Sword of Inquest (La Patron's Sword Book 1) (20 page)

They dashed toward Chacal’ property line. Before they reached the property line the car exploded.

Chapter 32

Disgruntled and bleeding, the three of them made their way to the Hummer as it pulled up. In the distance the dark plumes of smoke rose in salute of their day. She looked for the other wolves, hoping they had made it safely away and were not injured. After the wasted meeting with the Council, she intended to contact Alpha Radoff for answers.

Hawke touched her hand and brushed against her link. “
Are you okay? You haven’t said much.”

“Not a lot to say. Not yet anyway. Too many unanswered questions. I get the feeling we are in the middle of a bad play with no decent ending.
” She had watched some movies with Jasmine and Rose at the compound. Most were entertaining, others were too silly. She enjoyed the thrill of pointing out the villain before the movie revealed him or her. “
There are so many players in this thing; any one of them can be involved.
”

“You don’t like the council?” Chacal asked glancing at her and then Hawke.

“They didn’t know much,” she said.

“They never have. Their positions are symbolic now. They lost control a long time ago,” Chacal said.

“So why did we waste time with them?” Hawke asked.

“Politics. Silas did not want anyone to come back later and say he did not follow protocol. That’s out of the way now.” He chuckled. “When you left, they were miffed but asked me to keep them informed of our investigation.”

“Who left the shit in the middle of the road?” Hawke asked.

Chacal frowned. “Shit?”

Angus told him what happened.

“I’ve heard it all now. Why bother with that?” Chacal asked.

Hawke shrugged. “If we knew what it was from a distance, we never would’ve driven close.”

Chacal nodded. “Radoff is nearby, he asked for permission to enter my property. He wants to talk to the two in the back. He said something happened and wanted to discuss it with you.” He glanced at them in the rear view mirror.

“Now you ask before allowing access,” Angus growled.

Chacal shrugged.

“What do you think?” Hawke asked her.

“I planned to look for him anyway. This way we don’t travel as far. Besides he may know something about the bomb in the middle of the road.”

“Do we want to know about the bomb? We are looking into a matter and someone wants us to stop. It’s simple. We don’t know who is doing all of this, the cowards remain hidden,” Hawke said.

“Alpha Verrick?” she asked.

“It’s possible,” Angus said. “He visited the council today and probably killed the wolf last night.”

“Alpha Verrick is in the middle of an Alpha challenge, he suspects another Alpha set the whole situation up and is upset. That is probably why he spoke to the Council. There have been an increase of Alpha challenges lately and he barely won his last one,” Chacal said.

“Why the increase in challenges? Is that normal?” Asia asked.

“No. Not at the current rate they are happening,” Chacal said.

She looked at Hawke.

“Maybe that is a good place to start seeking answers,” he said.

Asia nodded and stretched. First she needed a shower and food.

“What shall I tell Radoff? “ Chacal asked.

“I’d like to talk with him,” Asia said. “Hawke and I met him the other night. Angus, I’d like to get your opinion on him.”

Angus nodded. “Will do. Have him meet us in an hour and a half. I need to wash this shit off me.”

“I will modify the property shield so you can meet at the hangar,” Chacal said.

<<<<>>>>

Two hours later, Radoff and five members of his pack stepped into Chacal’s empty hangar. Asia and Hawke introduced Angus and invited the men to have a seat at the makeshift table. The pack members declined. Alpha Radoff sat and released a long sigh.

“An innocent wolf died last night.”

None of them spoke. Asia and Hawke had checked the records earlier, all of the test wolves were alive but how did Radoff know?

“Why do you say that?” Angus asked.

“The woman died by the hands of a wolf, but not one of yours. That is another problem to be tackled on another day.” He sighed and then steepled his fingers beneath his chin. Asia hadn’t noticed the lines in his forehead before. His dark brown eyes looked tired, at least that was her first impression, until his gaze met hers. An indefinable spark lit his orbs that brightened his entire being. He seemed larger than before.

“The layers of this deception run deep. Each one must be peeled carefully so that healing takes place, strengthening that layer so it can withstand being removed without breaking.” Radoff stared at Asia and Hawke.

“Do you understand?” he asked when they didn’t respond.

“There is a lot happening and it’s deep,” Asia said cutting out the extra words.

“Yes, but the most important thing you must learn is pacing, you are in a rush to expose the enemy, solve the problems, make everything better, all at once. None of this happened all at once. It took decades. My concern is that in your eagerness to complete your goal, you destroy the fabric of who we are as a people.”

Asia tensed. “Destroy? Why would I do that? I have a simple job. Discover what’s happening to the missing black pups and shut it down. It’s not my intention to destroy your society.”

“I know but hear what I am saying. The answers are not as simple as you think. There are many hands in the pie. There are some things that can never be revealed. That’s not dishonest, that’s good governing. No Alpha shares everything with his pack.”

She nodded. “What do you want me to say? That I’ll be careful? Or that we’ll run things by you first? Or that we won’t expose anybody?” She shook her head. “I hear what you’re saying but I’m not sure what you want from me, from us.” She looked at Hawke and then Angus before meeting Radoff’s gaze.

He leaned forward. “Pacing. Timing. You would not be sitting here if it were not for him.” He pointed to Hawke. “And he would not be here if not for you. Do you think you are the first who tried to break into Lord Boris’ castle?”

She didn’t think so, but did not answer.

