Chapter 164
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Everyone stiffened in shock, watching the enraged she-wolf pushing down the seemingly untouchable leader to the ground and methodically trying to tear him to pieces. However most of those present were not struck by the very fact of the attack, but by what Lana looked like at that moment.
Women among shifters acquired the form of Alpha very rarely. Even among those present at the Assembly, there were only five such females. But no one has ever heard about this happening in couple with a human male. The surprise was so great that no one even bothered to rush to separate the pair of the father and daughter rolling around on the ground.
Ian at this point also had time to turn but squeezed under Lana, all he could do was avoid the claws and fangs of the girl. Although he did not succeed so well in doing this. At some point, Lana has doubled her attacks and even slashed a man's face, leaving deep wounds on his cheek and neck. Ian snarled and swung to push the she-wolf away on the instinct.
Greg saw that the shifter was going to attack immediately rushed forward.
"Lana! Enough!" - He shouted, heading to the fighting duo.
The girl froze and immediately received a kick from her father, who had thrown her off. But the girl didn't even notice this, all her attention was now focused only on one thing. She found the figure of Greg with her eyes and began to rise from the floor, never taking her eyes off him. It was as if she blinked Greg might disappear.
" Greg?" - She called uncertainly, but only the incoherent whine escaped from the wolf's mouth. However Greg didn't need any words, he understood everything, he heard it with his heart. Stopping a couple of steps away, he smiled broadly and spread his arms to the side.
"It's me. See? I'm alright. The guys come for me just in time. I'm here." - He said. But as soon as the last word left his mouth, he was knocked down by a she-wolf, that leaped on him at full speed. Lana pushed him to the floor and began to lick his face, whining and whimpering. Feelings overwhelmed her so much that she did not even think of transforming herself into a human form.
Greg laughed and began to stroke and scratch his girlfriend's ear, whispering to her soothingly, feeling like she was trembling all over. Fortunately, he was still in a suit. Otherwise, Greg would have to taste the whole force of Lana's love with his entire body as a she-wolf in this form has become much stronger than before.
"All is well, baby! I'm fine. Everything will be alright now." - He whispered, catching with his hands Lana's muzzle and looking into her eyes, filled with tears.
"Jesus! Can you postpone your cuddling just a bit? Everyone is looking. Have some shame!" - Paul's annoyed voice forcing Greg to grin, and Lana to freeze in place. Only now she understood how it should have looked from the side. Embarrassed, the girl finally got off Greg and began to transform. Tony hurried to throw his jacket over her shoulders and nodded to Greg, who sent him a grateful look. Perhaps the shifters never saw anything special in nudity, but Greg didn't want Lana to walk around like that in front of a whole crowd.
Meanwhile, Ian also managed to rise from the floor and now with hatred studied the newcomers. Greg frowned and never taking his eyes off his father-in-law, hugged Lana and moved toward the center of the hall.
" I apologize for being late." - he proclaimed loudly, addressing those present. - "Unfortunately, some troubles made me stay a little longer at some very fascinating place. And now I can't wait to share my experience with you, but first..."
Hall thundered. Many have seen the photo of Gregory Went in newspapers or media, but no one expected to see him live here today.
"This Meeting is allowed to attend only by Alphas." - Snarled chubby, elderly adviser, cutting Greg's speech and rising from the table. During the general turmoil, he had already managed to get his hands on the documents that Daniel left on the table. And now, feeling that the new guest could pose no less threat, he decided to take the floor first.
"Yes!" - Snapped up a thin woman, with almost whitish eyes and gray hair in a thick braid. -" What is this farce ?! I demand uninvited people to be immediately taken out of the hall. That's not a circus!"
In confirmation of her words, a few shouts came from the crowd, demanding for humans to be thrown out.
Greg raised his hand up, urging the crowd to silence and spoke in a firm voice, clearly accustomed to giving orders.
"Dear Councilmen and Alphas. First, as you all may have noticed, my Mate, Ruslana, has all the right to be here. The form of her wolf and her strong, brave heart is direct evidence that she is my Alpha female. I think no one here will argue with that ?! And secondly, officially, I am also the head of my pack now. Although we have been formed quite recently, my friends and family have traveled the hard way through life with me and have always been ready to help and offer all the possible support. I stand here today only because of them. And I will not allow anyone to say that my pack is worse than yours and has less right to be represented in this society."
Greg nodded to Brian, and the guy took out one document from the inside pocket of his jacket. Mrs. Stourbridge hurried to take this sheet from his hands and went around all the members of the Council, demonstrating confirmation of the registration of Wells pack.
