17. Dimitri

Chapter 17

Dimitri

DIMITRI 17

O nce we finished our breakfast, Benjamin and I walked to our office together. On the way there, he filled me in on everything I'd missed over the past several weeks.

"So many new enforcers."

"Yes. They are needed though. There are a lot of enforcers that haven't been sent out on many assignments, and the council is trying to change that."

I raised an eyebrow. I was one of those. I'd been on exactly one assignment, and it had been a weekend trip to a somewhat local pack to deal with an alpha that was trying to overthrow the current alpha. It had gotten to the point that the encroaching alpha had threatened the standing alpha's family, and the council decided to step in after help was requested.

"Yes, I know. You are one of the many who haven't been given the number of assignments that you are due. They're working on it. But I have to agree with the council that the jungle in Colombia was no place for anyone who didn't have magical powers. Even we struggled a bit down there, and I wouldn't wish that assignment on anyone."

I'd read the briefing on the assignment. I'd heard about the recovery of some of the survivors that were rescued. And I knew that it had been a truly horrible situation. But that wasn't the only assignment.

Before we could even sit down at our desks, Briggs came into the office. "Conference room three," he said. "Oh, hey, Dimitri. Are you back now?"

I nodded at the wolf shifter. "Caspian is feeling a bit better, and he'd insisted I come to work since I was only sitting around watching him sleep."

Briggs grinned. "I don't know. I would think that any alpha wouldn't mind watching over their mate who was pregnant. Sleeping or not."

I shook my head. "I had no issues with watching over him. He felt bad for it though, so I am here. I do not mind either way. I only wish for him to be happy."

We followed Briggs out of the office and met up with Raiden on the way. He was making his way toward our office, but when he saw the three of us going in the opposite direction, he turned around without a thought and simply joined us.

"How is mated life treating you?" he asked me.

"Good. I know it is like a broken record, but I couldn't ask for a better mate. Caspian, although we haven't gotten to spend a whole lot of time actually together, he has been incredibly loving when he is awake."

Raiden nodded. "I understand that. Alexander was so sick. And then during the delivery, I…" He shook his head.

"But you have Rowan, and that makes the two of you happy, no?"

Immediately, there was a smile on Raiden's face. That was all the answer I needed.

We arrived at the conference room Briggs had mentioned, and when we entered, I was a bit surprised to see so many others in there. Not that others weren't supposed to have assignments as well. Not that this meeting was going to be about an assignment. One could hope, but so far, they hadn't been more than briefings.

"Please sit down," Master Edison said before he turned toward Master Ambrosius, who did not look happy at all.

"We're going to get started now that Benjamin's team is here," Master Ambrosius said. I glanced at the others on my team, wondering if we had truly been the ones to hold up the meeting.

"We're still waiting for Sergei and Benedict. We need the rest of Frederick's team as well," Master Edison said. He shook his head. But we didn't have long to wait because Dedushka and my father-in-law entered the room in front of a few others. Immediately, I saw that the man who came in directly behind Frederick was the other tall man who had been talking to Raiden during breakfast. I leaned over, my curiosity was too much to not ask.

"Who is right behind Frederick?"

"That is Vaughn, another new enforcer. He's a gargoyle from Washington state. He joined a few weeks ago while you were on leave. He seems nice. Ramsey and myself are trying to get to know him and make him feel welcome. He's pushing back a bit because we're mated, and he doesn't want to intrude."

"Now can we start?" Master Ambrosius asked.

"One more," Master Edison said as he held up a hand. Seconds later, another walked in beside Atticus. There was an audible growling noise, and it put me on edge, but the others around me didn't seem to be affected by it in the least. It took entirely too long to realize it was coming from Master Ambrosius.

"What is he doing here?"

"Really? We can't do this without their help. We've tried, and they have so graciously agreed to help us. Put your differences aside for the time being so we can find the Gallo cousins and possibly put this all behind us," Master Edison said.

I leaned closer to Raiden again. "Who is that?"

He chuckled quietly.

"That's Marcello. He belongs to the Vittone coven that is going to help us find the Gallo cousins. He's Vincent Vittone's second. For a second in a mafia family, he seems nice enough. I don't know that I would fully trust him with my brother though. Definitely not with Alexander."

I snorted and sat up. I could understand Raiden's stance. Although I knew Caspian could more than handle himself because he had magical abilities, I still was protective of my mate and wouldn't want him to be alone with the questionable vampire either.

"Knock it off," Master Edison finally said. When he did, he put his hands on Master Ambrosius's shoulders and moved him over to the other side of the room. That left Dedushka to move into his place and sigh.

