Chapter 6

James Elliot

“Mr. Elliot, dinner is ready.” The quiet voice of his servant, a man dressed in motorcycle boots, leather pants, and a leather jacket, seemed out of place in the cabin in the swamp they now inhabited. The Alexander brothers had done a number on his clan but they hadn’t discovered the large house sitting in the middle of a Cajun suburb deep down a bayou road.

They were hiding in plain sight and so far it had worked. His members were currently spread across Louisiana, Kansas, Texas, and Alabama but they could all be called back quickly enough. He kept only his most trusted men with him, and a few women, of course.

He winked at one named Sherry and waved his hand at the door to the dining room. What might seem like little more than a cabin to James Elliot would be a mansion to others. Made from cypress wood, the house was three stories tall and surrounded in glass. Decorated by a professional, the house wasn’t to the man’s style but appealed to the ladies with lots of magnolia flower motifs and fleur de lys patterns on almost everything.

“Ah, Sherry, you’re my favorite, my dear.” He slipped an arm around her waist as she came up to him, her eyes already working on seduction. They made a handsome couple, she with curly, dark red hair, a slim waist with large hips and breasts that appealed. In a slinky electric blue dress, she looked fantastic and she knew it. The man beside of her was as equally blessed in the looks department. Tall, handsome, with black hair and gray eyes James would have been a work of art, except for the cruel twist of his mouth that was always there and the greed that burned in his eyes. Those two features took away every bit of handsome about the man. Not even the tame outfit of a pale yellow buttoned shirt with a pair of khaki pants could make him appear sweeter, not with the cruelty so imprinted on his face.

James walked into the dining room with Sherry at his side. His generals were already at the table, quietly waiting for him. Clan heads, these men were powerful and in his pocket. They sat quietly as he flirted with Sherry by putting her in her chair, ignoring their hungry bellies. He could hear their stomachs and prolonged his discussion with her by sitting at the head of the table and carrying on his conversation.

“Well, you know my dear, once we rid ourselves of these pesky Alexanders and whoever else has joined with them, I’ll be glad to get you a house in Hawaii. I’ll name it after his parents. Do you know they pined away for each other, only twenty-five feet apart?” He asked with a cruel laugh. “I watched them wither away for weeks, unable to even see each other. That was love, true love. But yes, I’ll buy you a house, my dear.”

She tittered as he patted her hand, her cheeks blushing prettily but he knew in a matter of hours she’d be beneath him, getting him off in any way he imagined. And he had a very vivid imagination.

“Now, men, let’s eat.” He looked around the table with a wide grin, ignoring the sighs of relief. He was hungry tonight as well; he wouldn’t make them wait for their meals any longer.

James gave the servant the signal and the food was brought out to the table. James parceled it out, giving the most to those who’d been the most helpful and leaving little for those that thought being a part of the Mungons Clan meant sitting on their ass while everyone else worked. It was a recent trend and one he meant to squash.

“Now men, I know you’ll look at these portions and think them unfair but you get what you earn with me. If we want to restore the king to the throne, if we want to do away with that prissy little court the magicals now call our governing body, we all have to work equally, and harder than ever.”

James looked around and saw his generals watching him, focused on nothing more than him and his words. He had them in the palm of his hand. It was his cruelty that had drawn them but they had never expected him to use it on them. Now they were learning differently.

“Alpha, we shall strive to work harder!” This from a blond man to his right, one with a bigger plate of food. The man looked pleased with himself for having achieved more than he could eat. James wasn’t sure he liked that. With narrowed eyes he looked at the man, wondering if he’d been wrong about him. Perhaps the man had too much ambition.

“I’m sure you will. You’ll set a good example for the others.” James continued to pass out food, his voice dismissive of the man and his words.

“Now, what have you all accomplished today?” James already knew every move the generals made but he wanted to hear it from them.

“I contacted my people in Louisiana. I have learned the Alexanders are all there, every last one of them.” The man, another blonde, spoke with pride as though he had brought his Alpha vital information.

