The Council Ch. 09

"Watch me," she bit back refusing to turn around, walking to her car and opening the door. She was barely holding on at the moment. She couldn't go another round with Aaron right now. All she could think of was he wanted to kill her mate. He had said so inside. She couldn't believe he would even think something so horrible let alone say it out loud.

"Cedar, wait!" her brother called, a slight softening in his tone, a hint of a plea in it. She ignored him, climbing into the car and driving away before the tears that were threatening to fall managed to do so.

Brody appeared at Aaron's side, Connor on his other side as they watched their sister drive off.

"Nice one, you two," Brody growled angrily giving them both a scathing look. "You'll be lucky if she ever speaks to either of you again. And why the fuck should she after that little show? She's there for all of us at a drop of a hat and you two rip her heart out the one time she needs us?" He snorted in disgust and headed off towards the communal hall shaking his head at their utter stupidity.

"Guess we fucked up," Connor announced with a weary sigh as the car vanished. He shot Aaron a dark look. "Though all I said was she wasn't allowed to mate with the bloodsucker. You said you wanted to kill him so I reckon she'll talk to me a lot sooner than she ever talks to you again."

"I don't need you to remind me," Aaron snapped angrily, his face flushing red. He turned on his heel and headed towards the home he kept at the compound. At least in there he'd be able to get some peace and quiet as he tried to work out how to make this right with his sister, if he even could.

"Andrei Romanov," Rafe sighed shaking his head at Loretta as they headed outside behind everyone else who was leaving.

She snorted and laughed at his expression. "Yeah, he's a lot of hard work," she admitted but there was a soft note in her voice that spoke volumes. "He's not as bad as you think though, Rafe."

"You're sure you're safe?" he prodded, concern in his eyes. He was really fond on the feisty little brunette. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her, even accidentally.

"Could you hurt Lacey?" she countered softly watching shock cross his face at even the thought of it before he smiled ruefully at her, conceding her point.

"I'm perfectly safe though thanks for caring. I appreciate you being so understanding about it, Rafe. It's so unfair that Cedar's the one who has to take all the abuse over this when Ashleigh and I get a free ride."

Rafe gave her a quick hug and another kiss on the top of her head. "Cedar's strong. She can cope with it. She has us to help her too. Once Aaron and Connor calm down they'll be there for her. It's just the shock of everything that's caused this little issue. The Alexanders are the strongest, most loving family I've ever known. They'll get through this and come out stronger in the end."

"I hope so, for Cedar's sake," Loretta sighed turning to head to her apartment. She fancied a little alone time just to herself for an hour or so, maybe she would take a run in the forest to clear her mind a little from the not so great start to her day.

*****

Alexei was heading towards his wolf, excitement bubbling up inside him as it always did when he managed to spend some time with his woman. He couldn't believe how quickly she had come to mean everything to him. He wondered if he would have had such a hard time coming to terms with the mating as his brother was having, if he hadn't had a year to get used to the idea.

Thinking of Andrei made him decide to check in with his twin. "Hey Andrei," he called mentally as he pulled up outside Cedar's house and switched off the car engine.

"What do you want?" his brother grumbled irritably. "I'm in a Council meeting trying not to rip Daniel's fucking head off at the moment. The dick is actually trying to get a call for action against the pack, citing that we will appear 'weak' if we do nothing."

Alexei frowned gripping the steering wheel tightly as he counted to ten to try and soothe down his instant irritation at the news. "I hope you have it under control, Andrei, because if Daniel does anything to hurt Cedar I'm going to rip him apart. And I don't give a fuck if he's a Council member."

"You seriously think I'd let him hurt the pack in anyway?" Andrei's annoyance was clearly heard in his mental tone. "Loretta would stand with the pack if war was declared. I've got just as much reason as you have not to allow anything to happen."

Alexei suddenly smiled, his grip loosening on the steering wheel as he relaxed back against the car seat. The fury and possessiveness in his brother's tone told a thousand stories. "So, she managed to snare you?" he laughed lightly. "Didn't you tell me you were just doing what Caleb instructed that night, brother? That there was no way you were mating with a wolf? And just exactly when where you going to tell me about it? How long have you been mated with her?"

