Leader of the Pack Ch. 18

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Dealing with the traitors, Jenna, and the feds.
5.3k words
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Part 18 of the 26 part series

Updated 10/20/2022
Created 11/16/2007
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secretme
secretme
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Fair warning: another no sex chapter. Love it anyway! That's an order! Tee Hee…

*Chapter 18*

Cullen woke up early in the morning. The sun was just beginning to peak over the balcony. A nosy pigeon had noticed that the sliding door was no longer blocking his entrance and was poking around the glass. Cullen threw a pillow across the room at it and scared it out the window. He stretched and moved away from Aislinn before he got anymore ideas. Although she had pretty well exhausted most of those last night. He smiled at the memory.

"Stop thinking like that or you'll not be allowed out of this bed," Aislinn said without moving or opening her eyes.

Cullen chuckled and leaned down, placed a kiss on her check and then jumped out of bed. "By the way," he said as he headed for the bathroom, "I'm leaving it to you to call maintenance and explain to them why they need to come up here and replace the door."

"I didn't break it!" she called after him.

Cullen laughed some more and closed the bathroom door behind himself. It didn't take him long to clean up and as he headed out of the bathroom Aislinn pulled herself out of bed and limped toward it. "Are you okay," he asked with concern about her walk.

She looked over her shoulder at him with a broad smile. "I'm fine. Just a little sore." She stretched deliciously in front of him. "And I'll probably harass you into doing it again sometime soon. Maybe not tonight," she added. "But soon," she said as she walked into the bathroom for her turn in the shower.

That comment almost had Cullen delaying his morning plans. Gods sometimes she amazed him. He growled to himself and rubbed his face with both hands, getting control of his wolf again. By the time Aislinn was out of the bathroom Cullen was dressed and headed for the elevator. He knew too well that if he stuck around he'd get to see her dry off and then it'd be all over.

He stopped her in the main room and pulled her too himself to plant a kiss on her lips. After a long moment that left her breathless he pulled away. "Good morning beautiful," he said with a smile. "I'm going downstairs to deal with the others before my good mood fails. Then I've got some phone calls to make. I'm probably going to have breakfast in my office. I suggest you take some time to mingle with the masses, find Sarah and see if she needs anything done. Maybe get yourself something to eat. I plan on heading us all back to the reservation this evening. Good?"

Aislinn nodded. She felt like she had just been bowled over by the lengthy instructions. He smiled at her again and headed for the elevator. Cullen hit the button for the basement. The elevator seemed to take forever to finish the descent. He had finally decided what to do with everyone. He was still bothered by the fact that they had turned. But he did understand why. And as much as it galled him to admit it, Aislinn had made a very good point. He had built this pack on family and caring as well as loyalty. He wasn't about to destroy all that because a handful, well more than a handful, of his men had betrayed him to protect their mates.

Cullen walked out of the elevator. The basement was actually several floors deep. There were underground living quarters just in case they were needed for security purposes. Cullen hoped that they'd never have to be used. There was an extensive gym, with a pool, track, basketball court, and training facilities. That room was always in use. There was the security suites and the holding area. It had never been used to hold his own men before. He growled at that. Then there were the tunnels that gave access to the local subway system. Most of the pack was unaware that the den had an escape route in the basement. But again, Cullen hoped it would never have to be used. But he didn't become alpha without having a mind for the future and all contingencies.

The elevator only went as far as the first level. That was the floor the gym was on. Cullen headed for the stairwell that led to the security suites and the holding area. That was in sub-basement level 2. The cameras caught his approach and Liam met him at the door when he came into the main entry way. The two men clasped hands and Liam nodded his head in greeting.

"Glad to see you early. The men are getting antsy. They all think they're as good as dead," Liam said soberly, looking for Cullen's response. He obviously wanted to know what was going to happen.

Cullen nodded. "I'm not killing anyone. Though I did consider it," he added.

Liam's relief was evident. The two men headed through the security door and back to the holding pens. Liam had allowed the doors to be left open. The rooms were mostly small cells. They had kept the main door latched but he had allowed the men to move amongst each other, especially after the women had insisted on joining them in the cells.