"Meeting will start. We have news, which is why Marcello is here. He will be sharing the new information. Then we will be briefing everyone as to what assignment they will be receiving, and plans will be made for departures."

That caught my attention. I had waited for months to be sent on assignment. Now, I was torn. Did I want to go? Caspian was carrying our child and was having sickness. Who would take care of him if not me? It was my responsibility to look after my mate.

Dedushka sighed and shook his head as Master Edison and Master Ambrosius seemed to quietly argue off to the side of the room.

"Marcello?" he said and then stepped to the side. It didn't go unnoticed to me that Dedushka moved to where he was standing in between Marcello and the created warlock and vampire.

"Thank you, Alpha Sergei. I won't take too much of your time. We have a confirmed sighting of the Gallo cousins. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing if they are still in that area. They were spotted multiple times in Naples. There are a few islands just off the coast there, and it's possible that they are using them as a base of sorts. Or they are simply popping around from place to place like always," he told us.

I shared a look with Benjamin, who nodded. I wasn't certain what that meant, but I would find out.

"If you don't have them in hand, why are you even here?" someone asked from the other side of the room.

"We are working on getting men out to the islands to watch over things and to scout the areas. These take time and resources. We do not have an unlimited number of people we can send places. Despite Master Vincent's agreement to help with your issue, we still have a family to watch over and businesses to run."

"We appreciate everything you've helped with thus far," Master Edison said, joining the meeting. Master Ambrosius was still standing against the wall, scowling. "We are ready to send teams to Italy and help look for them. Is there anything specifically you need so we can help you help us?"

Italy? I was possibly going to Italy? I checked in with Caspian and found him still sleeping, which was a relief. I knew my emotions were running around, and the last thing I wanted to do was cause my not-quite-well mate to worry.

"There is nothing, Master Edison," said Marcello. "The help of your enforcers to search and watch out for them is more than enough. If our coven was larger, we wouldn't ask even that. As it is, we cannot do everything and ask for that assistance so we can get this matter taken care of quickly." Marcello looked over at Master Ambrosius. "The quicker this is solved, the sooner you no longer have to deal with any of us." He sighed. "Or even acknowledge our existence."

I couldn't help but wonder about the entire situation. What had caused them to go the path they chose? Did they decide, or was it decided for them?

"And the other news?" Master Edison asked.

Marcello nodded. "Yes. We have discovered that Rocco had a business partner that nobody knew of. We are looking into it further, but there is confusion as to whether it was someone in his own coven or if they were the scapegoat in that entire situation. We hope to know more about that by the end of the week."

"Very well," Master Edison said. "Anything else?" he added after a few minutes.

"No, Master Edison. That is unfortunately all of the news I have for you at the moment. I need to get back to Italy at the earliest convenience in order to help Master Vittone with the entire situation as much as possible. I will be available to discuss things more if needed though," he said.

Master Edison nodded before he looked toward the doorway. "Atticus will take you back to Italy. If you need anything or discover something vital, you have my number."

"Of course."

The pair left the meeting, and after the door clicked shut behind them, Master Edison waited only a moment before he turned back toward the rest of the room.

"To get right to it, we need to go to Italy. I understand and realize there are a few of you in here who might not wish to leave at the moment. That won't be held against you if you choose to stay behind at the moment," he said.

I covertly glanced around, knowing full well that I was one of them that they were referring to. My dragon was torn. We were here to help others. This was what I'd joined the council for. But at the same time, Caspian was pregnant, and his body didn't seem to be responding well to the pregnancy. But I had Dedushka and Yéye here. And now, Caspian had his own parents here. They could all help watch after my mate if needed. Was this something I could do though? A month ago, I thought without a doubt I was ready to go out on assignment, and I was. Now? I wasn't so sure.

"Your aura is one of someone who is struggling with conflict. I imagine it's about Caspian and the upcoming assignment?" Benjamin asked.

I nodded. "How did you do it?"

He held up a finger, and I nodded. It could wait.

"We will be going to Italy in rotation. There will be two teams there starting tomorrow. After three days, another two teams will join, and the first two teams will stay an additional two days before returning for five days. It will be five-day rotations. Five days out, five days back. If it goes beyond ten days, a third set of teams will be sent. Any questions?"

"Where will we be staying?" someone asked. "And how do we know we can trust the vampires? They're not exactly known for being the good guys."

"You don't trust them," Master Ambrosius said from his position against the wall. "Make sure you are never alone with any of them. Vittone knows I will personally remove his head if he harms one of our enforcers, but that doesn't mean he cares enough to watch out for any of you. Go into this assignment as if everyone except your fellow enforcers is an enemy."

