“You disrespect our traditions,” Arturo growled, before Dominic could answer. “The wolf made its claim.”
“Very well then. We will issue a decision by tomorrow at this time,” Benedict said, his dark brows drawing together. “We have ordered them to refrain from any hostile actions until such time as we make our decision, and we expect the same of you as well.”
Dominic felt a swell of anger. There shouldn’t be any debate. He was shocked that the Bianchis were trying to dispute his mating claim. He’d known that tensions were rising between the two packs and war was inevitable, of course. The Blood Oath pack had the larger territory, they earned more money, and the Bianchis were itching to take a bite out of their action. He just hadn’t expected them to pick such a chickenshit reason.
To keep the peace, the Council of Mages required the packs in their territory to follow strict rules of engagement. The two packs had reached a truce twenty years ago. If there was a dispute between the packs, and the Council agreed, then both sides could declare war on each other – but if non-pack members became collateral damage in the war, the Council would come down on them like a swarm of ogres. The tourist industry was Encantado’s lifeblood, and anything that threatened that would be a death sentence.
Benedict stood to go. “One more thing. We’ve had our first ghoul sighting in years. A human couple was camping in Scorched Earth, and they barely escaped.”
Giuliana gave him a startled look. “What were they doing at Scorched Earth?” Scorched Earth was an area north of the city, near the Portal, which was under constant guard by mages and shifters. A dragon had flown out of the portal a couple of years ago and burned down a wide swath of pine forest before the combined power of the mages took it down. Lesser portals frequently opened up around there, spilling out various magic creatures – some friendly, some not. It was a dangerous area for anyone, much less humans, who were so very soft and breakable.
“They were filming themselves, hoping to be on of those reality tv shows.”
“Ugh,” Giuliana said, although Dominic knew for a fact that keeping up with a certain TV family was her guilty pleasure.
“Their dog went crazy barking and alerted them, they ran for their car and as they ran, the wind shifted and they smelled the ghouls,” Benedict said. “They called the police when they got back in to town, about 5 a.m. The police’s sniffer officers found ghoul footprints, and ghoul scent.” The sniffers were shifters who worked in law enforcement. Dominic wrinkled his nose in remembered disgust; ghouls smelled foul. “The ghouls walked to a river and then the scent disappeared.”
“Did the dog escape too?” Carlo blurted out. Everyone turned to look at him.
“Yes,” Benedict said, looking annoyed. “The dog was right at their heels when they fled.”
Carlo looked relieved. Ottavio gave his brother a look of contempt.
Unease skittered through Dominic.
Zoey’s neighborhood was pretty far north. Of course, there were guard stations all across the city’s northern border, dedicated to keeping any magic spillover away from the city.
But still – one bite from a ghoul was fatal to humans, and mages too for that matter. Within minutes, the bitten turned to mindless, rage filled husks of their former selves. The fact that shifters were immune to the effects of a ghoul bite was one reason why they were so vital to the city’s defense, and why they mage’s council hadn’t made a move to eliminate them.
Dominic saw the look on Arturo’s face. Ghouls walking to a river? It almost sounded as if they’d done that so they could wade in the water and throw off the trackers. That would indicate planning. Intelligence. If there were some new type of ghoul spilling out of the portal, the type with the ability to reason, then humanity was hosed.
“They couldn’t have come through the portal.” Arturo tapped his fingers on the table, his thick brows drawing together. “The guards would have reported back.”
“Yes, I know,” Benedict acknowledged. “No ghouls have emerged from the main portal. There’s always the possibility of a lesser portal having opened.”
At least lesser portals never stayed open long. It was unheard of for them to be open for more than a few hours.
That wasn’t to say they weren’t dangerous;six months ago, one of them had opened in a shopping center on the north side of the city, and an angry twenty-foot tall ogre had come barreling out. Seven deaths, thirty-seven flattened cars, total destruction of several city blocks. Insurance companies were still rebuilding out the
Funnily enough, the potential danger of a visit to Encantado was actually part of the thrill for a lot of tourists. However, if it got too real, and especially if it headed south, to the tourist areas, they’d be a lot less thrilled.
Arturo’s gaze never flickered. “I can put my best scenters on it. Maybe they can pick up something that the police missed.”
“That would be appreciated. Have them report to our headquarters.” Benedict nodded at Arturo and the others, and left.
Ottavio waited until he was gone before spinning on Dominic with a snarl. “Your wolf just had to bite her, didn’t it?”
“Yes,” Dominic snapped. “It did. Would you like to discuss the matter further?” By which he meant, did he want Dominic to make him into a matching jacket and boots?
Romano let out a low, rumbling growl of support, but hung back.
Ottavio leapt to his feet, face going furry, and Dominic followed suit. Carlo suddenly noticed what was happening, and quickly shifted, glancing up at his older brother, waiting for an attack order.
“Enough!” Arturo barked, and they were blasted with a wave of energy which froze them on the spot.
“Ow!” Giuliana squealed. The energy wasn’t directed at her, but she could feel it just by being so close.
Arturo ignored her. “I have enough to deal with, I don’t need to watch you assholes having a dick measuring contest.”
