8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Greg excused himself to go and speak to our resident dark seraph, Jacob, and to make some calls to Debbie, Tarkers and Wakado. I busied myself with my favourite activity, reviewing the pack's bank accounts. Oof – the food bills had really increased since we took on scores of extra wolves. Interestingly, our electricity bill hadn't increased because Nina somehow ran off grid. I wasn't complaining or asking too many questions.

Elena burst into my office, anger vibrating off her. ‘Last night, a Black Tourney was held!'

Bastards! Esme snarled.

‘Motherfuckers.' I closed my laptop so Elena knew she had my full attention. ‘Okay. How do you know about it?'

‘The Connection found out and raided it, but they were too late. According to my sources, they found bodies rather than live participants.' She met my eyes. ‘Werewolf bodies,' she spat .

This cannot be borne! Esme was almost shrieking inside my head.

My jaw clenched. ‘And I wasn't notified of it because…?'

Elena gave a helpless shrug. ‘Perhaps they notified Rain? He's the symposium member.' That may well be right, but I was Queen.

At best, Rain had wilfully sent his people to the Black Tourneys to harden them; at worst, he had probably assisted in running the tourneys. I grimaced; I should probably have asked him some more questions before I'd ripped out his trachea, but rage had a way of clouding your thoughts.

I rang Bastion. The call went straight to voicemail and I felt a tingle of apprehension. What if Bastion had finally succumbed to the witch's curse? I shook off the thought. The griffin was like a mountain and the witch's curse was the howling wind and rain, so he'd surely survive it. Probably.

I thought again about asking Amber to intercede, but Bastion had told me he would ask her when he was ready. Neither of them would appreciate me meddling in their affairs.

‘Hey,' I said when his voicemail clicked in. ‘I need you to speak to Ghost. I know she was coy about telling you who else was involved in the Black Tourneys, but she was one of the major organisers and I need her input. Please.'

I hated how pleading my tone sounded but I was trying to appeal to his better nature. Sometimes I leaned into the whole vibe of being a vulnerable female, though less and less these days so that it felt weird to do it again.

I hung up and called Elvira instead. She answered on the second ring. ‘I had no choice but to arrest her,' she said quietly.

I blinked; I'd momentarily forgotten all about Jess's arrest. It felt like it had happened a century ago but it was only yesterday. God, life was tumultuous.

‘I know,' I said calmly. ‘Thanks for the heads-up on the address. Actually, I'm calling about another issue. What can you tell me about the Black Tourney that took place yesterday?'

‘Hang on.' I heard the sound of a door shutting, presumably for some extra privacy, but even so Elvira kept her voice low. ‘We got a tip about it happening.' She paused, choosing her words with care. ‘By the time the red tape had been cleared for us to go in, all that was left were bodies.'

Werewolf bodies! Esme snarled.

‘Werewolf bodies,' I repeated, echoing her snarl.

‘The wolves had shifted into their human forms after their deaths,' Elvira said primly. ‘They were human when we arrived. It's taken us some time to identify them because their faces had been deliberately smashed in. They were unrecognisable, even using dental records.'

‘You've identified them now?'

‘Yes, in the main, through articles found on their person and their fingerprints. A few of them were in the system.'

‘Send the details over to Greg. You have his number?'

‘I do. All of the details have already been sent to the symposium member, Rain.'

Rain, who'd probably been dead when the notification came in; Rain, whom I'd killed without hesitation. I was beginning to wonder exactly who was the monster in this tale.

‘Rain is dead,' I said bluntly. ‘I'm the new symposium member.'

‘There's a ratification procedure,' she started.

‘I don't give a shit. Get it done, get me the names and then arrange to transport their bodies to my lands.' I'd need to give them to Nina for her to release the wolves back to the Great Pack. ‘Thank you,' I added in a far softer voice, since I'd been almost shouting at her and it really wasn't her fault.

I hung up and looked at Elena. ‘We have dead bodies and a long delay in actioning a tip by the Connection. It's time for you to get writing. You may as well report on Rain's death, too, since it's relevant to the article. He was notified because the werewolves were dead – but the notification failed because he was dead.'

Elena shot me a triumphant grin; that was what she'd been hoping for when she'd stalked into my office full of indignant fury. She stood up. ‘This article isn't going to paint the Connection in a pretty light,' she warned me.

‘I don't need it to,' I shot back. ‘I need it to tell the truth.'

She nodded. ‘The truth, now that I can do.' She paused. ‘I came up with a name for the paper.'

‘Yeah?'

‘ The Mystical Informer : for informed magical minds .'

I grinned. ‘Nice. Get informing, Miss Mystic.'

‘I'm all over it.' She squared her shoulders and walked out, determination in every bone of her body.

Looking at Elena, I felt like I was finally doing something right. The Other realm needed more truth and someone bold enough to speak it. The Connection wouldn't like it, but it was time that someone held them to account. Someone within their organisation had delayed the inspectors in actioning that lead, and my wolves' blood was on their hands .

I didn't know the names of the wolves that had died – not yet – but they were still mine. All wolves were, and it was time I started acting on it.

I had calls to make.