He knew it was mean to tease his twin but he couldn't help it. He wanted Andrei to feel what he felt for his Cedar. He wanted him to experience that perfect feeling of completeness with his mate. He was relieved that Andrei had stopped fighting Loretta so hard and given into the inevitable. He liked the little brunette a lot despite their first meeting being so brief.

"Fuck off, Alexei!" his brother growled irritably but there was a hint of humour in his tone too. "I hate it when you say 'I told you so.' You're such a smug bastard at times. Yes, I have accepted that Loretta is my mate. I had no choice in the matter. Not that I really wanted one in the long run. As to when it was a few days ago and quite frankly I've been a little on the busy side since it happened," he added, his tone softening slightly.

The smile on Alexei's face widened. "Yeah, you're a complete goner," he teased, still laughing. "I'm glad you stopped being an ass about it. Now I don't need to kick the living daylights out of you if you hurt Loretta and upset Cedar by doing so. Just make sure you keep Daniel firmly under control. Let me know if you need any back up."

He heard Andrei's distracted grunt and deftly cut off his communication with him. He knew his brother now had added reason to keep The Council in line so he could relax a bit more and enjoy spending some time with his woman. Andrei didn't often let people into his heart but when he did his protective side overwhelmed him. No one would hurt Loretta ever now Andrei had claimed her as his. Which meant the pack was completely safe.

Smiling, Alexei strode up the path towards Cedar's front door, a small frown crossing his face as his sharp ears picked up the sound of banging within and his enhanced sense of smell picked up traces of fury and also a tinge of hurt. He stiffened instantly. What the fuck was going on inside?

He opened the door to find Cedar slamming cupboard doors in the kitchen, pulling out things and slamming them down on the counter. Obviously she was supposed to be making herself some food but it looked more like she was trying to dismantle the kitchen with her bare hands.

He would have been amused if he could scent only anger in her but she was hurting too and that instantly started a slow bubble of rage deep within him. Someone had hurt his woman and he wasn't happy about it.

He watched her pull out a piece of steak from the refrigerator and start to beat it with a wooden mallet. "I think it's already dead," he remarked drolly, closing the front door and heading towards her. She glared at him for a moment and then went back to beating on the meat.

He frowned, his sharp gaze taking in the slight redness around her eyes, the hint of puffiness there too. Had she been crying? His rage ratcheted up another notch at the thought of her being upset enough to cry. His Cedar just didn't do things like that. If someone had hurt her enough to make her cry then he was going to kill whoever it was.

He stepped behind her and halted her destruction of what had been a perfectly good piece of meat but now resembled road kill. "Like I said, sweetheart, it's already dead," he repeated in a level tone, taking the mallet from her and laying it quietly on the counter so he could turn her to face him.

"You want to tell me what's upset you so much?" he asked softly, his gaze intent on her face as she stubbornly refused to look at him.

"It's nothing, Alexei," she growled quietly pulling away from him and moving to grab the open bottle of wine on the counter and pour herself another glass. "Just family stuff. Nothing for you to be concerned about."

He watched her with narrowed eyes, mentally counting to one hundred as she told him her first lie. He really detested lies and if he wasn't so deeply involved with her he would have walked away instantly but instead he calmed his rage and counted slowly so he wouldn't overreact.

"You know the rule, Cedar," he said quietly. "And you've just broken it. No lies, not ever. I don't care if you think you're protecting my feelings or someone else's. Complete honesty or I walk out of here."

She took a deep breath, hearing more than disappointment in his tone, hearing the trace of hurt too that she wasn't being completely truthful with him. She'd spent most of the day alternating between fury and tears and she was feeling raw and off balance. She couldn't deal with Alexei's issues on top of everything else.

"Well, why don't you then?" she asked aggressively, throwing back her wine and pouring some more. "I'm tired of playing your stupid little games, Alexei. You can take your silly rules and stick them where the sun doesn't shine."

