Missing Ch. 81 - End

"Kill them all," Sanders said. "Emily, Clyde, Bonnie, Jerry, and anyone else helping them. Whoever catches them gets to kill them. After that, our relationship returns to where it was, with one exception. ALL communications between our kinds go through our Councils. We cannot have any more of this independent deal crap."

"I can accept that," I replied.

"I cannot accept that," Luna Adrienne said.

Sanders looked at her in shock. "Why not? You came here to mediate a solution, and we've reached a solution!"

She pointed her finger at each of us. "You two aren't the only two affected parties here. I have to represent those who are NOT here."

"Who is that?"

"Alpha Clyde Lassiter and the independent werewolves and werecoyotes in his Pack."

"We already decided to wipe them out," Sanders objected.

"Really? On what legal basis in Werewolf law do you propose to execute him and his people?"

"Are you serious, Luna? He killed a VAMPIRE MASTER and conspired to find and kill werecoyotes in violation of Council orders and Alpha command!"

She looked at me. "We'll get to Ramesey in a minute," she promised. "Lassiter couldn't have broken Alpha command. He went nowhere near the werecoyotes, and no command prevented him from talking to a Vampire Master." Sanders started to object, but she cut him off. "And Bonnie never got the Alpha command because she was gone before her Alpha could give it. You can't convict someone of breaking an Alpha command never placed on them."

"They started a rogue Pack," he objected. "They are a danger to all of our Packs."

Adrienne laughed. "Really? Who have they attacked? Whose territory are they encroaching on? Being a rogue, even forming a rogue pack, isn't illegal unless you attack or threaten those Packs that are part of the North American Council. You know that as well as I do." He tried to object, but she was right. She'd make a hell of a lawyer. "The facts are that Clyde Lassiter is the ONLY werewolf who has acted in our best traditions and laws. Your order to wipe out innocent werecoyotes was illegal under Pack Law. You knew it, but you didn't care because you thought the threat would return a few years later if you didn't wipe them out. Don't try to tell me otherwise, because I watched you. You and the Council were so eager to destroy a rival race that you ignored what was right and wrong."

Sanders was getting upset. "And Lassiter is right?"

"Yes. Clyde rescued several werecoyotes and offered them sanctuary from the extinction you both ordered. Because of his courage, your illegal actions will not result in the death of a supernatural race. Immediately rescind the orders on the werecoyotes. Order all Packs to leave Alpha Lassiter AND his Pack alone, provided they do not attack their Packs. Finally, tell the Alphas that Master Ramesey took advantage of your desire to get revenge on the werecoyotes. You acted without legal authority or a Werewolf Council vote and initiated a massacre. THAT is what happened here; he used you to cover up his actions as he killed a rival Master. If the Alphas lose confidence in you or you resign your position, so be it."

He stood up, trying to intimidate Luna Adrienne with his wolf's dominance. "I will do no such thing!"

It didn't work, which made me chuckle. "Fine. I will do it for you, and the Alphas can vote on your fate."

"This is outrageous! I am out of here. Jackson, with me."

Fixer Jackson didn't get up. "Sit down, Mr. Chairman."

Sanders looked shocked. "What did you say?"

"I said, SIT DOWN. The negotiations are not over. If you leave now, I'll tell the Alphas how you reacted to THE TRUTH." I couldn't believe it, but Sanders sat down.

Luna Adrienne ignored him like she would a toddler throwing a tantrum and turned to me. "What solution short of death for Clyde Lassiter would be acceptable to the Vampire Council?"

"He killed a Vampire Master, Luna. Death is the appropriate punishment."

"He killed a Master at the direction of, and as part of, a conspiracy by another Master. The person responsible is already dead at your hands. Clyde Lassiter was merely a tool. You must understand that his crimes pale in importance to his current role. No one else will keep the werecoyotes from extinction, so he must live."

She was persuasive. "If my Vampires ever catch him, I cannot stop them from killing Mr. Lassiter."

"Then ban him from your territories. Issue a ruling that Clyde Lassiter cannot enter Vampire territory except to access airports or drive straight through on freeways. In the end, his crime pales compared to the hundreds of murders your two Councils ordered."

I sat back and considered her solution. Our people needed to separate again, and vampires killing Lassiter would turn him into a martyr. "Agreed. I will relay this agreement to the Vampire Council this afternoon. Chairman Sanders?"

