The Council Ch. 14

"I suppose that depends on what the other members of the Council consider proof," Andrei drawled smoothly, leaning back in his chair and briefly closing his eyes as he fought a wild need to open his mind up to his mate and call to her. He knew she was close by, that she would hear him if he called. But he also knew that the instant he heard her voice he would lose all control. He had to buy more time for the others.

He opened his eyes again and slowly met each Elders' eyes one by one. "Caleb Cullen told me himself that he intended to bring down The Council and install one more fitting to his liking."

His gaze was on Daniel as he made his announcement. His words were completely true and he dropped enough of his mask that his nemesis could see that he spoke the truth. Just like that he hooked Daniel completely. Despite the Elder's hatred of him, his thirst for power was more dominant. If Andrei were to agree to wipe out the Ancients in that moment, Daniel would surrender Loretta back to him instantly.

For the briefest of moments the thought actually crossed Andrei's mind to do so. For that one insane moment he contemplated just what he would be willing to do, to become, to have his mate safely with him once more.

"Andrei," Alexei sounded soothingly in his head and the moment of insanity passed and he was once more in control of himself, grateful to his brother for being there and stopping him from making what would have been the worst mistake of his life. Loretta would most definitely never have forgiven him if he had been the cause of the deaths of those she counted as family.

"This is intolerable," Daniel hissed furiously, his eyes glinting almost manically. "The Ancients need to be dealt with instantly. They cannot be allowed time to gather enough support to attack The Council."

It was all Andrei could do not to laugh out loud at Daniel's words. They almost mirrored Caleb's words earlier about not allowing Daniel to gather his forces. Surely the others had to be in place by now. It was all he could do to sit there with the two men he wanted to kill most in the world.

"Check with Demetri," he said mentally to Alexei. "I can't sit here much longer without acting."

He kept his gaze on Daniel as he briefly conversed with his brother. "So suddenly this meeting isn't such an imposition, Daniel?" he asked in a silky tone. "Now there is a threat to your seat on The Council, you are suddenly interested in being here? Does preserving your power negate the needs of our people so easily?"

His last question had all eyes on him. Cristoph was puzzled and showed it. Stephan could see that Andrei had reached the end to his limits. Roberto and Daniel both knew their initial suspicions were not so far off the mark.

"They're in place," Alexei whispered quietly in Andrei's mind.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Cristoph finally ground out, anger beginning to cross his face. "Everyone seems to know something which I am not privy to. Anyone care to share?"

Andrei rose slowly from his seat, walking silently into the centre of the Council chambers before turning to survey the dais. The other Elders stood too, Stephan moving off to the left putting distance between himself and the others, his big body tense and ready for what was to come.

"Do you want to explain, Daniel?" Andrei asked in a deadly quiet voice, his eyes like chips of ice as he speared the Elder with his gaze. "Would you like to explain to Cristoph how you took something that belongs to me? Something that I want back very badly? I hope its intact for your sake because if it isn't, you will breathe your last this night."

He said the last for dramatic effect and no other reason. It didn't matter to him if Daniel produced Loretta and his child with not a mark on them. He would still breathe his last because he had taken what was Andrei's in the first place.

Andrei watched Cristoph swing his gaze between the others and then he moved towards Stephan, declaring where he stood silently even though he didn't know what was going on. He knew enough about the Romanovs that he wasn't willing to stand against them.

Daniel merely smiled slowly, pleasure dancing across his face as he watched Andrei intently. "You are very attached to the dog," he laughed softly. "Who would have thought it? Andrei Romanov fucking a pathetic little animal. It was my intention to have your dog lie to our people about mating with you but I do believe it wouldn't be a lie, would it, Andrei? You've mated with her! A filthy, stinking dog of all things." He threw back his head and laughed loudly.

Stephan blinked slowly and then let out a loud sigh. Well, he had guessed that whatever was going on with Andrei and his wolf would be something huge. Mating with her hadn't been an option that had come to mind but he could read Andrei pretty well and could see that Daniel had guessed the truth. Vampire and Weres? What a bloody minefield that was going to be.

