Chapter 5
1269 Words
"I feel bad for not telling Taylor anything," Carson said guiltily.
"You know the rules. We can't tell anyone anything. The council made the rule for a reason. We need more superficial evidence to see if there's a pattern before telling anyone information," Gregory lectured.
"I am well aware of the rules," Carson retorted.
"Well then, keep your mouth shut to keep from spilling anything on Taylor," Gregory ordered.
"Who told you to order me around when you are not the alpha of this pack?" Carson asked.
"You did," Gregory replied.
"Are we going to continue doing so?" Carson questioned.
"No," Gregory said
Gregory got into the driver's side of the Jeep. He was silent for a minute, trying to adjust the seatbelt, and questioned, "How do you think Ian pulled off the ruse to keep from telling Ava?"
Carson thought for a second knowing Ian has a hard time keeping a cover story to keep things under wraps. He sat staring out the window not thinking about anything. Then again, he managed to say," Probably pulled the community event cover story thing I pulled on Taylor."
Gregory laughed at Carson on the to Ian's house. Carson thought about it some more and giggled at the thought of Taylor believing him about a community event. She would be angry if she found out that it was all fake. Carson hated lying to her about anything. Taylor will have to forgive him eventually. He did not realize the Jeep had stopped in Ian's driveway. Ian was already waiting for them to pull up. Gregory had already gotten out of the Jeep.
"Are you going to get out or are you going to stay in the car?" Gregory asked leaning in the open window of the Jeep.
"I am coming. Just give me a second to get out," Carson replied unbuckling his seatbelt and exiting the vehicle.
Carson looked over at the window to see Ava's reflection to see her on the phone, probably texting Taylor. He saw Ian was getting impatient to get on the road to get the meeting over with. Ian did greet them.
"I think we should get into the Jeep. I don't want Ava to overhear what we are to discuss," Ian said urgently.
"Alright," Gregory replied grabbing the keys from his pocket to unlock the car.
Ian hopped off the porch and ran up toward the Jeep to sit in the backseat. He got in without saying else. He seemed tense from the current situation. Carson looked at either and got back into the Jeep himself. Gregory pulled the Jeep into drive mode and sped down the driveway toward the highway.
Once on the road, everyone in the car was silent and in their thoughts rather than talking about anything. Carson did want to kill the awkwardness of the car ride. Until Gregory beat him to it by asking, "Okay Ian, why are you being awkward?"
Ian was taken aback for a second before answering, "I had a bit of a tiff with Ava earlier this morning. Ava wanted to kill me, and I was shady all of a sudden. I told her I couldn't talk about it and told her to drop it."
"Taylor did ask about it. She dropped the subject after I heard my grandmother lectured her about asking questions. I caught her scent near the door," Carson mentions.
"Both of your mates are sneaky," Carson comments.
"You would be saying the same thing if you had a mate," Ian retorted.
"Sometimes, I am glad to have none. I won't have to deal with the drama of having one. I prefer the bachelor lifestyle for now," Gregory laughs, turning into the parking lot where the council wants to secretly meet.
The trio got out of the Jeep to see the other alphas from all parts of the country mingling about the pavilion. The council members were standing before everyone in front, whispering in the corner, waiting for alphas and betas to show up. Carson and Gregory both looked around to see who showed up. Ian stood off to the side, watching everyone in a standoff kind of way. Then Carson went around to say hi to others who showed up. He goes to these things to make alliances so that if anything happens in the future he has a life link. Gregory and Ian stood in the back to talk among themselves. Carson came back over and got the drift of the conversation.
"How would Taylor feel if I planned to marry her friend?" Ian asked.
"To be honest, I think Taylor would be happy if you married her friend. Ava would be upset if not. Also, she never mentioned it to her at all," Carson whispered back.
Before Ian can say anything, the council calls everyone to order to sit under the pavilion so the meeting can begin. Carson, Gregory, and Ian sat in the last row just so they could leave if necessary. Carson looked around to see many alphas showed up that he had never seen before until then. Gregory allowed him to pay attention to the meeting. Ian yawned throughout much of the meeting. The meeting ended up being boring nonsense.
"Can we get to the point of the missing pack members?" an alpha comments.
"You are?" the Head Alpha asks.
"Mr. Thompson of the North Dakota pack, sir," the young man answered.
"I will get to it. When I get there. There are many other things to discuss first before anything. Does anyone else have anything to say?" the Head Alpha comments. No one says anything. "Okay, so I can continue. Where was I? As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted. We need to meet with the witch's council to see if they help locate the missing pack members. Among other things," the Head Alpha said while glaring at Mr. Thompson.
The trio tuned out the meeting, and Ian whispered, "Maybe we could ask Selma or Lucius to help us locate Eli."
"That's if they have any free time in their schedules. Selma works for the Witches Council, and you know how busy she can get at times. Lucius kind of wants nothing to do with magic. Margo could be a backup option with the help of Thomas," Gregory whispered back.
"I will text them," Carson mentions taking his phone out.
Carson: We need a favor.
"Okay, that's done," Carson told them both shoving his phone away.
The trio paid attention to the meeting for the rest of the time. Carson was so engrossed in the meeting that he never felt the tap on his shoulder Gregory was motioning for him to say they were leaving. He also tapped Ian on the shoulder. They silently left the meeting hoping not to get noticed. They waited until they were in the Jeep to say anything that transpired at the meeting.
"Talk about a boring meeting," Gregory comments.
"Yeah. I was about to fall asleep in there," Ian agreed.
Carson kept quiet and kept his opinions to himself. He never liked the meetings either. He has to fall in line with the other alphas. On the way back, they stopped at the nearby McDonald's for a quick meal on the way home. They got to Ian's house to drop him off. They rode the rest of the way home in silence. Secretly, the meeting was still in the back of their minds. Finally, a thought came to Carson: who or what was taking the wolves? It felt familiar to him somehow, and he couldn't explain it either.
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