Chapter 71

Samantha’s POV

Seth called the leader’s meeting; while we are waiting for Alex, Toby and Tim to get back here via teleportation. Gerry left twenty minutes ago; they shouldn’t be too far away.

“I knew I couldn’t trust that conniving bitch” I complain to Renee. “Your mother meant no harm; she thought she could trust both of them about the real reason we are here” she says smiling back at me. I take a breath; “I know; but why would Sharon be involved. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Money” Raoul answers. We look at him confused; Greg and Lois said they didn’t know what was going on and why Sharon had Richard here in the first place. “Dad and I went through her bookwork; she was being paid by the Maple Clan to have Richard here. She didn’t know what he was here for; she just appointed him as a trusted advisor. They were paying her $10,000 a month. We are speculating; she was being paid to inform him of what anyone was trying to do to rectify the drug problem” he explains.

“It explains why any attempts to stop it, failed” Renee chimes in.

I sigh; as much as I dislike my brother and their spoilt little shit of a daughter, they are innocent in all of this. Sharon; on the other hand; **“she will pay for involvement”** Ayanna says to me. **“That, she will; I will make sure of it.”**

Seth starts, by putting up a photo on a projector screen; “Everyone; meet my younger brother, Carter Forrester; leader of the Maple Clan.” Everyone gasped; “What is with dumbass, family members?” Alex yells coming through the door. Renee and I jumped out of our chair. “Alex” we both chimed together giving him a hug. “You’re; you’re not dead’ Beatrice whispered going white. “Boo” Alex laughed.

“Bea, we faked his death” Dad tells her. “We wanted everyone to think he was dead and I was taken; or should I say, make Richard and anyone else involved think we were.” Jessica explains further; as Cathy grins coming into the room. “There’s three of you?” Greg exclaims. We all laugh; “Runt is the youngest, we are triplets” Nathanial chuckles.

“Who was it, that came back from the River Clan?” he huffs. We all laugh; “you’ll give yourself a headache if you think too hard” I tell him, through giggles.

“Our main objective is getting our mother’s back” Tim voices “Seth, Brian, what are we dealing with?” Toby includes.

“Sophia called Shifter Medicines asking for some of the Opioids they are using in the drug as she has been helping a few drug addicts come off the Lace and needs to administer, controlled doses to help them with the side effects. They told her they were out of stock; that’s when they learnt they sold a large order to Maple Clan and they may be able to help her with getting the Opioids she needs” Brian informs them.

“There was a rogue attack; there was a few hundred of them. We all went out to fight; leaving the ladies in the safehouse” Joe points.

“A group of bear shifters came in. We were all in the common room; they went straight for the ladies. Those that could shift, did; I saw Leanne bite down on one of them and Gilda burnt another one but there were too many of them. They overpowered us and they were taken out the back entrance way” Nicole says.

“I have done some recon with Master Leonard and Master Tom; the territory is fortified. At least three guards at every post point. The points are around 300 metres apart; it will be hard to get into” Joe includes.

“Which is where Brian and I come in. We have dealt with Carter before. He will have allies all over; just when you think you are gaining the upper hand; another informant; another turn in your plans. Be prepared to have our plans change. We underestimated his strength and deception; not this time. When we find the informants; there will be twists and turns in our plans; some to our advantage; some not. Everyone in this room now; will know what is happening. If you are caught giving information away to Carter; you will be tried for treason. Now; I don’t think us alone will be able to defeat him, even the might of 1400 warriors and fighters. Bronson; who is willing to stand with us?” Seth asks Dad.

“There is another pride; three wolf packs and two bear clans. I told you a few months back; we tried to stand together like you did; and failed to see eye to eye.” Dad frowns. “Gerry, will the White Coven stand with us?” Brian asks. “Always” he smiles.

“I can ask Elder Matthews if the Light Coven can help too. He won’t be happy his daughter was among the group of ladies taken” Joe announces. “I could ask the Shining Pride; maybe, Tim you can ask the Sapphire Pack, if they will help us.” Rami injects; “they may do; they both have been hospitable since moving into the old Forrest Clan and Emerald Moon territories” Gerry adds.