"Is it even allowed?" - Cried out the same old councilwoman, only in passing glancing at the piece of paper that were-Panther had shown her. Mrs. Stourbridge grinned, exposing long fangs, and looked predatorily at her arrogant colleague.
"You want to bet, dear Matilda?" - drawled Mrs. Stormbridge smiling sweetly, forcing her old "friend" to bit her tongue.
" Indeed. I studied all the available entries that mentioned the laws of the shifters. And none of them specified that the Alpha of the Pack must necessarily have a shifter status." - Stated Paul in a loud, confident voice, stepping next to Greg.
"By the way, I would like to present you a well-known in human circles, Paul McNeill, a lawyer, whose name makes all the prosecutors of the country shudder, my good friend, and now the official part of my pack."
The red-haired guy stepped forward, took out his glasses and a notebook from his pocket. Some chuckle and a whisper came from the crowd. Indeed, the guy looked more like a diligent young student, ready to read his report to the audience. His tattoos that were now picking out from the sleeves of his jacket made many people doubt the credibility of the words of this strange human who claimed that he was equal to them now.
Paul, not paying attention to mocking glances, cleared his throat and put on his glasses, looked around the audience with a cold, tenacious gaze, keeping his eyes longer on those who allowed themselves to laugh at him as if noting them for future reference. Shifters immediately tamed down their laughter.
"According to the rules of the Council at the Assembly, the word can be given not only to Alpha but also to a defender speaking on behalf of the head of his pack. Today, I would like to provide the Council with all the evidence we have gathered proving that Ian Winterborn, has committed numerous crimes against members of our pack, as well as against the entire community of shifters."
The guy made a meaningful pause and then making a sign to Brian and Tony, began to read out a fairly extensive list of misdeeds.
"Among other things, on the orders of the accused two murders were committed. The first case of the murder of the shifter mentioned in those documents has already been submitted to the Council earlier but has been suspended for lack of a sufficient amount of evidence. The second murder of a human, a former employee of the security department, with whom Mr. Winterbourne's assistant, Miss Sybil, had previously had several contacts, was closed entirely and not investigated under pressure from Winter Corp."
At a sign from Paul, Brian turned on the full volume recording of a conversation between Ian and Sybil. Mr. Winterbourne cast an angry glance at his son but stumbled upon the cold and indifferent eyes of Brian. The man's face twisted, and his arms clenched into fists. The Alphas started to whisper between themselves, casting disapproving glances at him, and some were even brave enough to speak up throwing their indignation. Brian didn't cut out any parts of the conversation, that mocked not only Greg, Lana and him. Some edgy phrases made councilmen snarl jumping to their feet, and others started to bare their fangs at Ian.
"I did all this just for the sake of one thing! In order to protect our kind!" - unable to stand all this, Ian roared, turning to the Council.
"You - old buggers, only know how to blab about on the same minor problems and suck to each other, ignoring the real danger. You are stuck in your quarrels over the territory and live as if it is still the seventeenth century. You're just riding the same dead horse year after year. Take a look! What did the Council do during this time? Maybe it created a regular health care system for shifters? No! All over the country, we have three lousy clinics and then only in large cities. Each pack has its own doctor, whose methods often do not differ from the delirium of shamans from the Middle Ages! Maybe at least some research has been conducted on our nature and how does the mixing of blood affect the future generation? Also no! Then perhaps the problem was solved with black markets, where they sell young shifters as a living commodity. And sometimes they even do it piece by piece! Eyes, teeth, hearts of little cubs or pups. No, no and NO! How about finding young Shifters who for some reason got into human society alone, grow without knowing who they really are? No! All of you don't care! You do not understand half of what is happening in the world, stuck and covered in mold in your own small towns and villages! Cause of your stuck up, oldfashioned views and believes, that you are teaching the young ones nothing is changing! You are only interested in laws, traditions and your own asses in warmth!"
The crowd started to thunder. Curses and insults flew against Ian from all sides. Mr. Boyle had to climb onto the table and roar so loudly that the glass in the windows began to shake almost cracking. Mr. Winterbourne, meanwhile, straightened up and continued in his usual calm and cold voice.
"You can stop reading this list of your Mr. McNeill. I accept and am ready to receive punishments for all crimes listed by you. I hope you, young Alphas, have enough strength to take my place and protect our species in your own way since you have decided that my methods are too dirty for your pure souls. Pray that you have assholes firm enough for the ride!"
