BirthMark by Sydney Addae Page A

was his administrator, not someone he sent on jobs. Maybe this family thing his mate talked about was good. He looked at the twins. This was good, he decided.
    He waved them to seats at the table as the large monitor flicked on. Within moments, the camera was active. Roll call would begin momentarily. Silas went over in his mind what he wanted to say and what he planned to keep in reserve.
    “Alpha Theron reporting, Sir.” Silas nodded as the next Alpha checked in. These were men he'd personally trained, each had taken his last name, Knight, and wore his crest on their shoulders. That one had betrayed him cut deep.
    “Alpha Jayden reporting, Sir.” Silas nodded, glad to see the man.
    Within five minutes, roll call was complete.
    “Up until last year, we met on these conference calls once every two months, or if a special situation arose that needed my attention. Now it seems as though we are meeting weekly. Times are changing quickly and we, no I, was caught off guard. The human breeding phenomenon was bigger than any of us imagined.”
    There was some nods and verbal agreements from the monitor.
    “My job as Patron is to all wolves. I control the wolf, so if a person shifts into a wolf, he merits my concern and protection.” He had said those words before, but it bore repeating every time they talked because there was still some reluctance. With the overwhelming number of half-breeds being reported, most of the Alphas agreed those wolves needed to be accepted into the packs. Some merely gave lip service and did nothing to ease the way of the half-breeds. Those were the Alphas he addressed with his declaration.
    “Is that understood?”
    “Yes, La Patron,” the Alphas and the twins said.
    “Good, now to bring you current, we have run into some problems.” Over the next hour Silas explained about the bomb, eased concerns over his security, and had to defend his staff.
    “This was not a security breach. Focus on what I’m saying. Someone has invested money to make an undetectable bomb. Think suicide bombing on steroids.”
    No one spoke as his words penetrated. “Think full-bloods or half-breeds with wolves so weak they are undetectable. How the hell did that happen? I need each one of you to see the bigger picture. Someone is fucking with us and I want to know who and I want to know why. That…” he pointed at the Alphas, “is what we should be discussing, not that other bullshit.”
    “Yes, La Patron.”
    Silas watched the monitor and realized they were beginning to see the enormity of the problem, and felt better. “Now I’m going to open the floor for discussion. Let’s take the wolf issue first.”
    An hour and a half later, Silas and the twins left his office with an outline of a sketchy plan. Everyone agreed Dr. Passen and his team should look at Jenkins' wolf and make a diagnosis. More information was needed before they could go further. The tone of the meeting was a lot different at the end as the discussion peeled away layers of what these new threats meant to their nation.
    “Change of plans, I want Detective Jenkins bought in as soon as possible and kept beneath the gym. After I pull his wolf, I want Froggy to work with him. I don’t care how long it takes. I want his wolf healthy so I can have better access to find out why he’s in my town.”
    “Rose says he’s talking to a lot of humans, they are going to notice when he goes missing,” Tyrone said.
    Silas pinched the bridge of his nose and counted to five. Once done, he inhaled. “Fix it so that isn’t a problem. Do not bring the police to my door. This discussion is about what I want to see. I expect you to work out the details, the implementation, and get him here. No fuck ups. No excuses.” He looked at each one with an arched brow.
    “Yes, Sir,” Tyrone said.
    “Yes, Sir,” Tyrese said.
    Glad they understood, Silas pulled open his desk and placed a key in a lock. The blinds closed. The curtains moved inward blocking the