Gamma No More - Book 3

Tane sits back in his chair, looking at the most recent message he had received. He shook his head sadly. Some people just seem to want to take, take, take. This is the downside to leadership.

Edwards had finally come up with the goods, it had taken him the best part of a year after he’d got himself in trouble with the vampires without raising suspicion, but dear god, how incompetent had he been when he had injured one of the Novitius and now he wanted Tane’s help to escape from them, that wouldn’t happen.

He had received compensation for his time in captivity; that was the purpose of the money, after all. So why did he believe that entitled him to ask for a rescue now he’s cocked up? Tane just couldn’t understand it.

It was ironic that he’d only just found out through Killian that he was being held for threatening Antonia Woodfield after they had made her one of their protected.

But at least it now all made sense. They had, after all, let her go easily when she had been a prisoner, caught on their land. All the while extracting a harsh payment for members of the Royal Pack that had breached their borders.

Oh yes, he knew all about it and the fact that she had got away from him was something that still pained him. Regardless of how many wolves he had flooded that town with, she had outsmarted them all and made it onto vampire territory.

But his wounds were at least soothed knowing that she hadn’t done it alone, but with the help of vampires, made her seem less of a threat to his genius.

It also explains why Antonia had hidden so well among the Neutral zone because the vampires were hiding her. What it didn’t explain was how she hadn’t gone rogue, but he was less concerned about that for now.

Tane looked at his map. The desolate wastes were now marked as under vampire ownership and that grated on him. It was a disgrace, all because of a minor border breach. They hadn’t even dealt with the Prince himself, just Lord Leif. That, in its own right, had been another insult to wolves, that an underling was used to negotiate. Except now he knew why, the Prince wasn’t even on the continent.

But once he was in control, that would change, it was an excessive request in response to a minor border breach, it’s not like the human had died after all, but he would take back the land once he had control over the humans, show vampires who held the power on this continent.

The vampires were using the excuse that they were going to use the land for mining, but the wolves had already investigated the mountains for decades, finding it barren of anything useful.

Looking at the paperwork Edwards sent, Tane is more inclined to think that it’s hiding the fact that Prince Einar’s castle is empty.

Either way, their actions have proved they are protective over those who work for them, which is good to know; it means when he finally takes on the humans, all he has to do is to threaten the Vampires with exterminating their Thralls and they should back down.

Tane poured over the images he had received, perusing each one carefully, it was far better than he had hoped for, he’d always assumed they had grown weaker with age, everyone thought Vampires were eternal, but in reality, they just aged slowly, but even then, no one is sure how long they live, but Tane guessed purebloods probably died after nine or ten thousand years.

Apparently, the Vampire King hadn’t succumbed to this fate, no, unrest had deposed him from his throne and his two sons Prince Einar and Prince Ulrik had left the continent a decade ago to win it back and neither had returned. Apparently not able to quell the vampire rebellion quickly, but that was good news for Tane.

Lord Leif was the only Exalted left behind to oversee the management of their territories. A single exalted was not to be underestimated, but enough Alphas could take one down while warriors dealt with his lieutenants.

Tane had never fought a vampire, but just how hard could they be?

Tane gets up and pulls out his expensive whisky, today would be a day to celebrate on multiple fronts, it was a shame to lose Edwards just when he had become useful in providing not one but two sources of information that correlated with each other, enough to make him confident, but sacrifices needed to be made and it would save him money in the long run, since he could stop paying Edwards now, his usefulness was over.

He poured himself a generous measure but before he drank it he set it back down, picking up his phone he tapped out a message to the poor fool Edwards, either he would live or die and neither outcome bothered him that much if he were honest.

‘You did well with the files. Unlucky on having to take out a Novitius, keep your head down. There will be no rescue party. Recommend destroying sim card and phone.’

Hitting send, he lets the phone drop on the table.

There was no concern if the vampires found and interrogated Edwards; he couldn’t tell them much. He could bandy about the name of Tane, but what good would it do? Taking a God’s name was not commonplace and Tane had made sure Edwards knew nothing about his work.

As long as he got rid of the evidence, no one would suspect a prisoner, especially one that appeared to be weak like Edwards was. After all, all it took was a single threat from Killian, and he was singing like the proverbial songbird.

He doubts anyone would think Edwards had the backbone to make a move against the Vampires and, of course, he had no motive. As Tane knows, no one suspects the man without a motive, or he couldn’t hide so well.

But really, the Vampires deserved everything they got, because who in their right mind let prisoners wander their halls? Stories of Lord Leif’s intelligence had to be overrated. Another reason to celebrate!

Tane picks up his glass, savouring the malt taste of the whisky and the slight burn of wolfsbane to help it get over the wolf’s resistance to alcohol, as he lets it glide around his mouth, coating it in pure pleasure.

Looking down at the map, things are coming together nicely for him and even better, since the vampires let Antonia go, which at first annoyed him, that simple action now plays nicely into his hands. If he needs someone to blame for the unrest, it’s no longer just Antonia, it includes the vampires now, after all, he will have several people in the Neutral zone that he can call up as witnesses to the fact she was under their protection.

