Page 13 of A Second Chance for the Beta

He looks relieved and happy at my words before stopping abruptly in front of a door. “Here we are,” he says. “That’s Elder Bernard’s office. He is usually in Paris but sometimes visits the base here.”

And he is a great guy,he links me.Kind of funny. One of the few elders who supported me joining the Council from the beginning on.

Dave knocks at the door, and a minute later, it gets ripped open. An elderly lycan greets us. He is tall, has a bit of a belly, and looks kind and fun. He clasps Dave’s shoulder. “My favorite human,” he hollers. “And Beta Ella!”

I recognize him instantly from Annie’s and Liam’s inauguration ceremony; he was one of the elders present that day. “It’s an honor to meet you again,” I say politely.

“Yeah, yeah, thank you, likewise.” He grins. “But you don’t need to be so formal with me. Truth is, I was so bored with the usual complaints about awful packs and their alphas that when Liam called me and told me about your story, I was beyond happy with the distraction.”

He leads us into his office, a generous, beautiful room, and ushers us to a small, comfortable sitting area. “I have coffee and tea prepared and some cake.”

He waits for Dave and me to get comfortable and have a cup of coffee before he hands us a plate with delicious looking chocolate cake. I get why Dave loves this man.

“I’ve heard that you are doing some great work, David,” Bernard says with a bright smile.

“Yes, when the wolves here are not having their panties in a twist, they aren’t all that bad.” Dave smirks. “It’s not always bad to be the Council’s trophy human.”

Bernard just grins and smacks his shoulder. “You have the right attitude.”

That’s not something people usually say to Dave, and by the way he looks happy at Bernard’s words, I assume he doesn’t hear them too often here either. I’m glad that he found a place in our world, though, a place he belongs to and can show his strengths.

“Alright, Ella,” Bernard says after a bit of small talk. “This is all we found,” he tells me and hands me a USB stick. “There are videos from surveillance cameras, old documents, and photos.”

“You got so much in such a short period of time?” I ask. “I don’t know what to say, Elder Bernard, aside from thank you so much.”

“It was the Council that ignored the issues going on in your old pack,” he tells me. “So it’s the least we can do now.”

“You didn’t know,” I say.

“Yes, that might be true. But we were ignorant of the many things going wrong with the werewolf packs here. Lycan packs work differently, and we just thought… well… we didn’t think much to be honest; we just ignored the main issues. And not knowing what was going on doesn’t excuse our ignorance.”

“To be honest, I held a lot of resentment for a long time,” I admit.

“It’s normal that you did.”

“But I appreciate how much the Council is doing now and how you built a base here to help packs in need.” I smile. “Thank you for helping me too.”

“What about Charlie?” Dave asks Bernard.

“The baby? Candance did give birth; that much is for certain,” Bernard says. “She entered a hospital heavily pregnant and left it with a baby, but all the documents disappeared.”

“She tried to protect Charlie,” I mutter.

Bernard nods. “It might make our search difficult now, but it might also mean that she managed to protect her boy. Luna Annalise was right when she said one of the pictures was taken in Florence. Candance was in the hospital there to give birth.”

“I can start my search there,” I say.

“Yes, I will further provide you with all necessary documents that prove you have the Council’s support in case you have to deal with werewolves. As for the humans, I will have your passport, Candance’s birth certificate, and everything else ready on Monday, including yours and Beta Dante’s tourist visa.” He pauses. “All you need to do is book a flight. Furthermore, Liam told me he has contacted his cousin, Eric, Prince of the Council in Paris. He is a fantastic and smart young man. Whenever you need something, make sure to contact him. He will help you with the authorities, the bureaucracy, and the paperwork once you find Charlie.”

“I… thank you so much!” I blurt out, jumping up to hug the nice old man. He just laughs and pats my back.

“Make sure to bring the young wolf back home.”

six

Chasing The Past

*DANTE*