39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

In the end, Greg had to go back to the car for a tarpaulin. We rolled David in it to take him home with us, then Greg called a brethren clean-up team to sort out the pagoda before it was officially open to the public.

It bothered me that he so often leaned on the brethren, and I was mindful that it was something we needed to change. Mindy was very much on my mind – and I had no idea what to do about her.

I waited until we were in the car before turning to Greg. ‘What do we do about Mindy?'

His hands tightened on the steering wheel. ‘I'll deal with her.'

I nodded. She had been his friend, or date, or whatever it was that they'd had; it seemed fair that her fate was up to him .

The rest of the journey was conducted in a somewhat tense silence. As we climbed out of the car, I turned to Tarkers. ‘David wasn't evil.'

He was led astray, Esme added mournfully.

‘No.' His eyes were sympathetic. ‘Just misguided, like a lot of people who do bad things. If only he'd been educated about the dangers of the Domini, things would have turned out very differently for him.'

I nodded, clapped him on the shoulder and left to find Daniella. It was up to me to tell her the truth about David's life and his death.

She was still in Seren and Marissa's room. She had a weak smile on her face when I walked in but it faded rapidly as she looked at my expression. ‘No,' she pleaded. ‘No, no, no.'

‘I'm sorry.' I said it quickly. ‘The vampyrs killed him. I have his body. We'll lay him to rest in Nina, then at least Scout will be able to rejoin the Great Pack.'

Daniella gave a keening wail, and Marissa and Seren bundled her in a hug. Xander, Tristan, David: the hits kept coming. If we kept this up, we'd have to build a revolving door into Nina.

Daniella wasn't the only one who was grief-stricken; Seren's heartache was also palpable. I don't know how long she and David had dated but it must have been a while if he'd been ready to propose.

‘I'm sorry,' I repeated to the room at large, though I didn't think they heard me.

Grimacing, I left them to their grief and went to my office. sat at the security console. ‘Hey,' I greeted him. ‘How are you doing?'

‘I've been better, Alpha,' he admitted.

‘It's been a turbulent few weeks.'

He nodded. ‘You can say that again. Greg told me about David. The whole thing is pretty hard to believe.'

‘Yeah.'

Liam cleared his throat. ‘I've been seeing one of the Devon wolves, but she wants to go home.'

‘I'll be sending them all home soon,' I confessed.

He smiled. ‘She'll be pleased.'

‘And what about your relationship when she goes?'

‘Oh, we'll do the long-distance thing. We've talked about it.' He bit his lip. ‘She doesn't want to leave Devon so I'll need to move there eventually if things develop. We're nowhere near that point, not at all, but she pointed out how unfair it is that the female wolves always have to move packs. I think she's right. '

I leaned forward and kissed his forehead. ‘I'm proud of you. When you're ready, say the word and I'll facilitate the transfer.'

‘I don't want to leave you,' he blurted. ‘You're the best alpha I've ever had.'

Of course we are, Esme said.

‘Thanks, Liam, I'm trying my best. But you have to do what's right for your life, not mine.'

He nodded solemnly.

‘Any idea where Greg is?' I asked lightly.

‘He had some business to attend to offsite.'

My stomach knotted. Mindy: Mindy was his offsite business. Before I could process that thought, my phone rang. Steve Marley was calling and I swiped to answer. ‘Hey Steve.'

‘Lucy. I have a development.'

My mind went blank temporarily. A development with regard to what? A moment later my brain fired up – he was talking about Daniella's kidnapping. Shit. I hadn't told him she was no longer kidnapped. ‘Yeah?' I said vaguely.

‘We managed to track down the van. It was stolen but the theft was caught on camera and one of the thieves was in the system. Mindy Hunter.'

Goddamn fucking Mindy. She was one of the pricks who had kidnapped Daniella? Whatever Greg was going to do to her, it wasn't enough. She was definitely Domini – she had to be! ‘Right,' I said, trying to keep my tone even.

