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  They were going to need the entire magical community to come forward and reveal themselves. Trace had no idea of how many different beings there were out there, many of them still in hiding. He would guess that even the Alphas didn’t know who or what was going to step forward when the time came. These were exciting times and he was thrilled to be a part of it.

  Trace stopped his truck at the gas station, stretched, and looked around. He was getting close enough to Colorado to see the mountains in the distance. His heart raced at the thought of his new life being so close. He wondered if his mates were already at the compound or if he was still going to have to find them.

  ***

  At the same time while Trace was driving and thinking about his future, one of his mates was in San Cristóbal, Venezuela.

  Blanca Arjelia Matilde Aguilar walked down the hall in the civic building. The office of the Mayor was also the office of her Parliament’s Peck. She attempted to hurry down the hall, without giving the impression of speed. She was almost late and didn’t want others to realize. Normally she was very punctual, however she was leaving Venezuela on a diplomatic mission in two days, and she had to stop and pick up two or three new pairs of shoes. They were absolutely needed to go with the new outfits she’d purchased for this mission. Unfortunately, just as she’d spotted the perfect pair, she was called in to the office. So now she picked up the pace just a little more, and thought of the four wonderful pairs of shoes in the trunk of her car. She opened the door to the outer office and walked in.

  "Hola, Cristina, ¿puedo ir, ella me está esperando? ‘Hello, Christina, may I go in, she is expecting me.’” She smiled at the administrative assistant, speaking in their native tongue. Even when she chose to speak English, her accent was thick.

  "Hola Bama, sí que tienes razón en el tiempo como siempre, ir directamente. ‘Hello Bama, yes, you’re right on time as always, go straight in,’” she answered and pretended not to notice that Bama was a little out of breath.

  "Gracias, así vale la pena correr hasta los cinco vuelos de las escaleras." “Thank you, way worth running up those five flights of stairs,” she gave a wink and whispered back as she crossed the room. "Cuatro pares y son magníficos.” “Four pairs and they’re gorgeous.”

  "Los comerciantes de llorar en su ausencia." “The shopkeepers will weep in your absence,” Cristina whispered back with a smile.

  Bama didn’t answer as she’d opened the door, she waved behind her back and stepped in to the office and closed the door behind her.

  “Arjelia darling, you needn’t have rushed. There are just one or two small things I need to go over with you.” Graciela Flores looked upon her eldest daughter with a smile.

  Bama’s mother, a harpy eagle like herself, could see a mouse’s heartbeat from a mile away; of course, she could see her daughter’s slightly elevated pulse. She laughed,

  “Don’t worry, mama, I’m just happy about my new shoes, I’ll show you later. Now, since you aren’t pecking me about being a minute late, and you called me Arjelia, your treasure, you must need a favor. What may I do for you?” she said with a smile.

  “You know me too well, darling. I’m afraid your trip has been moved up. I need you to leave tonight instead of in three days. We forgot about Omaha and I need you to stop over,” her mother said coaxingly. Graciela Flores, Chief Peck of Parliament of all harpy eagles from Central America through South America was usually a force to be reckoned with. Since she never forgot anything, that must mean she always intended to spring this on her, Bama thought.

  “Alright, mama, I’ll go to Omaha. Is there anything I should take with me?”

  “Yes dear, the package is already at the airport in a diplomatic pouch. Have a safe flight and call me when you get to Denver. Do you have the address for the meeting with Braden?”

  “Yes, I have it. I’m almost all packed anyway. Just today’s purchases to add, I’ll take one extra suitcase on the plane for Omaha. Would you call the house and ask Juanita to pack it for me?”

  “Of course, but isn’t your cell working?” her mother asked.

  “I left it in the car; I didn’t want to be disturbed while we were talking.” She grinned at her mother.

  “Now, Bama, you know you forgot it. How many times have I told you that you need to keep it close by? You can be so exasperating sometimes. Now go on home, you don’t have much time before you get to the airport. Don’t let the Parliament down; this is a very important mission. And do your best in Omaha too.” She gave her daughter a hug and kiss on the cheek.

