Warming The Cold One - 15. Fight

Jay looked down at the message he got on his phone from Tala. He frowned and turn toward Jose. “My mate just left the meeting with your brother and things went about as poorly as we expected. He says to have you come with me. He’s worried about your safety.”

Jose looked worried. “I know my brother is ruthless. He won’t hesitate to do what he thinks he needs to.” He closed his laptop and put it and a large file folder from a drawer in a bag by his feet. “We should hurry.”

Jay and Jose walked out the front door and got in the waiting car. Just as the door closed and it started to pull away, a group of four security guards came from around the corner and knocked on the door they just came out of. By the time they realized that Jose was not there, the two men had driven away and toward the preplanned meetup place.

As they drove out into the desert, Jose looked out the window. “Do you really think I could do what you are asking?”

Jay looked out the window on the other side of the car. “Master Tobias knew your father. He was a great man and they talked a lot. I think you need to talk to Tala before you decide if you can.”

Thirty minutes later they exited their car and walked over to where Tala was standing. He was looking at a dry riverbed and the abundance of nature around it. “Hello Jose.” He turned around and saw Jose flinch. “I know you are surprised to see who I was. I am used to it by now. Please walk with me. Jay, we will be back in a few minutes.”

Jose followed Tala as they walked a few hundred yard down a slope. He looked around at the landscape. “My father used to bring my brother and I down here all the time. He wanted us to know our land and understand the part we played in the balance of nature.”

Tala turned to him. “I know. I am going to tell you something I never got to tell your brother earlier. I have ancient powers and one of those is to see into people’s souls and know the real truth in them.” He watched Jose gasp for a second. “I know that you never believed your father’s death was an accident. Neither did Tobias or Edwardo. I saw what your brother did in his dark soul. I am sorry. If I had known what I was going to see, I would have done this another way.”

Jose started to cry. “Why did he do it? What was he going to gain?”

Tala put his arm around Jose. “Your father was about to announce that you were to be the next alpha of the North Central Arizona Pack.”

Jose stopped crying and look confused. “Padre was going to make me the next alpha?”

Tala nodded. “He saw the evil your brother’s heart and knew that you would do so much better.” He hugged Jose tighter. “Your father wanted the best for his pack. He wanted you to be that. Now I have to ask for you to fulfill his wishes.”

Jose look crushed as he thought about it. “But how? He won’t just give it up without a fight.”

“I’ll do what I can to help,” Tala started. “I think I also need to call in some backup. I know other things he has been doing but I cannot prove it. I need an accountant and I will need Edwardo.”

Jose looked brighter for a second. “My laptop. I keep a copy of all the pack books. I have ever since I started to believe he was stealing from the pack accounts.”

Tala smiled. “That was the hard part done. I think my part will be the easiest then. Let’s get back to the cars and we’ll make some calls as we get back to town.”

They walked back to where Jay was waiting. “It looks like we have a plan?”

Jose nodded. “I can do this. If my father thought I can, then by God I will do him proud.”

Jay looked perplexed. Tala shook his head. “I’ll fill you in on all of it later. Jose and I are going to head to the main pack office. Can you call the backup team we discussed and have them meet us there?”

About three hours later Tala and Jose pulled up to the main pack building. For two hours, they had been on a conference call with Master Edwardo and his translator. Edwardo was on board with the change in leadership and emailed Tala a letter to that affect. They noticed a few men sitting in a park across the street and a few more hanging out on the sidewalk. When they got out, the men came over and introduced themselves as guards from Alpha Georges pack. The men encircled Tala and Jose as they walked up to the door to the office.

Once inside, the alpha’s secretary told them that were expected and to follow her back to the conference room. Tala and Jose sat down on the far end of the table facing the door and the guards that came in with them stood to either side of them blocking a direct view from the door. A few moments later ten local police officers entered the room. “Are you Oliver Taylor,” they asked looking at Tala.

Tala shook his head. “My name is Tala.”

“Mr. Taylor, we have a warrant for your arrest. The charges are kidnapping the alpha’s brother and threatening harm to the alpha in public. Please stand up.”

Tala remained seated. “This is not the way for your alpha to treat a guest.”

The officer started to come toward Tala but some of Tala’s guards blocked his path. “Please sir, I cannot protect you if you don’t come with me calmly.”

Tala smiled. “Were you going to protect me like you protected your last alpha?”

The officer stopped. “There wasn’t anything I could do. An accident is just that.”

Jose spoke in Spanish to the officer. “Mi hermano murió al alfa.” (My brother had the alpha killed.)

Tala could see the officers resolve starting to crack so he added one other little tidy nugget. “He also is the one that has been stealing money. Your pension was not lost in the stock market like he told you. My accountants took the information Jose had and they located an account in Switzerland where all the money is still sitting.”

“You are lying.” He stared at Jose. “Why would you tell these people lies about your brother? He has taken care of you.”

Jose shook his head. “No. Another lie he tells.”

At that moment, Alpha Boehler walked in the room and his rage started at once. “I thought I told you to arrest that man. He threatened me publicly.”

