19. Warwick

Chapter 19

Ihadn't thought it would be too much different to be back at work after finding my mate, but I was wrong. I suddenly found myself looking at everything differently. The desire to be involved in every assignment was gone. It wasn't that I didn't wish to still be involved. I did. And I was itching to find out what had been developing with the coven in Venice. There had been several meetings regarding it this week, but today's meeting was the first that I'd been involved with. My pack, of course, knew most things that had been going on with Cecil, but the rest of the enforcers hadn't been informed.

"So is Warwick going to Venice with us next week?" Frederick asked. He'd been on at least two different short assignments in the time I'd been off with Cecil, and apparently, nobody had thought to let him know that I wasn't going to be leaving the immediate area for at least the next month.

I was only back at work because Cecil had insisted once he had come to terms with the fact that we would be having our twins in our lives incredibly soon. As in within-a-week-or-two soon.

"No," I told him. I glanced around the room, my eyes landing on Master Edison in question. "Do they not know?"

"I had a meeting with your pack, but beyond that, the enforcers are not aware of everything."

"What's going on?" Sebastian asked. He and his own One had a baby girl, and he himself had just come back to work this week.

"Since there wasn't any information about anyone being pregnant with a hellhound's baby or carrying hellhound babies, Master Edison reached out to the goddess to ask questions," I told those in the room. "She, for whatever reason, decided that when a hellhound baby was involved, the gestation is six weeks."

"Six weeks?" Benjamin said. I nodded. "That's shorter than Eli's gestation. How is that even possible?"

"How is any of it possible?" Master Edison said. "Magic." Master Edison got up and started walking around the conference room we were all in.

"Wait, so is Cecil carrying a hellhound baby?" Benjamin asked.

"Two, actually," I said. I'd not told anyone anything except the pack.

"Seriously?" Sebastian said. "Congratulations." Sebastian's brow furrowed. "When is he due?"

I chuckled. "Next week. But we honestly don't know if it will actually be next week or not since there's never been a hellhound baby before."

"Why are you even here?" Frederick asked. Benjamin and Sebastian chuckled.

"Because my mate basically kicked me out because he knows how much guilt I'll feel with having taken so much time off." That conversation still plays over and over in my head.

"Go to work, Warwick."

"I don't have to. The pack and Master Edison know how things are with you and the babies. I don't have to be back until after I've had my time off after you have them."

"No, you need to go back to work. Grandpa Lev is here every day with me, so I won't be alone. I'll reach out to you the moment my first contraction hits. And my omega line is completely closed. Not even pink yet."

"We have things to do still to get ready, Cecil."

"Yes, and your beast is restless. You need to go be with the pack because I know it's not only because I'm carrying your babies. Go. Have a good hard run with them. Go to work for a week or two. Besides, how else am I going to find out if you guys get the bad guys in Italy? That's sexy, by the way."

I smiled, remembering that conversation. Cecil had freaked out when we'd first been told he would have a six-week gestation when carrying hellhound babies. But after seeing how developed our babies were, he relaxed and suddenly was at ease. I wasn't quite there just yet, but I was going to do whatever my mate wanted simply because the last thing I wanted was to cause him more stress.

"Why is he smiling?"

I blinked, coming back to the present.

"Probably because he's thinking about his mate," Atticus said. "You can't say that thinking about a mate wouldn't make you smile, Frederick."

Frederick's shoulders slumped. "I would if I had one. Everyone seems to be finding one before me."

"Yeah, well, we're all older than you," Atticus said. He tossed a wadded piece of paper at the warlock, who waved his hand at it. The paper fell to the floor with a thud. It shouldn't have made much of a sound at all.

"Are you quite finished?" Master Edison asked. "Warwick being here is his choice, and if he wishes to spend a week or two at the council while his mate is in the last weeks of pregnancy, that is their choice. He won't be going on any field assignments, but his input with regards to previous assignments and what did and didn't work is valuable."

"Seriously though. Six weeks?" Benjamin asked.

"That's what we thought. Apparently, hellhound babies have magic as well. And they use the magic to develop rather rapidly."

"What if he has one of each?" Sebastian asked.

