Chapter 3

Alpha Erick’s POV:

I check in on Kate. She looks exhausted, sitting at her desk. She rubs her temples. I hope she is okay. I do not want to intrude on her or try to offer advice. I know she wants to do this on her own.

"My love," I say as I peer into her office.

She looks up at me and makes the most beautiful smile. Her stress seems to have vanished. I push the door open and go in with her. I lean down and kiss her on the forehead as I always do when I see her.

"You looked stressed," I say. No sooner than the words escape my mouth, I hear Claudia begin to cry. Kate gets up from her desk to go check on our daughter. I stop her.

"Stay here and finish this. I will take care of her," I say. I smile, and Kate gives me this odd look. She is stressed and worried. I do not want her to be this upset. It hurts me to my soul watching her hurt.

I leave Kate only for a moment to check on Claudia, to my surprise, and Raven is coming in the front door. He hears Claudia cry and goes into the nursery to pick her up before I can get to her.

"Kate is stressed," Raven says to me as he pats Claudia on the back, hushing her and rocking her back to sleep.

"That she is, very stressed. What is going on with her?" I ask.

Raven hands me Claudia. I can tell he wants to tell me, but his loyalty is to his Alpha now, and I completely appreciate his commitment to her. Raven follows me back to Kate's office. She looks more stressed now than before.

"Raven, what is going on?" Kate asks. Her voice cracks like she dreads the answer to the question.

"It is Meaghan. She is in a lot of pain. I took her to the pack doctor. We should have a baby in the next few days. That is not the only reason I am here. Rochelle, Andrea, and Jacklyn will be here tomorrow to speak with you. I may not be here, so I wanted to tell you in person. I also followed your friend around a little bit, and Andrea is on him tonight. She will give you a report tomorrow on what we discussed," Raven says.

Raven is careful what he says in front of me. Kate realizes that right off. "You can speak freely in front of Erick. It is fine unless I tell you otherwise. We are supposed to work together," Kate says.

"Alpha Kate, if I may speak freely, then get out of this office, put everything aside for the night, and get some rest. You look upset and stressed. We need you at your best," Raven says.

Kate smiles at both of us and begins to laugh the strangest laugh. "I am stressed and upset and worried. I cannot begin to tell you two how nervous I am for the Imperials. A lot is going on here. I know that Liam is up to something. While you were out digging, I managed to get in touch with one of Alexander's vampires, and guess who has been making frequent visits to the bayou? That damn Liam. He is up to something with Alexander's vampires," Kate says.

Alexander's vampires and the Imperials go way back, long before Rainwater and the affair the birthed three hybrids. I know digging into her mother and father's past will be hard for her. Every time she unravels a piece of her history, she becomes disentangled herself. It brings her nothing but pain and agony.

"I can help you, my love. You know we love you. My pack loves you, and we will fight for you and help you even if it is against the Imperials," I say to her.

Kate leans back in her chair. "I know he is up to something by having me appointed as Alpha. I do not know what yet. If Andrea can get close to Liam and earn his trust, then maybe she can find out what is going on with him and the Imperials," Kate says.

Raven is slightly puzzled. He is a warrior. Warriors do not sneak around; they go in fighting. This task is where Andrea would shine. Raven would not be suited for this job. Liam already knows Raven is supportive of Kate and backs her completely. He would never believe it if Raven went to him and tried to find out what he is up to unless he thought Raven was having second thoughts. I do not want to push what I believe on Kate. At least not in front of Raven, I will tell her how I feel about this in private. Her people need to respect her.

"I will do whatever you need me to do, Alpha Kate. I pledged my loyalty to you, not the council," Raven says.

Kate gets up and comes around to Raven. She hugs him. Her tiny body and this vast beastly warrior look odd as she hugs him. "Thank you, Raven. I will not be able to do any of this without you helping me," Kate says.

A sudden loud noise comes from the front of the house. It is Imperial council members coming into our home. They rush past me and grab Kate.

"Alpha Kate, you are being detained for the murder of council member Liam," one of the members screams at her.

"Let go of me! You have no authority here," Kate screams at the small wolf who grabs her. Raven immediately takes his wolf form to defend Kate. Vivian comes rushing into the room and removes Claudia from the unrest unfolding in Kate's office.

"Let go of my wife!" I growl at the tiny wolf council member.

"She murdered Liam. Are you going to allow that to happen on your territory?" the wolf councilman growls back at me.

I take my wolf form and rush him, pinning him to the ground. "I said do not touch my damn wife!" I growl!