Cullen looked around at all the distraught faces. "Does anyone have anything to say," he asked in a hard tone.

Ranaild stepped forward. He was the only beta in the group. Though there were quite a few thetas present. The rest all had lower ranks. That made Ranaild the spokesman. "We've all agreed that we deserve the worst of what you could do." That comment had half the women sniffling and the other half bowing their heads in shame. "But we ask that you spare Pete. He's lost enough and he tried to tell you what was going on. We stopped him to save our own. I would say, that if it meant getting our women back safely and we were asked to do it again, I am sorry Cullen, but we would." There was more crying.

Cullen looked around. His brow was furrowed. "I would be lying if I said that I didn't spend a great deal of time thinking about how nice it would feel to rip your throats our personally." The men in the room flinched. If he asked they would have lined up and offered their necks to him one by one, watching as each of their fellows went before them. "But, to your incredible benefit, Aislinn has managed to convince me that there was more to consider than the fact that you betrayed me." That had every man and woman looking up at him again. The women with hope in their eyes and the men with shame. "Rafe has caused my pack, my family a great deal of pain. I don't intend to perpetuate it. According to Aislinn I intended for our family to mean as much to us as your loyalty to the pack and if I punish all of you for your behavior then I have to consider my own actions when I was trying to save her. The woman is far too logical for my tastes sometimes." The last comment had a number of the women smiling. "Not that I don't intend to let you all off. I still believe that the better course of action would have been for you to tell me what had happened. In as much I intend to demote the lot of you." There was a murmur of uncertainty that ran through the room. Demotion was only a step above death. "For the next year every man who betrayed this pack will be given the rank of omega with no opportunity to earn your rank back until the completion of the year. At that point you may attempt to regain your position. And expect to be watched as well. You all know what's expected of omegas. If you don't embrace your new duties I'll find another sentence for you."

The relief was accompanied by understood upset. It would be hardest on Ranaild. A beta being forced to live as an omega would be miserable. But Cullen thought it fitting. More was expected of a beta so his punishment should rightly be more severe.

Cullen looked around. "Peter," he said. A pale looking young man stood from where he had been sitting against the wall. He didn't care what happened. Peter would have preferred death as a sentence and that was evident in his eyes as he approached Cullen. "I am sorry for your loss, my friend. I have no reward for your loyalty that could possibly compensate for that. You are not being counted with the others." The room murmured agreement. "Return to your life as best you can. When you are ready for further duties then see me."

Peter nodded. Then he looked to Cullen with an empty blank stare. "There are old stories that druids can talk to the dead," he said hopefully.

Cullen could see where that was going. He shook his head sadly. "That I know of Aislinn has no such talent. She sees dreams. That's all. She was never trained as a druid." In his mind Cullen was thinking that this was an excellent opportunity to get rid of some of the bad rumors about her and seem open to talking in front of others. "But you're welcome to ask her about it. I would caution to give her some time. Her grandmother died in the fight at the reservation and she isn't dealing with it well."

Peter nodded. "Maybe after the funeral then," he said flatly.

"That would probably be best," Cullen answered. Then he looked around the room. They had all been listening intently, as had Liam. Good, that's a start, he thought. "As for the rest of you. After the funeral make arrangements to speak to Sarah about your new assignments." Cullen looked over at Liam. "Is there any further business here?"

"No, not that I know of. Thank you, General. I'm sure that your understanding and lenience has been appreciated." There were a number of women who made to approach Cullen out of gratitude, but a look from Cullen had them backing down.

Cullen headed out of the room. He could hear the relief being expressed as he left the security area. He felt good about his decision. It was a tough punishment. But it would be viewed well across the board. He didn't let any of them off easy but he didn't shed any more blood, either.

***

There was no way that Aislinn was going to stay in their room all day. But at the same time she was nervous about dealing with all the people who were so intimidated by her now. Staying in your room and hiding will do nothing help resolve that situation, she told herself. So she got dressed and headed down to the great room.