Having finished his speech, Ian turned and headed towards Greg. The guy was ready for any surprise, but instead, the werewolf silently passed by and stopped in front of Anthony. He took a small flat box from his breast pocket and handed it to the guy, who was looking at him with a surprise.
"Give this to your mother." - Said Ian softly. For some reason, Tony thought that at that moment the face of the shifter had changed for a second. It became so tired, and his eyes were filled with immeasurable pain and longing.
"This is all I could do. Give it to her. She will understand everything. If you want, you can read it yourself before that. Just promise to see that she takes it!" - Added the old wolf, taking the guy by the hand and putting the box in his palm. Convinced that the boy was holding the gift tight, Ian stepped back and silently headed for the exit.
"I'll be upstairs. Waiting for your decision. At the same time, I will prepare my affairs to make it easier for my replacement to receivers all the needed information." - He threw over his shoulder, nodding to Ryan and Brian. But on the very threshold, a man suddenly stopped and turned around to the crowd.
"I hope your chicken brains will be smart enough to invite Mr. Wells to take my place in Council. He was a worthy opponent. I enjoyed this match with you, Gregory. Though I always doubted all these nonsense about the Mates, destined to us by the Moon. Today I was convinced that I was wrong. You are a worthy pair to my daughter. And I recognize your victory. Any Alpha must clearly realize that one day the moment will come when they will have to step down and transfer their place to a new leader. It seems my time here is over. It's time for the young. May the Moon watch over you!"
With these words, he gave a low bow and disappeared around the corner. Several of the shifters hurried after him, sent by Mr. Boyle and Mrs. Stourbridge.
Greg looked at Lana, who never took her eyes off the empty doorway, but when she felt her loved one's glance, she immediately turned to him.
"Is it over? We won? Just like that?" - She asked uncertainly. Greg smiled, patting the girl's disheveled blond hair.
"Was it easy? Ryan was right. Ian must have known that his minion lost the position of the Night Watchers leader. Brian has long been leading Winter Corp. himself, so it was not difficult for him to completely seize the corporation. Plus, after everyone here personally saw the state in which Veronika was. The woman that everyone in the pack respect and sincerely loves. I think no one would dare to take his side when Brian will claim the position of the head of Winterbourne pack. Ian, although he made many mistakes, he was never a fool. Besides, something tells me that this was not our last battle." - He said, throwing a worried look at the councilmen, who were still overwhelmed by Ian's speech, and then at the rest of the leaders of all the shifters in the country, many of whom apparently were outraged by the words of the old wolf, revealing those wounds that everyone had long tried to ignore.
His heavy thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Stormbridge, who came up almost inaudibly, like a cat, from behind.
"Mr. Wells, your performance was very impressive. But I think we should start the Assembly already. Now one more problem has been added to the agenda. Namely, what to do with Mr. Winterbourne. I think you have every right to speak on this matter." - She stated, pointing to the chair at the roundtable.
Greg raised his eyebrows at first and then smiled broadly.
" Oooh! I have such an excellent idea on this matter!" - He answered winking at Lana and pulling her to the indicated place.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Everyone stiffened in shock, watching the enraged she-wolf pushing down the seemingly untouchable leader to the ground and methodically trying to tear him to pieces. However most of those present were not struck by the very fact of the attack, but by what Lana looked like at that moment.
Women among shifters acquired the form of Alpha very rarely. Even among those present at the Assembly, there were only five such females. But no one has ever heard about this happening in couple with a human male. The surprise was so great that no one even bothered to rush to separate the pair of the father and daughter rolling around on the ground.
Ian at this point also had time to turn but squeezed under Lana, all he could do was avoid the claws and fangs of the girl. Although he did not succeed so well in doing this. At some point, Lana has doubled her attacks and even slashed a man's face, leaving deep wounds on his cheek and neck. Ian snarled and swung to push the she-wolf away on the instinct.
Greg saw that the shifter was going to attack immediately rushed forward.
"Lana! Enough!" - He shouted, heading to the fighting duo.
The girl froze and immediately received a kick from her father, who had thrown her off. But the girl didn't even notice this, all her attention was now focused only on one thing. She found the figure of Greg with her eyes and began to rise from the floor, never taking her eyes off him. It was as if she blinked Greg might disappear.
" Greg?" - She called uncertainly, but only the incoherent whine escaped from the wolf's mouth. However Greg didn't need any words, he understood everything, he heard it with his heart. Stopping a couple of steps away, he smiled broadly and spread his arms to the side.