“Stop!” the alpha looked over at his brother. “I always knew the truth, but I never wanted to believe it. I never wanted to admit to myself how black your heart was.”

The alpha laughed. “What does it matter what you think? At the end of the day, I am the alpha and this man,” pointing at Tala, “is going to be made an example. From down the hall, the secretary yelled that the alpha had an urgent call. “Take a message, I’m busy.”

The secretary unfazed yelled back. “I think you should take this call.”

“For fucks sake! I told you I’m busy,” the alpha bellowed back.

She tried one last time. “It’s Master Tsit.”

Alpha Boehler blanched. He walked down the hall and picked up the call from hold. “Hello? Good afternoon, Master Tsit. I’m sorry to keep you waiting.” His face fell. “I understand sir. Thank you for your call.” He hung up the phone and walked back to the conference room.

Tala laid two letters on the table as the alpha walked back in the room. “From the look on your face, I am guessing Edwardo told you about these letters. The first is granting me immunity while on Amazonian pack lands and the other that he is striping you of your rights to rule. This pack will be managed by his teams until you are deemed to be fit, or you are replaced.”

Alpha Boehler lit back up and lunged at Tala. “You will regret the day you ever came here.”

“Hermano, step down. Fulfill our father’s wishes and don’t be a fool.” Jose looked straight into his brother’s eyes. “Do it, or I will have to fight you for it.”

The alpha looked over to his brother. “Then a fight you shall have.”

Jose shook his head and looked sad. "Let us get this over with. No point in waiting."

The two groups negotiated their way to the square in front of the building. The guards and police created a circle around the outside. Tala gave Jay a quick and dirty recap. Tala’s guard let him in to the circle and he moved to the center between the two brothers.

Jay spoke loudly for all to here. “I, Jason Wilson, Heir to the Celtic Clan, bear witness to this official alpha challenge. This fight will end when either party forfeits or dies. Do both parties agree?” Both brothers nodded their agreement. “When I give the signal, this fight will start.” Jay moved to the edge of the circle. “Fight!”

Jose was the first to make his move. He decked his brother. “This is for all the years you mistreated me.” He followed it by a quick punch to the ribs. “That is for stealing from the pack.” Finally, he turned to the side and jammed his foot into his brother’s crotch. The whole crowd heard the yelp as the heel impacted. “That was for having my father killed.”

Alpha Boehler staggered for a second. He took a breath and swung at Jose. Jose dodged out of the way. He tried again and Jose side-stepped out of the way. Rage started to build, and he suddenly transformed into his lycan form. He snapped at Jose who quickly followed suit.

Jose’s lycan form surprised most the local police officers. It was fifty percent larger than the alpha. Jose did not stand still. He was up on his feet and lunged toward his brother. Just as he was about to snap at his neck, the other wolf jumped out of the way and to the left. Jose regained his footing and turned in time to miss being attacked.

The fight kept up back and forth for almost an hour. Each would try to attack the other but not actually be able to make any progress. Both wolves were started to look like they were getting tired. Jose stopped for a second and his brother jumped at the opening and lunged. He landed on top of Jose and they rolled on the ground. Jose pushed him off and tried to get back. His brother lunged again. He was high in the air when Jose swiped. His bother fell back with a huge set of gushes across his chest. Jose jumped on top of him and held his brother down by the throat.

Alpha Boehler struggled to get out from under his brother. He had underestimated him. He sprung a trap, and in his rage, he fell right into it. He looked into his brother’s eyes. He didn’t see hate, nor did he see love. He saw sadness. He resolved he would not let his brother’s weakness be left unexploited. He rolled and dumped Jose off him. He tried to turn to dive on to his back, but Jose had already turned. He noticed too late and Jose drove his head up and bit down on the alphas throat. Blood poured out of the wound as Jose dug his teeth in deeper. Finally, he pulled back and it was over. He had killed the man who had his father killed. He had killed his alpha. He had killed his brother.

Jose transformed back to his human form. Tala and Jay walked over and they both embraced him. Jose cried and cried. Jay let Tala take Jose to a near by bench as he addressed the crowd. “It is my sad duty to inform you that the challenge is over due to death. Jose Boehler is deemed the winner. My mate and I shall work with the remaining pack leadership to insure a smooth transition.”

The crowd started to disperse as George Crush pushed his way to the center of the circle. “What the hell is going on here? I thought the alpha told you to arrest that man.” George pointed at Tala. “Arrest him now!”

The Tala’s guard unit tighten around him. “Special Agent Crush, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I’m sorry it is under these sad circumstances. I guess you heard my meeting went poorly this afternoon. Things have escalated and the status quo is not what it was. I’m sorry for your loss.”

George looked at Tala oddly then noticed that a few of the police officers were in tight formation off to his left. “What are you hiding? Why are my men formed up like that?”

Out from behind the officers, Jose stepped out. He had put on some clothes an officer had given him. You could still see some blood under his chin mixed with tears. “They are now the honor guard until a van arrives to transport my brother.”

