problem instead of a handful of weeks.

Still, it wasn't entirely Loretta's fault. There were two other people who had known and not said anything. And his Beta had told him as soon as she knew the mating was a real possibility. He was certain this was the first time Loretta had seen Andrei since the night of the war.

"I'll speak to Cedar tomorrow," he said quietly. "You should have told me this sooner, Loretta, but I understand that you maybe didn't believe the mating would become a viable prospect until tonight and you told me as soon as you were sure about it." A sudden thought struck him. "Is Alexei still out of the country?"

Loretta raised her head and blinked slowly. "Andrei never mentioned him so I assume so."

Which would mean Cedar hadn't had any contact with the other Romanov since the war either. He could almost excuse the two women but Caleb? He couldn't believe his friend wouldn't have told him about this potential issue after everything that had happened with Graves.

He sighed deeply. "Start your research first thing tomorrow, Loretta. Let me know instantly if you find anything or Andrei becomes aware that you're claiming him as your mate. I'm sure he's not going to take that very well so we need to be prepared for whatever his reaction is. He is now part of The Council. He may react negatively and side with his own people to try and fight against your pull."

She hadn't considered that Andrei might side with his own people against her but then, she had only found out a handful of hours ago that he was now part of The Council. She hadn't had time to really think about the situation at all. Loretta let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through her hair wearily.

"I never thought claiming my mate would turn into such a complete nightmare," she said quietly.

"And I thought I had it bad when Millie tried to bash my head in with saucepans," Jared chuckled lightly, trying to alleviate her tension a little. "It is problematic but we'll find a way through it somehow, Loretta. Don't ask me how but I'm sure something will work out."

He spent another couple of minutes reassuring her and then he waited until she left the study before pulling his cell phone from the pocket of his jeans. He hit speed dial and waited for the call to connect.

"You'd better have a bloody good reason for wakening me at 4am," a deep, voice growled down the phone.

Jared's brow drew down in a dark scowl. "And you had better have a bloody good reason for not telling me your bloodsuckers were sniffing around my pack," he growled back, fury lacing his tone.

A long, pregnant silence followed which felt as if it lasted for minutes but must have been only a handful of seconds. "They are so fucking dead when I get my hands on them," Caleb Cullen hissed loudly. "Is the situation contained?"

"For now," Jared answered, his tone cold and hard. "You didn't answer my question, Caleb."

A deep sigh greeted his words. "We'll talk about it when I get back," his friend answered quietly. "I'll be home in a couple of days. If you need any backup before I get there call Nors. He should be able to keep the Romanovs in line until I arrive."

The call was disconnected before Jared could reply and for a moment he considered calling the vampire back. He stood up and tossed his phone onto his desk. It probably wasn't a good idea. He needed time to calm down and Caleb wasn't at his best in the early hours of the morning. If he called him back some things might be said which one or both of them would come to regret.

He knew Caleb cared about the pack, that he wouldn't deliberately go out of his way to harm them. Hell, the pack would have been annihilated last year if it hadn't been for his friend. Stifling down his anger, Jared left the study and headed up to his bedroom. A little time spent with his mate would settle him down and they still had that little discussion about his kisses to finish.

*****

Alexei Romanov stalked quietly through the dense forest, fighting down the urge to roll his eyes and shake his head. He couldn't believe he was deep in the heart of the forest in the middle of the night searching for someone who was most likely tucked up in her bed fast asleep.

The moment he had left Andrei, the urge to see her had overwhelmed him. It had surprised him and irritated him greatly but still he found himself winding through the trees, heading towards the Hanlon compound. He had thought a year away would have dampened his interest but it had only exasperated it.

Time didn't usually register in Alexei's thought processes. He was over nineteen centuries old, a heartbeat away from becoming an Ancient. Time meant nothing to him and yet, the year in Ecuador had felt so very long, as if it was moving in slow motion.

She was in his thoughts almost daily, his nights filled with dreams of their meeting in the open meadow. The way her head tilted so arrogantly to the side as she laughed at him, the smart words coming out of her mouth as she challenged who he was. He didn't know what called to him more, her sassy personality or her incredible beauty. Maybe it was a mixture of both?

Alexei sighed as he neared the compound and started trying to detect her scent, that heady sweet and spicy scent of lemongrass that made him stifle down a deep groan every time he thought about it. It would be nigh on impossible to scent her among all the other scents, not without going into full vampiric mode.

He inhaled deeply once more and let out a sigh. He had no idea if she was even at the compound. Most of the Weres lived in the neighbouring cities these days, only coming to the compound every so often or if there was a crisis. For some reason he saw Cedar more in a metropolitan setting than deep in the heart of the forest. She had an innate class about her that seemed to lend to that lifestyle.

"Can I help you with something, Alexei?" a deep masculine voice said quietly to his left and he started slightly and turned his head slowly to look at the tall, handsome Alpha of the Hanlon pack.

"Creeping up on a vampire like that could get you killed," he growled just as quietly, mildly perturbed that he hadn't noticed the wolf approach. The fact the Alpha was fully clothed made him feel even more put out. He hadn't even approached in wolf form! Alexei had been so intent on Cedar Alexander he had let his guard down which was a very dangerous thing.

"You're on my property, vampire," Jared countered shortly, a dark scowl crossing his face. "Alone, I might add. Very close to my home where my family are sleeping. I think you are the one who should be concerned that your life might end unexpectedly."