Cristoph's eyes widened in shock and he shook his head in denial. Interspecies matings? There would be a war over this. The Council would become a mockery when it was learned that one of their own had mated with a Were. He almost crossed back across the room to Daniel's side. His face twisted in disgust at the very thought of the interspecies mating.

But he was a survivor and he knew that the Ancients were involved heavily with the Hanlon pack. They would be aware of the matings. Going against the Romanovs was suicidal. Going against the Ancients? He stayed where he was.

The tension in the room escalated further as Andrei fought to control the wolf gene within him. He wanted to attack Daniel so badly but he contained himself until Caleb gave the signal. The filth Daniel spewed out of his mouth about his mate was enough to drive him insane with rage but he held still and took a long deep breath.

"Do you know what an immoral little slut your dog is, Andrei?" Roberto laughed softly joining Daniel with his own smug amusement. "She whores herself to other men, opening her legs for all to ride her dirty little body. You do know she's breeding with some other man's bastard inside her?"

Andrei felt something die inside him. The red mist of his fury evaporated instantly and a cold, hard blackness filled his soul. His rage sank downwards. It hardened into something almost physical and consumed every fibre of his being with an icy grip. Never had he experienced the emotions he currently was wrapped in.

They knew Loretta was pregnant! He knew they would have baited her with it, that she would have found out. Did she find out before she shifted? Did she have to make that decision? Did her heart break as he knew it would have if she'd had to make the conscious decision to shift knowing she was pregnant?

For that alone they would die. For touching her, for hurting her physically, for breaking her heart they would die a long, slow agonising death. Everyone who got in his way would.

Andrei was rooted to the spot, hope and fear warring inside him. Roberto's words implied that their child still lived. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out to her any longer.

"Loretta," he called hesitantly, afraid he wouldn't get an answer. Would he somehow know if she were dead? Would he feel it deep within himself now they were mated?

A muffled sob sounded in his head, full of pain and anguish. The sound tore at his heart but it also filled him with joy. His mate was still alive and she was close. Then emotions rolled over him which didn't belong to him. The agony and despair in Loretta's heart that seeped through their bond almost had him sinking to his knees. His wolf was raw, suffering intensely, self loathing filling her as well as a deep anguish. He wanted to weep for the pain his beautiful woman was languishing in. He wanted to kill everyone who had done this to his precious Rose.

"Andrei," she answered so quietly he could barely hear her. "Andrei! I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I had to shift. I didn't want to but I had to." The plea for forgiveness in her voice cut him deeply, his heart breaking at her words.

"Shhhh, my sweet Rose," he whispered tenderly, pouring all his love through their bond, wishing he could be there to hold her and soothe her pain. "You have nothing to be forgiven for. We are here, love. Freya is coming for you and Ashleigh. Just keep yourself strong until she gets there. I'll come as soon as I can but I need to destroy these bastards first."

"But the baby..." Loretta's mental voice trailed off in another anguished sob and Andrei wanted to go to her so badly. He knew he couldn't and it killed him not to do so. It was another black mark he added to the growing list of just how much he had failed his mate. He did the only thing he could at the moment, he sent her his love and support and his deep devotion to her through their link, mentally holding her as tightly as he could to ease her suffering.

"I know, my Rose," he whispered soothingly, letting her know that he understood what she was trying to tell him but couldn't find the words to say out loud.

"If we have lost our child we will adapt somehow," he told her, his mental tone sad at the prospect but also strong and supportive too. "What is important right now is that you stay strong until we can free you. As long as we have each other then we can make as many beautiful little babies as you want. If we never know the joy of our first child then the fault does not lie with you, love."

The fault would lie squarely with him if their child was gone. He would bear the brunt of that guilt for his precious mate. He would not allow her to suffer for the untenable decision she had been forced to make.

He must have given something away, some small flicker of his eyes or something because Daniel suddenly smiled and crooked a finger ever so slightly.

"Kill the child," Roberto said loudly, his eyes narrowing slightly signalling that he was speaking mentally too.