When the elevator doors opened she headed into the main TV room to look for Rissa. Usually if the Taigh-Oèsda was closed Rissa could be found in the great room. Since the restaurant wouldn't be open for some time yet Aislinn figured that there was a good chance that Rissa might be around. There was also the possibility of finding Sarah and getting that assignment Cullen had been talking about.

Unfortunately Meredith was the first person she ran into that she recognized by name. The woman narrowed her gaze on Aislinn and smiled beautifully. The effect was disturbing. Aislinn rolled her eyes and moved to find a different group of people. But Meredith was having none of that. "Are you afraid to stop in and say hi, Mistress?" came the sarcastic call.

Aislinn stood still for a moment. She couldn't decide if she wanted to deal with Meredith or not.

There was a good deal of laughter in the room. Aislinn hadn't caught the comment that initiated the laughter but here was something about it that wouldn't let her just walk away. "Okay Meredith. You have my attention. What? Are you looking for another thrashing?" At that Meredith looked concerned. This wasn't the same uninformed and uncertain woman as before. "Or should I formally challenge you this time and shut you up permanently?"

"Why would you want to do that now? If you've avoided it for so long. I have my doubts that you're actually capable." But the look in Meredith's eyes told Aislinn that she didn't really believe what was coming out of her own mouth. Her arm was still in a cast and the group that was surrounding her at the moment were all pregnant women who had been kept out of the fight.

Aislinn smiled knowingly. "Say what you like to impress the others. You know what happened in that fight. You also know that Cullen is done with you and the others. Get over it and move on."

Meredith growled. The other women were staring on to see who would win the verbal skirmish and Meredith wasn't doing well. "How I wonder did you talk him into that?"

Aislinn flinched and Meredith smiled. "I can't do what you're implying. Druids have varying abilities. And although I could give you the worst nightmare of your life, that would be the extent of it. I'm sorry to inform you Meredith, but Cullen chose me over you of his own volition. I have to tell you that I don't think it was a tough choice for him." Aislinn smiled, confident in the fact that her response seemed to have gotten to Meredith quite badly.

Meredith was furious. The women were chuckling amongst themselves.

"In any case," Aislinn said off hand. "I don't have time to banter with you. Cullen told me to report to Sarah for some kind of assignment so I was wondering if anyone had seen her." Aislinn looked around at all of them in turn.

The women looked uncertain about that. Talking to Aislinn was totally different from hearing or talking about Aislinn. She was confident and attractive and she didn't appear to be doing anything underhanded. One of the women who was more heavily pregnant spoke up. "Sarah is probably in her office. It's just down from Lord Arnauk's office and the library. You know where the library is," she added with a knowing smile.

Aislinn smiled right back. "Yes, I'm very familiar with the library. Thanks." Then she headed out of the room and down the hall, satisfied that she had made the right decision in dealing with Meredith.

It didn't take much to find Sarah's office. She was sitting in a room strikingly similar to Cullen's office. Her door was open, inviting anyone to come in. That differed from Cullen's usually closed door. Aislinn figured that the invitation was for someone to bother Sarah before bothering Cullen and then Sarah would decide if the problem was worthy of the real boss. Aislinn smiled to herself. That was certainly one job she knew she didn't want.

"You guys don't have much variation in your decorating from room to room do you?" Aislinn said hopefully as she poked her head in the doorway and waited to be invited in.

Sarah looked up. Her brow was furrowed but she smiled at Aislinn just the same and waved her in. Aislinn walked across the room and sat down in the chair across from Sarah at the desk. "So, Cullen suggested that I come to you for some kind of assignment. But you look worried about something. Is this a bad time?"

"No," Sarah sighed and pushed the papers in front of her away. "I was just looking over the room assignments. Cullen apparently chose to demote everyone instead of killing them. Good for them. But a lot of work for me. Omegas don't get to live on the same floors as the others. That means moving everyone around. It'll be easier to deal with if it's done before we all come back from the reservation. That way they'll all be moved before the place fills up again and they have to face the embarrassment of moving downstairs with people watching."

Aislinn nodded through the explanation. "So what can I do to help?"

