Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega #2)(63)

"I have the plate numbers," said Anna. "But it looked like a rental car to me, too. American minivan less than five years old." She rattled off three letters and three numbers.

The joy of phone calls with sharp-eared werewolves was that all phone calls ended up being conference calls whether he wanted them to or not. At least Charles didn't have to repeat everything anyone said.

He could hear pen running across paper as his da wrote the license-plate number on a piece of paper. "I'll check it out," he said when he was finished writing, "but I suspect she's right. We'll find them faster by other methods. You think they're trained by a werewolf?"

"They fought like a pack," Anna said. "Made their choices like a wolf pack would. Brought in magic that felt just like pack magic."

"That was Tom's assessment, too," Angus said. "Tom's been in a few fights-and can wield pack magic with the best of us."

There was another pause, then the Marrok said in that light pleasant tone that warned everyone who knew him that all hell was about to break loose. "Can you prove Dana caused the fight?"

Charles looked at Anna.

She shook her head. "No. You had to have been there."

"That's so," said Angus. "I saw it, but I doubt anyone else was looking who would recognize what they saw. She would have sent me after Charles, you know, after I refused to go. Bespelled me with my true name. I haven't answered to that name for nigh on a hundred years-and a hundred years ago I was no one. Not Alpha at the time, not even in this country. Be interesting to know how she found out what my birth name was. I doubt there are ten people who'd know after all this time."

"True-named, and you didn't follow orders?"

Angus threw his head back and laughed. " 'For God Almighty himself, Bran. I got my first look at the shivering little thing that is your daughter-in-law quaking in her boots in an auditorium filled with predators and thought your son had found a wererabbit."

"Thank you," said Anna with a nasty edge to her voice.

Not intimidated in the least, Angus grinned at her. But when he talked it was directed at Bran. "I thought she wasn't up to his weight. But that was before she killed a vampire and set that old fairy on her heel. Here's me bespelled by that fae-'Stop,' Anna told me. And damned if I didn't have to listen to her, fae compulsion or no fae compulsion. Broke Dana's hold just as certain as if you had broken it your own self."

"You should have seen her kill the witch a couple of weeks ago," Bran said affably. "Asil had been fleeing from this one for two hundred years, and my son's little 'rabbit' killed her while in human form and armed with nothing more than a knife."

"Asil?" asked Angus, suitably taken aback. "Asil the Moor?"

"That's the one," said Charles.

"Suddenly I don't feel so bad at being rescued by a rabbit," Angus said cheerfully.

Anna narrowed her eyes at him. "One more rabbit comment, and you'll regret it."

The Marrok spoke into the silence that followed Anna's threat. "If I come now-"

"No," said Charles in instant rejection.

His father sighed. "You did note the 'if,' didn't you?"

There was no good answer to that, so Charles just waited.

Satisfied that his son had been properly brought to order, Bran said, "I do not think it would help at this stage. It certainly wouldn't make any difference to the negotiations. Chastel did exactly as he intended-and we'll work around him."

"I am sorry, sir," said Charles.

"Not at all. It would not have mattered if I had been there. Until one of the Europeans decides to rid the world of Chastel, we'll all have to work around him. It would have been... very unexpected had he played ball with us."

"He's not an anti-Omega," said Anna. "He's an anti-Marrok."

Charles explained the reference, and his father laughed easily. Some people might think that would mean he wasn't angry-they'd be wrong. "I suppose both are correct."

"Why don't you take him out?" asked Angus suddenly.

"Not my place," Bran answered. And then said, proving he'd thought of it, "And then I'd have Europe to take care of, too. I can assure you that my plate is more than full. I do not need anything more to do. Are you looking for a job, Angus?"

"Hell, no." The Emerald City Pack leader grinned appreciatively. "Not that I could take on Chastel, anyway. Your son is a nasty, infighting, rat-bastard. I've seen him fight cold before-you should have seen it when he's enraged. Took him all of two minutes to have Chastel on the ground."

"Charles's fights are always fast," said Bran. "Most serious fights are. We aren't cats to play with our food."

Charles heard his father draw in a deep breath as he changed the subject. "So. Your job, Charles, as I see it, is to find the vampires who killed our poor Sunny. Eliminate them and find out who hired them. Conduct business as usual tomorrow-and understand that no one can agree to accept help, but they will listen to what you have to say. And we'll help them as we can. This is the only way we can let them know that we'll do so. And keep Dana from making you kill anyone you don't intend to."