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72
The two men looked at each other, then the Beta nodded. “Guilty as charged, Chairman, but we request to make a statement prior to sentencing.”
“Proceed.” I nodded to the guards, and they pulled them to their feet.
“We did not want to be part of this, but we did not have a choice, either. Our Pack was in trouble, the Alpha had lost money gambling and our homes were about to be foreclosed on by the bank. Beta Shura promised enough money to forgive the debt if we participated.”
“Did you kill anyone in the attack, Beta?”
He nodded. “I did my job, sir. I only regret what I fought for. Warrior Kelly was with me the whole time, he was carrying a pack and was injured early on. Do what you will with me, but please spare his life. He is young and has a pregnant mate, he should have a chance.”
“Warrior Kelly, do you have anything to add?”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
“I’m sorry, sir. I’m not proud of my Pack or what we have done.” There were no more questions, so the Council members gathered quickly in a room just off the dining hall to deliberate. It didn’t take long.
We entered the room and called it to order. “Warrior Kelly, you have pleaded guilty and are sentenced to one-year confinement in the Vermillion Pack cells. Upon completion of your sentence, you may apply for membership to any Pack that will accept you. Your own Pack is being disbanded.” I heard a cry of relief from the back, probably his mate realizing he would not die today.
His face fell, and Alpha Sven stepped in. “Warrior Kelly, I will allow your mate to live with our Pack until your sentence is completed. I will not separate a man from his family, even if he is in prison.”
“Thank you, Alpha, Council Members.”
I turned to Beta Thompson. “Beta, you have plead guilty and have been sentenced to death. Your body will be burned tonight. Any last words?”
“May Luna have mercy on my soul, sir. I am sorry for what I did.” He knelt, hearing the Council guard behind him, and his neck was snapped a moment later.
“Alpha Mattson’s body is to be buried in an unmarked location. We will convene in fifteen minutes for the next case.” I went to pound the gavel, but the doors flew open and a warrior burst in.
“Alpha, the prisoners… Beta Shura is gone, and someone knocked out the guards.” The crowd jumped to its feet, warriors and Pack leaders rushing out or moving to protect their Alphas.
How the FUCK did he break out with all these people around?
******
Alpha Sven’s POV
I was furious as I ran out of the trial room. “Lockdown procedure, all without defensive assignments to the safe rooms. Warriors to your posts. Beta Shura has escaped and he must have had help.” I could see two of my warriors with Linnea, escorting her from the room, so I knew she was safe. I tried to link the control room and got nothing. “You four with me,” I said to the men waiting for me at the door.
We went through the passageway and I punched the code in for the basement door. The hallway was clear, and I punched another code to enter the control room. I froze as I looked in.
My two men were collapsed over their terminals, and Alpha Michael was on the floor. I could hear their heartbeats, they were slow but steady. I moved to Michael, the syringe was still in his neck. “Take them to the clinic,” I told my men. Each man took one in a fireman’s carry up the stairs, leaving me with one warrior and an empty room. The monitors were blank, and the hard drives we used to record data were on the floor in pieces. “I need computer techs and control room trained personnel to the control room immediately,” I said. Turning to the last man, I told him to assist in getting surveillance back up, then I went back up the stairs.
I ran out of the house and across to the shed, where the entrance to the cells was. Alpha Stan and Chairman Robert were both coming out, along with a number of warriors. I saw four men being carried to the clinic. “Let me guess, injected?”
Stan nodded. “All the guards were knocked out. One of the prisoners said a masked man came down, unlocked Shura and left with him. One of the trucks is gone, a blue F-150 quad cab. We’ve given a description to all the men and sent patrols in all directions. Shura’s scent was lost when he got into the truck.”
Shit. “The surveillance is a no go, the control room was taken out, Alpha Michael and two of my men were hit with injections and the recordings destroyed. I’ve got guys coming to look at it but I’m not hopeful.”
Robert looked around. “So, we have multiple guards from two Packs taken out with drugs, which means someone they trust got close enough to inject them.”
I nodded. “Probably multiple people, there wasn’t much time to get this done after we brought the last group out of the cells.” We had gathered a group of senior people, so I went over and grabbed a map out of a Pack vehicle and spread it out on the hood. “Any of you have people staying offsite?” A few nodded, they were at hotels nearby. We marked the locations, and they sent their men to block access roads. Vehicles filled with warriors were sent in every direction, and Stan got the helicopter pilot on the phone, he’d be here in thirty minutes. “Anyone spots them, call in at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Let’s go.”