"It's me. See? I'm alright. The guys come for me just in time. I'm here." - He said. But as soon as the last word left his mouth, he was knocked down by a she-wolf, that leaped on him at full speed. Lana pushed him to the floor and began to lick his face, whining and whimpering. Feelings overwhelmed her so much that she did not even think of transforming herself into a human form.
Greg laughed and began to stroke and scratch his girlfriend's ear, whispering to her soothingly, feeling like she was trembling all over. Fortunately, he was still in a suit. Otherwise, Greg would have to taste the whole force of Lana's love with his entire body as a she-wolf in this form has become much stronger than before.
"All is well, baby! I'm fine. Everything will be alright now." - He whispered, catching with his hands Lana's muzzle and looking into her eyes, filled with tears.
"Jesus! Can you postpone your cuddling just a bit? Everyone is looking. Have some shame!" - Paul's annoyed voice forcing Greg to grin, and Lana to freeze in place. Only now she understood how it should have looked from the side. Embarrassed, the girl finally got off Greg and began to transform. Tony hurried to throw his jacket over her shoulders and nodded to Greg, who sent him a grateful look. Perhaps the shifters never saw anything special in nudity, but Greg didn't want Lana to walk around like that in front of a whole crowd.
Meanwhile, Ian also managed to rise from the floor and now with hatred studied the newcomers. Greg frowned and never taking his eyes off his father-in-law, hugged Lana and moved toward the center of the hall.
" I apologize for being late." - he proclaimed loudly, addressing those present. - "Unfortunately, some troubles made me stay a little longer at some very fascinating place. And now I can't wait to share my experience with you, but first..."
Hall thundered. Many have seen the photo of Gregory Went in newspapers or media, but no one expected to see him live here today.
"This Meeting is allowed to attend only by Alphas." - Snarled chubby, elderly adviser, cutting Greg's speech and rising from the table. During the general turmoil, he had already managed to get his hands on the documents that Daniel left on the table. And now, feeling that the new guest could pose no less threat, he decided to take the floor first.
"Yes!" - Snapped up a thin woman, with almost whitish eyes and gray hair in a thick braid. -" What is this farce ?! I demand uninvited people to be immediately taken out of the hall. That's not a circus!"
In confirmation of her words, a few shouts came from the crowd, demanding for humans to be thrown out.
Greg raised his hand up, urging the crowd to silence and spoke in a firm voice, clearly accustomed to giving orders.
"Dear Councilmen and Alphas. First, as you all may have noticed, my Mate, Ruslana, has all the right to be here. The form of her wolf and her strong, brave heart is direct evidence that she is my Alpha female. I think no one here will argue with that ?! And secondly, officially, I am also the head of my pack now. Although we have been formed quite recently, my friends and family have traveled the hard way through life with me and have always been ready to help and offer all the possible support. I stand here today only because of them. And I will not allow anyone to say that my pack is worse than yours and has less right to be represented in this society."
Greg nodded to Brian, and the guy took out one document from the inside pocket of his jacket. Mrs. Stourbridge hurried to take this sheet from his hands and went around all the members of the Council, demonstrating confirmation of the registration of Wells pack.
"Is it even allowed?" - Cried out the same old councilwoman, only in passing glancing at the piece of paper that were-Panther had shown her. Mrs. Stourbridge grinned, exposing long fangs, and looked predatorily at her arrogant colleague.
"You want to bet, dear Matilda?" - drawled Mrs. Stormbridge smiling sweetly, forcing her old "friend" to bit her tongue.
" Indeed. I studied all the available entries that mentioned the laws of the shifters. And none of them specified that the Alpha of the Pack must necessarily have a shifter status." - Stated Paul in a loud, confident voice, stepping next to Greg.
"By the way, I would like to present you a well-known in human circles, Paul McNeill, a lawyer, whose name makes all the prosecutors of the country shudder, my good friend, and now the official part of my pack."
The red-haired guy stepped forward, took out his glasses and a notebook from his pocket. Some chuckle and a whisper came from the crowd. Indeed, the guy looked more like a diligent young student, ready to read his report to the audience. His tattoos that were now picking out from the sleeves of his jacket made many people doubt the credibility of the words of this strange human who claimed that he was equal to them now.
Paul, not paying attention to mocking glances, cleared his throat and put on his glasses, looked around the audience with a cold, tenacious gaze, keeping his eyes longer on those who allowed themselves to laugh at him as if noting them for future reference. Shifters immediately tamed down their laughter.
