Ever Cynical

Chapter 24- Pflumer Gets Banned

Kieran POV

I was convinced that this man... barely a wolf, really... was an absolute waste of space. We were seated at the final dinner with him. He'd announced his plans to leave in the morning after breakfast. He'd lackadaisically asked me a few times when I was going to join the council, but after my recent epiphany, I could see right through it. He was looking for an indication that I, or one of my ranked men, had found our mates. He'd asked far too many times for my comfort about where the unmated females had gone off to.

Apparently me saying we didn't have any that were of age didn't convince him.

It was a lie, but really, besides Helga and Anais, most of the unmated females were under nineteen or well into maturity with clearly defined pack roles, like doctors or warriors.

He had asked about our new computer stuff, and I did not bother to educate him in full detail. He clearly thought it was limited to internet and PCs, and a few new locks, but did not notice any of Anais' security measures. She had done an excellent job, along with my men, of making sure it was basically hidden from view. If you knew what you were looking for, you might spot it. He was eating some lobster dish he'd demanded that the man who'd substituted for Helga barely knew how to prepare. He was acting like it was beyond delicious. It made me wonder about the conditions in Ludolf's castle in Germany.

Just because a wolf was king did not make him good at it.

The next morning, I was never so happy to see someone leave my pack. Geoff had subtly placed a tracker on their luggage, courtesy of Anais. Once they were at the SeaTac airport, we planned to let the girls out of the hut. After they'd been out of sight for a few minutes, I shot a quick text to Anais explaining the situation. She sent back a thumbs up and a happy face. I frowned. She never used emotes. Weird. I went to my office and as I sat at my computer I noticed something. The Envoy's SUVs were not headed towards the gate. They were driving around the property, towards the huts.

Geoff! Send Lugh and Sean to the huts now. We need to go! The envoy didn't leave! I shouted through the link as I shot up out of my office chair, headed towards the office entrance.

On it, Alpha, was all he said, but I felt his rage.

I shot a text to Anais that danger was headed her way, and I loved her, and I was coming to help. There was no reply.

I bolted for the pack house doors, and Geoff met me there. We shifted midair and our wolves hit the ground running.

I could only pray to Selene that I made it to my mate on time.

Anais POV

I stared at Kieran's text. It had been me using emotes, but it was more because my wolf's pacing had left me practically incapable of typing a decent sentence.

Shit, I had to keep Helga safe and not get captured. In the past, I would have absolutely used myself as a bargaining chip, but as things were, I could not do that. Suddenly, I remembered there was a secret cellar to hide in the case of, say a rogue attack. I grabbed Helga and pulled her to the curtained sleeping area, opening the cellar door hidden under the bed. Thankfully, it opened inward, so I was not trapping her in if I slid the bed back over the entrance.

"Wait, Luna! What's going on?" I tossed our bags into the cellar, which was large and comfortable, meant to weather a few days of possible lockdown. I looked at her, determined. Her wolf was dormant, and she was far too easy a target for this bloody asshat. Bloody sounded good, I could do that. Someone like him? Hell yes.

"Helga, the envoy is coming here to the huts. He won't be able to get in easily with the security I added, but in case he gets in, I don't want to risk you being taken, okay?" I started to push her into the cellar, but she resisted, dragging her feet.

"Luna, I have to stay and defend you!" She insisted, very upset with me. This woman's wolf was more dormant than mine! I didn't want to do it, but I was going to have to command her. I only hoped Claire and I could manage it. I'd heard of alpha and luna commands, but I didn't exactly know the mechanics of issuing one.

"I'm sorry Helga, I know you mean well, but I can't risk both you and Sean." I let out my aura. "Please get in the cellar and stay there, quiet, until our people come for you, no matter what you hear." I shoved her down and closed the door. "Latch it, Helga." Silence. I knew it hurt her to hide when her Luna was in danger. "Please Helga, as my bestie, lock this door." I finally heard a click.

I moved the bed back in place. Thankfully, when it had been built it was literally invisible unless you knew it was there. I turned off all the lights and slid under the bed. I was glad Geoff had taken my SUV to the pack house garage. I slowed my breathing and heart rate nearly to a stop, something I'd learned through years of meditation- special stealthing abilities- yay! I felt my body cool, as was intended. I could hear vehicles approaching and focused on hiding my presence. I could hear vehicle doors open and close, and men talking as they approached the huts.

