Chapter Thirteen

Michael

I don"t think I"m going to enjoy going to all these meetings. Ever since Seth was appointed to the WCC it"s been a steady stream of meetings, appointments, and phone calls. He"s assured us multiple times that there are so many right now because of the newness and that they"ll slack off as soon as everything gets more settled, but I think it"s still going to be a lot.

The meeting we"re in right now has been droning on for about forty-five minutes. I know shit has to get done, but all this talking and making lists and asking follow-up questions doesn"t seem productive. I hope we can get to main points soon because I want to go back to the hospital. Desie is at work and Seth needed a second for this meeting. Ben and I did rock-paper-scissors to see who got to go to the hospital and he won, so here I sit watching all these community leaders talk about how important everything is and how much money it"s going to cost to get the important things done.

It"s apparently going to cost quite a bit of money to get the WCC COT program off the ground, especially since there doesn"t seem to be a hearty supply of trustworthy people to fill the teams, much less people to train them.

"Tell me again why you can"t train them, Alpha Pratchett. You obviously understand how they"ll operate, "Alpha Estrada says for the second time.

Seth rubs his jaw. I would feel his frustration with the people at this table even if I didn"t share a bond with him. "I am not COT trained. I just know how they work and what they do. We"ll need to get a few units over here to train them. There are probably several solid units who would come over without being paid just for the opportunity to live on the West Coast for a while. I"ll reach out to Thaddeus and see who he"d recommend. That"s the best we"re going to be able to do for now, but let me remind everyone again, the COTs are not typical enforcement teams. They"re not community peacekeepers. They will be at the WCC"s disposal for council operations. Alpha Minos would have to sign off on every dispatch."

"I would," Minos interjects. "Or Alpha Pratchett would. He will head the COT operations."

This is the perfect time for me to ask a question that"s been eating at me for years. "I have a question. I"m not on the council, but I"m here, so I want to ask it."

Minos smiles. "I can"t wait to hear it, Michael."

"Why hasn"t the WCC had an official military presence before now? I think we wouldn"t have half the problems we do if we"d had something like this all along."

Minos drops back against the back of his seat and sighs up at the ceiling. "They didn"t want it. The councilmen before me didn"t want the WCC to have that much control over what happened in their individual Provinces. Nothing I said would sway them, and after I became the head of the WCC there was even more push back. I"ve tried to maintain diplomacy and fairness, but over the years it has become obvious that I was one of only a few interested in those things. I don"t want to control the Provinces, I"ve got more than enough to deal with without all that. But what happens in the individual Provinces affects the whole territory. There have been too many bad people going unchecked for far too long. This awfulness with our omegas could have been stopped, or at the very least slowed if the WCC had a formal way of addressing the situation."

"I think you misunderstand," Seth interrupts. "I know your intentions are honorable, but you need to really understand that the COT units aren"t going to be running around keeping everyone in line."

Minos raises his eyebrows in Seth"s direction. "I"m not stupid, Seth. I wouldn"t want military units marching through the community. All I"m saying is if I had the authority and ability to stop what I knew Flores was doing there would be significantly fewer missing omegas and broken packs and destroyed families."

The corner of Seth"s mouth lifts. "I don"t think you"re stupid. Not at all. I only mentioned it because I know for a fact the other territories think the East Coast has COTs everywhere watching the people. The people who were against implementing something like the COT program likely didn't want it because they didn't want anyone watching what they were doing. But the reason they"re so effective is because no one but certain members of the council and the other teams know who is part of a unit. There is no list of names. There are only two people on the East Coast Council who know how many units there are and where to find them. Outside of that they blend into the community. I just don"t want anyone here to get the wrong idea about them; and only the people in this room know that the COT program will be implemented so it"s important that everyone understands why and how it"s such a successful program."

"You don"t know how many units are active on the East Coast?" Alpha Linnux asks.

"I have no idea. I was never encouraged to join the program and all my father knew about them during his time on the council was that they existed."

"Right," Minos says, sitting up straight. "We understand how they"ll operate and I believe we have a good handle on it at present. Are we ready to move on to the next bit of business?"

Jesus fuck. The next bit? How many bits are there? I didn"t mean to add time to this meeting by asking about the military, but the answer should have been obvious now that I"ve heard it. I"m glad we"ll have a COT program here. Hopefully they"ll make a difference, and everything will be better. That said, I"m not excited about Seth running the program. How much more shit is he realistically supposed to be responsible for?

The other members of the council agree to move on to the next point of business, and Minos grins as he presses a button on the intercom and makes the announcement.

"I am very pleased to appoint Alpha Mateo Romero to a seat on the West Coast Council."

Everyone stands as the door swings open and Mateo enters the room with Tony following close behind. He goes to the empty space next to Seth and nods at him. "Thank you. I don"t have a speech. I will do everything in my power to uphold the well-being and respect of my community, this territory, and this council." Then he sits down like he"s waiting for someone to serve him dinner.

Minos smiles again. "I have no doubt, Mateo. We will try to give you time to get your footing before we have an official vote on anything. There is a WCC function soon, however. Nothing big, just a charity function. It is encouraged that as many councilmen are present as possible. It will be a casual affair at a small museum in Alpha Estrada's Province in two weeks?"

Alpha Estrada nods. "Yes. Nothing fancy. Small foods. Just a fun annual fundraiser for the historical society."