"According to the rules of the Council at the Assembly, the word can be given not only to Alpha but also to a defender speaking on behalf of the head of his pack. Today, I would like to provide the Council with all the evidence we have gathered proving that Ian Winterborn, has committed numerous crimes against members of our pack, as well as against the entire community of shifters."
The guy made a meaningful pause and then making a sign to Brian and Tony, began to read out a fairly extensive list of misdeeds.
"Among other things, on the orders of the accused two murders were committed. The first case of the murder of the shifter mentioned in those documents has already been submitted to the Council earlier but has been suspended for lack of a sufficient amount of evidence. The second murder of a human, a former employee of the security department, with whom Mr. Winterbourne's assistant, Miss Sybil, had previously had several contacts, was closed entirely and not investigated under pressure from Winter Corp."
At a sign from Paul, Brian turned on the full volume recording of a conversation between Ian and Sybil. Mr. Winterbourne cast an angry glance at his son but stumbled upon the cold and indifferent eyes of Brian. The man's face twisted, and his arms clenched into fists. The Alphas started to whisper between themselves, casting disapproving glances at him, and some were even brave enough to speak up throwing their indignation. Brian didn't cut out any parts of the conversation, that mocked not only Greg, Lana and him. Some edgy phrases made councilmen snarl jumping to their feet, and others started to bare their fangs at Ian.
"I did all this just for the sake of one thing! In order to protect our kind!" - unable to stand all this, Ian roared, turning to the Council.
"You - old buggers, only know how to blab about on the same minor problems and suck to each other, ignoring the real danger. You are stuck in your quarrels over the territory and live as if it is still the seventeenth century. You're just riding the same dead horse year after year. Take a look! What did the Council do during this time? Maybe it created a regular health care system for shifters? No! All over the country, we have three lousy clinics and then only in large cities. Each pack has its own doctor, whose methods often do not differ from the delirium of shamans from the Middle Ages! Maybe at least some research has been conducted on our nature and how does the mixing of blood affect the future generation? Also no! Then perhaps the problem was solved with black markets, where they sell young shifters as a living commodity. And sometimes they even do it piece by piece! Eyes, teeth, hearts of little cubs or pups. No, no and NO! How about finding young Shifters who for some reason got into human society alone, grow without knowing who they really are? No! All of you don't care! You do not understand half of what is happening in the world, stuck and covered in mold in your own small towns and villages! Cause of your stuck up, oldfashioned views and believes, that you are teaching the young ones nothing is changing! You are only interested in laws, traditions and your own asses in warmth!"
The crowd started to thunder. Curses and insults flew against Ian from all sides. Mr. Boyle had to climb onto the table and roar so loudly that the glass in the windows began to shake almost cracking. Mr. Winterbourne, meanwhile, straightened up and continued in his usual calm and cold voice.
"You can stop reading this list of your Mr. McNeill. I accept and am ready to receive punishments for all crimes listed by you. I hope you, young Alphas, have enough strength to take my place and protect our species in your own way since you have decided that my methods are too dirty for your pure souls. Pray that you have assholes firm enough for the ride!"
Having finished his speech, Ian turned and headed towards Greg. The guy was ready for any surprise, but instead, the werewolf silently passed by and stopped in front of Anthony. He took a small flat box from his breast pocket and handed it to the guy, who was looking at him with a surprise.
"Give this to your mother." - Said Ian softly. For some reason, Tony thought that at that moment the face of the shifter had changed for a second. It became so tired, and his eyes were filled with immeasurable pain and longing.
"This is all I could do. Give it to her. She will understand everything. If you want, you can read it yourself before that. Just promise to see that she takes it!" - Added the old wolf, taking the guy by the hand and putting the box in his palm. Convinced that the boy was holding the gift tight, Ian stepped back and silently headed for the exit.
"I'll be upstairs. Waiting for your decision. At the same time, I will prepare my affairs to make it easier for my replacement to receivers all the needed information." - He threw over his shoulder, nodding to Ryan and Brian. But on the very threshold, a man suddenly stopped and turned around to the crowd.
"I hope your chicken brains will be smart enough to invite Mr. Wells to take my place in Council. He was a worthy opponent. I enjoyed this match with you, Gregory. Though I always doubted all these nonsense about the Mates, destined to us by the Moon. Today I was convinced that I was wrong. You are a worthy pair to my daughter. And I recognize your victory. Any Alpha must clearly realize that one day the moment will come when they will have to step down and transfer their place to a new leader. It seems my time here is over. It's time for the young. May the Moon watch over you!"
