Separated by the Sea

The Council

Dez POV
I stared in horror at a huge wooden doll sitting in my chair. It was so lifelike, wearing a white dress. Its eyes seemed to be staring into my soul, and it had a head full of bouncy hair. It was there when I woke up and I have no idea who put it there. It was scary af and I was too scared to move it out of my room. I watch too many scary movies. I finally mustered up the courage to pick it up, and threw it out the window into a patch of bushes on the side of the house. I shuddered and went to take a shower. I almost passed out when I got out and found the doll, sitting in the chair with her dress ripped up and leaves and twigs stuck in her tangled hair. I screamed out in terror and ran down the stairs, still screaming frantically. I turned into the kitchen to find Malia and Reece, laughing hysterically. What was so funny?
"Oh, you should see your face," Malia said while wiping tears from her eyes.
"Sorry, Dez. It was too hard to resist. You're just so easy to mess with-" Reece said.
"It was you bastards?! Ugh, I hate you guys."
At least the doll wasn't actually possessed or anything. What a relief. Ignazio walked into the kitchen and said, "Woah, are you guys having a party? Why wasn't I invited?" He pulled a piece of cake out of the fridge and ate it out of his hand, dropping crumbs on the floor. What is with these guys and eating so messily?
"We did an awesome prank on Dez and she totally fell for it." Reece beamed.
I gathered the supplies for a bagel and started to make one.
"Have you guys seen Piero?" I asked while licking strawberry cream cheese off my fingers.
"Yeah, he left earlier with Jay. He didn't say where he was going though. Probably a business meeting. He always takes Jay to those. Never anyone else..." Reece said while looking down at the counter.
"Of course he's going to take Jay. Jay's his beta," Malia stated in a duh tone.
A business meeting? Mariagrazia and Clover came into the kitchen, chatting happily.
"Hey, Destiny, do you have plans for today?" Clover asked.
"Nope. I'm free. What did you have planned?"
"Mariagrazia and I are going shopping and getting our nails done downtown. Do you want to come?"
Clover and Maria looked at me, eager for me to agree.
"Yeah, that sounds great. I'd love to go!" Gotta love that sarcasm.
They shrieked in excitement. It always amazes me how cheerful they are. Maybe if I hung out with them more, they would rub off on me.
"Well that's rude. You ask her if she wants to go, but not me?" Ignazio asked, offended.
"Ah, you're going to watch the fútbol game with the other guys later," Maria responded.
"Oh, I totally forgot about that. Have fun shopping!"
As I finished my bagel, the girls pushed me out of the kitchen and toward the front door.
"Wait, I need to get my purse!"

Piero's POV
Jay and I got up early. We drove to Canicattì,where there was one of many places in which the wolf council met and did business. Their main building was located in Rome, but I didn't want to travel that far. We arrived at the ancient building that was at the center of the busy town.
"Are you sure they're here today?" Jay asked.
"They should be. I called yesterday and checked their schedule. I even made an appointment."
We went into the building and I went up to the lady at the front desk.
"Hi, I made an appointment yesterday to speak with the council."
"Oh, sorry, but they had to leave due to an unexpected occurrence," she stated plainly.
"What?! Why didn't anyone call me?"
"It happened on short notice, sir. Do you want to reschedule?"
I growled in frustration. "I really need to speak with them. It's extremely urgent."
"They're not going to be back until next week-"
"Do you know what town they're in, now?"
"They left for Palermo a few hours ago, but it wouldn't be a good idea to chase after them. It's not guaranteed that they'll speak with you."
"Can you at least call them and ask if they will before I drive all the way out there?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
While she dialed the phone, I turned to Jay and ranted, "Can you believe this? They didn't even tell me they were going to be gone! I can't wait a week to tell them. What if Darren and Vico do something before then?"
He just shrugged.
"Sir, they're busy at the moment, but they'll be done for sure by 5, this evening. They said they'll be able to see you then, but if you can't go today, you'll have to wait until next week."
"Alright, tell them I'll be there."
*******
I sat in the waiting room and tapped the handle of my chair, tired of waiting for the council to call me back. The drive over felt like forever and the awkward silence during the car ride between Jay and me didn't help. We got along well during business, but never friendly talk. What could we possibly talk about? The weather?
"Piero?" a lady in formal clothes asked.
"Yes, that would be me," I said while rising out of my chair.
"The Council will see you now."
I followed her back to a large room. I've never met with the council before, so I had no idea what to expect. It was always my dad that met with them when he was alpha, but since he put me in charge, I never had to deal with them before now. There were 6 members in the council; 4 men and 2 women. They were all over 40 and had serious expressions.
"So you're the one that has been wanting to see us so badly. What can we help you with?" the man in the middle asked. He seemed to be the leader of them all.
"I was concerned for the well being of all the wolves and humans alike. I was recently taken prisoner by Darren, the alpha of the northern pack, and he informed me of his plans; plans that will destroy order within the wolf and human societies."
"And what does he plan to do exactly?"
"Sir, he wishes to destroy all you have worked hard to establish and take it all for himself. He wants to take over Italy and there is a chance he won't stop there-"
"How could one wolf defeat all of us?" he asked, full of pride.
"He's working with Vico." It came out as a whisper, but they heard me crystal clear. The air was still and there was complete silence. Their faces went white and they looked at one another, knowing what a huge deal this was. The main guy cleared his throat. "Thank you for informing us of this. We will speak with Vico," he grimaced as he said his name, "and deal with this situation. Is there anything else?"
"You're just going to talk to him?"
"Yes, and clear up his intentions. If it is more power he seeks, well, we'll discuss the possibilities."
"And Darren?"
"We'll see to it that he is dealt with properly. We might even have to go as far as removing him from his position as alpha and have him sent somewhere where he will never see the light of day again, but what becomes of him isn't your concern. Have a good night."
The same lady from earlier led us out and she locked the door behind us. They're just going to talk to Vico? I think it will take more than that. Once Vico's set on something, he doesn't stop until he gets it. How do you think he got to where he is now? Lots of people were murdered. He plays dirty and has been for the last few centuries. He's been around for a long time and is in all the history books. Nobody messes with Vico and lives to tell the tale. No, I'm not scared of him. Intimidated, a little, but I will stop at nothing to protect what is mine.

Dez POV
Clover gasped in awe as I exited the dressing room in a strapless teal dress that stopped at my knees and flared out. For shoes, I had sparkling, grey, high heels.
"You look amazing! That color brings out your eyes. You're taking that for sure," Clover said and Maria agreed.
"Why?! When will I ever wear it?"
"Oh please. A girl never needs a reason to look nice."
I groaned. This dress was way too pretty for me and it must be very expensive. Clover seemed to read my mind.
"Don't worry, I'll pay for it."
"No! I will not let you-"
"Ah, sta'zitto. I'm buying it. End of story."
Huh? A cheeto? I walked back into the dressing room, quite confused. Once I changed, Clover snatched the dress out of my hands and took it over to the register. After dress shopping, we got our nails done, like girls do, stopped at a café for some drinks, and after several hours, finally went back home. Heh, I just said "home". It definitely feels more like a home than the house back in California. Home is where your family and friends are and this seems like the best place for that. I'm lucky to have this much. Hopefully it never goes away...