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© All characters and storylines surrounding these characters belong to me, Eben Black..

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Aleksander stood at five foot eleven. The sleak, feline form looked fast, agile and flexible. His slender tail cracked like a whip behind him. His startling green-grass eyes glared across the manor house courtyard with such hatred. The spotted yellow fur stood on end while he growled under his breath as he saw us step out of the manor house. Maximillian lead us, Donovan and I behind him, hand-in-hand, while Kane and Eddie brought up the alpha lion's sides. Kane's hand touched the hilt of his katana, Donovan touched a hand to the other wolf's shoulder and the two exchanged a glance. We were here on business, not to start a fight. The same could not be said for the cheetahs. Alek stood dressed in a pair of dark green camouflage three-quarter lengths, a pale green tank top and a series of multi-coloured wristbands around one wrist. The wristbands snaked up his forearm. The muscles worked and tensed, he had what looked like another cheetah by the collar. Numerous werecheetahs stood around their alpha, all male and all bulked up through weight training. Right now Aleksander looked like the only true cheetah here.

"What is the meaning of this, Aleksander? I asked you come to my home as neutral ground." Maximillian sounded furious. I was missing something here.

"How can I call this place neutral ground when you are harbouring a madman?" Aleksander snarled back at the taller werelion.

The two exchanged a glare of distaste for one another and then Maximillian asked, "Who do you speak of, Alek? Who here is this madman?"

A thrill of fear sent shivers down my spine. Madman? The last time that term had been used was when wereanimals were rampaging mindlessly and harming innocent people. "Ask him!" Alek growled. A distant snap echoed throughout the fallen silence as Aleksander launched the werecheetah at his side across the courtyard. The cheetah landed between Aleksander and Maximillian. I saw blood, lots and lots of blood. A cut across his chest, torso and down one of his legs too, like someone had tried to stop him running. He whimpered and whined in pain as blood pooled under him. I made to take a step forward, but Donovan's hand squeezed mine. He threw me a cautious look, a look that said don't move.

"I don't understand what your saying, Aleksander?" Maximillian replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Tell them what happened, Mikael! Tell them now!" Aleksander demanded in a booming growl.

The cheetah named Mikael flinched like he'd been struck. He was bleeding heavier and heavier. His wide, frightened eyes gazed back at his alpha and then he looked across at the towering werelion and the gathered wereanimal coalition behind him. He looked at me and his eyes widened, fearful and almost shell-shocked. Mikael raised a trembling hand and pointed at me. Me? No. Not me. Donovan! I stepped aside to see if Mikael would follow me, but he remained focused upon my alpha, upon my King.

"What has Donovan done?" Maximillian asked.

Donovan released me and took a step forward, that level-headed calm rushed through him as he stood beside Maximillian. "I would like to know what I have supposedly done." His voice determined.

Aleksander took a deep breath and then I felt it, I felt him. His beast rose around him like an invisible cloud, a cloud filled with lightning and hatred. "Tell them!" he called a second time.

Mikael winced from the command and then spoke, "I was headed home to where the cheetahs dwell, and a werewolf attacked me, did this to me," he gestured at his wounds.

"Donovan has been here with me all evening, and before that he was with Eddie, at their penthouse abode." Maximillian still sounded confused.

"What did this werewolf say to you?" Donovan asked.

"He warned me that becoming allies with the wolves meant that sacrifices would be needed, cheetah blood would need to be spilled....my blood would need to be spilled!" Mikael stammered.

"Did this wolf have a name? What did he look like?"

"I have no idea, he dragged me into the shadows and blindfolded me, he beat me senseless, cut me with silver and said I was a warning to Aleksander."

"A warning? Who would do something like this, Donovan?" Maximillian asked looking down at the werewolf beside him.

"I have no idea, but I intend to find out. Do you hear me, Aleksander? I never coerced this senseless assault. I intend to find those acting in my name and punish them," Donovan growled.

"Not good enough!" Aleksander snarled. He padded across the courtyard until he was beside the wounded cheetah. He crouched and yanked the cheetah hard by the neck, making him look at Donovan.

"El Rey, yo hacer no saber!" Mikael whimpered.

