16. Chapter Sixteen

Suddenly, I was alone with four werewolves that I had just met. I lifted a hand and waved. "Hi."

"Hello," Chrissy said, looking like she smelled something awful. "So. A werecat in a werewolf war."

"Yeah. I would rather not repeat that conversation, so let's just get to work, shall we?" I tried for a smile and knew it failed by the eyeroll Chrissy gave me.

Sheila started to laugh, leaning on the other female. "Certainly. We can take this into the offices and set up a phone in case we get contacted. Laurent, you know how to monitor cell phones, right?"

"Yup. I can hook something up where we get calls and texts on my laptop. Can only do one number, though."

They started walking, letting me trail behind them. I was out of place, listening to them discuss technologies I knew little about or had only heard of in movies. We went to a different part of the warehouse, entering into an ‘office' filled with cubicles for the most part. On one side of the room, however, there was a meeting table with several chairs and a whiteboard.

Without talking to them, I wrote what I knew about the situation.

"What is she doing?" Laurent asked softly behind me.

"Ask her," Teagan snapped, seeming annoyed by the question.

I wrote everything from Carey's name to the timeline of my time with her from the moment she showed up to the moment she was taken. Then I wrote even further, my own timeline to finding the pack.

Carey was missing now for over twenty-four hours and time was everything. At least in the human cases of missing children. She wasn't taken by sick humans, though, who would try to dispose of her. She was taken by werewolves who needed her, and if she died, none of them would have a chance in Hell of surviving the wrath that would come down on them. The circumstances were different.

The thing that had me worried was that I wasn't an expert on any of this. As I wrote what I remembered about the wolves that attacked me, I kept coming back to that. I was running off instinct and whatever I picked up from television, movies, and books. Hell, even video games. I was so far out of my damn depth that I felt like an imposter.

"It's everything I know," I finally informed them, stepping back when I was done. "Carey got to me on Saturday morning, very early. Probably around one in the morning. On Saturday evening, we were attacked for the first time. Five wolves. I didn't check their bodies or their vehicles for information. At the time, I was playing defensively, so I'm sorry about that."

"It's your job," Teagan said, not unkindly. "A werecat isn't meant to go into the offensive with these types of situations."

I nodded in agreement. Things were different now, though. "Yeah, well…We left my place and went to a small motel, somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. The information your Alpha had previously collected on me made it easy for the traitors to track me, though, something I never knew to expect. More than thirteen of them that time."

"Wait…how did you get away from the first five?" Sheila asked, stepping closer. "Five werewolves are no joke."

"I killed them," I answered, raising an eyebrow. "Five werewolves for a werecat? That's…well, it's not child's play, but it's not even footing either. I had the upper hand, especially since one was in human form and more focused on grabbing Carey."

"Jacky is right," Teagan cut in. "Normally, we wolves need a hunting party of ten or more if we're hunting big game like a werecat. Those wolves learned that the hard way when their first group failed, so they sent a bigger group the second time. In werecat form, though, you should have been able to take out most of them before dying."

"I wasn't in werecat form. I was in human form. They had planned their attack well. Getting to Carey was the only thing I was worried about, and I didn't think I could spare the time to Change." I sighed, closing my eyes for a second, remembering the action. "I jumped in, human and stupid, and killed a few before they were able to put me down. They're carrying silver, by the way, so when we do find Carey, be mindful of that."

"Shit," Chrissy growled. "That's low of them."

"Right?" I chuckled darkly. "In the last week, they've put five silver bullets in me." I started to laugh, a bit too high-pitched. "Oh, this is a fucking disaster." I was laughing harder now, bending over.

The wolves stepped away from me as I laughed until I cried. I was in the middle of a werewolf pack having what was probably a nervous breakdown. Carey needed me, but my brain was refusing to function properly as the severity of what was going on once again pressured me into freaking out.