"Envoy, was there a reason we are stopping here? Our flight leaves in less than four hours, and we have a three-hour drive." One of the men complained.

"Hush you i***t," said the second, I'm betting it's the slimeball himself. "I'm listening for any sounds to see if they were hiding unmated women." I could hear him sniffing the air. "The king is getting more and more impatient to find that Immortal woman or her daughters. Why, I have no idea. Besides that, he's wanting to keep this Immortal Iron Alpha under wraps. If he gets a mate he will be way too powerful. The Elder Council is going to want to put him on the throne, since he's by far the strongest and most reasonable. We don't want reasonable. They will look too closely at what we are up to." He had reached the door and aggressively shook it as he tried to unlock it.

He was hurriedly trying to break the lock or force it, punching every random code he thought made sense, followed by trying to break the door directly. Did he really think mating huts were not well fortified? It was when wolves were at their most vulnerable. What must have been ten minutes felt like hours. I was so glad I'd finished everything in time. This whole fiasco was being recorded from multiple angles. I was very, very good at my job. If this asswipe even tried any bullshit, I had proof that was indisputable.

"Envoy, we've got wolves incoming," The first voice shouted gruffly. I knew shifting on someone else's lands without formal permission was considered an act of aggression, and though I had full faith in Kieran and his team, I really hoped it would not come to that.

"How?! There are no patrols here! Dammit. I was hoping to at least bring something back to appease his highness. After I've had my fun, of course." Goddess, his voice was repugnant, like everything slimy and vile was creeping across your skin. The men laughed as they all made their way back to the SUVs in a rush. How awful that they all thought r**e was funny. What on earth was going on in the royal pack in Germany?

"Envoy Pflumer! What is the meaning of this! You have no authority to go near the mating huts of my pack!" Kieran yelled. My heart swelled at the sound of my mate's dominant voice combined with his wolf's. The man was just delectable, completely opposite of this Pflumer i***t.

"Oh dear, Alpha Kieran, I had no idea! We were... lost. I hope you can forgive us?" Ugh his fakely apologetic tone was grating and insincere. Nobody was falling for that s**t, especially not my mate.

"You will be escorted off my pack and YOU, Envoy Graehm Pflumer, are hereby banned from my pack. If you so much as attempt to step a foot on my land again, my men have orders to kill you. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!" My magnificent mate roared.

"The alpha king will hear of this!" Graehm sniffed angrily, highly offended, as he shut his door and drove off. Good f*****g riddance!

I waited, still stealthed. I heard the keypad slide open and the door opened to a man's bare feet, which strode around the room until they came to the bed. I recognized those sexy feet, but I still waited. Kieran bent down and peered under the bed, but continued not to see me. Teehee! It was probably a little mean of me, but I wanted to show him I was not going to be easy for anyone to hurt. It was when he slid the bed back that he finally found me.

"Hello, mon coeur." I grinned as I dropped stealth. His eyes widened in surprise.

"How on earth did you do that? You were not there a second ago... were you?" He asked, quite perplexed, and I nodded.

"Stealth, bebe. Something I discovered during ninja training." I quipped. He pulled me up into his very naked arms and held me close, burying his face in my neck. Maybe I needed a tattoo there that said Kieran's Happy Place. "Kieran, are you sure they are gone?"

"Yeah, I just got confirmation from Geoff. He's tailing them to the airport with another team in case they split up." He said, still clearly stressed about the entire situation, reeling from the fact that I nearly got caught along with Helga. Catching both of us would have been incredibly damaging to Celtic Moon.

"Is Sean okay?" I asked in concern. His brow furrowed as Sean popped into the open doorway.

"Where is she?" Sean asked, his eyes wild. I looked down at the floor beneath me. He practically shoved us out of the way. I giggled, but Kieran just looked confused. Sean tossed him a pair of shorts. "Cover that s**t up before my mate sees it." He growled.

"Mate?" Kieran's jaw dropped as he looked at me. I just shrugged. Sean's lucky Kieran cares more about him than rank, because he was not exactly being respectful at the moment.

"Helga honey, open up. It's Sean." He called as he pounded on the cellar door. It slowly creaked open, and Sean dragged her out and into a tight hug, shoving his face into her neck, a la Kieran.

"Soooo... Sean has a mate, huh?" Kieran said, bemused. I just grinned.

One situation averted, I suppose, but I was not looking forward to the fallout.