She heard him hiss loudly a second before he was spinning her around and pressing her hard against the counter, fury in his eyes as well as hurt. She swallowed but held his gaze, not willing to back down. She'd done enough backing down already today, been subjected to enough harsh words and condemnation and it was all because of the vampire who was glaring down at her right now.

Alexei stared into her angry face, looking past the fury he saw there and concentrating on the hurt deep within her eyes. He ignored her words completely, knew she didn't mean them as he slowly stroked her cheek lightly and lowered his head to graze his lips gently against her.

She held herself rigid for a second and then she melted against him, her arms coming around him to clutch tightly. "I'm sorry, Alexei," she whispered against his lips. "I didn't mean what I said."

"I know, sweetheart," he breathed softly. "Talk to me, Cedar. Tell me what's upsetting you so much."

She sighed deeply. She wanted to talk to him about it but she was afraid he'd react angrily and do something stupid. She might be furious with Aaron right now but she didn't want him hurt. Alexei wasn't used to curbing his more physical side around non vampires.

"Jared informed the Betas of the interspecies matings," she answered carefully. "Needless to say it created a bit of an uproar at first and it didn't help my three brothers are Betas. Not only did they get to find out of the potential threat to the pack but they got to hear that their sister was mated to a vampire too. It didn't go down too well with them."

A slow frown began to settle on Alexei's face as he mulled over her words. He could understand how that could put her in an awkward position as her family was not aware of her mating due to the restrictions placed on her as by her Alpha "You had a disagreement with them?" he finally asked quietly.

"More like World War III," she snorted, a humourless laugh escaping her. "Brody was okay with it but Connor forbid me from mating with you and Aaron....well let's just say his mate is pregnant and his protective instincts are off the charts at the moment. He said something harsh and then I snapped back with something equally as bad. Jared finally stepped in and threatened to throw us out of the pack if we didn't stop."

She sighed deeply again and pressed her head against his shoulder. "It was just a family argument, Alexei. Families do that from time to time. I'm sure you and Andrei have your moments too."

The fact that she didn't elaborate on what Aaron had said was enough to tell him that the younger brother was the cause of her tears. He knew she was particularly close to him and that her brother shared the same bond. He had been very protective of her last year.

Alexei remembered Aaron's words well that day. He had promised to kill him if he hurt Cedar and now Aaron had gone and done the very same thing himself. Alexei was a firm believer in quid pro quo. He filed that information away as he stroked her back soothingly, feeling her begin to unwind slightly.

"Yes, Andrei and I have our moments," he agreed in a deceptively even tone., brushing his lips across the top of her head and tightening his hold on her. His rage was still festering deep inside him even though she was so much more relaxed now.

"So you know what siblings are like then," she sighed softly. "They fight and say silly things and then they make up and forgive each other. It's no big deal, Alexei."

He disagreed with her completely, about the no big deal part. Yes, siblings had their fights but it was a big deal to him that her brother has said something so nasty to her that he'd made her cry. He was not about to let that go unpunished.

"Why don't you go and have a long soak in the bath and I'll head out and pick up some takeout for you?" he suggested easing back from her and smiling slightly. He brushed her curls back from her face and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. "You did kind of destroy that perfectly good bit of meat you'd planned on having for dinner. What do you want? Chinese?"

The thought of her vampire heading out for takeout when he didn't eat was so funny that Cedar actually found herself laughing, relaxing more. The thought of a long soak in the tub was also very appealing. "You're not so bad for a vampire," she sighed still laughing. She was pleased he wasn't overreacting. She actually felt a little guilty about being concerned about his reaction in the first place.

Alexei felt a little twinge deep inside him, a little questioning of himself but it was quickly overridden by his rage. "I'm not so good either," he replied dryly with a smile. "Food order?"

She recited off what she wanted and he told her he'd be back soon, prodding her to head upstairs for her bath. He knew she would forget to get out of the tub once she got in. She usually did. It gave him some extra time to do what he wanted to do.