I looked to Master Edison.

"Already asked, still waiting to hear back from the goddess. I would believe that a mixed-species pregnancy wouldn't be possible because of the difference in gestations. I've all but given up on understanding anything she does any longer. Some things make sense, others leave me with more questions." Master Edison sighed. "If you have questions, ask Warwick after the meeting. Right now, we need to go over the newest developments with regards to Rocco Conti and his coven."

"Sorry, Master," Benjamin said.

"No need. We all understand the happenings around Warwick and Cecil are not only exciting but fascinating. But you have to remember that what is happening with them is their business, and if they choose to share, that is entirely up to them."

Benjamin looked directly at me and mouthed that he was sorry. I shook my head. There was no need to be sorry. I understood.

"Master Edison," I said, hoping for his attention and to change the subject so things didn't become too awkward.

"Yes, Warwick."

"Might I inquire about Dominic?" I'd asked twice about him already, but none of my pack mates had any information about him.

"He is safe. He is currently being kept elsewhere, somewhere that he can both be watched as well as be protected if needed. His background has been thoroughly checked and found cleared." Master Edison nodded, then pointed to the wall in front of him. "That will bring us to the rest of the coven. Salvatore and his team have been working as quickly as they can. As expected, the inner circle is dirty. But it goes a bit further than that, and we're still working through the background searches of the rest of the coven. But with one as large as this, it takes time. Add in that we have other assignments that need their attention as well."

"Do we know where Rocco is?" I asked.

"Yes. We have tabs on him and most of his inner circle. There were two that got away," Master Edison said. He indicated the wall, and we all looked. "We are searching for Marco and Riccardo Gallo. Cousins. They seem to share everything, and that includes their love of using their power to get what they want."

There was an image up on the wall of two men who I would say were brothers, not cousins.

"Do we have any idea where they are or could possibly be?"

Master Edison shook his head. "We do not. Marco is Rocco's number one when it comes to doing dirty work. Marco often brings his cousin along. They can tend to get messy when it comes to taking care of things." The next image looked like a bloody aftermath of what I would say was a hit that you saw in certain movies.

"Rocco is not only master of his coven but don of his ‘family'? Sebastian asked.

"Yes. We're dealing with a mafia family that is very much entangled in the human world. We have to be incredibly careful because not only does Rocco have enemies, but there are others that he has alliances with. Some human, some not. We have to tread carefully when trying to discover who the paranormal alliances and enemies are. Both are trouble to our world."

There were sighs and groans all around the room. "We're going to need more enforcers," someone grumbled.

"We are. More enforcers, more warlocks, and we really could use those last two hellhounds," Master Edison said.

Atticus looked around at us. "We've looked. It's a lot like trying to find a diamond ring on the ocean floor. We cannot communicate with them without first being brought into the pack. Nor do they have their magic until we locate them."

"I didn't feel my magic return until several weeks after I'd recovered," Dante said. "And it's different than it was before."

Damien and Atticus chuckled. "That's the goddess for you," Atticus said. "Like Master Edison said, it can be confusing trying to figure out how or why she does certain things."

"We can pop out here and there and try looking again," Atticus said. "But we really have no idea where to even start. There are a whole lot of places in the world that two hellhounds can be hiding. Especially since we have the ability to mask our scent."

"I'll make some calls. We're going to need more warlocks. Alpha Sergei is calling in for more dragons. It's understandable they don't have magical powers like hellhounds and warlocks, but their power when shifted is hard to deny."

"No offense," Frederick said, "but how is a dragon able to compete with someone with magical powers?" Frederick shrugged when all eyes turned toward him. "I'm not knocking the dragons. Some of them are scary. But they shift. But even shifted, I know that a warlock's power beats a dragon in their scales."

"What about the fae?" Benjamin asked. The room went silent again, all eyes now on Benjamin. "Fae have magic that matches us. Why are there no fae enforcers? It would seem logical to ask if any of them would like to come to this realm and join the council. Asher absolutely loves it here. Granted, he's an omega, but there are plenty of fae that are alphas that I am sure would be willing to relocate."