He didn't like being the weakest person in the room and looked defeated. "Agreed." We both stood up and shook hands over the table.

Luna Adrienne stood up, her hand protectively over her baby bump. "Thank you, gentlemen and lady. I will ensure Alpha Lassiter is informed of today's decision and abides by it."

I looked at my watch; it was half-past noon. I had plenty of time to get back before the Vampire Council met. I took Luna Adrienne's hand in mine and bowed slightly to her, kissing the back of it. "It has been a pleasure, Luna. The Werewolf Council should use you in dealings with my Council."

"I have a Pack to run and a family to raise, Supreme Master, but I appreciate your kind words. If you'll excuse me? I have to pee before I embarrass myself." She hurried out of the room, and the other two left soon after.

"She's damn good," Mary said.

"She made the most powerful Werewolf in the world her bitch today." If the bite wouldn't kill her, she'd be an amazing addition to the vampire race. "Adrienne is someone you can trust when you are the Master of Minneapolis."

Ch. 91

Mary Quantrill's POV

Red Wing, Minnesota

"That was not the meeting I expected," I said as we entered our Mercedes sedan.

Master Pontalba chuckled. "Sanders does not have the long-term vision that Luna Adrienne has. He's a political animal in the worst sense of the phrase. To him, gaining and maintaining power is all-important. His downfall was predictable."

My problem was that men like Sanders were all around us. "There are many Masters who believe the same way."

"True. The difference in our lifespans and the nature of our powers causes us to hide our lust for power until we achieve Master status. It must remain hidden behind loyalty and competence, or your Master will see you as a threat. The younger Masters have this the worst; the oldest of our kind have learned the value of allies."

I thought for a moment as we got back on Highway 61. "Sir, may I ask a question?"

"You can always ask, Mary."

"Sanders might be fired because Master Ramesey fooled him into wiping out the werecoyotes. Ramesey got the Vampire Council to do the same thing. Are you in danger because of this?"

"No." I waited to see if he would explain more. "The difference is that the Vampire Council was betrayed and deceived by one of our own. Unlike the Werewolves, we didn't accept the word of an Alpha before committing our species to the killings." He looked out the window before continuing. "These events will result in my office gaining sole power over dealings with other species, plus we can get new Masters in two major cities. Meanwhile, the werewolves lose faith in their leadership, and the werecoyotes may never recover from this. It may take decades for their Council to change into one more friendly and cooperative, but we are moving that way. All in all, not bad for a couple of days of work."

Working with him had trained me to look beyond the day, month, or year. The Supreme Vampire was patient, willing to wait centuries for his plans to come to fruition. Time to change the subject. "How should I handle tonight?"

"Remember that first blood doesn't matter, only which two are standing at the end." Five other vampires were vying for the two slots in Minneapolis and Montreal, and it would be a Royal Rumble Cage Match to decide it. "The fight is a test of leadership and relationships that takes place over moments instead of years. Six go in, and only two come out. There are no rules preventing cooperation but choose that person carefully. Do you trust them with your back? Can you work with them for the next few centuries? And are they strong enough to help you prevail against other alliances?"

Two of the fellow contestants would work with me, but only one met all three criteria. "Any other advice?"

"Stay defensive early on; let the field exhaust themselves on each other while you conserve your strength. There are no bonus points for quick kills. Injuries will weaken more aggressive fighters before they turn to you."

We arrived at the warehouse in Minneapolis with time to spare. I parked the car inside and opened the door for the Supreme Master. He excused me while he discussed business.

I spotted my target a minute later. I waved Penelope over, and we walked to a corner where others would not be able to overhear us. "Are you still in the challenge?"

"I am," she said. Penelope Lowell had emigrated to Canada as a child in 1864 and was changed shortly after coming of age. She would look like a high school cheerleader forever, but she was not a weakling. "Are you proposing an alliance?"

"I am," I replied. I explained the strategy Master Pontalba outlined, and she agreed readily before leaving. I found my familiar and fed deeply from him, needing the blood in my system to heal rapidly.

Killing a vampire wasn't easy. Our venom was useless in this fight, and there would be no weapons or fire. There were only two ways to do it; decapitate the opponent, or cause so much damage that he used up his blood reserves and could no longer regenerate.