‘She's a brethren family member for an Elder dragon called Geneve.'

I made my best non-committal noise. ‘Uh-huh.'

‘I went to speak to Mindy's dragon, as protocol dictates. Guess what I found?'

I pretended to hazard a guess. ‘A pissed-off dragon?'

‘A hoard on fire and a load of pissed-off brethren convinced their dragon was dead. Oh, and a shit tonne of dwarves trying to claim squatters' rights.'

‘Oh.'

‘Oh,' he parroted. ‘I also found a cell with a door kicked in and some anti-werewolf chains that had been broken apart. Any of this ringing any bells, Lucy?'

‘Nope,' I lied flatly. ‘Should it?'

Steve sighed. ‘Off the record, is Daniella okay?'

I hesitated for a beat. ‘She's fine.'

‘And the dragon?'

‘Off the record?'

‘Yeah.'

‘The dragon was a bitch.'

‘Was?'

‘Now she's a dead bitch. '

Steve sighed again. ‘All right. Just … watch yourself. I know you're Queen and all, but a big enough show of strength will paint a target on your back. Some darker elements in the Other are attracted to power, and not in the worshipping way.'

‘What other way is there?'

‘A covetous way. If you're too strong, they'll want to recruit you or kill you. Watch your back, Lucy,' he repeated but his warning had come weeks too late.

‘Always,' I promised.

I wondered if he knew about the Domini. Some of his words suggested that he did but that wasn't a conversation for today, and certainly not over the phone. If he did know about them, though, maybe I could recruit him to help me with my new purpose in life: destroying every single one of them.

‘I'll close Daniella's case,' he said gruffly. ‘Next time when you call me in then resolve the problem yourself, do let me know so I'm not chasing my tail.' His voice dripped sarcasm.

‘Consider my wrists thoroughly slapped,' I said contritely.

‘Good.' He hung up.

I winced; I really hoped my actions hadn't damaged our relationship because I had precious few friends left. They were dropping like flies. I'd have to meet Steve for coffee at Rosie's one day, repair things and see what he knew about the Domini – if anything.

I turned to Liam. ‘Can you find Debbie and Tarkers for me?'

He stepped back from the security console. ‘You got it.' He hustled off and I sat at my desk, staring out at my burned garden. As I waited, a thought occurred to me and I hauled out my phone to ring Joyce, a local dryad that I knew.

‘Queen Lucy,' she answered. ‘How can I help you?'

I explained my situation and listened carefully to her answer. When I hung up, a small smile was playing at my lips. I'd needed some good news, and this certainly was it.

There was a firm knock at the door and the three men strode in. Liam took up his position on the security console and Debbie and Tarkers took the guest chairs opposite me.

I had one last job for them. ‘If we're laying David to rest in Nina, his parents won't have a body to bury – they won't even know he's dead. They deserve that much.' I handed Tarkers David's glasses and his phone. ‘Make sure his flat is empty then burn it down. Let his family know that he was killed in the fire. They deserve closure.'

Debbie nodded briskly. ‘You got it. '

Tarkers was bouncing his toes. ‘I do love a spot of arson.'

Oddly enough, the thought of setting fire to a building lit something within me too – literally. My fire magic flared eagerly and it took me several seconds to calm it down and push it back down to its normal level. Being a fire elemental would take some getting used to.

When my magic was under control, I cleared my throat and said, ‘Make sure no one else is affected. Clear the building and keep the fire contained.'

‘I'll get a water elemental on standby,' Debbie confirmed.

‘Good,' I said. ‘Maybe you can speak to Maxwell and get him to burn it for you. He has excellent control of his fire.'

‘I'll ask him,' Debbie promised.

‘Great. Thanks, you two.'

They left and my eyes strayed to Liam, whose eyes were glistening suspiciously. I flicked my gaze to the security screens and saw David's corpse laid out in front of Nina. I patted him on the shoulder. ‘It's a sad day.'