It was interesting to watch the different range of emotions that crossed Master Edison's face. Surprise to dread to possibly hopefulness? "I'll get in contact with Canyon and Thomas. That is a very good suggestion, although I do worry about what matter of chaos adding several fae alphas to the enforcers would have on the council. But it is a good idea, and I'm sorry I haven't considered it before."

"They don't really have the issues we do here. With them being in their own realm, it's understandable that our issues here don't affect them. But I know from talking to Calum and Asher, not every fae is happy where they are. Chaos aside, I would think it would be more positive than negative. A bored fae is mischievous. We'll keep them too busy to become bored," Benjamin said.

There were several chuckles around the room. I'd only met one fae that I was aware of. I knew there were, of course, a few around, but as far as I knew, only the one who now ran the council store was the only fae I'd ever encountered.

"I'll reach out as soon as we're finished here. Of course they would need training, but I'm sure we can do a condensed version without jeopardizing anyone's safety." Master Edison pointed at the wall again. "That is where we're at presently. The council has most control of RC Transport. Rocco is guarded but is holding out quite well with not giving up his allies. We know of his enemies. They are easy enough to find. They've made it no secret that most of them would do anything to see him out of the picture."

"What's the plan?" Atticus asked.

"We need to find Marco and Riccardo. Until we can locate them, we can't get rid of Rocco, and he knows it."

"What's Marco's weakness?" I asked. "Does he have a sister? One? Mother? Anything of that nature?"

Master Edison shook his head. "Rocco is the only one who has a One. She is being held near him but not with him. They have one child, who is grown and gone. As far as we can tell, their son isn't involved in the coven's business at all."

"So how do we find Marco?"

"The same way we found Orson and Mervin. We wait. I know it's not ideal, but it is all we have at the moment. We have allies ourselves that are there in Venice and surrounding areas, watching for them or any activity that might seem like theirs."

This was definitely frustrating, to say the least. And Cecil was right; I wanted to be here and involved. Was I anxious and begging to go to Venice? No. But that didn't mean I couldn't help from this side of things. Did I feel bad about not being ready to leave in a moment's notice? Somewhat, but my duty was split now. Yes, I still had a duty to the council, but I also had one to Cecil and our children. He would need me. He had his grandparents, and I knew Lev would help a great deal if asked. We were going to be asking, I just knew.

"That's what we have for now. We're looking for Marco and Riccardo. We have Rocco and what we believe is the rest of the inner circle. The rest of the coven is still in place in Venice. We don't have the ability to move an entire coven of that size somewhere," Master Edison said.

"Understood," Atticus said. Others nodded, myself included.

The meeting wrapped up, but I found myself feeling let down a bit. It was good to hear that we had the coven master, but there were still others that we had somehow let slip through our fingers. That was always frustrating.

I was leaving the conference room when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I glanced back, expecting anyone other than Dante. I moved out of the doorway and stopped. I honestly didn't have anything against the hellhound; I simply didn't know him.

"Did you need something?"

"Can I talk to you for a few minutes? In private?"

I looked around at the others that were coming out of the conference room. Sebastian made a beeline for me, grabbing my shoulders. "Seriously, Warwick. Six weeks?"

I chuckled. "Cecil freaked out, and I will admit I had a moment or two of panic. We still don't have names picked out, and he's trying to decide on a nursery theme, whatever that really is."

Sebastian started laughing. "Oh man," he said in between laughing fits. "Yes, I can understand that. I can relate. I can't imagine having so little time to prepare for not one but two babies. Are you all right?"

"Yes, are you? We're here if you need us," Benjamin said, joining the small group in the hallway.

"I'm getting there. I'm more worried about Cecil. He was having a bit of a meltdown about it but seemed to get over everything after a day. It doesn't help that we are having the first hellhound babies."

"Do you know, are they identical?" Benjamin asked.

I nodded. "And growing like magic. But we were told it was because of their magic that they were able to develop and grow so quickly. Last week, Cecil felt bloated. This week, he can't hide his bump." And it was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen. I was completely enamored with my mate, but my mate carrying our babies was hot. And the fact that Cecil was having pregnancy hormones that were of the horny variety was nothing but a good thing. Well, except when I was at work because he told me to come to work and he decided he needed me at home.