"I won"t be there," Mateo says, glancing at Seth then me. "I won"t be available for the next month. I apologize."

"We know your omega is expecting, Mateo," Minos rubs his hands together. "We just didn"t know how close to the finish line she was. One of the perks of being on the WCC is my Mallory. You can expect all the gifts and support you can stand once she gets the go-ahead. Congratulations in advance."

"Thank you," Mateo says quietly. "I am sorry that I won"t be available."

"Nonsense," Minos knocks on the table again. "Of course you won"t be available. I just wanted to make sure that you understood that it"s not all dower business and boring meetings."

The meeting adjourns with lots of hand shakes and congratulations, and me and Seth escape before Mateo and Tony. Which is a really good thing because I"ve just put the car in drive when Seth gets a phone call that has him groaning. He sounds completely neutral when he answers the call, though.

"Hello," he says into the phone, turning toward me to mouth Lopez.

The timing of this call doesn"t escape my notice, but Seth doesn"t seem bothered.

"Alright. Hang on. Michael is with me. Let me put it on speaker." He transfers it to speaker so that I can hear the call and puts the phone in the cup holder between us. "Okay, go ahead."

"Hello Michael," Lopez says over the line.

"Lopez."

"Is everything alright?" Seth asks.

"Everything is fine. I just wanted to check in. Is everything going well there?"

"Yes," Seth answers. "Everything is fine. The council is changing things up a little and we"re going to be doing some traveling, but everything is good."

There"s silence on the line for a long pause then Lopez continues. "My pack is better than we were. We are stronger. We"re ready to become useful again."

"Useful how?"

"Information, Michael," Lopez answers, and I can almost see him rubbing the bridge of his nose. "My pack is in a prime position to gather it from the rogue organization. We have come across a few rogues who thought I had taken Ernesto"s place and I was more than happy to have those conversations."

Seth rolls his neck and motions for me to get us home. "Have you contacted Minos?"

"I"m contacting you."

I glance over at Seth with raised brows. It isn"t like Seth wouldn"t tell Minos. He has to know that secretive cloak-and-dagger shit is over.

Seth returns the look with his own exaggerated expression. "I appreciate that. Would you like to schedule a meeting with Minos to discuss what you"ve been told?"

There"s a pause before Lopez answers. "No, I don"t think so. I don"t believe he would consider me a good source of information in the same way you would. I think it would be better if fewer people know that I"m essentially a spy." He chuckles over the word spy.

"You might be right, but I am going to have to tell him things," Seth says.

"I"ll be giving you, and only you, information and you can discern how much of it makes it to Minos"s ear. Are you ready for my report?"

Anxiety spikes though our bond and I change lanes. This is going to take a toll on Seth. We need elote, and Desie will be less likely to fuss about even more stress being added to our already overwhelming load if we bring her something she loves and maybe some flowers from one of the corner stalls.

"Yes." Seth leans back against his seat. "What have you learned?"

Lopez clucks his tongue and gets rolling. "There will be at least two large shipments of omegas coming through in the next several months. It sounded like they would both be coming from the Northern territory, one around six months and another roughly nine months from now. All three of the betas I spoke with seemed very anxious about these shipments and each one hinted at finishing the job they were currently tasked with before a possible departure from the organization."

"Wait," I interrupt, turning onto a side street. "They think you"re taking Flores"s place and they"re just telling you that they"re leaving? You don"t think that"s weird? Shouldn"t they be afraid of getting in trouble, or whatever?"

"They should, indeed," Lopez agrees. "But whatever is happening in the Northern territory has shaken them up enough that it was worth the risk. It is strange. Very strange. I"m looking into it further and will keep you informed. I would like to open the discussion of intercepting the shipments at your earliest convenience, Seth. I have also heard about your dual council seat. Congratulations. I am certain you will accomplish many good things."

In my peripheral, I see Seth flip up his eye patch and press the heels of his hands into his eyes. "Thank you. Yes. Please let me know what you find out. I"ll give it to Minos in the most productive way possible. I would also like to intercept those shipments if at all possible. I have people I can trust to help when we get to that point. I"m glad your pack is doing well. I won"t pretend I haven"t been worried about you."

He pauses when I stop in front of the elote stand and gestures at it. "Are you serious? We can"t go home with this. Can she even eat it?" Then he slams his palm over his mouth, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Is Miss Romero unwell?" Lopez asks, full of concern. Of course he didn"t miss it. And I"m sure he"s going to have no trouble figuring out why Seth"s concerned.

"She"s fine." I know I sound short, so hopefully he"ll drop it.

He doesn"t.

"I wasn"t aware of any food allergies. Are you sure...ah. I see. It appears congratulations are needed on more than one front. No one will hear it from me, I swear it."

"Thank you," Seth breathes. "She really is doing very well. She"s perfect."

"Of course she is. I can"t imagine her being anything else. I am genuinely happy for you. I"ll be in touch." Lopez ends the call, leaving Seth shaking his head and rubbing the tops of his thighs.

"He won"t say anything. He likes her too much." Not that I very much like the fact that he likes her too much. "He won"t do anything to put her at risk."

Seth nods. "Yeah, alright. But really, can she eat this? I know she"s not been sick much lately, but I don"t want to be the reason she does get sick."

"Desie would never throw up elote," I laugh. "And we"ll get her a mango too. With extra lime and spices."