  “I love you, mama, everything will be fine,” she said as she hugged her back.

  “That’s a good girl; don’t forget to give your father your love before you leave. He’s at the house watching over your sisters and brothers.”

  “Yes I will, goodbye mama.” She turned and walked out the door.

  Graciela turned and sat at her desk. She said a prayer for her daughter’s safety. She was the best Hunter in the Parliament, most likely in all the Latin Aerie’s too. She’ll be okay; she assured herself and then got back to work. And to make sure of that, she’d made contacts in Denver of her own. Bama wouldn’t even know she was checking on her.

  Chapter 1

  Shane stood off to the side of a group that gathered around near Trip, the Enforcer in charge of visitors today. Tomorrow was the challenge between his Alpha and the dumbass who thought he could beat him, Michael, one of their own wolves, who had been so supportive of Quin and Jaden. Shane had no idea what the hell the man was thinking. Shane had known Michael for several years, seeing him around the town. He had been an Enforcer for the original Denver Pack, but several times over the last few years, he had come to Milliken to visit and vacation. It had seemed normal at the time, now he wondered if it had been a rouse, something he had been planning all along, just waiting for his opportunity to challenge Quin.

  They all knew what would happen if Quin lost. Michael would be allowed to take Jaden and Cami as mates and become the new leader of the Council. Of course, he had no worries that Michael would lose to Quin. But the Alpha was still not at his full strength.

  The attack on the compound a few weeks ago had taken its toll on the Alpha. His wounds had healed slowly, and no one actually knew to what extent they had been.

  Cami walked out of the Bed and Breakfast and looked around. Her eyes narrowing as she took in the surroundings. Shane knew what she was looking for; she was looking for any threats. In the last two days, the Alpha female had begun to walk the perimeter of the house. She had a feeling that something was not right, but could not put her finger on it. Instead of worrying her mates, who were busy getting ready for the challenge, she took it upon herself to figure out what was wrong.

  Shane spoke to her the first day that he saw her walking around outside. The Alpha female was supposed to be under guard at all times, she had slipped away from the Enforcers who were supposed to be watching out for her and had walked around the compound. Shane followed her and stopped her when it looked like she was going to go too far away from safety. He was an eagle shifter and was a trained Enforcer. Since coming to Milliken with his parents years ago, Shane had known what he wanted to do.

  Cloe had been the Beta back then and he had petitioned to join the Enforcers. His parents had been thrilled when he was accepted. They ran a small travel agency that was shifter friendly in town that he helped with. They arranged for shifters to travel to places guaranteed human free or human friendly, to go and be themselves, shifting back and forth without worrying about cell phone cameras or other devices.

  He loved working with his parents but felt the need to contribute more to the community that gave them a place to live. His parents had decided not to settle down on the rez. On a northern migration, they’d stumbled across Milliken. The atmosphere of acceptance had appealed to them.

  Cloe and her father had welcomed them with open arms. For that, he would always be grateful. Being a shifter without a pack, pride, or aer
ie could be a constant struggle.

  Now his parents loved Colorado. His way of giving back to the Pack was to become an Enforcer. He loved the camaraderie that came with it. Blaine, Teagan, and Cloe were leaders; they had given his eagle a chance to prove that he could be as dangerous as the rest of them, protecting the pack with as much dedication as any of the wolves.

  Shane laughed to himself. When they asked him to fly to the Denver Pack house during an attack, he’d been thrilled to prove to them that he was useful in a special way. Of course, it was the first time he’d met the Luna; she loved the fact that he was an eagle, and since moving here had chased him around every chance she got asking questions about his kind.