At two, the six of us gathered nude at the fenced-in portion of the warehouse that used to store inventory. Penelope and I were the only females; Royce, Alain, Benjamin, and Lars were the other four. The males were busy posturing, which played to our advantage. If the others were smart, the weaker ones would attack the strongest together to knock them out.

"Contestants, enter the arena," the Supreme Vampire said as the Masters gathered to watch from outside the fence. We walked in, with Penelope and I moving to the far corner. Talons and fangs emerged as we spaced ourselves evenly inside, each with our backs to the chain link. The lock snapped closed. "The two surviving vampires will be elevated to Master and given control of the covens in Minneapolis or Montreal, with the elder having the choice. Begin."

Penelope and I moved to the corner, facing away from each other, with the fence protecting two of our sides. Alain and Benjamin attacked Lars in a blurred flurry of slashes and kicks.

Royce came for me, his ten-inch-long claws sweeping for my neck. I'd expected him to go for a quick kill and was ready. I dropped down in a flash, slashing my nails across his exposed thigh and hamstring. Blood sprayed everywhere before I rolled free, and his momentum carried him into the fence.

His mistake was turning his back on Penelope. She plunged her claws into his back, puncturing his liver and intestines with ten razor-sharp barbs. He roared in his fury and spun her way, but she had already ripped them from his body.

My next strike severed his right leg at the knee. Unable to move, it took us seconds to remove his arms. Penelope slashed his throat open, and I grabbed his chin and yanked it back. There was a loud crack as I popped his head from his torso.

One down.

We turned to the bloody battle in the other corner. Lars was doing his best, but two-on-one was taking its toll. We split up, moving silently along the fencing towards the remaining three. As soon as Alain's claws sliced through Lars' neck, Penelope and I pounced.

I jumped onto Alain's back, my left hand plunging into his left shoulder and disabling it. My right hand sliced across his neck, creating deep cuts to the bone. Alain stabbed for my face with his right hand, but I'd already shifted position; he only managed to slice open my left shoulder. My claws raked his back and legs as he tried to heal his arm and throat.

He couldn't keep up the healing, and I removed his right arm at the elbow and his left at his shoulder. Helpless before me, he looked up in fear before I crossed my talons over his neck. With a violent separation of my hands, I sliced his head off.

Penelope was winning, but not quickly enough. She was on her back, holding back Benjamin's one good hand with her two, his talons only inches from her eyes. I plunged my right hand into his chest below his right armpit and my left hand between his shoulder blades. He screamed in pain, his arms now useless. I pulled him off my friend, opening his neck for her hands. She plunged her claws into his neck, then jerked them violently to the sides, ripping huge chunks of flesh from him. Her next slice ended the battle as one of the claws went between his vertebrae and cut through.

I stood back, letting my blood-covered body return to its human form. I reached to Penelope, offering my hand to help her injured body stand again and in friendship. We hugged in triumph, then turned to our peers. Our wounds were already healing.

Supreme Vampire Pontalba raised his arms and waited for the crowd to quiet. "Welcome to our new Master Vampires, Mary Quantrill and Penelope Lowell." The gathered crowd applauded our victory. "Master Quantrill, as the elder vampire, you have the choice of covens."

"I choose Minneapolis," I answered.

"And so it shall be. Master Lowell, congratulations on your new position at the Montreal Coven. The new Council will convene at the Four Seasons in one hour."

The familiars cleaning up the mess helped clean our bodies and hair of the blood, and Penelope and I were dressed and on the road twenty minutes later. At the Council meeting, we were in the junior positions, furthest from the Supreme Vampire. It didn't matter to me. We were Masters at the table, and our vote counted as much as any other.

Master Pontalba called the meeting to order, then discussed the summit he'd had earlier this morning with Chairman Sanders. The Masters weren't happy to be denied blood, but no one here was blameless. "Clyde Lassiter is now an independent Alpha, his Pack including known werecoyote survivors. He is off-limits to vampires as long as he stays out of our territories. Alpha Lassiter may use airports and travel through our cities on freeways. If Lassiter is elsewhere in your territory, you may kill him," he ordered.

"Where is Alpha Lassiter's Pack," Master Milan asked.

"I don't know," Cyprian replied. "Chairman Sanders doesn't know either. Luna Adrienne can contact him, but I don't know if she knows where they are hiding. If any of you discover werecoyote survivors, turn them over to Master Quantrill. She will work with Luna Adrienne will get them to safety."

