Two Halves of a Whole

Chapter 22

Sattira finished eating and stopped off at one of the half bathrooms on the way to the conference room where the meeting was to take place to look over her appearance and apply a fresh coat of lip gloss. When she was satisfied she was ready to meet this Council she exited back into the hall where Lugos was waiting patiently for her.

The conference room was very large and reminded Sattira of a college class with the seating in semi circular rows with each row from the doors they entered a few steps lower than the last until they reached the bottom where a long table was set up for the main speakers and the head of the Council. There was a giant flat screen on the wall behind the table where videos and documents could be displayed during meetings. There were speakers and microphones at each of the seats in the conference room so everyone could hear and be heard. It was very state of the art but carpeted and decorated to keep the room feeling inviting. Even the seating and desks in the rows facing the screen were comfortable and of good quality.

Lugos directed her towards a seat in the very last row, right in front of the large table where both their parents were already sitting as they waited for the meeting to start. Sattira was surprised to see how many people were actually in the room. When she first heard about the council she had thought it would be a handful of people. There were way more than that in the room even as they waited for others to arrive.

“Why are there so many members? I thought there was a couple of each species as representative in the council,” she tried not to be too loud.

“Yes, but there are also representatives by regions. Werewolves of North America face different challenges than those of Europe or even South America. It is the same thing with the other species so the Council is very large.” Lugos seemed to be watching for someone as he explained this.

Sattira took a quick look around, trying not to look at anyone long enough to be rude. Most of those in the room appeared human although some of them were short or tall by human standards and some had hair and eye colors that looked unnatural. She saw what she believed were elves with their fine features and pointed ears. She saw the short beings that, if she looked really carefully, she could see the shimmer of their transparent wings she thought might be faeries or sprites. There were even a few beings with almost green or blue skin colors with wild hair in colors that matched in lighter or darker shades. Dryads, maybe?

She was so caught up in the different species in the room that she almost missed the couple that sat down next to Lugos, the beautiful woman of about their age with ash blonde hair and beautiful silver gray eyes. She hugged Lugos in greeting while the guy that was with her held out his hand for a friendly hand shake, his ice blue eyes full of warmth and quite striking with his dark tan and black hair.

“This is my cousin, Emma, and her mate Sean,” Lugos introduced them. “Cousin, this is Sattira.”

“The Sattira? The one you couldn’t wait to tell me about?” She shocked Sattira by pulling her in for a warm hug and took the opportunity to whisper in her ear, “don’t worry, he explained that you are not ready for anyone to know you are mates yet.” Her voice was barely loud enough of a whisper for Sattira to hear her, much to both her shock and relief.

“We were more like siblings growing up than cousins and we have never kept secrets from each other,” Lugos explained.

“Well I am very happy to meet you,” Sattira said to the very cheerful woman. Sattira was surprised to hear an accent.

“We don’t get to see each other as much since I met my mate. Russia was quite a trip and even before my mate took over as Alpha we had a lot to do with training for our positions and everything,” she smiled apologetically at Lugos.

“Well hopefully we can hang out before you leave to go back. You have to see her wolf, it is pure white,” Lugos said. “Her mate’s wolf is black so they are a stunning sight to see.”

“You are too kind, cousin. I bet Sattira has a beautiful wolf with that mahogany red hair,” she said as they sat down.

The screen at the front of the room was turned on signifying the start of the meet and ending their conversation. Sattira noticed an older woman sitting up and back from them who kept looking at her very strangely and she reached for Lugos’ hand in an attempt to ease her discomfort.

She expected Alpha Stephan to lead the meeting so she was surprised when her mother started to talk. Everyone seemed to look at her with respect and Sattira started to wonder who her mother was to these people. As her mother covered all the information they had on Eric Dire and the Dark Moon Park she noticed how angry the people around her became. When a picture of her birth parents holding her appeared on the screen there was a cry of outrage.

“That’s my daughter, where is she! What did those filthy mutts do to her?” It was the old woman who had been watching her before the meeting started.

“Beverly, you need to try to get yourself together so we can finish. We have a lot to cover still. I will answer your questions after we are done going over what we know,” her mother tried to calm the woman down.

“Tilly, if you know where my daughter is you will tell me now!” Beverly was walking towards Sattira’s mother but the old gentleman with her apparently didn’t like that this was becoming a scene. He gently wrapped Beverly in a hug and whispered something in her ears as she cried into his chest.

“John, it might be best if you took her out. I was hoping you would make it earlier so I could go over everything we found. I will fill you both in,” Tilly told them.