That sounded…stressful. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I'd seen a whole lot worse in my lifetime. That didn't mean I wanted to continue to endure such things.

There was some quiet talking among the enforcers, and when I looked up at Master Edison, I found him staring our way. I wasn't going to back out of my assignment. It was frustrating that I had spent so long just waiting to go anywhere, and now I was finally getting to. Now that I was mated and we had a baby on the way. It was incredibly vexing.

"Any other questions? It is always wise to take what Ambrosius has said to heart. Make it a rule. Even if you are only visiting a pack or den within the States here, make sure you are always on guard. That pack beta or den enforcer could seem like the friendliest person out there and the most helpful, but sometimes they have gotten so good at being deceiving that even we cannot pick up on it and are duped," Master Edison told us.

"Do we know which teams will be going first and which are going second?" Benjamin asked.

"Yes," Master Edison said. "Your team, Benjamin, is scheduled to leave in four days' time. You will travel with Augustus's team. Atticus's team will be leaving tomorrow, as will Frederick's. The other teams, if needed, will be Damien's, as well as Sebastian's. Warwick's and Carrington's will be on other assignments."

"Is Warwick back, then?" Benjamin asked.

"Not yet, but the rest of his team is available, and Dion has offered to come back and take the lead on that if and when needed. Also, everyone will have a new team member. We will be adding a fae to each team, and the hope is that you all will play nice and help guide them through these first few assignments. This isn't necessarily the best time to throw them in, but we're not given much choice. We had hoped they would be able to get a few more outings with fewer possibilities, but we need more than one who is able to utilize magical powers. We will be introducing you all to your new team members throughout the day. Anyone have other questions?" Master Edison looked around the room, and when nobody spoke up, he nodded. "Very well. Please don't wander far. We will be doing briefings for each team shortly."

"If Atticus's and Frederick's teams would stay, we will get right on their briefing," Dedushka said. The rest of us stood, and as we were leaving, we all noticed the new faces standing on the other side of the hallway, leaning against the wall. It had to be uncomfortable being new and from a completely different realm. I'd been new not too terribly long ago, and although I hadn't traveled nearly as far, I had spent a good deal of time feeling like an outsider. It hadn't taken long for me to understand that my fellow enforcers didn't know what to make of me. I was the created dragon's grandson, and nobody wanted to upset Dedushka.

I followed Benjamin, Raiden, and Briggs back to our office and found it already occupied by a familiar face.

"Father?" Benjamin said.

"This is Felix," Rainier told us. "He will be joining your team, at least for the next few months. Please be kind."

Briggs snorted, which earned him a glare from the older warlock. I couldn't help but chuckle, and Rainier had no issues with turning those narrowed eyes my way. He then sighed as he looked at Benjamin. "Please keep your team members in line, Benjamin."

"They are only acting like that because everyone in the council seems to think we are all hooligans and are going to mistreat the new enforcers. When has that ever happened?" Benjamin asked. He pushed on Raiden's shoulder gently. "The most any of them have ever done is between Raiden and Ramsey, and that's because they're twins, and they've always pranked one another."

"If you say so," Rainier said. "Please just make sure you all are kind and watch out for him." Rainier glanced at Felix before he left the office. It didn't take long for the fae to look back our way and shrug.

"You don't have to be kind. I know we're not exactly wanted here."

"Why would you say that?" Benjamin asked.

"Naw, we want you," Briggs said. "The more, the merrier." Briggs held out his hand. "I'm Briggs."

Felix took the hand and shook it. He looked to the rest of us in question.

"Dimitri," I said, holding out my own hand.

Benjamin held out his own hand. "I'm Benjamin, and that was my sire father. And the gargoyle down there is Raiden." Raiden held out his hand for a shake. "Seriously though, why is it that you think you aren't wanted?"

"We were warned there might be some resistance from the council and the enforcers when we were asked to volunteer. I know that in my village, there isn't a single one of us who wasn't more than willing, even if we weren't wanted. None of us were finding our mates, and we were told it was a possibility, but probably not right away."

"Well, that would be great for you if you did," Raiden said. "But bad for the council if all of the new fae enforcers were to find their mates at once. The entire point was because we needed more enforcers. A lot of us have found our mates since joining, which puts the council at a disadvantage."

Felix shrugged. "I don't really care either way. I just wanted something else to do besides working in my family's store. It was pretty boring, and the idea of being able to come here was more than enough for me."

"Well, welcome to the council and the team," Benjamin said.