“Alphas, I’d like to meet with you in Alpha Sven’s office, alone,” Chairman Roberts said. I nodded and led them that way. All the excitement must have been getting to me, because my heart was racing and I was breathing hard even though I hadn’t done much.
Alpha Stan’s POV
I got off the phone with the helicopter service and linked with Jessie and John. “Can you guys go to the cells, see if Jessie can do that thing to locate Shura? We don’t have any idea where they went,” I said.
“In a few minutes, I’m with the Pack doctor, helping to clear their systems of the drugs with my magic,” she said. I called warriors to me, when we got a location I wanted the helicopter ready to go. “Go find a clear spot for a helicopter landing zone, take some flares with you to mark the spot. No trees or power lines around,” I told the first two. The next two, I told to go arm up and wait by the helicopter.
I joined the Alphas as they followed Sven into the conference room attached to his office. The guards were left outside, the doors closed, the soundproofing making the conversation private. “We’ve got someone working against us here in this room,” Robert said. “The Council is taking over as of now. Put your phones on the table please.”
There was an outcry from the assembled Alphas, but when the Council enforcers and Council members stepped in, their dominance level was enough that none of us could withstand it. I took my phone out, placing it on the table before me. One of the enforcers picked it up and placed it in a bag before leaving.
I looked around at the others. “None of us have any reason to help Yuri,” I said. “He’s killed my Pack members, Sven’s too.”
Sven nodded. “My friend Michael is in the clinic now. I don’t see the European Alphas in this room. If anyone has a reason to spring Shura, it’s them.”
“Chairman Francois is taking care of his people as we speak. We are in agreement on this; Council business has been interfered with, and the Councils will handle it.”
“But who did it?”
“We are going to start narrowing things down now. The proceedings were taped, we are going over them now to get a list of everyone who was in the room at the time. What I need from you now is a list of any of your Pack members who were not in the trial room, and where they were.”
Sven went to a cabinet and started passing out pads of paper and pens. “I’m going to need help from my Betas on this,” I said.
“That’s fine, you can link with them and have them list the assignments made. I understand you have a lot of people to deal with,” Robert said.
I worked on my list, looking up when I saw Sven wince in pain. “Are you all right?”
He put his pen down, gripping the edge of the table. He was starting to sweat, and when he took a deep breath he grimaced again. “I don’t know,” he said.
Something was wrong, I smelled blood, and I heard Linnea outside shouting at the guards. “He needs a doctor,” I said. “Get him to the clinic NOW.” The enforcers looked at Robert, who nodded. They helped him to his feet; I watched in horror as his eyes rolled back and his legs gave out. “GO!” One of the man picked him up and they ran out of the room, people making a path for them as I watched in horror.
John’s POV
“Can you guys go to the cells, see if Jessie can do that thing to locate Shura? We don’t have any idea where they went,” Alpha Stan asked me over the link.
“In a few minutes, Jessie is with the Pack doctor. She’s helping to clear their systems of the drugs with her magic,” I replied. She was moving from bed to bed, using her magic to reverse the effects of the wolfsbane that was mixed with the strong sedative in the shots. The Pack doctor said the mixture prevented their wolves from linking and retarded their healing, allowing the sedative to work quickly. It was a pretty common combination for taking out a raging wolf without permanent harm, and all Packs had a supply with their warriors and doctors. The combination of drugs would keep them out for between four and eight hours, but we needed answers. Removing the wolfsbane would allow their bodies to metabolize the sedative faster.
She was halfway through the people who had been brought in, and she had started with the two in the control room and Alpha Michael. Alpha Stan had assigned two personal guards to her, they were standing near the walls. I was placed in charge of her security, and the guards had been ordered to follow her or my instructions only.
After the battle, our Pack recognized her value. With Shura still out there, she was still in danger.
“Alpha Michael is starting to come around,” the Pack doctor said as he walked over to his bed. I watched as Jessie finished her work, the glow from her hands fading as the magic pulled back out from his body. I followed Jessie as she walked to his bed. While the doctor was checking him, I moved the bed so he was sitting up slightly.