Last Chance (DarkWorld: SkinWalker Book 3) (6 page)

Grams cracked the door open and we slipped inside. A few heads turned, but most of the people within the room paid us little attention. A discussion was in progress, a heated one, hands shaking and heads moving. The alphas sat back, seated with their family members. As a pack, the alphas could tear every member of the council to pieces, but to do that for whatever reason would spell anarchy. The rise and fall of negative energies in the room told me this wasn’t a good place for the alphas right now.

At the far end of the room, Justin looked up, meeting my eyes with an encouraging nod. He sat alone, his sister Sonia having been his only living relative. For Justin, his line ended with him, unless he married and produced a few little cougar alphas. I nodded back and walked along one edge of the room, heading straight for the two seats beside my father and Iain. Grams and I sat quietly, giving Dad inquiring glances.

Grams leaned over my lap and whispered to Dad, “What’s going on? I was heading out on a job.” She wasn’t holding back her annoyance.

But Dad just shrugged. “They’ve been deep in discussion for the last half hour. Looks like they themselves have a problem with whatever this announcement is.” His voice rippled with annoyance, probably at being in the dark. I knew how he felt.

“So you both have no idea?” I asked him, noticing Iain face us from where he sat on the other side of Dad.

Both Iain and Dad shook their heads. Iain leaned forward. “All we know is it’s some sort of new codex to the alpha laws.”

I frowned. “Can they do something like this so suddenly?”

“No. Whatever rule they intend to pass will take time to take effect. So everyone has time to air their disagreements.”

I nodded and sat back. Having been to a few of these meetings before, I was used to the politics, but it wasn’t often the entire alpha families were called to attendance. Around me, I recognized the faces of alphas, cougar, lynx, panther, and more. Alphas and all members of their families that had reached the Change.

We sat and waited a while longer before a hush fell over the members seated at the table. A gavel smashed against a block somewhere at the head of the table and the room fell to silence. “Attention, please. I call this meeting to order.” It was purely as a matter of routine that he spoke. Everyone was already waiting with bated breath, having been seated here too long already. I could smell the tension in the air clearly enough even without the aid of my panther senses.

“We’ve called this meeting with the intention of adding an addendum to the Codex of Rules. We are aware this new rule will not sit very well with many alphas, and we are instilling a three-year timeframe in which each alpha family can table their disagreement and/or propose an amendment to the new ruling.”

The speaker certainly had little personality, and I almost stopped paying attention to him as he droned on.

Almost.

“Now we come to the new ruling. I hand you over to the Walker Council Leader Joseph Marsden to speak to you on this.” He waved his hand at Marsden, who got to his feet to address the gathering, his hands folded behind his back. The man was ancient and seemed to have been ancient for decades.

Years ago, I’d wondered when he’d keel over and die. As I watched him look down at his notes, his bald head shining in the soft light of Justin’s chandelier, I felt a spike of unease. I’d never liked this idea of a non-alpha council ruling over all the alphas. To me, it defeated the purposed of having alpha families, but I knew too that it was politics that had brought about the Walker Council. In recent years, their power had increased, new rulings included in the codex that placed more constraints on the alphas.

I’d heard Dad and Iain argue over it, often threatening to leave and form an independent clan not affiliated to the Walker council. But that in itself had seemed treasonous at the time. Not so much now when I faced their power directly.

Finally, Marsden cleared his throat and the low murmur of voices hovering in the room faded to silence. “We have been in discussion these past months and have come to agreement that the new ruling we are considering is applicable and appropriate given the situation. I apologize to you for having to wait today. Although most of the council are in agreement, there are some that have expressed their concern and have registered their disapproval. As will be your right, you are free to do so as well in the coming years.”

He stopped speaking and took a moment to survey the gathered alphas, his gaze panning the room. I studied his eyes, once blue but now grey with age, his skin where it sagged beneath his eyes and under his neck, giving the impression of a bewildered turkey. Then he spoke and what he looked like was the last thing on my mind.

“Our concern is the dilution of the Walker bloodline, more specific the dilution of the alpha bloodline.”

My heart stilled in my chest and I didn’t dare look at Dad. I knew what they meant, and it was bullshit. Why should the council even care? Everyone knew the Walker gene was always dominant.

Although nobody spoke, there was now new tension in the air that hadn’t been there before. Despite the rising pressure, Marsden continued unperturbed. “The new ruling is: alphas who have more than fifty percent non-Walker blood will no longer have a legal claim to alpha-hood.”

“And who are you to say that?” asked one of the outlying jaguar alphas. “Being an alpha is a natural trait; it is either there or not. Many of the families you see here have a number of descendants that don’t qualify as alpha with your new ruling. I’m not sure what it is you are trying to do here.” The jaguar alpha who spoke had a pure, untainted bloodline, so I admired him for standing up and posing the question.

It was clear enough to everyone present that a ruling like this could imply there was more that the Walker Council was keeping up their sleeves. It brought suspicion on their intentions, and in this case, I thought it was probably a good thing. If alphas with watered-down bloodlines had to go, then what about alphas who are Pariah or alphas who are crippled? Pariahs never took the roles of leaders in their clans, but they did still retain their alpha status. On the other hand alphas who were crippled, maimed or born disfigured still became alpha if it was their blood right.

This new ruling could be expanded to change that. And that was where the danger lay.

Marsden waited patiently as the noise subsided. “I understand your concern, but this is a serious issue that you must take the time to consider. We know the Walker gene is stronger. We know that a pairing with a human or another species still produces offspring with a strong alpha gene. But what we are concerned with is the next generation. How many second-generation alphas do we have seated here that have only one grandparent that is Walker. They are technically only twenty-five percent Walker, and what right do mixed-bloods have to control a colony, to oversee other full-blooded Walkers, to control their lives?”