Warm arms wrapped around me. "Woah there, cat," Heath whispered. "Hey, it's going to be okay. None of this was supposed to happen." A hand rubbed over my hair, and I was led to a seat. "Jacky…are you going to be okay? Do I need to put you in a safe house?"

"No. No safe houses," I finally managed. "Ah, shit, Heath, you brought this down on me and I wasn't ready for it." I rubbed my face, trying to wipe the tears away.

"I know," he whispered. "I know."

"How?" I looked up, finding him kneeling in front of me. He gave me a sad smile. The other wolves were behind him, looking various degrees of concerned and freaked out.

"I did a lot of research on you, Jacqueline. I know you have two living human parents and a twin sister who is a successful doctor. You didn't make it through med school, though, opting to become an EMT instead. You're not a soldier. You aren't a killer. You saved things once, and it was that reason I picked you over the other werecats to protect Carey." He sighed. "I'm sorry my actions have changed that for you."

"You know too much," I said softly. "My family…They could have been at risk because of you."

"I'll see all the information burned and deleted myself, the moment this is all handled," he promised. "You don't have to keep going, Jacky. You can stay here and let us handle the rest. You can go home right now and I won't begrudge you for it at all."

I shook my head. "Too late for that. I'm fine now. Thanks." I pushed him away a little, standing back up to get some air. "God. Sorry about that. I've been running on fumes."

"You look like it, too. I take it the wolves put those bruises on your face?" Laurent pointed, gesturing to my entire face.

"Yeah."

"Huh. I thought werecats were cold-blooded killers," Chrissy said thoughtfully. "You don't seem like that. You definitely don't seem like someone who's killed…over ten werewolves in the last week."

I crossed my arms protectively again. "I did what I had to do," I said softly. "I'm fine. Let's continue. They're armed with silver. Does your pack keep a supply of it?"

"Yes, but it's more for self-preservation. Rogue wolves causing trouble and the like. We've never authorized its use on your kind or anyone in the pack proper." Heath was watching me curiously. I knew he was probably thinking about my breakdown, everything he knew about me, and everything that had happened. He probably thought I was weak now, because I was suffering from a moment of massive panic and insecurity about it all.

That was why I had pushed the topic back onto the job at hand, and I was going to force it to stay there. "Where did you keep the supply?"

He shook his head. "Everywhere. Everyone had a small supply for self-protection from other wolves, though the rule was to use it only as a last resort. There's no secret stash I can point at and say ‘the guns are right there.' That's going to have to change. I won't feel comfortable letting my wolves keep silver after this."

"Sir, they're not going to be your wolves soon," Teagan said softly.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow, intrigued by that new revelation. Heath's glare at Teagan made it apparent that he hadn't wanted that to come out. "Heath, I'm in the middle of this now. I need to know what the fuck is going on."

For what it was worth, he looked back over at me and finally nodded, gesturing for me to sit down. "This goes into how this all started, I think. You're right. You do need to know what possibly set this off." I sat down and he picked the seat across from me. "I've been planning on retiring," he started, clasping his hands in front of him, resting them on the table. "It's for my daughter and myself. I've been an Alpha consistently for the last hundred years, and a Council Alpha for fifty."

"Okay…"

"When Carey was born and I got custody over her, I knew there would come a moment when she needed a father. I started planning for passing on the reins to another wolf once the time was right. He's my third, Tywin. Good wolf, and a very old friend of mine. My second is Landon, and he's never had any aspirations for leading his own pack. Tywin, however, once was an Alpha to a smaller pack that I absorbed. He's well-suited for the role. He wouldn't become the Council Alpha without the other Alphas in the region agreeing, but he would take this pack from me."

"Where's Tywin?" I asked.

"No one's seen him since this started," Heath said softly. "I'm worried for him. We've been planning for my retirement to be next year. Word was beginning to spread so the transition could start now."

"And?"

"And some weren't happy it was going to be him, but it wasn't their call. They weren't happy I skipped other options, probably. Some wanted Fenris, but Fenris…no, he'll never be an Alpha. He can't. Some wanted it for themselves, and to them, I said they should challenge Tywin when he's Alpha, but since they couldn't beat me, they would have to wait to make their point known."

