She nodded silently.
"How many alphas?"
"Only the Jackals, my Lord. The others were rank and file, not even betas."
"You killed the jackals?"
She nodded.
"Both?"
She nodded.
Barabas cleared his throat. "And she dared the rest of them to come and fight her. The dare wasn't accepted."
Of course. You didn't get to be an alpha by being dumb. After the Jackals had been killed, the others had been content to let their subordinates wear her down. Mahon could have stopped it, but did not. He had never made a secret of his disapproval of Kate, but to stand by and allow her to be injured in my absence... he and I would speak of this later. Perhaps it was time for my adoptive father to retire.
I would deal with the rest of the Council shortly. As we approached the door, I could hear them mumbling and whispering inside. Were they bored? Irritated? I could fix all of that. I took a deep breath, opened the door and roared at my subjects as if I had every intent of ending their lives in the next several seconds.
The sudden silence was deafening. Oh yes, Daddy is home and he ain't happy. Playtime was over.
*** *** ***
As my alphas sat in stunned silence, I pulled out a chair for my mate and then seated myself at the head of the table. No one spoke. I scanned the faces seeking a challenge. Not one of them had the courage to meet my stare. They all knew that an example would have to be made and none were eager to be the first.
I leaned forward and in as calm a tone as I could manage, demanded, "Explain yourselves."
Silence.
"I am waiting for one of you to tell me why you stood by and did nothing while my mate was assaulted on a daily basis."
Finally Jim spoke. "I knew she would be okay. Curran, she had to prove that she belonged."
"Yes," Mahon rumbled. "Nobody expected that she would be allowed to sit at your side without spilling some blood, my liege."
Yeah, actually I kinda did. Last time I had checked I was in charge around here. It was time to gently remind them of that. My eyes were on fire and every one of them knew what that fire meant.
I leaned forward and repeated, "Allowed?"
I let it sink in.
The realization of it hit them. They just told me what I was allowed to do. I heard the new alpha male of the Jackals take a deep breath and hold it.
I stared at them. "I will say this only once. I am the one who allows. I allow all of you to live and I allow you to rule your own clans as you see fit. Whether or not I continue to do so depends solely upon what you say and do in the next few moments. Be very careful."
It was Aunt B who spoke next. "Clan Bouda provided the Consort with both counsel and protection from unlawful challenges. No one who answers to me harmed her." She glanced over at Daniel and his mate. "The same cannot be said of the dogs, however."
Of course. She wouldn't have lifted a finger to stop the wolves from digging their own grave. The hatred between the boudas and the wolves went a long way back. Wolves had greater numbers, but boudas played the game better.
"We broke no laws," Daniel protested. "Everyone knows the alpha of the Bouda Clan cut a deal with Beast Lord's mate."
Jennifer, his mate, nodded. "Yes, because she wanted special status for her degenerates."
A slow smile crept over B's lips. "We all know how much the alpha of the Wolf Clan loves his mate and defers to her. Out of curiosity, how many of his wolves was he willing to sacrifice to indulge her?"
"The human had to prove herself like we all did," Daniel said. "It is the law. It is fair."
They spoke of her as if she wasn't even there, instead of sitting at my side.
"Fair, really?" I asked. "Who among you has faced twenty-two challenges in two weeks?"
None. Not even Mahon, our Executioner, had killed so many so quickly.
Speaking of law. I addressed Jennifer directly. "If I recall correctly, Daniel, despite being chosen upon the retirement of his predecessors, had successfully faced a number of challenges before choosing you as his mate. However, you have never been challenged. Do you know why that is? Because according to the law the two of you are so fond of quoting, whoever challenges you will also have to fight Daniel. The alphas fight as one. If one of the alphas is injured, it has been an unspoken courtesy among the Pack to wait until both are on their feet before a challenge is issued. It is the matter of honor. If you take another's place, you must win it fairly. You did not afford my mate the same courtesy."
"She killed my sister," Jennifer ground out.
Good, let's get it all out there. Settle things once and for all. "True, your sister went loup and attacked her. Kate didn't cause it and killed the one who did. Your anger is misplaced. As a matter of fact, she did you a favor. If you were any kind of alpha, you would know that putting your sister down was your responsibility. It was your burden to carry. You are the next of kin."
Jennifer clenched her teeth. I measured every word carefully. I couldn't challenge her, because the challenge had to come from the ground up. But if I said enough, she would challenge me.
"My mate assumed your burden and instead of gratitude, you hate her for it. She is the constant reminder of your weakness. You want to fight her, but you can't. Instead you goad others into doing what you can't bring yourself to do. It is your greatest failing. However, because I am merciful and just, I will offer you a chance to atone."
"I will not apologize or bow to her. I'll die first." Jennifer snapped at the air like a mad dog.
We'll just see about that. "Again, you misunderstand. What I offer is a chance at the revenge you seek, but properly this time. Challenge us. Couple to couple, as it was meant to be."
I gave the rest a warning glance. "No one will interfere. Just the two of you against the two of us. It is the law."
Kate tensed next to me. I found her hand under the table and gave her gentle squeeze to reassure her that I was just bluffing and that it would be alright. Well, not really, but I was confident that even as we were, we could take them, and all the rest if need be. As long as they believed we could do it, we wouldn't have to.
Jennifer began to rise - she really was either stupid or crazy -and Daniel grabbed her arm, almost too quickly to see, and yanked her back. She landed in the chair, hard.
She opened her mouth. He gave her a flat stare. She shut her mouth and dropped her gaze. Her face turned red. So he was unwilling to let her throw away her life or his own. I had expected as much.
Daniel bowed his head in a slight nod. "Clan Wolf begs the Consort for her forgiveness. We are sincerely sorry for any offense we may have caused. We wish to express our continued loyalty and obedience to the Beast Lord and his Mate."