Sarah smiled at her. "Yeah, why don't you go recruit a few omegas to help the others with the move. By the time you get back I might have the new room assignments figured out. Then you can help me get the rest organized before we leave."

Aislinn nodded and headed out to take care of the job.

***

Jenna ran her hand up Maon's chest. His eyes swirled molten Amber as he looked down at her. He had wanted her as his own since they were very young. He blamed the fact that they weren't mated now on Brennus and his ridiculous expectations of her. He also blamed her blind ambition on her father. He knew full well that the pack followed her for now because her decision at the battle with the Arnauk had paid off. But it was only a matter of time before someone large enough to rip her apart took control. That was unless someone like Maon protected her and kept her in power. She needed him. She knew it and he knew it. Now he was just waiting for a point when he could force his hand with her. She had too many alliances that she could use against him at the moment. But he had his own ambition. If he could convince her to mate with him and he could take the alpha position with her at his side, so be it. He didn't want to have to kill her. But she had ambitions on being the sole alpha and not wanting to share power. For now Maon would hold his position and see what happened. The more time that passed between her show at the battle and his move the better off he would be. Each moment brought doubt into the Tairneach minds that Jenna would be capable of remaining alpha.

Jenna's eyes gleamed with pleasure as she looked up at Maon. He towered over her and his size gave her a feeling of ultimate power, knowing that he would do anything she asked without question. He hadn't slept since she started to send him on her little trips He was perfect. "What present have you brought me?" she asked sweetly.

Jenna's eyes left Maon and traveled over the man who was on his knees in the middle of her great room. He looked a great deal like the last one that Maon had brought in. Rafe's list hadn't been very detailed. There had been a list of names with several crossed off and several others with check marks next to them. What she had found out, that afternoon, after having her teams bring in several of the men and women on the list was that no two druids could do the same two things.

It was getting very frustrating. She hadn't believed the first druid when he said that he couldn't reproduce the formula Rafe was using. Jenna had him beaten several times before working on the woman. The second druid told her the same thing. That only made her pissed off. When the third druid hadn't panned out she brought the three of them the list and told them that they had a choice. The first one to point out a name on the list who could reproduce what Rafe was doing could have a hot meal and a real bed. That was when she was told that the people on the list most likely to be able to help her were all crossed off or had checkmarks next to their names.

Jenna then found that the crossed out names had been killed and the checkmark names were missing. Her life was getting infuriatingly complex. The only bright spot seemed to be that these druids were very willing to cooperate. They bent to logic or threats very easily.

This new druid had been very difficult to find. His name was one of the ones with a checkmark. He was tall and thin, with Aislinn's bright blue eyes. That only made Jenna dislike him from the beginning. She smiled at him winningly but the man didn't seem to be affected by her looks. She walked around him. He was wearing jeans and a white polo shirt. Maon had found him boarding a train. He had made the mistake of being the first name on the list to use a credit card while Maon had a man monitoring the names on the list through a connection at a local government office.

Jacob Senach was young, but exceedingly intelligent, as were most of the members of the Senach. When he'd received word that Rafe had been killed he had been the first to come out of hiding. He'd been waiting for the news because his mother was sick and had been taken to the hospital while he was in hiding. The minute the phone call came that morning and his cousin with the watchers said that the council had felt Rafe's force eliminated from the circle he jumped to take the next train home. If he'd only had cash left.

Jacob knelt on the floor resigned to his situation. He already knew vaguely what she wanted. Rafe had been doing something with alchemy, he'd been killing off all the Senach with alchemical abilities, he'd been after books with old information about were creation and maps to the circle located on Arnauk territory. Now he was on his knees in front of the lycan who had been used by Rafe to attempt to build an army large enough to take the Arnauk territory. Jacob knew that Jenna Tairneach was dangerously ambitious and that at last count the circle had been undecided as to whether they thought she was cooperating with Rafe or planning against him. Jacob deducted that if she was hunting down the druids where Rafe had left off that she wanted him to make something. Probably whatever Rafe had been trying to make. There had been suspicions that He figured though that his main advantage in this situation would be that she had no way of knowing how much he knew about her, this situation, or what he was actually capable of.

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