A vicious snarl erupted from Andrei at his words and he flew forward towards Roberto as a side door opened and at least forty vampires were suddenly in the room between him and the two Elders. Stephan and Cristoph immediately came to Andrei's side before the wall of vampires.

Alexei dropped agilely from the wooden rafters high up in the vaulted chamber ceiling, to land beside his brother, causing Cristoph to step back startled, having been completely unaware that Alexei was close by. Even Stephan was slightly startled and he had known his friend was somewhere within the room.

"That probably was your worst fuckup ever," Alexei growled softly, his brown eyes hard, his expression one of barely contained fury. He really liked Loretta a lot. She was good for his brother. While he knew nothing about children, he knew that the life she carried, or had carried, was part of his brother which made the child part of his family too. "It will also be your last," he added in a cold deadly voice.

"Alexei, so nice of you to join us," Daniel drawled jumping onto the wooden table so he could view the others past his personal little army. "It saves me coming to look for you when I've finished taking your brother's head."

Alexei snorted and spared Andrei a quick glance. His brother was beyond reason now. He had no idea what was holding him at bay at the moment, why he wasn't scything his way through the wall before them. He turned his gaze back to Daniel to see he had been joined on the table by Roberto. He snorted again and rolled his eyes. True cowards always showed their metal when they had expendable soldiers before them.

"You think your little band of friends here is going to be enough to take us, Daniel?" he drawled softly, amusement lacing his tone though his eyes were hard and unflinching as he met the other Elder's gaze. "We brought our own friends too."

The Council chamber doors slid open and Caleb, Demetri and Nors strode in together, their faces cold hard masks. They moved fluidly, with a grace that belied their huge stature. Behind them poured vampire after vampire, mostly Elders with a few Youngling thrown in. They outnumbered Daniel and his crew but they stopped once fully inside the room. They knew Daniel was in silent communication with his people downstairs. Until Freya gave the word they had to hold back.

*****

Loretta's heart was filled with hope as well as anguish after speaking with Andrei. His love had overwhelmed her. His unwavering support for her alleviating a little of the ache deep within her.

She knew she would always bear the scars of the decision she had made. That Andrei didn't hold her at fault eased the pain a little but couldn't take it away completely. She had known what she had been doing as she did it. She had known the probable consequences of her actions.

The vampires had stopped the beatings and healed both herself and Ashleigh for what felt like the hundredth time but probably was only the fourth or fifth. She whined softly to attract Ashleigh's attention, to make sure the other woman was okay.

"They're here, Ash," she communicated mentally. "Try not to give any reaction but Andrei has just told me that Freya is coming to release us. We just need to be stronger a little longer, honey."

Ashleigh didn't have the strength to react to Loretta's news. Her body felt tired despite the vampire blood flooding her system. The last beating had been particularly vicious and she wondered if the vampires had done more damage than they could actually heal.

Freya was coming which meant Nors was close too. He was sending his sister to rescue her so things must be pretty bad if he couldn't come himself. He had kept Freya away from her deliberately so if he was sending her now then he really couldn't come himself.

The vampires suddenly moved coming towards them again.

"Is the dog still breeding?" one of them asked. "Roberto said to kill the child if it still lives."

Loretta howled loudly, springing to her feet with a strength she didn't know she had, snarling viciously as she did so. Ashleigh dragged herself wearily to her feet too, in defence of her friend.

"Yeah, she still has two scents," another vampire was saying with disgust lacing his tone.

Loretta's heart crashed loudly within her. Her baby was still alive! She hadn't killed the child when she'd shifted. Her momentary joy turned to anguish again as one of the vampires wrapped a large hand around her throat and lifted her bodily from the floor. She tried to rake her claws down him as his talons came out aiming for her stomach.

"NO!" Ashleigh screamed in anguish darting forward as fast as she could. Her own elation at hearing Loretta's child still lived despite her shifting to wolf form crashed down as the vampire went to murder the precious little life within her friend. Her mind went back to the previous year. She was once more in the forest, listening to Richard Graves imposing death sentences on the children of the pack.

