“I
am sure you have heard of the challenge against Randal Cresson by now.”
Again, Elder Hamilton received five nods.
“From what we have been able to gather, Alpha Cresson was involved in some
rather archaic practices where his pride was concerned. Word has reached us
that he has been systematically executing those he felt weren't feline enough,
and abusing others. Those he went after were given no choice to comply with
his orders or offer reparations for whatever offense he felt they had
perpetrated.”
“That's against pride law,” Boston Elliot said with a curl of his upper lift
that was pure disgust at Alpha Cresson's actions. “How was this discovered?”
Hamilton paused to consider his words and their effects on the men he had
brought to his office. “It would seem that he chose to pick on the wrong pride
member, and he paid for it with his life.”
Alarm settled on more than one face.
“At first, we thought it was a fluke.” Hamilton tugged on his goatee, rubbing
the dark bristled hairs between his fingers. It was a nervous gesture he tried
to quit more times than he could count. “But then, the new alpha was
challenged by two separate competitors within minutes of winning the challenge
against Cresson. He fought them both, back to back, killing his opponents
without a break or even time in between challenges.”
Hamilton could see that the five men were impressed by the lifting of their
eyebrows and the widening of their eyes. He had to admit he was as well. The
law required at least three days between challenges because it was nearly
impossible for a combatant to fight two fights to the death without some time
to recuperate in between.
For someone to fight two challenge fights back to back, without even a few
minute's break between fights was unheard of. For those two fights to come
with minutes of another was not only unheard of, it was nearly impossible to
imagine.
It took unnatural strength.
“Those that witnessed the fight said they had never seen anything like it.
I've been told that Šílené Bolond fought with
such skill and determination that it was like the hand of Bastet
herself guided his movements.”
In mythology, Bastet was reported to be the
goddess of cats, protection, joy, dance, music, family, and love. If people
were saying Šílené fought like the
goddess Bastet seemed to be guiding his
movements, then not only had he fought like a true enforcer, but Alpha
Cresson deserved to lose.
The gods only favored those with true hearts, and everyone knew it.
“If
this man truly won the challenge,” Tre Marshall said, a bit of indignation in
his voice, but only a bit. He was speaking to an elder after all. Respect must
be shown. “Then why have you called us here? I'm not going to fight a
challenge rightfully won.”
A couple of the other men nodded their
agreement.
Reece flicked his toothpick.
“No, no.” Hamilton waved his hand to dismiss
that thought from their minds. “I would not ask that of you. The challenge was
won fairly and has been acknowledged by the Feline Council. That is not why
you have been called here.”
Hamilton stood and walked over to his liquor
cabinet. This might require just a bit more than liquid courage. He pulled out
six small crystal glasses and his best scotch, pouring some in each glass.
Grabbing his own glass, he turned and gestured
to the others to grab a glass as he took his seat again. “Gentlemen.”
The five powerful enforcers stood and walked
over to each get a glass. Hamilton could easily admit to himself that he was a
little intimidated by the large men. They all stood inches above him. He just
wouldn't admit it to them and he had enough control to be able to hide it from
everyone.
“I find myself in an unusual position,
gentlemen,” Hamilton said once everyone had a drink in their hands. He stared
down at the amber colored liquid for a moment, choosing his words carefully.
“This new alpha is obviously a very powerful one. He has proven that. He's
just—”
The office door opened with a bang and
everyone turned to toward their visitor. Hamilton watched as each enforcer
stared at the new comer with complete and utter shock. Hamilton pressed his
lips together to keep from laughing as the man danced around to music he could
only hear. It was quite a spectacle. He hummed an off key tune, his hips
swaying back and forth as he waltzed across the room toward Hamilton.
A smiled curved Hamilton's lips when a flower
was tucked into the pocket of his dress shirt and an affectionate kiss was
pressed to the top of his head. He couldn't think of a single person in the
world that would dare kiss him on the top of his head, not even his mother.
Yet, this man did it like it was something he did every day. And it was.
Hamilton had received such a kiss every day since the young man arrived at the
manor house.
When the unusual man danced out from behind
the desk and began heading in the direction of the five powerful enforcers,
Hamilton saw something he never thought he would see in the eyes of such
powerful and legendary enforcers.
Fear.
Pure unadulterated fear.
They were terrified of a slip of a man with
platinum blond hair that was spiked and frosted at the tips, fingernails
painted every color under the sun, and a pink tutu over his black skinny
jeans. Hamilton doubted they had even noticed the eyebrow piercings yet. He
wondered how scared they would get if they knew about the piercings under the
man's clothing.
The young man danced up to Boston and slid a
pink flower into the pocket of his black dress shirt. He skipped past Clint
Harper, but placed a yellow flower in the pocket of Tre and a red flower in
Boone Marshall's pocket.
When he stopped in front of Reece, he stared
up at him for the longest time. The air itself seemed to be holding its breath
as the two men stared at each other.
Even Hamilton's eyebrows shot up when the
colorful man stuck his tongue out at Reece and then danced right out the patio
doors as if he had never been there, leaving five very confused enforcers in
his wake.
Hamilton stood and walked over to the double doors that led from his office to
the stone patio on the side of the house and pulled them closed. Amusement
flickered through Hamilton when he saw the young man dancing around on the
green grass just beyond the edge of the patio. Laughter bubble out of him when
he turned and found the bravest enforcers in the territory staring past him as
if they weren't certain what they had just seen, but they were afraid to see
it again.
He clasped his hands together in front of him as he met the confused—and
shocked—eyes of the enforcers he hoped were brave enough to take on the task
he was about to set before them. “And that, gentlemen, is the new alpha of the
Blackthorn Pride.”
|