His words were designed to incite the prejudices of the alphas, but it didn’t seem to be an all-out success. A few heads were nodding, but many more were shaking in disagreement.

As I surveyed the room, my eyes met Justin’s. The sadness in his expression made my heart ache. Not that it mattered, but I wondered how he felt about a union with me now. Would he think it was such a good idea anymore?

Marsden cleared his throat. “The ruling includes the following: all second-generation mixed alphas who are part of a Walker/non-Walker union will automatically be disqualified from alpha rights.”

His words chilled me to the bone. The new ruling meant, should I continue my relationship with Logan and we settle down, then I lose my right to alpha-hood.

***

I didn’t like it.

Not that it had ever meant much to me considering I’d always rebelled against my alpha responsibilities, but when your rights were being removed, then everyone had the right to be concerned.

“I’m afraid I don’t see what right you have to instill this ruling,” said the jaguar alpha who’d spoken earlier. I struggled to remember his name. Deacon. Matthew Deacon. “It doesn’t make sense. Sometimes alpha genes are extremely dominant in third-generation offspring. Sometimes they are stronger and more alpha than most.”

What he was saying was true. I knew of alphas who were third-gen mixed-breed that produced a feline counterpart that was stronger and more powerful than many of the full-bloods.

“That does not mean they have a right to rule.” A voice cut through the hum of disagreement. Francine Waters. An icy voice to match the icy blonde.

“We haven’t had a problem with it for centuries. Well, forever if you want to be specific. Why now? Why are you making a minor issue into something bigger?” Deacon asked, still not backing down.

“It’s not a minor issue,” Waters snapped. “It’s a matter of the dilution of the bloodline.”

“Bloodlines are diluted no matter if you are alpha or not,” said Deacon, his tone kind, his eyes far from it. It was clear to anyone watching that he didn’t particularly like Ms. Waters.

“Be that as it may, we believe the right to rule must preclude those who will dilute the bloodline.”

“We aren’t royalty to be bothered with bloodline purity. What exactly is this all about?” an irritated voice piped up.

“So what? Are we going to go back to the dark ages where our mates are chosen for us? Will the Walker Council now act as marriage advisors to the ruling families, then?” another voice shouted.

Marsden held out his hands, waving down the rising voices. “You will have plenty of time to record your disagreement to the ruling. Please take your time to think about this from all angles.”

“So are you saying if we don’t agree with this ruling of yours, you will not ratify it?” Marsden glanced at the speaker, a lynx alpha from Colorado. The expression on the council leader’s face was stony. The lynx alpha laughed. “I see. We have time to voice our disagreement, to table our dissatisfaction. But in the end, you will still ratify the ruling anyway.”

The room erupted into cries of disagreement.

“That isn’t fair…”

“We should have a say…”

“This goes against our rights….”

“The council is taking their responsibilities too far…”

The secretary banged his gavel again, but nobody seemed to care. I was numb, trying to process the whole thing. Beside me, Dad and Iain had remained strangely quiet. I wanted to know what they thought, but a tiny part of me wondered if they agreed. Maybe they also had issues with my relationship with Logan. Iain had certainly disliked him to begin with, but I’d been under the impression it was because of the whole Sentinel-Omega rivalry.

Around us voices rose and fell. Most of the alphas respected my father and would stand with him in this case. It wasn’t as if I’d ever done anything for the colony that would make them want to sacrifice anything for me. So I wasn’t expecting them to stand up for me personally. I just hoped there were enough first and second-generation mixed-bloods within the alpha families that would ensure the alphas didn’t allow the ruling to go through.

I leaned over to my father. “So what if the majority of the alphas disagree with this ruling?”

“It certainly seems like it doesn’t matter who disagrees.”

“But can they really do that?” When he didn’t say anything, I asked, “So what if they decide the Walker Council now chooses the alpha leaders, that dominant Walker blood no longer has a say?”

“As ridiculous as that sounds, it looks pretty much like they could do that too if they wanted,” said Iain, a cold, hard anger in his voice.

“Then I think the Walker Council has gotten way too powerful if they can stand all the alphas down when and if they want to.”

“We agree, but little can be done about. We’re left with lobbying the current council members to ensure the vote doesn’t go through.” Dad shook his head as if he couldn’t fathom what was happening.

“So one nay will stall the ruling from being ratified?” I asked, curious about the process but fuming at the reality of it all.

Dad nodded, but his eyes were hooded with worry. “But I’m not sure now if they can be stopped.”

“How the hell did it get to this?” A voice at Dad’s back made him swivel around in his seat. A jaguar alpha elder from the north spoke with Dad and Iain in low tones for a few moments.

When he left, I asked, “What was that about”?”

“Just someone as unhappy with this whole situation as we are. Seems the alphas are pulling together on this. It’s not a matter of the bloodline issue any longer. It’s more to do with the fact that the power of the High Council has reached a danger point. The alphas no longer have a strong vote in major decisions. It used to be that we were consulted, that our opinions were taken into strong consideration. But it seems the balance has shifted. Something has changed that we aren’t aware of.”

“Did you even see this coming?”

“I’m afraid we did see this coming.” A voice spoke behind me, and I twisted around to face Justin. “It’s been a point of concern for a number of years, but this ruling is worse than we ever expected. Something has to be done.”

I said nothing, but Dad looked at Justin, his gaze dark with concern. “Are we meeting?” was all he asked.

Justin nodded. “I’ll let you know the details as soon as I hear.”