  “Cami,” Shane said quietly. “Do your mates know where you are?” She looked at him and smiled. “Of course not, but Jo and Trinity are watching my back, so you can relax. See,” she said and pointed to the porch which held the other two Council members in their shifted forms. Jo was a rare White Wolf and looked mystical in her wolf form. Trinity, also a wolf, was smaller; he had no problem seeing all the animal symbols that ran over her coat with his keen eagle vision. He smiled when a tiger appeared around the corner with a roar, busted! Trinity’s mate, Blaze, had found her and he was not happy with her for being out in the open.

  Cami laughed when the smaller wolf growled, turned her back on Blaze, lifting her tail and swishing it across his tiger’s face. She was taunting her mate. Cami loved how the once quiet and demure female had come into her own in the last few weeks. Their mates were all overprotective and at times overbearing. Cami turned to Shane and grinned.

  “See, now Blaze is here. By the way, have you been watching like I asked you too?” She asked and Shane nodded.

  “Of course, Cami, but there have been no other signs of dissention in the Pack. In fact, just the opposite. Everyone is pretty well pissed at Michael; I would hate to be that guy right about now. He’s staying in town, and no one will go near him. All of his friends have shunned him and as far as I know, he’s had no visitors, and no one to stand up for him at the challenge. Another part of it is, they are confused and no one can imagine why he would challenge an obviously superior wolf. He’s a gamma, not even beta material, and yet he challenged an Alpha,” Shane said and rubbed the back of his neck.

  When a formal challenge was made to an Alpha, protocol was always followed. Each of the parties had a second; the second’s role was to watch for cheating. Someone who would stand in for them and be their back up if things went wrong, though more of a show of support than an actual back up. In Pack law, if the Alpha loses, then he is removed from his role as Alpha. Most challenges were over females or silly arguments; an Alpha challenge is much more formal. It was all very civilized, well all except for the fight to the death thing and the blood and gore that always accompanied a challenge.

  But no one had stood up for Michael. He was on his own in the challenge. This meant that if he lost, Quin must kill him.

  Cami was convinced that something else was going on, why would a low level wolf challenge an Alpha as powerful as Quin? It did not make sense. Cami had voiced her opinions to the Council, all had agreed, however the men had to concentrate on the fight. The females on the other hand worked the danger they could not see. The bad part was that no one really knew what Braden was after. So Cami paced, growled, and yelled. Everyone in the compound was aware of the little Alpha female.

  Cami turned to him and smiled, Shane felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

  He hated it when she smiled like that, it meant that he was going to have to do something stupid and his Alphas would yell at him once again for being involved with one of her schemes. The last one had landed him in hot water. Cloe had been craving Mexican food from a place in Denver. They conned Shane into driving them all there in the Pack van, claiming that Darien and Teagan had okayed the outing with Quin. When he returned, he and the females had been met by severely pissed off mates.

  “Shane?” Cami smiled.

  Shane rolled his eyes and said, “Yes, Luna?” He knew that he was going to get in trouble for this.

  “Could you please do me a favor? Do you see the wolf standing over there? He has the log in sheets for the upcoming challenge, everyone that is expected to be there. Could you go and get them for me?” She asked.

  Shane frowned, that was not so bad. After all, she was the female Alpha; she probably had access to the list anyway. He nodded and walked over to where the Enforcer who was taking care of the people who requested to be present during the challenge. Shane knew most of the people, Quin’s parents, and the parents of most of the Chosen. Also, the Old Council would be arriving soon. Shane didn’t know much about who they were, other than the fact that Oliver was the Old Council Alpha and Braden had been the Beta, until he betrayed them.

  The rest of the people would be the leaders of many of the Packs, Prides, Aries, and magical communities across the country. Everyone had a vested interest in the challenge, although most of them knew Quin would win, they still had to come and see who won. The outcome could change the path of the magical world.

  Quin and Jaden had not been happy about all of the people coming to Milliken, it left them open to the Rogues slipping past security. They had established quite a security system. He had even been surprised when he saw the face recognition software that arrived a few days ago. No expense had been spared for the compound.

