An Alpha's Pride [tribal bonds 2] by Stormy Glenn Page A

them simple assaults and such.”
“There’s nothing simple about someone wanting to exterminate us,” Carlton grumbled loudly. “I’m a little confused as to why I am just hearing about these hunters now. I never even knew they were in the area, let alone attacking our people.”
“That probably means you don’t have any rogue elements in your pack,” Luca said. “The main group of hunters doesn’t bother us unless we allow one of our own to cause problems.”
“Like what?” Carlton asked.
“If I have a rogue vampire that starts feeding indiscriminately, the hunters will contact me. I’m usually given twenty-four hours to deal with the problem on my own or they will step in and hunt the perpetrator down.”
“And what happens when one of theirs is the perpetrator?” Carlton asked.
Daniel glanced at Luca because he didn’t have an answer for that. Luca was frowning. Daniel was pretty sure the electus didn’t have an answer either. “We need to contact Roman and set up a meeting.”
Luca sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I know, but I was really hoping to avoid that if I could.”
“Is Roman that bad?” Carlton asked.
“No, Roman is actually a pretty decent guy for a hunter, but he always brings his little brother, and if Sam throws one more bottle of holy water on me, I’m going to smack his head right off his shoulders.”
Daniel chuckled when Carlton’s mouth dropped open.
“He throws holy water on you?” Carlton asked.
“Every damn time,” Luca said.
“Does he know holy water doesn’t work on vampires?”
“He knows.”
“Oh.”
* * * *
    Daniel didn’t know what to think when he considered hunters, but it wasn’t the men that walked into the small park they had all agreed to meet at. They were dressed just like everyone else—jeans, T-shirts, and the occasional leather jacket.
    They didn’t look like hunters until one looked closer and saw the bulges under their jackets. Even Daniel could tell that the hunters carried weapons. But they kept their hands out in front of them or at their sides in an unthreatening manner.
    When the hunters stopped in front of Luca, Daniel took a step closer to Carlton. He didn’t care that they were under a flag of truce at the moment. If a single one of them stepped in Carlton’s direction, they were dead.
“Electus,” one man said as he nodded his head respectfully at
    Luca.
“Roman,” Luca replied.
So, this was Roman, the famed hunter. Oddly enough, he looked
    just like every other human out on the street except for the air of danger that surrounded him. He held himself regally. He could have been an electus or an alpha.
    “You asked for this meeting,” Roman said. “So, talk.” “Our people have been attacked unprovoked.”
The man named Roman just arched a dark eyebrow. “And?” “My people were attacked, Roman.”
“My people didn’t attack yours,” Roman said. “If we had, you’d
    know about it.”
“Hunters attacked my people, Roman. They also attacked Alpha
Gregory’s people, killing some of them. We still have people
missing.”
“So?” Roman shrugged. “There are a few less bloodsuckers and
fur balls on the streets. Better for us humans.”
“This violates the peace treaty between us, Roman.”
“So, we go to war then.”
Daniel frowned. He saw several of the hunters tense when he
stepped forward, but he had to ask. “Going to war means so little to
you?”
Roman shrugged. “We’ve gone to war before.”
“And innocent people died,” Daniel snapped. He remembered the
war between the humans and paranormals several decades previous. It
was not something he wanted to repeat. “More will die if we go to
war. Is that what you want?”
“Collateral damage is a by-product of any conflict.”
Daniel was shocked. “My gods, you are a cold bastard.” He
glanced over at Luca. “This is a waste of time. He’s never going to
help us. Let’s go.”
Daniel started walking back toward Carlton when he heard