‘It is,' he said brokenly. ‘We have lost so many.'

‘We have.' I blew out a breath. ‘We'll call a tourney soon and restore the battle thirteen.'

‘That would be wise,' he agreed.

‘Everything else okay here?' I asked. He nodded, but his eyes were bleak. I gave him another order. ‘Get me Archie and Thea, please.'

‘Of course.' He instantly pushed away from his desk. Liam was an excellent foot soldier but his instant obedience reminded me of Xander and that made my heart hurt. Everything these days seemed to make my heart hurt.

Liam showed Archie and Thea into my office but this time I needed some privacy to say what needed to be said. I shot him a soft smile. ‘Give us a moment, Liam, please.' He stepped outside and shut the door.

Thea and Archie looked at me expectantly so I started without preamble. ‘I can't run half a dozen packs. I am alpha of the Home Counties, Devon, Dorset, Essex, East Riding, Cheshire packs – and now the Merseyside Pack, too. It's too much for one person so I'm going to be looking within each pack for a new alpha. For the Devon Pack, I am considering you two.'

Thea looked confused. ‘I'm as low down on the ranks as they come!'

I shook my head. ‘Firstly, you haven't been in a ranking tourney in years. Your brother Beckett was alpha, and your brother Ace was beta, so I have no doubt you'll be stronger than you expect. Secondly, you and Sophie are finally in complete accord. Thirdly, I really don't give a fuck. After all it's experienced, the Devon pack needs someone who cares about it, someone who has first-hand experience of the trauma it's been through.'

Thea grimaced. ‘Well, I certainly have that.'

‘You do. And Archie is currently number four in this pack, so if anyone thinks you don't deserve to rule, I'm sure he can set them straight.'

Archie grinned. ‘Damn right I can. She'll be an excellent alpha – and I'll watch out for her.'

I blinked. ‘You misunderstand me. I want you to both rule the Devon pack. Together.'

‘Both at the same time?' Archie asked, bewildered.

‘Exactly. Any disagreements between you, you weigh in with the Great Pack and they will have the deciding vote. With the Great Pack restored to us, you have the combined wisdom of every wolf that is no longer on this plane to guide you.'

‘Wow.' Archie was wide-eyed. ‘That's going to take some getting used to.'

‘You don't have to consult the Great Pack all the time – you can make your own decisions – but if you need a guiding light you'll have it. You're both young and I think you'd make an excellent ruling pair. I know things are early in your romance—'

Thea snorted. ‘He helped me hide a dead body! I trust him with all that I am. I'd mate with him tomorrow.'

Archie beamed at her. ‘You would?'

Her eyes softened. ‘In a heartbeat.'

I smiled. ‘Good. Then if you're both happy?' I waited a moment for any objections, ‘I'll make the announcement that the Devon pack is going home. If anyone wishes to stay here, they can apply for a transfer. I'll wait a week for applications before I hold a pack tourney.'

‘They'd gain prestige if they were ranked in the Queen's pack,' Archie noted. ‘That's going to be a reason for some of them wanting to stay.'

I steepled my fingers. ‘I hope so. I want to draw the power-hungry ones to me so you have some time to find your feet before the challengers come. At some point, you'll have to hold a tourney of your own.'

Thea's spine straightened. ‘We'll be ready.'

I grinned. ‘Damn right you will be.' I paused. ‘Liam's dating someone from the Devon pack.'

‘Christine,' Thea nodded.

‘If that goes somewhere, Liam would like to transfer to your pack.'

‘"Your pack",' Archie said in wonder, shaking his head. ‘Wow.'

‘You'd be okay with that transfer?' I pressed.

‘We'd be honoured and privileged to have Liam with us,' Thea said with a confident smile. She was a far cry from the bedraggled woman I'd first met.

‘Excellent. Do either of you have any questions?' They shook their heads. ‘Good. Thank you for your time. Dismissed.'

As the lovers bounded out of my room, I couldn't help feeling I was finally getting things right.