George went into a panic and started toward Tala. “What do you do?”

Jose yelled at George. “Stop!” His voice had a new strength to it. “Tala did nothing to my brother. I did. I found out the truth about what he did and has been doing. I challenged him and he lost.”

George went pale. “You killed him? You killed your brother.”

Jose nodded. “He left me no choice. He had my father killed and he was syphoning money from the pack accounts.”

George started to feel faint. One of the other officers not directly encircling the former alpha ran over and helped him to a bench. “So now what?”

Jay stepped over. “My name is Jason Wilson. I am here on behalf of Master Tsit and have been appointed to assist in the pack’s transition. He knew that here might be a challenge after Tala called him earlier this afternoon. He granted Tala full diplomatic protection as well just in case the challenge did not go in Jose’s favor. I guess that’s all water under the bridge now.”

Tala walked over and parted his guards. He sat down next to George. “I meant when I said I’m sorry for your loss. Not just here and now, but I meant also your mate and pups as well.”

George looked over at Tala with mouth agape. “How do you know about that?”

Jay answered before Tala could. “My mate is an ancient. He can see in to people's hearts and souls to find the truth.”

Jose sat down on the other side of George. “He helped me find the truth about my brother and he gave me the courage to fulfill my father’s wishes. I was always supposed to be the next alpha. I don’t know what Tala saw from your past.”

George started to sob. “I’m scared. I don’t know what is going to happen to me now.”

Tala sighed. “I do. Tell Jose the truth and then decide from there.”

George looked over at Jose. “Your brother and I have been working for two clans. There is a Saharan that calls us and gives us orders and we follow them. I messed up about a year ago on an operation and they took my mate and pups. I spun it as she left me and took them with her but in reality, I believe they were killed. Considering what happened today, I fear I’m next.”

Jay looked over at George. “You are safe right now. I’ll call Edwardo and Toby later and let them know what happened. You have more important duties. The van is here, and you should go with it.”

Jose stood up. “No, I will go with my brother. George, can you organize an emergency pack meeting on the sacred flat tonight? I want a funeral pyre in my brother’s honor. It is the best way to start the healing for the whole pack.”

George looked up at him. “After all he did to you? You would honor him in the traditional way?”

Jose put on a sad smile. “He was always my brother first. He never honored our father, but I will not disrespect him the same way. Go, make the preparations.”

Tala got up and excused himself. “I am going to sit in the car and make some calls.”

Jay turned to him. “Do you want me to come with or stay with George?”

Tala looked over at George. “Please stay with him. We promised him that he would be safe, and we will make sure of it. I’ll join you in a little while.”

Tala turned on the speaker phone and called Sean Freeman. “Hello Sean.”

“Good Afternoon Sir,” Sean greeted him. “What can I do for you?”

Tala kept from crying a little. “I’m calling with solemn news. Alpha Boehler died today in a challenge.”

Sean gasped. “What? Who?”

Tala calmed himself and started to explain. “I came down here to smooth things out as you know. Things escalated and ended with Jose challenging his brother. It turned out that the alpha had his own father killed and was stealing money. It also came out that he and George were taking orders from another clan.”

Sean sounded skeptical. “Who told you that?”

Tala answered. “George Crush himself.”

Sean was shocked. “So why call me? You know there was no love lost on Alpha Boehler.”

“Well, I wanted to ask a favor,” Tala mused.

Sean had an idea what Tala was saying. “You want to know if the six of us are willing to work with him still?”

“Not exactly,” Tala answered. “I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t kill him if I sent him to the compound for protection.”

About an hour later, Tala had finished calling Toby, Edwardo and Raul. He went into the pack office and found Jay and George on the phone in the alpha’s office. Jay hung up and looked to Tala. “We have the team dispatched to start building the fire. The food and drink should be ready as well. The hardest part is the crying people.”

Tala looked dejected. “It is a hard thing to accept, change. Do you think they will welcome him? Will they embrace him?”

Jay gave Tala a knowing look. “I bet that most forgot he was even alive. Just the outcast little brother of the alpha. Time will tell if he succeeds or if he fails.”

A phone rang and was answered. “We tried but they out flanked us by two minutes.”

The voice sounded unhappy. “Have you made contact with out other man?”

The response was quick. “No, they have someone with George all the time.”

The irritation was rising. “How about getting to our guest and the runt, as you called him?”

The response was quick again. “They brought in guards from another pack to protect themselves and the named a large group as an honor guard to protect the runt and the slain alpha Boehler.”

The anger started to show. “What are you going to do about this to get it back under control?”

This time the answer was slower to come. “I think our last chance is to try for them at the funeral pyre tonight. I am getting the feeling they are going to take George back with them for protection. I heard him say he was afraid we would kill him like his mate and pups.”

There was a light tone in the still angry voice. “No, we will actually kill him. His mate and pups are still very much alive. Do what you need to take out all of them.”

“Yes, sir.” The phone line went dead. The mate to the alpha’s secretary put his cell phone away and started to gather what he needed to fulfill his orders.