Friday, 9:30 pm
It had taken over an hour for Jacques to find the Newsome home nestled in Greenside Hills. The party seemed to be slowing down when he arrived. His thoughts, however, were on Naiya. Though he did not feel her actions or reasoning were sound, he could only deal with one crisis at a time.
The area where he parked the limo required him to walk for several minutes to get to the house. He was supposed to wait for Henry and backup, but he did not want to risk a fight in front of so many humans.
He scented the air and noticed that Weres from many clans were at the Newsome party. Interesting. Who knew Britta was such a liberal? Focus, Jacques. Laylah needed him. He could not fail her again. Guilt struck and Jacques pushed it back. Now was not the time. When he found Laylah and had her safe, then would come amends and, perhaps, new beginnings.
He hesitated at the front door. He glanced around, doing another scent sweep. He found nothing and rang the bell. The door opened and two giant burly men blocked the entrance. The stance was relaxed, but he saw the tension in their shoulders as they appraised him and checked him for hidden items. Since he carried none, he was waved inside.
He hurried down the hall and stopped the first party-goer he saw. He asked about Britta's whereabouts and was pointed toward the northeast corner of the grand reception hall. Jacques grimaced. The lights were flickering on and off and he could hear the hum of a generator trying to restart.
Boys and girls were paired up; some were openly groping each other. The young people did not interest him as the low murmur of their voices filled the air. No, he needed Britta. He did a partial shift of his eyes to help him see better and made his way through the crowd toward Laylah's friend. He saw her in the corner with a young man.
He received a shock when he reached her. His nose picked up the scent of Were from the boy who held her close, whispering in her ear. The two kissed and Jacques frowned. Another Were! And this one was far from home. What in the world was a rhino from the Cali Territory doing here in New Florida?
His previous view of Britta was rattled. He had always assumed the young lady to be quirky and different. Laylah had insisted that Britta was unbiased and fair, but Jacques had not believed it. Yet, before him she stood, lip locked with a Were. He rolled his eyes and reached out his hand to touch Britta's shoulder, but paused when Donil's scent hit his nose.
He stifled a growl as he spun and marched outside to confront the Panther Alpha. He caught sight of the defiant younger Alpha standing directly in the path leading to the gazebo.
"Where is she?" Jacques demanded.
"Not here, Old Man," Donil drawled.
He fought down the urge to rip into Donil's flesh and hurt the other male until he gave up the information he needed.
"Not good enough, Donil. Henry is coming. I need to get Laylah home and for my Alpha's anger to lessen, not heighten. If you both insist on playing games…." He let the unspoken words hang in air between them.
"You know, I'm getting tired of your Alpha punishing Laylah over every little thing. Henry is smothering and hindering her growth as a person. You know I'm right, Jacques."
Donil's words stabbed at his conscience. He twitched and forced himself to be still. "It is not our place to question his orders." His thoughts briefly strayed to Naiya who had defied Henry. Everything was falling apart and, for once, he didn't know how to fix it.
"Maybe you can't, Jacques, but I can. Henry is not my Alpha. We share rank and I will go over his head if I must. I will do whatever I need to for Laylah to be safe and happy."
"You arrogant little cat! What makes you think you can give her those things? I know your reputation. You like to play with shiny new things then bat them away after your curiosity is satisfied. The females always say nice things but they can't disguise the hurt." He ignored the younger male's indignant hiss. "You would harm Laylah more than help her. I won't warn you again. Stay away from her."
"Can't. Won't. She's more to me than a piece of tail. Now, if you'll excuse me, my boys and I have to get some reinforcements."
"Reinforcements?" Jacques suddenly had a very bad feeling and the Panther Alpha's next words confirmed his fear.
"Laylah is gone because Zina's lapdog, Gerard, ambushed us and took her."
"Why didn't you go after them?" Jacques snarled and took a menacing step toward Donil.
"Because I was getting attacked by some felines that I didn't recognize. Kind of hard to protect someone when being overwhelmed by the enemy."
Upset at his mocking tone, Jacques shifted his hands into claws and moved to swipe at the younger male. His ears picked up the sound of Henry's vehicle arriving. Disgruntled at the interruption, he changed his hands back to normal. "Henry is here."
"Yeah, I've noticed his particular stench stretches miles ahead of him." Donil wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Ah, here comes the big bad wolf himself."
Both men watched Henry, flanked by Boris and Kenneth, making his way easily past the security guards. Jacques knew his Alpha would go into a rage when he learned that Zina's men had Laylah. He was not stupid enough to believe that Henry would be concerned that his daughter was missing. No, his Alpha would care only about who had Laylah.
"My Alpha." He bowed and didn't miss Henry's expression. This night just kept getting worse by the minute.
"Report!"
He bristled at Henry's tone but proceeded to explain what had occurred. He finished and patiently waited to see what his Alpha wished to do.
Henry looked about and Jacques refrained from stating the obvious — that time was precious and that they were running out of it.
"Inform the Council of this treachery and maybe we'll get permission to exterminate the vermin. Find out as much information as possible as to where they took her. I'm going back to the mansion. Call whoever you need, Jacques, but get the job done so that I can get back to my work.
"Yes, my Alpha."
Henry turned away and stopped to growl at the silent Donil. "Why are you here, Boy? Scamper back to your litter box so that the real males can do their work."
Jacques winced at Henry's sarcasm but Donil's reaction surprised him more.
"I'm here because I care, Henry. And didn't you know, my fellow Alpha, that the world is my playground? I'll be sure to let you know when the "real males" help out. Until then, my friends and I will find Laylah."
Jacques was floored. Donil's maturity at that moment was amazing. His ability to be civil and insulting all in the same breath while doing it with a smile was impressive. Henry's growl deepened and he decided that the posturing of the Alphas had to stop if anything was going to get done. He stepped into his Alpha's line of sight.
"Sir, I do believe I see Tri-Ruler Newsome coming this way and he doesn't look happy." He pointed at the angry human bearing down on the group.
"Guess that's my cue to scram." Donil grinned, gave a jaunty salute and took the side path accompanied by his cousin and the two lion brothers.
Jacques shook his head. Boy had guts, he'd give him that. "My Alpha." Once more, Jacques threw in a bow and took off so that Henry could talk to Tri-Ruler Newsome. He had a teenager to rescue.