Which made it perfect timing to market her as controlled by the vampires, oh yes, of all her decisions, this is one that he is basking in she had just made his life oh so easy by putting the vampires on the back foot once his plan moves to the final stages.

He picks up his desk phone

“Jasper, move the prisoner to the scrying cell. I want the whereabouts of a human named Jim Edwards, owner of the Nags Head.

Report back when you have information. If she doesn’t comply, let me know and I will take action!”

Smiling to himself, it no longer mattered where Antonia was. He had lost that thorn in his side.

One of the other phones goes. Frowning, he looks down; he wasn’t expecting a call from Killian and he debates whether to answer it, but he had been useful so far and not as demanding as some others. Sighing at the burdens of leadership, he takes the call.

“Killian, I wasn’t expecting a call.” Tane hoped that his tone will put Killian off if it wasn’t important.

“I had a visit from Antonia Woodfield today. She left me a message.” Tane sits up, praying that Killian hasn’t given her any information.

“And?”

“It’s going to cost more if I am putting my family’s life on the line.”

“You don’t get to decide that. If your Alpha gives you a command, you will follow it, and I can pull those particular strings. Never forget that.

Plus, I am not sure how your Alpha would feel if I were to let slip you had taken extra payments from me.”

Tane lets that information sink in for a few minutes.

“What did she say?”

“She didn’t ‘say’ anything. She left three arrows while I was with my kids.”

“And you know it was her how?”

“It’s how her father trained her, that’s how.”

Tane shakes his head. Apparently, today everyone was showing their true colours.

“Did you see her fire them?”

He can hear the annoyance building in Killian’s voice

“No, she fired only one … she broke two nearby. But I know it was her. She was calling me a traitor!”

Tane is struggling to hold the contempt he feels out of his voice, today is an open day for idiots and technically, Killian was a traitor so maybe it was his own guilt that was driving him, he smiled at this thought, maybe he wouldn’t always have to pay off Killian if he was driven by guilt.

“To summarise.

You have three arrows, only one of which was fired, and that one hit no one. The others discovered nearby, broken and abandoned.

You didn’t witness the person who launched them, and they didn’t talk to you, nor did you see the archer in action..

And you think this is a message, and it got you spooked. Does that about sum it up? Have you even bothered raising it with your Alpha?

Surely, he would be the one concerned with his borders, once you have done that and have proof that it was Antonia, like a scent trail, footprints, any shit, bar just ‘it was an arrow’ then come back to me and I’ll consider it a potential issue.

But it just seems to me to be an overactive imagination.

You cannot look at an arrow and determine who it is from unless she signed it and I assume that the archer in question didn’t print their name on the shaft?”

“No, and I have raised it with Alpha Lee. He has border patrols increased, but they can’t find any trace of who was there, which is why I am sure it was her.”

Tane’s finger hovers over the call termination button.

“Come back to me when you have proof and I will take action. Until then, control your paranoia. It isn’t becoming in a strong wolf.

And really, I don’t think she or you would remember everything her father taught her from nine. She lived feral for two years. I think you are reading too much into the ghosts from your past.

Don’t call me again unless it’s an emergency.”

He terminated the call, cursing the fact that he’s just had a great day ruined by Killian and his over-sensitive idea that he could tell an arrow was from Antonia, of all the idiotic ideas.

Picking up the whisky, he fills his mouth with the rest of the measure. His appetite for celebration has waned, because, in the back of his mind, a nagging thought is growing.

What if Killian had been right and Antonia had found out he was involved in the unrest? Could this impact his plan?

No sooner than he thought about it, his phone rang

“Master, the witch says Jim Edwards is still alive and her pendant hung over Lord Leif’s castle.”

Jasper’s voice calms his nerves

“Excellent, make sure she is back in her usual cell, but get her to repeat the same process each day for the next week.”

“Yes, Master.”

A dutiful response from the human. He knows this plan will work. Even if Killian is right, all he has to do is keep quiet.

Tomorrow, he will reach out to Alpha Lee and make sure that Killian remains within their pack’s territory until the battle is over. There will be no change to his plans. He is in control and he will win.

Over in Lord Leif’s castle, Leif looks at the list of people that could be Tane and crosses off a name, Elder Woods, financially he had the money, but the investigation cleared him and in reality, while he was a little strange, he was harmless.

By his side, a phone buzzes and Leif looks down smiling, Tane had appeared to take his bait, answering the messages he’d had sent and wiping his hands of Edwards, now all that remained was to hope the humans could trace this cell phone, but even if they failed, they had just fed Tane plenty of false information; the question was now was this hidden person arrogant enough to believe it.

Picking up the phone he calls Toni, their plan is in motion, now they just need a single piece of luck to fall their way and he’s hoping it’s the trackers tracing the phone, arrogant people make mistakes and that’s all he asking for, just one mistake.

He would send a prayer to the gods, but he forsook those fifteen hundred years ago, and he’s not a hypocrite, he won’t call upon them now, he prefers logic and planning, no one is perfect and he’s been around long enough to know that all he has to do is wait, living as long as he has taught a person patience.