Page 94 of Blood and Magic
A few days later, Kodiak called the entire club for church. We needed to regroup and plan our next steps. Even though we suffered injuries to save both Maeve and Ginny, we got lucky in the rescue. The only person who died was Holden, and we planned his memorial for the upcoming weekend.
I sat next to Orion and Moose while Serpent smoked a cigarette across from me. Ruby, Larentia, and Talon rounded out the officers.
“Marx is gone,” Kodiak said from the head of the RBMC table. The rest of the club members clapped and whooped from their spots around us. “I watched his body burn myself.”
The amount of relief that brought me should have been illegal. I’d been passed out when they turned that slaughterhouse to ashes, but knowing the ringleader was gone (as well as all the other vampires inside) made the future seem brighter. None of the other Vanderbilts would have to worry about Marx coming for them, and the pack would never have to wonder when he’d try to invade our territory again.
“But there are more Scorpions out there,” Kodiak continued. “At least ten in that nest got away, including Percy Vanderbilt. They’ll be back.”
“Do we know if Marx has any relatives?” Moose asked. “Any close family that might come looking for him?”
“He’s been undead for at least three decades,” Larentia explained, twisting her curly blond hair into a ponytail. “All his real family are probably long gone, but who knows how many vampires he created in that time?”
“More will come,” Kodiak reiterated, drumming his fingers on the table. “They always come.”
Ruby rolled her eyes and scoffed.
“Have something to say, Rubes?” Kodiak raised his eyebrows as he looked at his sibling.
She took a deep breath and leaned forward on the table. “All due respect, brother, but you must end this treaty with the Vanderbilts.”
Some members murmured among themselves. A few even cleared their throats, seeming uncomfortable. I glanced at Orion, who immediately looked at me with a knowing glimmer in his eyes. Any dissenters would have to pry our mates from our cold, dead hands. It was true, I took an oath to be loyal to the pack and the MC, but that only went so far. My girl would always come first. Always.
“They are the reason this is happening,” Ruby continued. “Their father killed our parents. If not for them, Holden would still be alive.”
“So we should punish the children for the actions of their father?” Kodiak asked. “We should blame Maeve and Sol for Marx’s behavior?”
Ruby leaned back in her seat and hesitantly shifted her stare to both Orion and me. “No, of course not. But we shouldn’t associate with known enemies of the?—”
“Sol is a member of this pack,” Orion said.
“And in one more week, Maeve will be as well,” I added.
“Guin has signed over the territory that Uther Vanderbilt stole from us,” Kodiak explained. “We have an interest in Vanderbilt Holdings, and if things continue to go as they have, we’ll have made enough money this year to run as many guns as we want.”
“Not to mention other things,” Talon continued. “We’ll never have to worry about cleaning our money again. Financially, this deal has been very advantageous.”
“Just because you want to fuck Guin Vanderbilt doesn’t mean?—”
Kodiak slammed his hand down on the table and stood, his eyes shifting red, his canines elongating. “Enough, Ruby.”
She quickly diverted her gaze to the ground. Kodiak was alpha of the pack for a reason. He was the biggest, strongest shifter in the room.
“Listen very closely. All of you.” Kodiak glared, his tone dropping into a growl. “If anyone knows the pain Uther Vanderbilt caused, it’s me. I lost my parents, my wife, and my predecessor because of him. If he weren’t already dead, I’d be doing everything in my power to make that happen. But he is dead.” The alpha directed that last bit at his sister. “Instead of fighting two enemies, we now only have one. It makes no sense to continue this useless rivalry, especially not when we have benefited from it.”
Kodiak straightened and crossed his arms, emanating all the power of a rightful president. The crowd fell silent, and a few members shifted.
“We are safer now because of our truce with the Vanderbilts. Our children, our elders, the pack, is safer now.” He raised an eyebrow and tongued a canine. “But this is not a dictatorship. If anyone wants to challenge me for the top spot, you are more than welcome to try.”
He paused and waited for someone to come forward, but not even Ruby moved. A threatened alpha was truly a sight to behold. With his wolf in his eyes and dominance radiating off him, none of us even breathed loudly.
“No takers?” Kodiak nodded. “So be it. Any talk of breaking the alliance will cease immediately. Am I clear?”
“Yes,” came the chorus.
“Good,” he said. “In three days, we will mourn our dead and give Holden the send-off he deserves. He died to protect my daughter and a fellow packmate. He went down like a soldier, and for that, we will never forget his sacrifice.”
“We will never forget his sacrifice,” I murmured as the chant echoed around me.