"Oh…" I leaned back, rubbing my face. "This is so the next guy doesn't take the throne. Dispose of you before you hand over the reins, because they don't think you have the pack's interest at heart. Isn't it?"

"That's my best suspicion," he confirmed. "With Tywin missing, and possibly dead, it's the best idea I have."

"Who else wanted power?"

"I could give you ten names and not know which ones are actually the problem," Heath answered. The other wolves stayed silent, probably letting their Alpha take the reins on this because they might have been ones to preach for other possible options. In the end, they fell in line behind the Alpha they trusted and respected, even if they didn't like his successor.

"Any close to you?" I asked, curious.

"Some preached for Dean, who refused. Emma being a half-witch removes her from the equation. She's not allowed to hold real power in the pack, living somewhat outside of it. She and Dean would share my fifth spot of my inner circle if it was allowed."

"Meaning you treat her like one of the inner circle without making it obvious enough to cause trouble." I pursed my lips, daring him to say any different.

"For a young, reclusive cat, you know a lot."

"I had a good education. Plus you make it obvious in the way you talk about her. You respect the hell out of her. You want her to be able to hold some power, half-witch or not. Maybe not Alpha, but something."

"Good ear," he complimented.

I shrugged. "So some wanted Dean, and in turn, his half-witch wife that he would probably share power with. Some wanted this Fenris, a very old, somewhat crazy wolf."

"There's also…" Heath frowned. "Teagan, people talk to you. Tell Jacky here."

Teagan jumped in there, rattling off names of people who were suggested to the Alpha and those who presented themselves as options. Most were middle of the pack males who had all the balls but none of the strength. A couple were females, recommended by their mates or lovers as potentially kind leaders who could help the pack look better to humans. They would also give their male mates power in turn, helping them get boosted through the ranks.

"You have to understand. This is pretty normal when an Alpha decides to step down to a peer instead of dying in action," Teagan said. "It's not the most common way for an Alpha to go and it leaves all sorts of openings and ideas of democracy and the like. The ‘maybe we can just vote on our next Alpha' sort of things. The thing is, wolves? We don't work that way. Until Heath leaves, he's still in charge, and he'll train who he sees fit. His successor can deal with the rest when he's in power."

"So everything was ‘normal' until a sniper tried to kill you," I said to Heath, considering everything they had just told me. "So someone decided to take matters into their own hands, rules and Laws be damned. Which isn't something new to be learned. I mean, I figured that out when I had wolves enter my territory. They don't care about anything but the power at the end. There might even be a bit of a grudge against you for not giving them the position."

"Exactly."

"And that's why they wanted Carey. Because if they get you to surrender to them, Tywin's place goes out the window, even though he's the third of the pack and there's no other better options above him. Tywin would have to fight and kill the new Alpha, who gained his position from blackmail and war."

"Exactly," he repeated softly.

"So we're dealing with someone who doesn't know that every supernatural race is going to come down on his head for breaking the Law, whether he wins or not. Someone arrogant and possibly uneducated. Someone young enough to think the Law is a boogieman and not the very real foundations by which we can live our lives." I was rambling a little now, but it was helping me put things together. "Who fits the description? When was the last time someone was executed for breaking the Law?" I couldn't remember off the top of my head.

"Probably the case a century ago. A fae who killed a werewolf without grounds. He was attempting to steal the wolf's skin, much like Selkies use seal skins for transformation. Before that…" Teagan took a deep breath. "The werewolves who killed Hasan's daughter, only a couple years before the fae."

I froze for a second. I had no idea that wolves had killed her, only that she was killed. It took me a moment to convince myself to think on that later and get back on topic.

"So we're dealing, probably, with a wolf or wolves under a century old, probably even younger, since most closer to a century would remember the aftermath of those Tribunal executions."

