"That was you?" she asked as she paled and gaped at me. She shot a quick and angry look at Angela, who shrugged noncommittally.
Clearly Angela hadn't kept the Dragon entirely up to speed. This was good to know.
The Dragon was both impressed and appalled. Interestingly, she had completely forgotten Hank was anywhere in the vicinity. However, I was still going to punch her in the head.
"You going to drink voluntarily or do we get to fight a little first?" I inquired casually.
"Careful, Essie," Hank warned. "She can still shift."
"She won't fight," I assured him. "She has an agenda. There's got to be something larger than money at stake for her to be doing this."
"True," he agreed, "but she's still a Dragon."
"Good point, well made. However, I will bet you three backrubs with oil and sex afterward that I'm right."
"That's a win-win for me," he growled. "I shall take those odds and raise you twelve tacos post sex," he countered.
"I can live with that," I said with glee. "I'm still going to punch her in the head."
"I expect no less."
"It's unfair and ludicrous to expect me to give into all your demands. You clearly have issues with Dragons. Am I to believe you will defend me if the need arises?" Dima hissed angrily.
"Yep. You've got it right. You can earn back your weapons, but not drinking the solution is a deal breaker," I told her as I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.
"This is not smart," she muttered. "I could defend all of us."
"Possibly," I agreed. "But you are a Dragon. You're also a double agent. I have no clue whose side you're actually on. Your words and promises mean less than nothing to me at the moment."
"It'll be your funeral," Dima snapped as she slid her weapons over.
"Speaking of my demise," I said as my gaze zeroed in on Angela. "Who else knows Dwayne and my granny are working with me?"
"That sentence made no sense," Angela grumped as she kicked her phone and guns over.
"Trust me," I shot back as I crunched her phone beneath my rockin' cool combat boot, much to her dismay. "It makes plenty of sense. Answer the question."
"I know. You all know. And some of the Council knows," she told me.
I was speechless. Why in the hell did anyone on the Council know? I could tell it took everything Hank had not to take three steps forward and end Angela's life.
"Explain," I said tersely as I put a hand on Hank's arm.
Dima watched the drama unfolding with curiosity.
"It's protocol," Angela griped.
"I need to kill her," Hank said with a coldness that made me shiver.
"Nope. If she dies, I get the honors," I told him.
"She put a target on our head. Is she stupid or just totally by the book?" he demanded.
I couldn't answer that one.
"Nothing about this mission is protocol," I hissed viciously as Angela took several tentative steps backwards. "You wanted us to find out if the Dragons were crossbreeding and then ascertain if the Council was in cahoots with the Dragons. I fail to see how reporting the inner workings of the mission to the Council benefits anyone."
I knew my hair was blowing around my head. Angela and Dima watched me with both fascination and fear. My Vampyre was showing…
"The Dragons are working with the Council?" Dima asked, surprised as she kept her eyes glued to me.
"Holy shit," I groused. "Why in the hell are you on this mission? Do you not have any of the intel?"
"My intel seems to differ from yours," she said, glancing over at Angela with suspicion. "I'm here to take out the alpha Dragon and you're supposed to help me."
I stared up at the clear blue sky for a long moment. My need to tear something from limb to limb was dangerously close to the surface. The sparks flying off of Hank didn't bode well for anyone. The smoke wafting from the Dragon's nose was a clear indication all hell could break loose any moment.
"Listen," Angela said reasonably. "The goals all match up. There was no reason to brief all of you on every little piece of the puzzle. The Alpha is apparently the mastermind behind the crossbreeding. He needs to go. We also think he's the one funding the part of the Council that is fighting for the reveal of the Wolves to the humans. If we take him out we can go into his financials and figure out who he's paying. We stop the crossbreeding and we nail the Council. The Weres stay hidden and everyone wins."
"Angela, the whiskey has finally eaten your brain. Why in the hell would the alpha Dragon's financials be available to us if we off him?"
"Because I'm his daughter and I'm next in line for alpha," Dima said with eyes as dead as I'd ever seen.
"It’s lovely you want to kill your dad and all—I'd expect no less from a Dragon. However, this plan is sucktastic and is a death trap waiting to happen," I said as I pulled the squirt gun from my belt.
"You know nothing of me or my family, Wolf," Dima snarled.
"Enlighten me," I said sarcastically.
"My father killed my mother and my five brothers brutally—in front of me. He tried to kill me throughout my entire childhood, but failed because my mother always outwitted him. He leads our people as a dictator and he's stayed entirely too long at the fair. I plan to find him and kill him. It will hurt and he will suffer just like my mother did. I have no plans to fail. You are wanted by the Dragons… both of you," she said, referring to Hank and me. "They can't understand your power—and quite honestly, neither can I. But I don't care what you are so long as you help me kill him."