With these words, he gave a low bow and disappeared around the corner. Several of the shifters hurried after him, sent by Mr. Boyle and Mrs. Stourbridge.
Greg looked at Lana, who never took her eyes off the empty doorway, but when she felt her loved one's glance, she immediately turned to him.
"Is it over? We won? Just like that?" - She asked uncertainly. Greg smiled, patting the girl's disheveled blond hair.
"Was it easy? Ryan was right. Ian must have known that his minion lost the position of the Night Watchers leader. Brian has long been leading Winter Corp. himself, so it was not difficult for him to completely seize the corporation. Plus, after everyone here personally saw the state in which Veronika was. The woman that everyone in the pack respect and sincerely loves. I think no one would dare to take his side when Brian will claim the position of the head of Winterbourne pack. Ian, although he made many mistakes, he was never a fool. Besides, something tells me that this was not our last battle." - He said, throwing a worried look at the councilmen, who were still overwhelmed by Ian's speech, and then at the rest of the leaders of all the shifters in the country, many of whom apparently were outraged by the words of the old wolf, revealing those wounds that everyone had long tried to ignore.
His heavy thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Stormbridge, who came up almost inaudibly, like a cat, from behind.
"Mr. Wells, your performance was very impressive. But I think we should start the Assembly already. Now one more problem has been added to the agenda. Namely, what to do with Mr. Winterbourne. I think you have every right to speak on this matter." - She stated, pointing to the chair at the roundtable.
Greg raised his eyebrows at first and then smiled broadly.
" Oooh! I have such an excellent idea on this matter!" - He answered winking at Lana and pulling her to the indicated place.
Everyone stiffened in shock, watching the enraged she-wolf pushing down the seemingly untouchable leader to the ground and methodically trying to tear him to pieces. However most of those present were not struck by the very fact of the attack, but by what Lana looked like at that moment. Women among shifters acquired the form of Alpha very rarely. Even among those present at the Assembly, there were only five such females. But no one has ever heard about this happening in couple with a human male. The surprise was so great that no one even bothered to rush to separate the pair of the father and daughter rolling around on the ground. Ian at this point also had time to turn but squeezed under Lana, all he could do was avoid the claws and fangs of the girl. Although he did not succeed so well in doing this. At some point, Lana has doubled her attacks and even slashed a man's face, leaving deep wounds on his cheek and neck. Ian snarled and swung to push the she-wolf away on the instinct.Greg saw that the shifter was going to attack immediately rushed forward. "Lana! Enough!" - He shouted, heading to the fighting duo. The girl froze and immediately received a kick from her father, who had thrown her off. But the girl didn't even notice this, all her attention was now focused only on one thing. She found the figure of Greg with her eyes and began to rise from the floor, never taking her eyes off him. It was as if she blinked Greg might disappear. " Greg?" - She called uncertainly, but only the incoherent whine escaped from the wolf's mouth. However Greg didn't need any words, he understood everything, he heard it with his heart. Stopping a couple of steps away, he smiled broadly and spread his arms to the side."It's me. See? I'm alright. The guys come for me just in time. I'm here." - He said. But as soon as the last word left his mouth, he was knocked down by a she-wolf, that leaped on him at full speed. Lana pushed him to the floor and began to lick his face, whining and whimpering. Feelings overwhelmed her so much that she did not even think of transforming herself into a human form.Greg laughed and began to stroke and scratch his girlfriend's ear, whispering to her soothingly, feeling like she was trembling all over. Fortunately, he was still in a suit. Otherwise, Greg would have to taste the whole force of Lana's love with his entire body as a she-wolf in this form has become much stronger than before."All is well, baby! I'm fine. Everything will be alright now." - He whispered, catching with his hands Lana's muzzle and looking into her eyes, filled with tears."Jesus! Can you postpone your cuddling just a bit? Everyone is looking. Have some shame!" - Paul's annoyed voice forcing Greg to grin, and Lana to freeze in place. Only now she understood how it should have looked from the side. Embarrassed, the girl finally got off Greg and began to transform. Tony hurried to throw his jacket over her shoulders and nodded to Greg, who sent him a grateful look. Perhaps the shifters never saw anything special in nudity, but Greg didn't want Lana to walk around like that in front of a whole crowd. Meanwhile, Ian also managed to rise from the floor and now with hatred studied the newcomers. Greg frowned and never taking his eyes off his father-in-law, hugged Lana and moved toward the center of the hall." I apologize for being late." - he proclaimed loudly, addressing those present. - "Unfortunately, some troubles made me stay a little longer at some very fascinating place. And now I can't wait to