"Good. Most of the traitors are quite young so far," Heath agreed. "That means Fenris is off the table completely, which I already figured. He's too old to think he can break the Law and get away with it. He's crazy, but he's also not going to get an entire pack killed for himself."

"Who else?" I asked.

Teagan began writing in a notebook, crossing out names as he spoke. I didn't absorb all of it. I really didn't want to leave Dallas knowing the name of every werewolf who wanted power.

"None of these wolves have proven to be traitors yet, though a couple are missing. Our security plans actually have Dean and Emma hiding alone, protecting their son. Magic and wolves pisses some on both sides off. They won't contact us until everything is over, which is what I ordered them to do." Heath ran a hand through his hair and I realized the problem.

Wolves were normally very straightforward. They didn't do betrayal and plots and blackmail. It wasn't in them, so Heath, no matter how smart he was, wasn't very good at thinking like those who did those things.

"What if we're looking at the wrong angle?" I cut in, against my better judgement. I really shouldn't have been helping them find the traitor just for the sake of it. "Some of these names were recommended by other people, for a variety of reasons. Best friends, lovers, siblings. They would have gotten power by proxy if their suggestion was used."

"That's…" He smiled at me. "Huh. A week hoping we can just beat the answers out of the traitors, and you walk in with the obvious. Teagan, do we remember who recommended everyone?"

"You aren't used to this sort of thing," I reminded him, shrugging. "Werecats…we don't have politics, but we're cats. Cats are fucked up."

"True that," Chrissy muttered.

"I don't, sir. The mated males putting their wives forward? That's easy to see coming, but some of these? It was random wolves. I had no idea there was any connection. They could have just liked a wolf they reported to. I don't…" Teagan shrugged. "I don't know."

"I'll get someone looking into it. We've gotten off track here." He nodded back to the whiteboard. "We should be focused on Carey."

"Figuring out our traitor is one of the fastest ways of finding her," Laurent said from his seat.

"Yeah, but I'm walking a tightrope." I couldn't let anyone forget that I was in a place I wasn't supposed to be.

"What you do or say in this room will remain with those of us here," Heath told me. "Right, wolves? We're not going to betray her to the Tribunal if we are called to the stand when this is over."

"Yes sir," they answered, again in that annoyingly perfect unison.

"What places do the wolves own as safe houses? Places where it's feasible to stash Carey."

"We've cleared all the safe houses since this started," Heath answered. "For other reasons, but we've done it."

"Okay…you know what. Tell me what you can. You obviously know more about Dallas and your wolves than I do." I threw my hands up.

"And what? You'll just be the muscle when we find out where she is?" Chrissy raised an eyebrow.

I bared my teeth. "If that's what I need to do," I answered.

"After the breakdown we just witnessed?" She shook her head. "I think you should take Heath up on his offer and go home."

"Too late for that," I whispered, looking down at my hands. "It's just too late for that."

"Werecats have an obsession with those they feel are theirs," Teagan told everyone at the table. "Jacky won't be able to stop until she's dead, especially young as she is, fighting against instincts that are stronger than her."

I pointed at Teagan, an indication he was right. Instincts I wasn't fighting again. Nope. I fully embraced them.

"Really? Even if you're on the verge of a breakdown?" Sheila snorted. "Foolish."

"I can break down after, and I probably will, but I'm going to see this through," I snapped.

"Stop," Heath ordered. "Wolves, collect everything we know."

"I guess I get phone duty then," I muttered.

"Whatever works, feline." He walked out then, leaving us to our own devices.

Laurent jumped up and put his laptop down on a desk. "Come here, Jacky. I'm going to set this up for you. To answer calls, just hit the green button on the screen. To see texts, look at this window." He pointed everything out when I walked over to stare over his shoulder. "You'll be monitoring Heath's phone number. I can only do the one, and he seems like the most important."

"Okay. I'll keep an eye on it."

"Cool. And I know we haven't said it yet, but thanks for coming to us and helping us find Carey."

"Of course." I sat down when he vacated the chair and proceeded to stare at the screen.