“You are not. Many, many have died trying through the years. Because of that, when pack members go missing, most Alphas believe they are beyond hope of retrieval. You…” he pointed at Asia. “And you.” He pointed to Hawke. “Have changed all of that. When word came to the coast of Poland that Lancaster Castle had fallen, I dropped everything to come see for myself. It is a day many of our people have prayed to the Goddess to see. But it happened after many things in your life aligned for this time and purpose.” He paused.

Uncertain where he was going with all of this, Asia frowned.

“Pacing and timing. Could you have accomplished your goals a year ago today?” His gaze touched her, and then Hawke and then Angus.

“No, I could not.” A year ago she was a prisoner of the Liege in worse condition than her mate because she walked freely amongst the Liege’s enemies before destroying them.

“I could not either,” Hawke said. “It’s as you say. I needed my mate in order to step into whatever we need to do now.”

“Same here,” Angus said.

“You say we need to slow down and that there are many levels, I agree. But we are tasked to complete a mission in a timely manner. How do you suggest we move forward?” Asia asked to get the conversation back on track.

Radoff pointed at her. “You are from the outside with no stake in our problems. Your Alpha and his litter-mate, they are black wolfs. Your mate, he is a black wolf. On the inside our hearts weep for the loss of our pack. We mourn its fallen state, and recall glorious days of old. Not to live in the past but to learn from it.”

Asia glanced at Hawke who took her hand and squeezed.

“When I ask if you are here to help, I refer to both. To open the cage is one thing; it is another to make sure the bridge to cross over to freedom is safe.”

“What?” Asia frowned.

Radoff held up a finger and smiled. “I refer to stopping the problem but leaving the pack in such a state it will survive. There are layers to every problem before you reach the core. But if the layers are destroyed it makes it harder and sometimes impossible to see the heart.” He stared at her.

“We understand,” Hawke said. “And while my mate is from the outside, he has accomplished more for the pack in the past week than anyone has in years.”

“True. As I said before, that is why I’m here. To share information and to seek help.”

Angus stretched and looked at Radoff. “Our assignment is based on missing black clan pups. Our Alpha is concerned and does not wish to see that happen in his territories. This is an offensive mission until he changes it.” Angus paused and then continued. “I am of the Black Wolf clan on the Continent. My heart grieves the loss of our pups and the sad state of our clan. You are right; this must be handled with both a feather and a hammer.”

“
How do we do that
?” she asked Hawke.

“
I think we will know when the time comes. Our hearts will lead us. That’s what all of this is about. He wants your heart involved, and not just your mind
,” Hawke said.

“
He should have said that
,” she said.

“Alpha Verrick saw the council today,” Angus said to Radoff. “Do you think he is involved in all this?”

“No. He refuses to obey the Liege representatives in this area and will not be Alpha much longer. The Alphas involved in this plot are in the Liege pockets. When they have a lot of pride and emotion about their people, like Verrick, they do not work for the Liege. For one thing, it is difficult but not impossible to smell a lie from an Alpha. But if he talked a lot, like Verrick or like I’m doing now, you’ll be able to weigh our words for truth.”

“
That’s good to know
,” Asia said.

Hawke nodded.

“Liege representatives? There are more besides Greggor?” Asia asked.

“The nephew? He only leaves the castle to dally in town with the women. He has no power or authority. No, there are men who have risen through the ranks of the organization who manage the Liege’ assets.”

Asia glanced at Angus. Brix, Leon’s mate had infiltrated the Liege until he ran into his mate at the research lab in Pennsylvania. Angus had been the one to set Brix up for the operation. La Patron learned a lot about the structure of the organization from Brix.

“Are they involved with the pups?” she asked.

“Yes and no. I suspect they are but no one has ever been able to catch them. Which means they must have help. Help within the pack.”

That did not surprise her. “I agree. There is no way they could have operated this long without someone betraying their own.”

“Power is a tempting seat, but the responsibility is too heavy for many. Look at the new Alphas. They are cocky, care little for their packs, use fear to generate loyalty…” he shook his head. “That is the first layer to peel. Follow that thread.”  He stood and stuck his hands down his pocket while looking at her.

“I think you already know which Alphas work for the Liege,” she said meeting his gaze.

“I’m old. Seen a lot, know a lot, heard a lot. You need to learn for yourself, peel the layer, follow the threads, earn the respect you’ll need to get answers from the pack. They
will
talk to you if they trust you. Or trust that you won’t be like everyone else, in and out at their expense.”

Asia didn’t know what to say. What he proposed sounded long term. This was a job. A mission to be completed efficiently with the results La Patron required. She did not get emotionally involved in her assignments.

“Do you have a list of the new Alphas in the area?” Hawke asked into the silence.

Radoff lifted his hand.

One of the men stepped forward and handed Hawke a slip of paper. He looked over it and nodded. “Interesting. Alpha Andrei is on this list. I did not realize he was new.”

Radoff smiled. “He is from southern Romania. His pack is in Bucharest.”

Asia looked at him. “And? Does that mean something?”

Radoff shrugged. “He has been an Alpha a year and has constant turnover in his pack. He recruits all the time.”

Asia recalled Andrei made an invitation for test wolves to come to his lands at the Alpha meeting. “We told the test couples about his offer to resettle on his land.”

Hawke squeezed her hand. “
They’ll be fine. They have a nose for danger and probably have banded together into their own pack. Remember we saw all six of them together when we checked the files. They didn’t go to Bucharest.
”

She released a breath, feeling better. “
Thanks for reminding me
.”

“Anyone else on the list we need to check out besides, Andrei?” Angus asked.

“Yeah. I’ll give you a copy of this. You research some, we’ll do the same so we know what we’re dealing with here,” Hawke said folding the paper and putting it into his pocket.