My Shifter Boss

“It will, or the humans will leave this city. My weres and I want a city entirely populated by weres. We’ll take over and make their lives completely miserable. They’ll run.”

“Well, thanks for the heads up, Marissa, but I’ve got to go. Business to handle, you know,” Nathan dismissed her, knowing it would anger her. He was right. He reached for the mouse to close the screen.

“I will kill any human I find after I take over.”

Nathan sat back in his chair. “I thought you said you’d let them leave.”

“I lied. I’ll set a date, I’d say about a month from now. If there are humans left in this city, I’ll have them slaughtered.” Marissa ended the conversation.

Nathan’s wide eyes met Lucy’s, then Matt’s. “What the hell are we supposed to do with that?”

*****

Nathan had gone upstairs briefly with Lucy to grab a shower and change into nicer clothes. After a pep talk and a kiss that held the promise of a good evening later, Nathan headed down to the conference room to meet with the council.

He had sat in on a handful of council meetings before, at the request of the Head, but he’d never really paid a lot of attention. He hadn’t needed to. The Guard had spent the last decade in peace, with very few major upsets.

Sarah met him at the door and gestured him inside. The meeting was still half an hour away. The caterers were setting up the buffet for dinner, and the delicious aromas reminded Nathan he had not eaten since breakfast. He cleared his throat as two more council members stepped inside, a werecat and a werebear. He greeted them and gestured for them to make themselves a plate, explaining that he’d like to enjoy the food before the conversations started.

By seven, all the council members had arrived and were eating. Nathan dug into the food on his plate, grateful that Sarah had arranged for such a sumptuous meal. Idle chatter about non-essential information rumbled around the room. The council members all knew Nathan and liked him, were content to have him as temporary leader. He’d learned a lot from the Head, and he’d make good decisions based on the discussions that took place in this room.

Nathan looked around the table at the men and women who were his friends, and had been friends with the Head. Each set of three weres sat together, and although most of the time, the species agreed with their own, sometimes they argued before a decision could be made. He thought the council was the best way to run a government entity, which the Guard was. When he was sure everyone had finished their meals, he rose and cleared his throat for attention.

“Ladies, gentlemen, I’d like to begin with a moment of silence for the Head. He died before his time.” All heads bowed, and silence reigned for about thirty seconds. One of the werebears sniffed and wiped his face with a napkin, while a werecat allowed her tears to slip silently down her face. “Thank you. Part of this evening’s meeting will be to discuss the funeral arrangements that will need to be made.”

Several of the weres nodded. A werewolf raised his hand and waited to be acknowledged. “Nathan, I hope I’m not stepping on toes, but we’ve got to address the Marissa thing before anything else.”

“I agree. The first thing on the agenda is electing the new Head. It hasn’t been done in quite some time, but, circumstances being what they are, we need to get the nominations in quickly. Do you think it can be done in three days?” Nathan looked around the table as the council murmured. After all had agreed, Nathan nodded and continued. “Let’s plan to meet again in three days to make the nominations. How soon after that can we hold the vote?”

An older werewolf answered. “The last time we held nominations, we gave the candidates a week. I’d say we should stick to that.”

A murmur of assent sounded. Sarah, who was taking copious notes on her laptop, made a note of the dates nominations were due and when the vote would take place. She was in charge of getting the information out to the weres of the city about when and where to vote. Soon, that would be Lucy’s job.

“With that decided, we also need to discuss Marissa’s plans. She contacted me via Skype today.” Nathan summarized his conversation with Marissa, not leaving out a thing. Several of the weres in the room began to grumble as he spoke.

“She’s a murderer. She and her pack of deviants caused the deaths of seven weres, including the Head. She needs to be brought to justice,” a werebear demanded.

“What are the plans to capture Marissa?” another were asked.

“The IT department has her computers as well as those of her assistant, who is working with her. They must have a base somewhere in town, but we have no idea of the location. We’re hoping to find her quickly, but it will take time,” Nathan reported.

Several of the weres nodded in agreement. The werecat who’d spoken a moment ago pointed out, “If she is caught, the punishment for her crimes is execution.”

“As it should be,” the werebear affirmed.

“What about this new group she’s planning? What does that mean?”

Nathan looked at a lovely werebear. “She thinks the Guard is antiquated. She is dead set against the integration of weres into human society. She wants to rule the city, a city of nothing but weres.” He hesitated a moment. “She named a date a month from now. She plans to have rid the city of humans by then. Any human still in the city will be slaughtered.”

Gasps of shock escaped three of the weres at the table. A werewolf who had only been on the council for a few months said, “We need to find her. I’m putting feelers out all over the city. Human and were. We all need to do so. Use your sources. She’s gone mad. The human government won’t allow that kind of behavior. They’ll send the National Guard in here and wipe out weres, regardless of what side they’re on.”

Nathan hadn’t thought of that yet, but he knew the man was accurate in his description of the reaction the US government would have. He shook his head in exasperation.

“Ok, everybody, get your feelers out. I’ve already got my sources scouring for information, and I feel like the IT guys will find something soon. In the meantime, we get the Guard headquarters cleaned up and continue business as usual.”

The older werewolf spoke. “If I may, I’d like to volunteer to plan the Head’s funeral. He was one of my closest friends, and he has no family. I’d like the honor of planning his final farewell.”

Smiles around the table answered his request in the affirmative. After a quick reminder to be back in three days with the nominations, the meeting ended.