"Débil!" Aleksander tossed Mikael back and the cheetah careened back across the ground. Aleksander stood and faced Maximillian and Donovan, his beast swelled even more.

"Aleksander, I did not condone this act. You must believe me!" Donovan demanded.

"Why must I believe anything you say?" he growled.

"Because I am innocent. Listen, feel the truth in my words. You know I am not lying."

"I hear but the tongue of a bastard, that needs to be removed!" Alek sneered at the wolf.

"Aleksander, I came here to try and build a foundation, a bridge that we as a group, as a family could cross together when the depths are full of danger. Do you believe I would jeopardise that like this?"

Aleksander considered Donovan for a moment, then looked back at the wounded, whimpering cheetah. He demanded, "Did it smell like wolf? Did it feel like a wolf?"

Mikael nodded, one of the other cheetahs now looked him over as his blood pooled and spattered the courtyard from Aleksander's treatment of him.

Alek turned and glared at Donovan. "Look deep amongst your people, Donovan Reed. Look deep and tell me that you trust all of them!"

"I cannot do that. Some of my wolves no longer live with me, I cannot say what has become of them. I keep in contact, but that is the best I can do right now," he replied.

"Pathetic leadership! I have heard of how you lead your herd of weakling dogs. Through compassion and understanding. And now you resort to asking others for help?" he grinned, a malicious glint in his eyes.

"I ask that we bind together and form a stronger shield against our enemies."

"What enemies do you speak of?" Aleksander demanded, throwing his arms up in mock-surprise.

"You and I both know what the humans are thinking. Walker's Law was almost abolished! We were almost hunted again!" Donovan growled.

"Are you frightened you could not handle the weaker species in their insane mobs? Is that why you demand help? Because you cannot stand on your own?" Aleksander demanded.

This was going from bad to worse. I made to step forward, but Kane stopped me. Aleksander saw me move however and sneered over at me.

"Something wrong?" he growled.

"I think your letting your anger lead you right now. Your throwing away a great oppurtune moment," I insisted.

"And what oppurtune moment would that be, eh?" Aleksander sneered.

"An oppurtunity to join something that will work, and will protect us all, regardless of what happens in the future!" I snapped back. I took a deep breath and let the anger simmer inside me.

"Are you perhaps Eben Black? The one who has attained Lupine status and bound herself to two alpha males of different species?" he asked.

I nodded.

He grinned.

"Something funny?" I asked.

"You would have me join the ranks of a common whore?" he snarled. I glared across at him. I had not expected that. Kane's hand tensed at his blade while he glared at the cheetah.

"Eben is not a common whore, Aleksander. He is a vital member of our pack and doing what is best for his people, just like you should be doing!" Donovan called out.

"I do what is needed for my people!"

"Does that include what you did for your bleeding kitten over there?" Donovan sneered back.

Aleksander glanced back at Mikael and then smirked, a nasty baring of teeth. "I run my home like a true cheetah would. He is no longer a wounded animal, but a message, a message of war!"

Donovan frowned and said, "We won't fight you, Alek! We will never stand against you when we have bigger problems on our plate!"

"And what problems would those be?" he demanded.

"The council is coming, Aleksander. The oldest and wisest of them is coming to LA. And Eben intrigues him, so much so that Eben may indeed earn the councilmen's favour. Imagine, a common whore with the backing of one of the oldest and most powerful wereanimals in the whole of the US and Europe. Would you truly accept our banner of war then? Would you stand against us? Or would you flee? Flee like your animal's would?" an immense raged swelled from inside Donovan as he continued, "I have no idea why one of our wolves attacked one of your own. But believe me, Aleksander, the ones responsible will be punished and dealt with. I did not condone the blood spilling of a possible ally. It doesn't even make sense. I came here, with Max's understanding that you were loyal and decent to your people. So far you have dragged a wounded cheetah out of bed and paraded him like some awful bloodied war banner. I will not fight you, and you will not fight us. Hear me now, Aleksander. I want to work alongside you to prevent things like this," he gestured at Mikael, "happening!"

