The Gathering, which had gone well for the first eight hours of meetings, was finally reaching areas of disagreement. For Keith, it was actually a record, in his estimation. The attack by the Hunters had forged a sense of unity among the various Clans that hadn't existed in generations. What had once seemed like causes for major disagreement, had instead been excused as minor quibbles, and motion after motion had been either voted up or down with large majorities with no fighting afterward.

Keith had to admit that some of it was the huge coalition that he found himself the linchpin of. With most of Clan Lockwood's allies, such as the Blanc Loup and the Mac Tire, along with Clan Thornblood's allies, such as the Lykos and the Bez Beco, all working in concert, most of the other unaligned Clans joined in just to go with the majority. Issues such as travel rights, revenue sharing and trade deals, which had almost derailed the last gathering, were passed with a minimum of fuss.

Keith noticed that a certain pattern developed. While Clan Thornblood and Clan Lockwood still took their original initial positions, Kimberly and Akiko both debated their points respectfully, moving towards a compromise that Keith had to admit was better than he had expected possible. Most importantly to him though was that each of the compromises strengthened the ability of the Lycans to wage war against their enemies.

Now, however, at the end of the first day, with the sun going down, the big issue in the room was being worked towards. Keith felt his hands clench as he had to sit and listen to the comments from some of the others.

"I do not wish to call into doubt either the honor of Clan Lockwood or Clan Thornblood. Every member here is an honorable and noble Lycan," Lord Dumas-Vez, one of the unaffiliated Clans, said from his seat. "I myself watched as Nioclas Thornblood fought with all of his heart to repel the invaders. But the facts are unequivocal. This war is a war of vengeance, sought by the Lockwoods and the Thornbloods for the losses they incurred. And sadly enough, those same losses come about because of the very actions of those same Clans. There would have been no reason for the Hunters to attack us if Lord and Lady Lockwood along with Melanie Lockwood had not killed one of the Hunters in this city, and we all know who sold out the Gathering to the Hunters before. While I understand your anger and your desire for more blood, I don’t feel it’s time for a war, not when our own wounds are still so fresh."

Keith stood to say something but sat down when he saw Akiko look over at him, her eyes knowing. Instead, he nodded to her and let her stand to speak. "Lord Dumas-Vez, I understand what you’re saying, and before I make my reply, I would ask my Sister, Lady Melanie Lockwood, to speak to us. I know she’s not of this Council, but we have granted her seating rights with her Mate, and I feel her words are important. Any objections?"

There were none, and Melanie made her way to the center of the area. Everyone could see the swell of her belly under her loose top, and more than a few smiled sympathetically as she tried to work her way in between two of the tables that had been set up before they were pulled apart for her. Akiko brought a chair into the area, which Melanie respectfully declined. "I've been sitting down for the past two hours, I think a little bit of standing will be helpful."

"Of course, Melanie Lockwood," Akiko said, falling into the formal forms of address that still ruled the meeting. Addressing her as Sister or by first name only would have been a mistake. "If I may ask, could you please relate to this Gathering what was told to you by the kinbushi that you knew as John."

For the next twenty minutes, Melanie related her conversations with the man who had claimed to be her jailer, physician, and possible adoptive father for her child. She saw as both Alpha Male and Female grimaced as she related the story. Finally, she wrapped up her story with her rescue and stabbing John before kicking him down the stairs.

"And you’re sure that he was killed?" Akiko asked, who had remained in the area between the tables with her. "You are positive?"

"The blade cut both his jugular vein and carotid artery, based on the amount of spray that covered my shirt and body," Melanie replied evenly. "While there is a small chance of survival if someone had immediately sealed the wound, considering that less than two minutes later Kimberly Waldwyck leveled the building with rocket fire, I’m very certain he is dead."

"Thank you, Melanie. One further question, something you said earlier. In one of your conversations with John, he said that they had never captured an Alpha level child. Could you please go back to that conversation, and try and recall exactly what he said?"

Melanie nodded, using one of the skills that had been one of her strongest skills even when she had been a normal cop, a nearly flawless ability to recall conversations with other people. "He said, the best way to defeat the werewolves is to use their own kind against them. So your child, son or daughter, will become the Order's greatest weapon against werewolf kind. Combining our training with their physical skills, they'll be one of the best soldiers our kind has ever seen. Imagine, the speed, strength, senses of a prime Alpha, able to blend in amongst werewolf kind, but armed with our sense of purpose and skill."

Akiko nodded. "I now ask your opinion, one that I must admit when you first told me scared me to the depths of my soul. Do you think that John had done this sort of brainwashing before?"

Melanie shivered as the implications became clear to her as well. "It may have been. John was certainly capable of it, I think."

Akiko nodded and came over to Melanie, placing her hand on her shoulder before clasping arms with her. "Thank you, Melanie Lockwood. I have no more questions, but thank you for your bravery and words."

Returning to her table, Akiko picked up a tablet computer and looked at it. "Members of the Council, I think you realize what I am implying. The kinbushi have been engaging in this sort of barbaric actions for years, I feel. If the attack wasn't enough, if the kidnapping of Melanie Lockwood was not enough, there is this, the fact that for years, maybe even a decade or more, they have been turning our own kind against us."

"Do you have any evidence of this, Lady Thornblood?" asked Lord Blanc Loup. “I’m not saying your accusations do not have serious consequences, but there are serious implications if so."

Akiko nodded and turned to her tablet. "Ernest Gabriel. Saki Munro. Margery Blackwood. Robert E. Kallas. Guy Caillet. Evelyn Rice. The list goes on, twenty-seven in all, but I had my staff go through the Thornblood database. Each of these names, within the past ten years, has disappeared from their Clan. Some of them, about half, were discovered dead later, but the other half have flat out disappeared. They all were first or second generation Lycans, and I know within the Thornbloods, their disappearance was dismissed as them being shot by a regular hunter or something else equally unfortunate during a time they ran with the full moon. With the numbers being scattered by one or two each among all the Clans, perhaps nobody made the connection before. But there are too many similarities when the cases are compared. Young, Unmated Lycans who just vanished without a trace, often from urban areas or areas where kinbushi were suspected of operating. What if even a third of these were subjects of the experiment that this John was going to perform on the Lockwood baby? A dedicated group of eight or nine Lycans, fully committed to our enemy's cause. Lords and Ladies, the implications are clear. They will not stop, and they will continue these barbaric acts. Unless we stop them."

Akiko's assistant, the same bodyguard she had brought to the last Gathering, passed out folders to each Clan, detailing what she had found. Mutters of disbelief turned to rumbles of anger as Clan after Clan read about their missing member, and the similarities they had with the other missing Lycans. Akiko let the emotion build, then cleared her throat. "I move that we arm for war. We can discuss the details tomorrow. What say the Council?"

The vote was unanimous.