"It's fascinating for certain," Benjamin said. "I'd say that being mated is good for you. You seem much more approachable."

I scowled. Sebastian pointed. "Yep, there's the Warwick we know."

"Leave him alone, you two," Atticus said as he joined us in the hallway.

"I didn't mean anything negative. I think it's great Warwick found a mate. He actually smiled in there. Did you see? I can't ever recall seeing him grin, let alone smile."

Atticus sighed before he pushed on Sebastian's shoulder. "Not everyone has a bubbly personality like you."

Benjamin laughed at that.

"Benjamin, Sebastian, you're with me," Master Edison said. Immediately, the cousins followed Master Edison, who was already walking with Frederick. That left me in the hallway with Atticus and Damien.

I looked around for Dante but couldn't find him anywhere. "Where did Dante go?"

"He walked that way with Augustus," Damien said.

I looked behind me, wondering why he'd asked to talk and then walked off. "Thanks. He asked to talk. I need to go find out what he wanted." I took off without waiting for any further response. If they had something to say, they'd follow. I found Dante and Augustus in their shared office, which made sense.

"Hey," I said after I poked my head in. "You wanted to talk?"

Dante looked at me. "Yeah. Is now a good time?"

"Sure. I'm actually early today because Cecil has an appointment. Next week on, I'm on half days until he goes into labor." I glanced at Augustus. "Did you want to talk here or somewhere else?"

"Can we go for a walk?"

I nodded. I hadn't had any time with Dante. Not really. He definitely wasn't in my pack in our realm, and since we'd found him in Colombia, he and Augustus had been glued to one another.

"Did you want me to go with you?" Augustus asked. He'd started to stand when Dante did.

"That's not necessary. I won't be long, but I do have some questions for Warwick."

Augustus seemed as if he wanted to say something but instead sat back down. Dante stood next to me, and after I raised an eyebrow at him, he started down the hallway. I followed without saying a word until we were outside in the cold.

"You needed to come all the way out here?"

Dante shrugged. "It's not like you will freeze. But I wanted to ask you a few questions about your mate."

Immediately, I was suspicious. "What about him?" There was a growl to my voice that had Dante hold up his hands.

"Not yours in particular. Just mate in general."

I relaxed some. "I can try to answer questions, but I'm probably not the best to ask when it comes to mates." Neither were Atticus or Damien, really. But there were several others around that were happily mated. Not that Atticus or Damien weren't happy with their mates. They were. But they had given me questionable advice.

"Your beast. He was drawn to your mate? Without really knowing why?"

I nodded. "Yes. He was becoming difficult to control. He kept pulling me toward where Cecil was."

Dante nodded. "And if in a certain person's presence and your beast calms. Does that possibly indicate they are your mate?"

"Probably. Do you think you've met your mate?"

Dante looked toward the left, a sadness washing over him. "I do, but he will never want me."

"Why do you think that?"

Dante's eyes told a story of someone completely broken. "Because I failed him. I couldn't protect him."

"I can't say whether or not your mate will feel that way. Have you tried to talk to him?" I absolutely was not the person to be offering relationship advice.

"No. He…he's pulled into himself. He doesn't talk to anyone, let alone me anymore."

"Did you leave him behind? Maybe you should ask to go back and see if you can fix things."

Dante shook his head. "No. He won't ever forgive me." Dante sighed. "I just wanted to know if what I was feeling was mates or not. Thanks for your help."

I was going to reply, but Dante was gone before I could say anything else. My first thought was to go to Atticus and ask about Dante and who might be his mate, but then I decided against it. If he wanted to talk to Atticus about it, he would have. I'd wait a bit and see if there were any other developments with our newest pack member. My phone vibrated in my pocket, pulling me from thoughts of my pack. It was a message from Lev, letting me know I was needed at their place when I could get away.

"Cecil?" I reached out through our bond.

"I'm good. I just…I really don't like my parents, Warwick."

"I'm on my way."

I slid my finger across the screen to close the messages from Lev's stream and found Master Edison's. My mate needed me, and I was going to be there to stand with him. I had to wonder, though, was Alpha Vitomir there?