She was back in the endless nightmare that had plagued her since then, the smell of blood everywhere, the harsh cries as vampires ripped each other apart, the stink of death and decay making her howl in terror.

No more! She couldn't take anymore death and destruction. Fate had somehow saved Loretta's child and now the vampires sought to murder it in cold blood for no other reason than they could. They had taken everything from Ashleigh. She knew the pain and suffering her friend would feel for the rest of her life if she lost the child she carried.

Ashleigh had had to save the babies so very long ago and she had to save Loretta's child now. She didn't stop to think of the consequences, she only knew that she was pack and her friend was in danger. She wouldn't hide or stand idly by while a pack mate was murdered before her eyes. She wouldn't let them hurt the baby if it was the last thing she ever did. She flew threw the air, her body blocking the downward movement of the vampire's talon.

"Ashleigh!" Loretta screamed as the wicked talons ripped easily through the golden wolf, piercing her fur and skin as if they were tissue paper and burying deep inside the little wolf.

Freya was almost at the door to the room that held the wolves when she heard anguished howling coming within.

"Now, Nors," she said urgently inside her brother's head. "I'm at the room. Do what you have to and then come quickly."

She threw open the door just as a ball of golden fur streaked through the air and was impaled by one of the vampire's talons. There were only three vampires in the room and she took out the first one before they were even aware she was there.

The wolves were howling mournfully as the other two vampires turned to face her. "Hello, boys," she smiled softly. "I think you picked the wrong side." She was moving even as she finished speaking, flying gracefully through the air in a high leap. She cleared the two vampires agilely, landing behind them to stand protectively in front of the wolves. A slow, evil smile crossed her beautiful face as her green eyes narrowed intently.

"Who's first?" she taunted, crooking a little finger at the two men. "Oh, I'm Freya by the way. Freya Eriksson. You may have heard a little about me?"

She watched their faces pale as they realised who stood before them. She was centuries older than both of them and twice as deadly. It appeared her reputation preceded her. Would they run? She really hoped not. It had been a while since she'd had any fun that was actually sanctioned.

The dark haired vampire appeared to decide he was willing to fight. He went for her moving swiftly but she dropped low sweeping her leg out swiftly. Her movement kicked his legs out from beneath him effortlessly and he tumbled backwards, falling heavily and cracking his head hard on the tiled floor.

He hit so hard Freya heard bones crunching and her smile widened even more at the sound. Lord, she loved the sound of bones breaking. It fed her feral nature, amused the beast within her.

She immediately turned and leapt onto the blond vampire who seemed rather stunned by how quickly she had rendered his friend temporarily incapacitated. He punched her hard in the face, breaking her nose instantly and splitting open her bottom lip. One of his talons raked down her cheek leaving a ragged scar in its wake. Freya felt her blood dripping onto her neck and it only served to make her more angry.

She rode through the pain, gathering her fury up and driving her talons into both of his eyes with a feral snarl escaping her lips. There was a sickening popping sound which sent a thrill of glee through Freya and a light tinkling laugh to bubble up inside her. Blood erupted from the vampire's damaged eye sockets, streaming down his face as he shrieked in agony and fell to the floor.

She rolled with him, coming back to her feet to drive her talons into the stomach of the other vampire who was back on his feet and in the process of charging them both. She sank her hand in deeply and twisted hard, scoring his insides viciously so he wouldn't have time to heal too quickly. As he fell to his knees she decapitated him quickly, dragging one long talon in a smooth line over his exposed throat and then twisting his head sharply to remove it from his shoulders.

Freya then turned to provide the same service to his friend as he writhed blindly on the floor. Her blood lust at fever pitch she ached to draw out the other vampire's pain but she was aware that she needed to concentrate on the wolves. She had satisfied her need to kill with the other two so she made the blind vampire's end quick and relatively painless in comparison to his recently departed friends.

Giving her nose a little wiggle to make sure it had set correctly; she turned around to face the wolves, her injuries already completely healed. Dread filled Freya instantly as she looked down at the sight before her. A pretty brunette woman was holding onto the golden wolf, tears streaming down her face as blood poured from the ragged hole in the wolf's side.