Chapter 52

James was sitting at his desk sorting out the pack's finances when his phone rang. He answered without checking the caller ID. "James my friend, how have you been?" The orotund voice surprised him as he hadn't heard it in a while. "Alpha Peter, it's been a while. How are things with you?" Alpha Peter smirked at the sound of his acquaintance's voice. He didn't believe in friends as he saw that everyone was disposable once they no longer served a purpose.

"I'm good. In fact, your new neighbor paid me a visit at Greystone recently. Nice fellow. He seemed kinda itchy, but I heard he had just found his mate and hated to be away from her. You know how that can be, right?" Peter smirked as he could practically hear James squirming in his chair. Peter always maintains a natural stance with the other packs, however, that doesn't mean that he can't start a little ember glowing. He was well informed of what was taking place in other packs, thanks to his nosey wife and Luna, Shelly. If she was a dog, a pure-breed bloodhound is what she would be. That woman could sniff out drama from even the most tight-lipped person. Peter had heard of the love triangle between James and Bradley of some omega and what could be more entertaining than ruining somebody else's love life? He hated his wife and vice versa. He only marked her because his wolf would not have anyone else.

James cleared his throat. "How did he seem?" he asked. A dry chuckle escaped Peter. "He was a decent fellow. A bit too full of himself, but it was bearable. Heard he visited New Moon next. You know Alpha Paul was all too happy to have another ally." Peter sighed, feigning concern. "You know my friend, I heard that Alpha Bradley was having his marking ceremony this weekend. I heard it from someone in Paul's pack. Apparently, he and his mate were invited, and sadly I was not." Peter sighed again. "Guess they wanted it to be a private affair, but a few of the higher ranking Council members were invited. Besides, it wouldn't look good to just crash their ceremony for my own selfish reasons."

Peter knew James well enough. He knew how much he hated losing and this would be no exception. "Really? Guess I should look through my mail for my invite. I'm glad that Alpha James' visit went well." James gripped the phone, anger, and frustration starting to boil in his veins. "Well Peter, I have to get going. Got some things to take care of. Let's keep in touch." With that, James hung up, not waiting for Peter's response. He knew Peter as well and was sure that he was mocking him behind his back. He punched in the number for Sid. He needed to make his move and he needed to do it now. What he heard from Sid made him smile and they quickly made arrangements for the next step in their plan.

James and Sid showed up unannounced and uninvited to the mating ceremony. Bradley's warriors tried to stop them, but Sid just waved the legal document they acquired, causing the warriors to stand down. After all, what Sid held in his hand was approved by the Council's legal department, including their seal. They made their way to the back. James searched for Trishanna and when he saw her, he could feel his chest tighten. She looked so breathtaking that his lungs refused to work. The love in her eyes made her glow, and he wished that it was directed at him. Knowing that it wasn't ignited his anger and he made his presence known, stopping the ceremony.

Alpha Bradley was furious when he saw his least favorite person, crashing his mating ceremony. The day was going so well. He linked his warriors to find out just what the hell was going on. Why would they let James of all people in, when the entire pack knew everything? What he got back made his mind reel and he turned a confused look at his aunt. Councilwoman Seers was confused as to how James and the greasy-looking guy made it past the warriors. There were whispers among the guests, everyone wondering who and why.

Trishanna grew pale and she grabbed Bradley's jacket. He could feel her trembling and worried about her and the pup. He gently pushed her behind his broad back, wanting to shield her from James' gaze as well as letting her not see him as well. He nodded at Sam and Samuel, and they returned the gesture. They knew if a fight broke out, it was their duty to ensure their Luna's safety. Both Nicole and Tiffany rushed to the raised platform and stood on both sides of Trishanna, offering her support. Once Bradley was satisfied that his mate was protected, he linked for more warriors to protect her before stepping down and headed straight to the thorn in his side.

"What is the meaning of this you bastard? How dare you show your face here?" Bradley strode to James with every intention of snapping his neck once and for all. He really should have listened to his wolf and killed him. Just as he was two steps away, the greasy little man stepped in front of him and introduced himself as James' lawyer. That made Bradley pause a bit. Maybe this had nothing to do with Trishanna but with the boundary of the pack lands? That hope was soon dashed as Sid, waved a piece of paper with the seal of the Council.

"Alpha Bradley, as you can see by this document, Alpha James has come to claim his rights as a soon-to-be father of his one and only heir of the Alpha position of Bloodmoon. Based on this, he now claims the right to have the pup be with him so he can bond with him or her. The Alpha position has been guaranteed to be handed down to his offspring regardless of their sex and rank unless there is sufficient evidence that it cannot be done based on the ruling of the council."

Bradley grabbed the document and scanned it's contents. It listed laws and by-laws from the code of ethics of the werewolf council, including some laws that are older. "What? Some of these laws are ancient." Bradley shook the document in disbelief. Councilwoman Seers took the document and looked through it, passing it to the other members of the Council. They all nodded as if to say that what was printed there was true. Cynthia held her nephew's arm. "I'm afraid that these laws although old, are still in effect. Based on this, Trishanna has to go with Alpha James."