Master Tom pipes up; “I wonder if we can get a blueprint of the Maple Clan compound; even some sort of map of their territory. We might be able to be teleported inside; get around the outer borders.” “If they have a dark coven working with them; I don’t know if that will be possible” Gerry injects.

“We need to loo….” Tom starts to say “Excuse me;” Cody comes into the room; “Nath, there is a gentleman; panther shifter out here says he knows you and wants to speak with you. He said his name is Steven.” Toby, Adrian and Nathanial look at one another; “send him in” Nath says.

Steven walks through the door; “Steven; what a pleasant surprise. How can I help you?” Nathanial asks him. “I heard what happened here. I want to help you. The Maple Clan have been using my bar for years. I have tried to stop them in the past; when they threatened my mate and our children, we decided it was best to let them do what they needed to and stay out of it. I saw you slip the first pill into your pocket when Danny gave you the placebo. I didn’t tell him; I figured it was a roost and you will be back for the real deal. Your wolf convinced me; he was high and for a while I thought you actually took the drug. That’s until they told me they had captured the ladies who worked out who was producing it.”

Nathanial chuckles to himself; Malo is probably gloating in his head. I look around the room; Greg is shifting nervously in his chair; I wonder what that is all about?

“How do you know about what happened?” Toby asks him. “I am a proprietor of a bar; the dealers that come in, like to talk. My mate, Elaine is there at the moment” I gasp; Steven stops talking and looks at me. “Hello Samantha; I haven’t been formally introduced to you, but I do know who you are. Heather and Elaine speak fondly of you” he says to me with a smile. “You on the other hand; are a fuckhead” he says to Greg as I stifle a laugh.

“I can also see your Alpha is alive and well; and sister; I mean sisters are ok, Nath” Steven adds; looking between Jessica and Cathy. “What information can you give us on the ladies that were taken?” Joe asks; a hopeful tone in his voice. “I don’t know where they are held exactly; I do know they are being kept somewhere on their territory. From what has been said; Leader Carter doesn’t want to kill them; he knows there is a doctor and someone who has a PhD in Chemistry among them; but they don’t know who; because they won’t tell him.”

“How did he find out that information?’ Harvey asks him. He looks at me and then at Greg and snarls; “Sharon told them.” “Mum; how much information did you give to Sharon?” I spit at her. “Samantha” Dad booms at me. I’m fuming; my mother is too trusting when it comes to Greg, Sharon and Lois. “Sorry Dad; but get them all out of here, NOW!” I scream.

Mum, Greg and Lois move from their chairs; “I’m sorry, Sammy” Mum cries. “Mum; is there any other information you told them? We need to know” I seethe at her. “No” she sobs and walks out of the door.

“See what we mean by twists?” Brian laughs; looking at Steven. “With the extra help we are getting, we should have enough forces to take him down. Our next objective is how do we get into a territory heavily fortified. Once in there; we can strategically place our fighters around the territory. One thing I know regarding my brother; he puts he strong fighters to the back. He thinks the weaker fighters will tire us out first and then the stronger ones will clobber us; as he would say” Seth says.

“I can go back to the bar; see if I can get Danny or the others to talk about how we can get in there undetected” Steve says. “If you can’t; don’t force the issue. You need to stay safe also” Toby injects.

“Can we all meet back here, tomorrow morning. Continue the discussion. Joe, Rami, and Tim; call the Light Coven, Sapphire Moon Pack and Shining Pride to see if they can help. Bronson; can you get hold of Reggie and the other shifter clans, prides and packs and ask for their assistance. Steven; just find out what you can and get back to us. I’ll adjourn the meeting until then.” Seth says.

We all get up to leave; “Now can you see why I didn’t want mum to know everything” I say to dad. “She is heartbroken over Sharon doing what she did, Samantha” “I get that dad; you said yourself you didn’t know who to trust. Mum needed to be aware of that too; now this has happened. I will back off on her because she is very distraught over what happened; but I can’t have Greg or Lois here anymore. I don’t know if they will pass information on; even if it’s innocent” I tell him, walking out the door.