Aleksander considered Donovan for a moment, then his vision slipped to me, he looked confused, angry and frustrated beyond all else, even exhausted. I recognised exhaustion, and this was the look of an alpha near the edge. He had flinched at the council's mention, and that alone had prevented an all out brawl here. He turned and padded toward his wounded cheetah. He looked down upon the wounded male and then glared back across his shoulder at us where we stood. "I want one favour, one promise from you, Donovan Reed, and from you Eben Black!" he growled.

"And what would that promise be?" Donovan asked.

"When you find the ones responsible for this, then hand them over to me, allow me to deal with them as a true alpha would deal with anyone who attacked a member of his home."

"You want to spill the first blood from the enemies' throats?" Donovan replied with a saddened smile.

Aleksander nodded and said, "It is what the beast inside me demands of you. The beast can sense you and has acknowledged you both as dependable and honest. But..." he looked lost for a moment.

I finished for him and said, "It doesn't change the fact a wolf wounded one of yours. Whether Donovan acknowledged the act or not doesn't matter, a wolf still slaughtered one of your own."

Aleksander considered me and then smiled, a gentle curl of anxious lips. "I am old-fashioned, traditional and bound to the beast inside. I consider myself a good alpha, but the beast's rage is too much."

"Killing the one responsible for this act will simmer the beast and let you rest easier at night?" Maximillian added with a confused look.

Aleksander nodded. "I know you and the wolves are honest people, looking for a better path in life, but the nose of a wereanimal cannot be confused."

That was a lie right there. One that Aleksander had no knowledge of telling. Sawyer was a powerful illusionist. He could've bespelled someone's sense of smell to acknowledge wolf. But I kept that tit-bit of information to myself as the negotiations seemed to be going well now. The tension had gelled and Aleksander's beast had chilled out and was now dormant inside its master once again. All until...

"Aleksander! You cannot believe what these liars are spouting?" it was the one cradling a half-conscious Mikael.

Aleksander glared at the cheetah over his shoulder and replied, "I will speak with them both, the lion alpha and wolf alpha, and see what is required of us tonight."

"Aleksander!" the cheetah stood, he handed over Mikael to one of the others as he padded forward, muscular build flexed.

"Enough, Sampson! Enough!" Aleksander snarled.

"This is prepostorous!" Sampson growled back as he paced in front of his King.

"You should listen to your King, Sampson," this was from Kane who'd stepped down and was standing between me and Donovan now. Hand eased away from his blade. The tension gone.

"Who do you think you are, dog!" Sampson snarled.

"Sampson." It was a warning from the cheetah's alpha, his King.

Sampson flinched, but a grin spread his lips. There was a flash of steel, and a gun was drawn. I took a deep breath and felt something rush by. A second later the gun span through the air and with a loud thunk hit the ground hard. It sat there for a moment and then like wet paper, it peeled and split in two before our eyes. Blood blossomed a second later from the cheetah's raised forearm. He hissed and looked down in amazement. Kane was stood, arm extended, that katana held loose in one hand. Kane looked up at the cheetah, that slender form shrouded in black. He swung the blade and sheathed it with a gentle hiss. He exhaled like he'd been holding his breath while Sampson glared down at the smaller wereanimal. Kane growled deep in his chest and breathed the words, "Never raise a weapon to my King or Lupine ever again." It was a gentle warning.

Sampson looked to Aleksander who gazed at Kane and then looked up at Sampson. He nodded and the wounded cheetah stepped back to join the others without another word. Aleksander sent them home. He sent them home to treat the wounds on Sampson and Mikael, while he padded between Donovan and Maximillian. He stopped and looked down at me, his height ever so slightly higher than mine, but enough for that downward stare. Those bright green eyes sparkled. What was this sensation? The beast inside me looked up, and met those green-grass eyes. She growled and then a content spread through her. The word, Berserker, whispered through my mind as the cheetah continued his walk inside. Donovan and I exchanged a confused look, but followed Maximillian as he stepped inside behind the cheetah. The negotiations had gone well, but now we had another two problems. A hot-headed alpha cheetah, and an unknown assailant in our midst. It made me wonder who of our wolves was capable of doing this. And if so, had Sawyer indeed returned? I hoped not. What could he have accomplished in three long months.