share my experience with you, but first..."Hall thundered. Many have seen the photo of Gregory Went in newspapers or media, but no one expected to see him live here today."This Meeting is allowed to attend only by Alphas." - Snarled chubby, elderly adviser, cutting Greg's speech and rising from the table. During the general turmoil, he had already managed to get his hands on the documents that Daniel left on the table. And now, feeling that the new guest could pose no less threat, he decided to take the floor first. "Yes!" - Snapped up a thin woman, with almost whitish eyes and gray hair in a thick braid. -" What is this farce ?! I demand uninvited people to be immediately taken out of the hall. That's not a circus!"In confirmation of her words, a few shouts came from the crowd, demanding for humans to be thrown out. Greg raised his hand up, urging the crowd to silence and spoke in a firm voice, clearly accustomed to giving orders."Dear Councilmen and Alphas. First, as you all may have noticed, my Mate, Ruslana, has all the right to be here. The form of her wolf and her strong, brave heart is direct evidence that she is my Alpha female. I think no one here will argue with that ?! And secondly, officially, I am also the head of my pack now. Although we have been formed quite recently, my friends and family have traveled the hard way through life with me and have always been ready to help and offer all the possible support. I stand here today only because of them. And I will not allow anyone to say that my pack is worse than yours and has less right to be represented in this society."Greg nodded to Brian, and the guy took out one document from the inside pocket of his jacket. Mrs. Stourbridge hurried to take this sheet from his hands and went around all the members of the Council, demonstrating confirmation of the registration of Wells pack. "Is it even allowed?" - Cried out the same old councilwoman, only in passing glancing at the piece of paper that were-Panther had shown her. Mrs. Stourbridge grinned, exposing long fangs, and looked predatorily at her arrogant colleague. "You want to bet, dear Matilda?" - drawled Mrs. Stormbridge smiling sweetly, forcing her old "friend" to bit her tongue. " Indeed. I studied all the available entries that mentioned the laws of the shifters. And none of them specified that the Alpha of the Pack must necessarily have a shifter status." - Stated Paul in a loud, confident voice, stepping next to Greg."By the way, I would like to present you a well-known in human circles, Paul McNeill, a lawyer, whose name makes all the prosecutors of the country shudder, my good friend, and now the official part of my pack." The red-haired guy stepped forward, took out his glasses and a notebook from his pocket. Some chuckle and a whisper came from the crowd. Indeed, the guy looked more like a diligent young student, ready to read his report to the audience. His tattoos that were now picking out from the sleeves of his jacket made many people doubt the credibility of the words of this strange human who claimed that he was equal to them now.Paul, not paying attention to mocking glances, cleared his throat and put on his glasses, looked around the audience with a cold, tenacious gaze, keeping his eyes longer on those who allowed themselves to laugh at him as if noting them for future reference. Shifters immediately tamed down their laughter."According to the rules of the Council at the Assembly, the word can be given not only to Alpha but also to a defender speaking on behalf of the head of his pack. Today, I would like to provide the Council with all the evidence we have gathered proving that Ian Winterborn, has committed numerous crimes against members of our pack, as well as against the entire community of shifters."The guy made a meaningful pause and then making a sign to Brian and Tony, began to read out a fairly extensive list of misdeeds. "Among other things, on the orders of the accused two murders were committed. The first case of the murder of the shifter mentioned in those documents has already been submitted to the Council earlier but has been suspended for lack of a sufficient amount of evidence. The second murder of a human, a former employee of the security department, with whom Mr. Winterbourne's assistant, Miss Sybil, had previously had several contacts, was closed entirely and not investigated under pressure from Winter Corp." At a sign from Paul, Brian turned on the full volume recording of a conversation between Ian and Sybil. Mr. Winterbourne cast an angry glance at his son but stumbled upon the cold and indifferent eyes of Brian. The man's face twisted, and his arms clenched into fists. The Alphas started to whisper between themselves, casting disapproving glances at him, and some were even brave enough to speak up throwing their indignation. Brian didn't cut out any parts of the conversation, that mocked not only Greg, Lana and him. Some edgy phrases made councilmen snarl jumping to their feet, and others started to bare their fangs at Ian."I did all this just for the sake of one thing! In order to protect our kind!" - unable to stand all this, Ian roared, turning to the Council."You - old buggers, only know how to blab about on the same minor problems and suck to each other, ignoring the real danger. You are stuck in your quarrels over the territory and live as if it is still the seventeenth century. You're just riding the same dead horse year