He let out a sigh. “Eh, Rodolfo Abernathy’s crawling up my kilt demanding a meeting. I suspect I know exactly what that meeting is about. For starters, he’s gonna demand we hand Elain Pardie over to him. And I can tell ye, knowing the Lyall brothers like I do, that it ain’t happening. Rightfully so.”
The humor completely disappeared from his face. “Let’s quit pissin’ around in the garden, shall we, Daniel?” He tipped his head toward Callie. “Yer mate is a right powerful woman. Lina is a goddess. Apparently, Elain Pardie is a Seer and an Alpha shifter. I don’t think it’s any mistake events are converging the way they are.”
He shook his head. “There’s gonna have to be a Council meeting to hear the challenges. There ain’t no other way around it. And it’ll have to play out however it does. I can’t imagine Rodolfo Abernathy, after waitin’ all these years to collect on that oath, would simply settle for a check and a friendly handshake. He’s gonna want a woman or blood. We’ll have to wait until after that part of fate plays out to figure our next move.”
He leaned forward in his chair. “I would never tell ye to openly dishonor a blood oath. The risk of a Clan war is too great. But that’s not to say after a challenge is issued and a ruling decreed that something can’t…happen to make Elain…disappear, as it were. Ye following me, boyo?” He glanced Callie’s way before arching a shaggy eyebrow at Daniel.
Daniel slowly nodded. “I am.”
“This very likely is Abernathy’s last stand.” He scratched his chin. “In fact, last time I saw the bloody bastard, back in Brussels, I told him I’d take his fucking nose off if he came sniffin’ around our pack.” He smiled at Daniel. “So don’t feel like ye got to hold back around him and be all diplomatic like. The arsehole only understands brute force.”
His expression turned downright grim. “I also talked to Andel Wattersson yesterday, and he said he found out there’s a new nest of cockatrice popped up somewhere in New England, hereabouts. He’s not sure where yet, but they’re working on it. He hasn’t told Lina about it yet because he’s worried about her condition and knows this needs to get settled first. But it will be yer next big business, and we’re gonna need yer leadership. And I also talked to Ortega Montalvo after I got off the phone with Andel.”
“Who?” Daniel asked.
Jocko smiled. “An old near and dear friend of mine. His jaguar Clan is in Bolivia.”
Daniel and Callie both put the pieces together. “Ahh,” they said.
Jocko nodded. “He gave sanctuary to Liam for all those years. I called him up to thank him and offer him my gratitude.” His smile turned to a predatory grin. “I don’t suppose ye recall a story about a Gathering last century, do ye, Daniel? About a certain wolf gettin’ himself in trouble with the jaguars?”
Daniel arched his eyebrows. “Oh, fuck me, I’d forgotten about that!”
Jocko cackled with glee. “He asked me to keep him informed of Rodolfo’s whereabouts. I told him I’d be happy to oblige. Liam was very helpful to him over the years, and he wants to make Rodolfo’s life as miserable as possible in the meanwhile.” Jock slapped his thigh. “Wouldn’t you just know it, he’s coming up here to Maine in a couple of days for a long, extended visit. He’s interested in talking with the dragons about hunting down some cockatrice that caused havoc for a cousin of his in Brazil a couple o’ years ago. Ain’t that something?”
“That’s something all right,” Daniel agreed.
Jocko’s good humor dissipated again. “Yer gonna need a strong stomach and a brassy set of balls fer what’s ahead, boyo. Yer gonna be named head of the Council. Ye ready for it?”
He looked at Callie, who smiled at him. He turned back to Jocko. “I’ll be ready for it.”
Daniel didn’t have to wait long for the call. Jocko rolled him out of bed at six eighteen the next morning.
“Didn’t wake ye, did I, boyo?”
Daniel squinted at the clock. “Holy crap, I knew you said you’d meet this morning, but I thought you meant after dawn.”
Jocko’s laugh rolled through the phone. “I called everyone last night. We all agreed unanimously to put ye on, effective immediately. Oh, and yer the new Council leader. Congratulations.”
That dragged the last of the sleep out of Daniel’s system. He sat up. Callie mumbled something at him from the other side of the bed and rolled over. “What?” Daniel asked.
“Yer the new head o’ the Council, effective as of last night. Thought I’d let ye get some sleep before I told ye. Meeting at nine this morning, my house. Eh, leave yer mate at home. I know she’s got powers, but this is special. No offense.”
“None taken.” He glanced over at Callie, who’d gone back to sleep. She wouldn’t be happy, but she’d understand. “I’ll be there.”
“Good. See ye then.” Daniel was listening to a dial tone in his ear.
He hung up the phone and decided against trying to go back to sleep.
Daniel studied the faces in Jocko’s living room. “So what’s this really about?” he asked. “What didn’t you tell me yesterday? I distinctly remember at one point you said ‘challenges,’ plural.”
None of the four men and one woman looked happy to be there. Jocko’s normally friendly demeanor had fled. “It’s serious, boyo. We needed to make sure ye were on board before we told ye everything.” He looked at the other Council members, none of them younger than two hundred, before he continued. “As head of the Council, it’s yer job to handle this.”
“Handle what?”
“There’s another wrinkle in the situation with Rodolfo Abernathy. He called me yesterday morning, before I met with ye, screaming his fool head off not just about Elain Pardie, but about some coyote girl, too.”
Daniel arched an eyebrow. “Girl?”
“Well, she’s twenty-one, but might as well be a pup.”
“Why doesn’t he call her Clan? We’re on good terms with coyotes, as far as I know, but they’re not our Clan. I mean, I thought we were on good terms with the coyotes, or is that something else you didn’t tell me?”
“We are. But Rodolfo’s great-grandson, Paul Abernathy, knocked her up. Rodolfo’s demanding we hand her over.”
Daniel thought he misheard something. “Wait a minute. We?”
Jocko nodded. “I’m getting there. This is why it’s our business. He also now knows for certain Elain Pardie is mated to the Lyalls. He’s had someone down there followin’ everyone around. He’s demanding a hearing before the Council. He’s issuing two challenges.”
“Aaand… I’m guessing that’s a bad thing?”
“Ayuh.”
“I don’t understand. If the coyote was mated to this joker, why’d she leave? And again, why do ‘we’ have to hand her over?”
“I said I’m getting there. She wasn’t mated to the guy. Wasn’t marked, either. But she is now. And not to her pup’s father.”
Daniel’s train of thought had arrived at the station. “Don’t tell me she’s mated to the Lyall brothers, too?”
Jocko shook his head. “No. Micah Donavan claimed her. You know who he is. I got that information from Lacey.”
Okay, train of thought derailed again. “Huh? But he’s mated already. He marked that guy, didn’t he?” That amusing gossip of Micah’s mating to a man had spread throughout the Clan faster than a prairie wildfire in high winds.
“Ayuh. See where this gets complicated?”
Daniel suspected he must have missed something. “Can we please start over?”
Jocko wryly smiled. “It’s as complicated as it sounds. Micah Donavan and his mate, a human, were both straight men. Micah claimed him as his One. Apparently, the girl was shifted and stowed away in one of the cars when Lina and everyone left here to go back to Florida. When they returned to the Lyalls’ place, Micah immediately knew she was shifted and went after her, just to ping on her as his mate, too.”