After another twenty minutes of discussion, the Council voted narrowly to ratify the agreement with the Werewolves and, by extension, Alpha Lassiter and his werecoyotes. It did not go unnoticed that Penelope and I voted in favor and provided the margin of victory.

The entire affair had left a bad taste in our mouths. The Supreme Vampire's direction that all interactions with the Werewolves process through the Council staff was a relief to many who wanted nothing to do with them.

The meeting ended, and I got to work. I have to clean up after the death of Master Andersen, plus select the junior vampires to be in my Coven.

And I wanted to look up a Fixer before he left town.

Ch. 92

Bonnie Woods POV

North of Two Harbors, MN

Friday, July 3, 2020

"Yeah, baby, right there." The first light of day was coming over Lake Superior and through the narrow crack in the draperies. It was enough to backlight his hair as my fingers clutched at the sides of his head, the covers and sheets pushed below my waist. His teasing tongue finally went where I needed it so badly. "Oh fuck, do that again." He did. A few of his tongue swirls, the movement of a hooked finger rubbing inside me, and Clyde had me rapidly approaching my peak. It was going to be a big one.

And then he backed off. "NO," I begged him, trying to pull his face back down. My hips raised off the bed, seeking the release it needed so badly. "Finish me, my love. I need it so bad."

"All in due time," he promised. He pushed himself up to his haunches and grabbed the backs of my thighs in his strong hands. My pale skin and red pubic hair contrasted with his darkly tanned skin and the hard cock now moving towards me. He shifted his hips, positioning his mushroom head at my slippery entrance. I moaned and closed my eyes as he pushed forward, his girth stretching me so well. He moved my legs over his shoulders, then snuck a hand down so his thumb could rub my clit. He pinched it as he bottomed out. "Cum for me," he commanded.

And I did. My whole body was on fire, my needy pussy rippling over cock half a dozen times as the contractions pushed through me. He held me tight to his hips, watching my face as I screamed into his pillow so I wouldn't wake the whole house up. When I finally relaxed, he started to pull out slowly, dragging the sensations out and making me beg for more.

Faster and faster, Clyde long-stroked me with that wonderful cock of his. I had a mate again, a good man, and the sex was SO good. My wolf and I loved having my dominant male positioned over me, taking me how he wanted, in either form. I let myself go to the sensations of our coupling. He leaned forward with his elbows on the bed outside my shoulder so he could kiss me while taking me on a one-way trip to Poundtown. I ended up with my knees to my shoulder and my hands reaching around to his hips, urging him to take me harder. The room filled with the smell of sex, the wet squelches of my sopping pussy, and the impact of his hips driving my ass into the mattress over and over.

I could see he was nearly there, and I was with him. "Take me hard, baby, fill me up," I begged while I could still talk. The antique oak bedframe was creaking with the strain.

"WAAAAAH WAAA WAHHHH, WAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

No! Not now! I'm so close! "Keep going, baby! I'm almost there," I begged.

He tried to finish, but with every cry of our adopted baby in her crib in the corner, I got more distracted and farther away from the big orgasm I needed. Clyde wasn't able to finish either. He gave up on sex after another thirty seconds of listening to her cry like the world were ending. Clyde rocked back on his knees, his erection fading. "I'll get the bottle ready," he said.

"I'll finish you later," I promised. Of course, that meant I got diaper duty. Clyde pulled on shorts and headed for the kitchen while I pulled on a robe. "Good morning, Angela," I said as I reached down for her. She was wet and hungry, so I changed her diaper and put her in a fresh onesie. I was rocking with her by the now-open patio door when Clyde returned with a bottle. Our baby girl latched on to the nipple and started eating heartily. "I miss having Mom here. She would have taken her so we could have fun."

"I never thought I'd get a chance to be a Dad, so I don't mind," Clyde said as he handed me my travel mug of coffee. I took a sip, the aroma and taste helping me relax and enjoy the morning. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day on the North Shore. This close to the lake, the outside temperature followed the water temperature in the high forties today. It could be a forty-degree difference in air temperature between our home and Highway 61, just a few hundred yards up the hill. Wind changes could cause big temperature swings inland, which is why you'd see people wearing shorts and a hoodie.