after year. Take a look! What did the Council do during this time? Maybe it created a regular health care system for shifters? No! All over the country, we have three lousy clinics and then only in large cities. Each pack has its own doctor, whose methods often do not differ from the delirium of shamans from the Middle Ages! Maybe at least some research has been conducted on our nature and how does the mixing of blood affect the future generation? Also no! Then perhaps the problem was solved with black markets, where they sell young shifters as a living commodity. And sometimes they even do it piece by piece! Eyes, teeth, hearts of little cubs or pups. No, no and NO! How about finding young Shifters who for some reason got into human society alone, grow without knowing who they really are? No! All of you don't care! You do not understand half of what is happening in the world, stuck and covered in mold in your own small towns and villages! Cause of your stuck up, oldfashioned views and believes, that you are teaching the young ones nothing is changing! You are only interested in laws, traditions and your own asses in warmth!"The crowd started to thunder. Curses and insults flew against Ian from all sides. Mr. Boyle had to climb onto the table and roar so loudly that the glass in the windows began to shake almost cracking. Mr. Winterbourne, meanwhile, straightened up and continued in his usual calm and cold voice."You can stop reading this list of your Mr. McNeill. I accept and am ready to receive punishments for all crimes listed by you. I hope you, young Alphas, have enough strength to take my place and protect our species in your own way since you have decided that my methods are too dirty for your pure souls. Pray that you have assholes firm enough for the ride!"Having finished his speech, Ian turned and headed towards Greg. The guy was ready for any surprise, but instead, the werewolf silently passed by and stopped in front of Anthony. He took a small flat box from his breast pocket and handed it to the guy, who was looking at him with a surprise."Give this to your mother." - Said Ian softly. For some reason, Tony thought that at that moment the face of the shifter had changed for a second. It became so tired, and his eyes were filled with immeasurable pain and longing."This is all I could do. Give it to her. She will understand everything. If you want, you can read it yourself before that. Just promise to see that she takes it!" - Added the old wolf, taking the guy by the hand and putting the box in his palm. Convinced that the boy was holding the gift tight, Ian stepped back and silently headed for the exit. "I'll be upstairs. Waiting for your decision. At the same time, I will prepare my affairs to make it easier for my replacement to receivers all the needed information." - He threw over his shoulder, nodding to Ryan and Brian. But on the very threshold, a man suddenly stopped and turned around to the crowd."I hope your chicken brains will be smart enough to invite Mr. Wells to take my place in Council. He was a worthy opponent. I enjoyed this match with you, Gregory. Though I always doubted all these nonsense about the Mates, destined to us by the Moon. Today I was convinced that I was wrong. You are a worthy pair to my daughter. And I recognize your victory. Any Alpha must clearly realize that one day the moment will come when they will have to step down and transfer their place to a new leader. It seems my time here is over. It's time for the young. May the Moon watch over you!"With these words, he gave a low bow and disappeared around the corner. Several of the shifters hurried after him, sent by Mr. Boyle and Mrs. Stourbridge.Greg looked at Lana, who never took her eyes off the empty doorway, but when she felt her loved one's glance, she immediately turned to him."Is it over? We won? Just like that?" - She asked uncertainly. Greg smiled, patting the girl's disheveled blond hair."Was it easy? Ryan was right. Ian must have known that his minion lost the position of the Night Watchers leader. Brian has long been leading Winter Corp. himself, so it was not difficult for him to completely seize the corporation. Plus, after everyone here personally saw the state in which Veronika was. The woman that everyone in the pack respect and sincerely loves. I think no one would dare to take his side when Brian will claim the position of the head of Winterbourne pack. Ian, although he made many mistakes, he was never a fool. Besides, something tells me that this was not our last battle." - He said, throwing a worried look at the councilmen, who were still overwhelmed by Ian's speech, and then at the rest of the leaders of all the shifters in the country, many of whom apparently were outraged by the words of the old wolf, revealing those wounds that everyone had long tried to ignore.His heavy thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Stormbridge, who came up almost inaudibly, like a cat, from behind."Mr. Wells, your performance was very impressive. But I think we should start the Assembly already. Now one more problem has been added to the agenda. Namely, what to do with Mr. Winterbourne. I think you have every right to speak on this matter." - She stated, pointing to the chair at the roundtable. Greg raised his eyebrows at first and then smiled broadly." Oooh! I have such an excellent idea on this matter!" - He answered winking at Lana and pulling her to the indicated place.