  “Hey, Trip,” Shane said to the Enforcer who was counting the people on the list. They were working on how the people would enter the compound tomorrow to effectively make sure that no one snuck in. Shane had been privy to the meetings for security and he knew that it was going to be a long drawn out process. People had begun arriving in the area days after Quin accepted the challenge. He had never seen so many different kinds of shifters in his life. And with the new Chosen seemingly showing up out of thin air, the security was always hopping. “Can I see the final list of people who have been cleared for entrance tomorrow? The Luna would like to look it over again.” The tall muscular man snorted and looked at Cami who was looking at them with her eyes narrowed. “Really, Shane, do you even listen to the briefings in the morning?” Trip said and waved at the Alpha.

  “Uh, well, yeah, but this morning I was escorting Jordan and her mates to meet with her parents. I missed most of the meeting,” Shane said, unsure of what he had missed.

  Damnit, he should have asked, but he had been so busy with escorting the Chosen around that he had forgotten. He was too trusting, he knew it.

  “That’s why she asked you, you are such a push over. Quin and Jaden specifically said that Cami was not allowed access to the list. Cami and the rest of the Chosen females and mates have been doing credit checks and background checks on the leaders of the magical community. The Enforcers had already done checks but the females said that they had hired a witch to do theirs. It would be fine, but apparently, one of the leaders of a Pack out east had some questionable associations with someone, and the witch had cast a spell on him to get the truth from him. It had been a shame really, because the questionable associate turned out to be harmless, elderly shifters who had connections with the mob in the fifties. It caused quite the uproar,” Trip stated and then laughed when Cami stomped her foot and marched back into the Bed and Breakfast.

  Shane shook his head and said, “Thanks for saving me from that nightmare. I swear, she hones in on me all the time, I must have ‘naïve’ stamped to my forehead.”

  “Yeah you do,” Trip said and turned around.

  It was his downfall. Shane trusted his Alphas and New Council members to a fault. It was not like he shouldn’t give them his trust; it was just that Cami and the girls were known for manipulating the Enforcers. But he was an eagle, and in their Aeries the females were the leaders, Shane was not a push over if he knew that something was wrong, or if the females were in danger. He would be the first one there kicking ass and taking names.

  He was an Enforcer, just one who prefer
red to follow his nature and be the guard to the females. The Alphas had seemed to appreciate that he liked being around them, most of the guards were too scared. This was how his parents had brought him up and he was glad to finally find Alphas who accepted his Aerie culture.

  ***

  Cami walked into the hotel stomping her feet all the way. Good, they fell for it, she thought, she gave a slight nod to Kira who then stepped into the ladies room with the sat phone she never gave back to security. Now that the men thought they’d prevented her from getting the list, they could get it another way and the guys would think they gave up. She almost smiled but didn’t want to blow her big scene.

  Chapter 2

  Trace drove his Chevy Suburban into the town of Milliken, Colorado. His truck was full of all of his important family papers, mementos, and clothes. He used to have a full container of dog food too. Now he had enough for one or maybe two more meals, he’d have to find a store soon. He had called the number that Genaya had given him and was following the directions to the New Council compound, while trying to decide if he wanted to stop for dinner first or go straight to the compound. He hadn’t told the person he called that he was one of the chosen, preferring to let them think he was representing his aerie at the challenge. He wasn’t sure how secure their phones were and didn’t want any trouble on the road.

  With the challenge tomorrow, getting in was going to be a long process. He didn’t think he’d be able to just walk up and say ‘Hi, I’m a Chosen One, let me in’. He glanced back at Lois and Clark. They were still napping but would most likely wake up soon. He flipped a mental coin and turned towards the compound. He had a habit taking care of business right away and not shirking his duties.

  A few minutes later, he was approaching the gates when all of a sudden Clark got up and tried to climb in his lap. He obviously wanted to bark hello at the shifters he could smell through the open window. Unfortunately, it caused him to jerk the steering wheel just when another car was leaving through the gates. Of course he hit the fender of the guy’s car. Crap.