John nodded and slowly walked Beverly out of the room. Once the doors had closed the meeting continued. The interrogations of those held in the cell are played. Gasps of shock and horror were heard throughout the room as Shelly admitted to her father skinning Eva alive. Some people were openly crying.

Emma looked at Sattira with tears glistening in her eyes. “They really did that to your mother?”

It took Sattira a second to understand that she was being asked about her birth mother. Her throat was clogged with emotion and her eyes were filled with tears she was trying to keep from falling down her face. All she dared do was nod as she was afraid she would lose her composure if she tried to speak. Lugos gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Sattira heard one of the other members of the Council speak, “if we are going to dismantle the pack I can take the members in that are innocent of these crimes.”

“Alpha Robert, that won’t be necessary as the true heir of the Dark Moon Pack survived the attack, although we weren’t aware of her identity at the time of her parent’s death,” Sattira’s Father explained.

“How can we be sure this person is the heir? Have they been tested for the alpha aura? And if they were not raised within their pack they probably don’t have the qualifications to run the pack,” Alpha Robert answered back.

“Alpha Robert do you doubt my ability to oversee this situation?” Even though it was a question Tilly spoke with an air of authority with undertones on danger. Everyone in the room could feel the waves of power radiating from her in clear warning.

“No, Matilda,” he tilted his head in submission and respect, something that was very rare for any Alpha.

“Then let’s get back to the reason we are here,” Tilly continued as if he hadn’t just interrupted her.

Next to Sattira, Lugos was suddenly very pale. “Are you alright?” Sattira asked him.

“I didn’t realize your parents were Fredrick and Matilda Graves.” His voice sounded low and hesitant.

“Is that important,” she had no idea why he was suddenly concerned about her parents names. She had grown up with the last name Smith and had always thought it sounded rather generic so she was actually relieved to find it wasn’t her real last name.

“They were a really big deal. They were assassins and led the most deadly group of assassins known as the Shadows for years. They were so good at what they did that no one was even aware of who they were until recently,” he tried to explain.

Their whispered conversation was interrupted by someone walking in holding what looked like an aged mahogany red fur rug. Sattira gasped when it finally dawned on her what it was. “I recovered it just as you requested,” the person’s identity was hidden by dark shadows that swirled around them as they kneeled in front of her mother and held up the pelt.

“Very good, you are dismissed,” Tilly took the fur gently as tears filled her eyes. More loudly she said, “I hold the physical proof taken from the Alpha’s office of Dark Moon Pack. I wish to have Eric Dire hunted for the crimes against his Alpha, his pack, and this Council. I also want anyone who was found to be helping him to be sentenced along side him,” Tilly failed to keep her rage from seeping into her voice. Finally they would have justice for her best friend.

The vote was taken and was almost unanimous in favor of Tilly’s motion for justice. She wasn’t sure who was not in support but she suspected Alpha Robert was among the few who opposed her once he realized that he would not be claiming Dark Moon Pack to add to his own as his pack almost shared a border as close as they were. Tilly made a mental note to keep an eye on his pack to make sure they didn’t become a problem for her daughter.

Once the Dark Moon Pack issue was decided on and the Council had agreed on the fate of the prisoners being held in the pack cells the Council moved on to other more normal issues the Council was in charge of. Emma and Sean were officially allowed to take the position on the Council formerly held by Sean’s parents since his Dad had been injured in a plane crash and didn’t want to travel outside of his own pack. There was a territory dispute between two Covens of Witches that was settled. Sattira got lost in her thoughts as the meeting turned to other issues.

When those around her startled her out of her daydreaming by standing up to leave she turned to look for her parents. Before she could reach them she was shocked when an older man with eyes that mirrored her own stopped her.

“I see you got the Dalton eyes as well,” he said to her utter confusion.

“Excuse me? I am not sure what you mean.” She was comforted by Lugos standing beside her.

“Your mother had my eyes as well. I regret not claiming her. I might have been able to save her had I known she had a wolf,” he looked truly regretful.

“Alpha Todd,” Tilly greeted the man as she walked over to join Sattira and Lugos. She was watching the older man with caution, not sure what to expect.

“Head Mage Matilda,” he acknowledged her before turning back to Sattira. “Might I ask your name, granddaughter?”

Shock registered on everyone’s faces at the family title he had used for her. This was the man who had forbidden Beverly from ever revealing his relationship to their child.

“My parents named me Sattira,” she answered Alpha Todd.

“That’s a beautiful name,” he told her. “If it is alright with you I would like to visit with you before I head back to the White Mountain Pack. Take tonight to think about it, I can understand everything must be a huge shock for you. Alpha Lugos knows how to reach me.” He turned and walked away without waiting for an answer.