“We already knew that.” James glared at him, scraping some of the food from the plate he had been preparing.

“But we didn’t know the wives were there too!” The man’s eyes had gone round and his voice got higher as he watched his food disappearing.

“In fact we did. Your information is of no use. What else did you do?” James stood, spoon in hand as the man thought. “That’s what I thought. Do more tomorrow and you’ll get proper food.”

James handed the man a plate with two sprouts and a tiny sliver of ham, barely enough to even get the taste in his mouth. The men could go out and get their own food, James knew that, but this was a lesson in consequences. It was a lesson in standing up and being counted by your peers, not just sitting on your ass and waiting on others to do your work for you. Even generals earned their keep around here.

“Another day of this, Elias, and I’ll send you to West Virginia, understand me?” James stared down at the now blanching man. James sent the worst of his people to West Virginia, the ones that refused to work, that would not even provide for themselves. They lived in squalor, deep in a mine where guards kept them from escaping. “How old are you Elias?”

“I will be thirty-two next month, Alpha.” The man swallowed harshly and James knew he had him thinking.

“So nearly three hundred years down a mine doesn’t sound too pleasant, does it? I’ve heard some shifters live to four hundred, you know? That’s an awfully long time.” James’s voice had become harsher as he spoke until anger blazed from his eyes.

“Yes, Alpha. I understand, Alpha.” The man hung his head, not touching his food.

“Eat what you’ve been given. At least show that much respect for your brothers and your Alpha.” James spit the words out, his fist coming down on the table.

Elias swallowed pitifully and picked up his fork. James sat down and turned off his anger, turning happy eyes to the others.

“Now, who’s next?” He began to eat as the others began to speak.

As they waited for dessert, James began to speak again.

“I know I shouldn’t have to go over this again but let me explain to you all what’s happening here. To make sure you all understand. A refresher course for Elias, if you will. The magicals’ last king died a hundred years ago and the people decided that they wanted elected officials from each branch of the world, even if some of those officials were truly shadow officials. And I do mean shadows.” James stopped, rolling his eyes. “Shadows as elected officials. Only in our world!”

“We’ll soon sort that, Alpha, you’ll be our true and rightful king!” The first blond general crowed, James couldn’t remember his name at the moment.

“Yes, well. That will only be the case if we all work for it, men. Only then!” James looked at each one, willing them to bow their heads to him. They all did.

This would work out fine then.

“While you’ve all been out gathering old news, others have been building tunnels. The time has come to use those tunnels, to destroy the Alexanders, to destroy those that would stand in our way!” James roared the last to the delight of his men. “Tonight we go to Louisiana. We start the process of ridding ourselves of those that have withheld power from us. We take some of that control they hold so close to themselves, and we begin our efforts.”

“We shall rule the world, Alpha!” A general at the end of the table chirped up, a sycophantic man that didn’t deserve a higher place, not even Elias’s place.

James looked at him and began the next part of his speech. “Some of you will be lost but your sacrifice will not be in vain.”

The man blanched, the meaning not lost on him. James gave him his evil grin, a grin that meant he’d fucked up royally.

“Some of you will be pawns, while others will rise to the top with me. After tonight, we don’t get to rest. We have to destroy those that would hold us back. We have to decide who lives and who dies. The vampires will have to be spared for their blood. If we want to rule the world we need slaves, and the humans we leave and allow to breed will be controlled by the vampire blood. The other shifters, though?” James paused, pretending to consider the matter. “Kill them all. Every last one of them.”

A cheer went around the table as James flipped his hand. Turning to Sherry he ignored the pleased sounds the men made and focused on the woman. James had a secret, he was far older than any of the current magicals suspected, he was of the first line, the oldest magical on the planet. But Sherry didn’t need to know that when he took her to his bed and his men didn’t either. They just needed to know their leader was strong, virile, and ready for battle. Even if he did look a bit of a tit in his outfit. The power was still there, throbbing under the surface and they all knew it.

He’d waited for this moment for an eternity, now it was almost in his hands.