Quinton directed Caleb to a chair in the back of the room. He sat, quietly, Rylan nestled safely in his arms. He'd been nervous at first. Still was. But it wasn't quite as bad as he'd imagined. Caleb had pictured the council chambers to be some elaborate and intimidating room with shinning marble floors and ornate tapestries lining a massive hall concealed within an imposing castle or mansion.
To his surprise though, they'd pulled up outside what appeared to be a small warehouse. Nothing spectacular. In fact, it wasn't much different from the other buildings they'd passed on the way. He looked to Quinton, questioningly.
"This is it." Quinton said, flashing Caleb a nervous smile.
"This?" Caleb asked, a look of confusion settling on his young face. "It's so...normal."
Quinton chuckled. "Were you expecting Dracula's castle?" He asked as he exited the jeep.
Caleb shrugged. "Yeah, actually I was."
The inside of the building was as unremarkable as the outside. A female receptionist met them at the front entrance then led them through a maze of small offices to the back of the building where they were quickly ushered into what looked like a small boardroom.
At least, it's what Caleb assumed a boardroom would look like. He'd never actually been in one but had heard about them from other pack members. Every pack house had one though the one at Silver Moon was only used on rare occasions when they had to host visiting pack leaders.
This room wasn't tiny but it wasn't anywhere near as big as Caleb had expected. There were six chairs along the back wall. Three to the right of the door and three to the left. It was in one of the chairs to the right where Caleb was seated.
The chairs weren't anything special either. Or overly comfortable. Just plain white, plastic chairs that looked to be about a decade out of style. That didn't surprise Caleb in the least though. Wolves hated change and they weren't known for modernization. Caleb had half expected to find wooden benches instead of plastic chairs.
The table that was sat in the center of the room wasn't what he'd expected either. Maybe his mind set was a bit too medieval because he'd expected something more imposing such as a large, heavy, oak table with matching chairs. What he found though was a six foot conference table with a steel frame and wood table top. Ten black office chairs were placed around the table, five on each side, and an open lap top sat at the center seat where Caleb assumed the head councilman would sit.
Quinton took a seat at the end of the table. He turned and gave Caleb a reassuring smile, mouthing the word "relax". Caleb nodded and let out a breath. Rhylan squirmed against his chest and he instinctively patted the pup's back to calm him. Only a few minutes passed before the door once again opened and a group of men entered the room, each of them taking their respective seats around the table.
Most of the men he'd never seen before but he instantly stiffened when he saw Seth Bowden enter the room with his younger brother Jase trailing in sluggishly behind him. Seth shot Caleb an angry glare before taking his seat but Jase didn't even acknowledge Caleb's presence.
The last men to enter the room were Shane Hollister, whom Caleb had already met at Black River, and Zev Kavanagh, Quinton's head of security and Rusty's mate. Zev closed the door then walked to the chair beside Caleb and sat down. Caleb looked at him, a bit uncertain as to what was going to happen now. Zev silently nodded in the direction of the table of men. Caleb understood at once. He turned his attention back to the councilmen and waited for the meeting to begin.
Shane Hollister was the first one to stand and address the others. "Gentlemen, my name is Shane Hollister and I have been assigned as the investigating agent in the matter at hand. I've met with both Silver Moon and Black River Alphas and have spoken with Mr. Giles as well his family and of course, with Jase Bowden, to whom Mr. Giles had contracted with to mate." Hollister shuffled through a small stack of papers sitting on the table in front of him as he continued.
"Alpha Bowden and his brother have brought allegations against Black River in the matter of the Omega, Caleb Giles. The complaint is as follows. Rhys Hallorann, the deceased, was in breach of contract with the Silver Moon pack when he failed to deliver the omega, Caleb Giles, to Alpha Bowden as he was hired to do and accepted payment for. Rhys Hallorann further violated the terms of his contract with Alpha Bowden by breeding said omega resulting in the birth of a pup and rendering said omega invaluable."
"Invaluable?" Quinton sneered at the man. "You make it sound as though he's damaged goods."
"Isn't he?" Seth Bowden raised an eyebrow as he glared at Quinton. "What purpose does a used up omega have?"
"I'd hardly call him used up." Quinton shot back. "You act as though he's a piece of machinery rather than a person. If anything, he's shown his worth in that he's young, healthy, and fertile. I wouldn't consider that invaluable."
Bowden leaned forward in his chair and locked eyes with Quinton. "I contracted with his father for an untouched omega. I was assured that my brother would be mating a virgin. Because of your brothers actions the omega has been soiled and is no longer worth what I paid for him." He turned his attention to Hollister now, frowning, as he sat back against his chair. "I expect to be compensated for the loss and to have my property returned to me."
"Property!" Quinton was on his feet suddenly, glaring hard at Bowden. "This is a person we're talking about! A living, breathing, intelligent being, not live stock!"
Bowden smirked. "An omega is no more an intelligent being than a common dog. The only value he has is whats between his legs and now, thanks to your brother, that's been compromised."
"You're a disgusting excuse for an Alpha!" Quinton growled. "It's no wonder Caleb ran from your pack!"
"Alpha Hallorann." Hollister turned to look at Quinton, his expression stern. "You will control yourself during these proceedings or I'll have you removed."
"It's an injustice the way Silver Moon views omegas. You can't expect me to just sit here and say nothing." Quinton argued. He turned to face Hollister, planting his hands palms down on the table top as he braced himself against the table and blew out an exasperated breath.
"That's exactly what I expect you to do." Hollister said flatly. "This is an official inquiry, not a dog fight, now please, sit down so we may continue."
Quinton took his seat again, though reluctantly, but he managed to bite back any further argument. For now.
Bowden grinned smugly. Quinton wanted to rip the mans throat out but that wouldn't do any of them any good. Other than making Quinton feel slightly better about the situation.
