C17 Finally...Down to Business

The three top-ranking pack leaders end their whispered conversation and break their huddle, then head over to the conference table. With Doreen already seated on her right, Damon sits on Joslyn's left; which pleases Doreen ...although not as much as if he would have sat next to her. Even though Damon ... who ironically happens to look a little like Taylor Lautner; aka Jacob from the "Twilight" saga films ... has failed to impress Joslyn with his calculating courtship advances; he has definitely caught Doreen's eye and fancy. Truth be told, she's had a major crush on him since she was fifteen years old.

Well-aware of this, Joslyn glances over at Doreen; and an impish little grin immediately emerges upon her lips as she leans in and whispers in her beloved cousin's ear to playfully tease her...

"I'll switch seats with you if you want, but you may want to wipe the drool from your mouth first. Jeez girl, maintain at least a little restraint and try to control yourself ... keep some 'lady-like' dignity now; will you?"

An equally impish little grin appears upon Doreen's lips as she leans into Joslyn's ear and whispers her playfully flippant retort...

"Look who's talking; I wasn't the one who spent all last night with her lover. So, cut me some slack, okay ... after all, the highlight of my night was indulging in some cookie dough ice cream." She pauses briefly; then, her grin stretches as she whimsically quips, "Hmm ... when you think about it; maybe my love life is better than yours. I mean, you only have one lover, right now; while I have two ... Ben and Jerry."

The cousins begin tittering; while the Alpha sternly glares at them as he takes his seat at the head of the table. He abruptly clears his throat; then authoritatively speaks up in his Alpha tone...

"Ahem ... we've wasted enough time here already with this nonsense; it's time to get down to business and discuss what it is we're here for, don't you think?" He shoots over another quick stern glare at the cousins. "So, let's put aside all of this side chatter for the moment and start this meeting."

The Gamma derisively sneers at Joslyn as he quickly concurs, "Agreed."

"I agree, as well..." the Beta rebukingly glares at his daughter through reproachful eyes, "though, for the life of me, I still don't understand why a certain useless somebody is being allowed to stay here for it."

"That will be enough of that, Alfred..."

Alpha Sebastian sharply gestures with eyes for his brother to look over at Joslyn's countenance; which is on the verge of angrily tensing up again...

"Just drop it before things start getting out of hand, like before."

Beta Alfred takes a quick glance at Joslyn's furrowing eyebrows tightly knit above her squinted, 'dagger-throwing' piercing eyes and slightly gnarled up lips; then, heavily rests his arms as he vexedly crosses them upon his chest and exasperatedly huffs...

"Fine; whatever you say, Sebastian."

Tension had been permeating the air ever since they arrived ... along with a perpetuating awkwardness affecting everyone present ... yet still, one of the council members musters up enough nerve to sheepishly ask...

"Pardon me, Alpha Sebastian ... but; why have called for us to meet here today? What is it that we need to discuss? You said it was of an urgent matter."

"That's right; it is ... a very urgent and troubling matter, I'm afraid."

The Alpha becomes solemnly quiet as a gravely somber expression overtakes his countenance; and confoundingly quizzical expressions instantly fall upon everyone's visage ... everyone that is except the Beta, the Gamma, and his son; who are already aware of the current situation ... as their eyes remain fixated upon the seemingly brooding Alpha while nervously awaiting him to tell them the reason for the sudden meeting. Shortly, he finally informs them...

"Early this morning I was notified by one of our pack members on the LAPD that sometime late last night a woman was savagely ripped to pieces. Her torn apart body was found in an abandoned building in one of the city's 'Red Light Districts'. As for now, at least; the police are guessing that this was done by some sort of large animal. Though, from what he managed to get a brief look at while at the crime scene, our member believes it was the work of a werewolf."

The Alpha pauses for a moment to allow the totally shocked attendees to let out all their 'taken aback gasps' and brief murmured chattering and exclamations of incredulous disbelief...

"No way ... that's impossible. I can't believe that."

"Me neither ... there's no way any werewolf would do anything as blatantly heinous as that. Not even one those stinking, insurgent rogues would have the audacity to be that brazen."

"That's right ... that kind of reckless action would risk possible exposure of our kind to the humans. I don't think even a lowly rogue would want the humans to know about our existence."

"I totally agree ... this had to been done by some sort of large animal; just like the police are thinking."

Doreen ... again, one never known for being able to keep her mouth shut for too long; even during the most awkward of moments ... suddenly points out...

"Hate to burst everybody's bubble; but other than a werewolf, what kind of animal rips people apart to pieces? Even if there was such an animal, how did it wind up in the middle of a city ... and managed to move about undetected? Personally, it sounds like a werewolf did this to me."

Beta Alfred furiously pounds his fist down on the table and, once again, belittlingly rebukes his daughter...

"Shut your trap, you worthless she-wolf! Like I told you before, unless you're stuffing it with food ... which is all it's good for ... keep that mouth of yours closed! You don't know what you're talking about. Besides, nobody here cares what you think or have to say; so just sit there and stay quiet!"

Joslyn instantly wrenches down on the edge of the conference table, as her claws jut out from her fingertips; with them digging deep into the wood's surface. Her jaw's tightly clenched; with her piercing eyes 'throwing daggers' at her uncle. She starts growling through gnarling lips...

"And like I told you before ... Beta Alfred ... unless you're going to speak to her nicely and with respect, you keep your mouth shut!" She recomposes herself enough to retract her claws; but maintains her rebuking glare. "And if anybody doesn't know what they're talking about it's all of you who are denying the obvious. Doreen's absolutely right ... there's no other animal that exists that would totally rip a body apart into pieces; or be able to move about undetected through the city. So just suck it up and face the reality; it was a werewolf. ... For Christ's sake, even one of our own pack members said that he believes it was done by a werewolf."

The Beta indignantly refutes, "'Believes' ... he believes it was done by a werewolf; not that he was sure. So..."

"That's enough, Alfred ... like Joslyn said; it's pointless to deny the reality..." the Alpha pauses for another brief moment before revealing, in a grave tone, "after all, Count Von Barski also informed us that there was a vampire present at the scene when the woman was killed; and was also attacked by the very same werewolf."