He studiously told himself that he wasn't doing anything wrong. It wasn't as if he'd lied to her or anything. He was going to get food for her, he was just going via the Hanlon compound. He hadn't told her he was okay with the situation, she had just assumed it and he hadn't disabused her of the notion.

Aaron Alexander needed to know that he didn't have an automatic right to hurt his mate just because he was her brother. Alexei was determined that he would understand that message very clearly.

*****

Aaron was late leaving the compound and still annoyed with himself. He had to pick Jen up from Rafe and Lacey's house and he was going to be at least half an hour later than he'd planned to be. Thankfully his mate was having too much of a good time with her best friend so she didn't mind in the least. But he did. He didn't like being apart from her for so long and he'd been stuck at the compound most of the day.

He'd toyed with the idea of calling Cedar a few times but decided against it. From her reaction earlier she'd probably just hang up on him. No, he'd need to corner her face to face to sort out their disagreement. It was better to let her calm down first too.

He hated fighting with his sister. They didn't do it very often and when they did it was nowhere near as vicious as this fight had been. He flushed slightly just thinking about it.

He was almost at his car when he scented the vampire. He didn't need three guesses for who it could possibly be because he recognised Alexei Romanov's scent from when he had first met him. He automatically tensed, his wolf snarling loudly within him though he fought hard to contain his beast and not shift. Shifting would only inflame the situation.

The fury he could sense rolling off the vampire in spades surprised him at first until he realised why he was sensing it in the first place. Shocked rocked through him for an instant and then his Beta instincts kicked in. The vampire was lethal when in his own feral state but now he was something completely different.

The wolf gene within him was reacting to Cedar's distress and enhancing the fury in Alexei. Aaron wasn't just faced with an angry vampire. He was faced with a newly turned wolf trying to protect his mate too. He didn't know much about vampires but he knew enough about new turnings to know that he needed to handle the situation very carefully or someone was going to be seriously hurt.

If he shifted to wolf form Alexei would react negatively. But it was the only way he could call for help and be certain he was heard. If he did send out a mental call to Jared then the pack would mobilise instantly and Alexei could be killed. He resigned himself to the fact that he would just need to take what was coming and deal with it himself.

He sensed Alexei's approach rather than saw the vampire, turning just in time to feel strong hands at his throat before he went sailing through the air towards the trees.

Aaron groaned a split second before he hit the ground. Fuck, he knew it was going to hurt when he landed but he didn't think it would feel this bad! His wolf roared in fury, trying to take control but he suppressed it ruthlessly. He knew if he reacted to the vampire's aggression then someone was really going to get hurt.

He'd been a Beta a long time and had helped many a human through their transformation to Were life. It was a confusing time for them as they worked on trying to deal with all the different instincts that came with the wolf gene being present in their blood stream.

Alexei Romanov wasn't all that different from them though he was more deadly because he was a vampire and his own natural instincts would be warring with the wolf part within him. His mate had been hurt and he was reacting to protect her. Aaron could understand that so he remained in human form to try and keep the vampire more balanced.

He sensed the vampire approach again and tensed, wondering where he was going to land this time. He looked up at the irate vampire when he simply stopped in front of him, glaring murderously at him with a hint of frustration on his face. Aaron almost smiled as he realised the vampire's dilemma.

Alexei was furious. He had seen red the instant he'd sighted the wolf, his need to rip him apart driving him almost insane. He was going to kill the stupid dog but he was going to do it slowly. The satisfaction he thought he'd get from throwing the other man through the air didn't come though. Aaron Alexander didn't even put up a fight! He just let him attack him and then just lay there in human form.

"Shift!" he hissed furiously at the blond wolf. He wanted to fight the wolf not the man. Staring down at Aaron in human form was disconcerting. He had the same hair and eye colour as Cedar. It was almost like looking at her and it was frustrating the hell out of him because he didn't want to be looking at the brother of his woman. He wanted to be looking at a wolf.

Aaron instinctively went into his teaching mode. He didn't even make a conscious decision about it, it just happened. Jared invariably left a lot of the pack integration to him because he was particularly skilled at it with his easy going personality. So he adopted his usual soft tone when trying to soothe a frustrated wolf.