"Stop! All of this needs to stop! I have children in this house, and this is no way to handle this!" Kate growls at us all.

Everyone settles down and returns to their human form except Raven. Raven stays in front of Kate, ready to kill anyone that gets close to her. She reaches down and touches him softly. "It is okay, Raven, no one will hurt me," she says to him softly.

Kate walks to George, the only councilman that did not rush in acting like an idiot. "George, can you please tell me what is going on here?" she says calmly.

She is better than me. I would have kicked all of their ass. This situation is why a council is a bad idea in a pack. They think they own the Alpha.

George looks over his shoulder at the other members and then back to Kate.

"Right here, George. I am your Alpha, and I want an answer. So, tell me, what the hell is going on here?" Kate growls at him.

George stands up tall. "Someone murdered council member Liam today, and we think you did it," George stammers out nervously.

"George, I have been here all day swamped. I have not left this house. Now, if you would like to give me the details, then maybe we can figure out what happened," Kate says calmly.

Kate is speaking calmly, but I know my wife, and she is furious. She is about to lose it on poor little George. She waits patiently for George to provide her with details, but instead, he goes quiet. Another council member speaks up.

"We know you do not care for Liam. We think you killed him," the council member speaks up.

Kate turns to face the ungrateful, misguided council members. "First off, Liam was involved with vampires. Are you sure one of them did not kill him? Did you investigate, or do you just want to get rid of me because I want women represented in the council?" Kate asks them.

"This is not over. If you killed him, you will pay Kate," George says.

"It is Alpha Kate, and as of today, I am dismantling this council. I will have my personal council, and that is it. You men are finished here. Do not ever rush into my home or come at me again. I can promise if you do, it will be the last time you ever walk through my door," Kate threatens them.

The council members begin to argue among themselves. "Raven, show these men to the pack jail for the night. I think they need a night to think. Twenty-four hours for assaulting the Alpha is a short sentence. They are lucky I am not kicking them down to the Omega house," Kate says.

"I will help," I say. I help Raven gather the men and escort them out of the house. I know Kate needs a moment alone after that. Raven puts the men in the back of his truck, and I get into the cab with him. Seven council members headed to the pack jail. They are lucky Kate is going easy on them.

Raven begins the drive to the pack jail. I notice something out of the corner of my eye. Something is moving fast in the tree line. "Raven, do you see that?" I ask him.

He looks ahead, as do I. He thinks the same thing I am, and we do not want it to know we see it. "You think it is a vampire?" Raven asks.

"Yes, I think it is a damn vampire. I cannot have that on our territory, not for any reason," I say.

Raven holds on to the steering wheel hard. His knuckles are turning white. He is afraid. I do not think I have ever since Raven afraid.

"Meaghan is having the baby any day. I do not want to die today," Raven says meekly.

"Just keep driving. We cannot outrun it, but maybe it will think we do not see it. I will send some men to look for it," I say. I pull out my cell phone and text John a long text detailing everything that happened at the house and what Raven and I think we saw in the woods.

"She has not left the house today. I know she did not kill Liam. I wonder if that vampire killed him. Didn't you follow him for Kate today?" I ask.

Raven nods his head. "I did for a while, then Meaghan was not feeling well, so I left. It had to happen after I quit following him. I wonder if the other council members are involved," Raven suggests.

"I think you could be right," I say.

We pull into the pack jail. Raven escorts the men into the jail. I wait outside and keep watch. I want to know if that vampire is following us. I wait for Raven to come out, and as he gets back into the truck, I see something moving in the tree line. I text John to let him know that the vampire is by the jail and to investigate.

"Raven, we are going to drive away. John is on his way with a team. We do not need to alert the vampire that we know he is here. So, act naturally," I say.

Raven nods his head and turns on the radio. We start talking about Meaghan and the baby just like usual as we drive away. I know Raven did not want to turn over this to my pack security, but it is better for a surprise attack on the vampire. I honestly did not want him to get hurt with a child coming any day. It would destroy Meaghan. She has been through enough.

I watch the tree line as we drive away. John passes us on the road. We nod and wave as if everything is normal in case someone is watching. If the vampire does spot them, he will only think they are going to check on the prisoners.

We arrive back at the house with no word yet from John. Raven and I both get out of the truck to check on Kate. "I want to let her know what is going on before I go home," Raven says. He is loyal to Kate no matter what.

We do not get a chance to get into the house. Kate rushes out of the house. She grabs me. "They are all dead," she cries.