“Who will protect us from the McNallys?” Maeve asked, the mere mention of the McNallys putting her on edge.
“Why would we need protection from them? They came here and liberated the clans by taking out Trill. They aren’t out to harm a bunch of women and children; none of the clans are,” Karla replied.
“You don’t know what they are here for, Karla. They could well be the wolves at our hen house door. Have you already forgotten what they did to the men in our clan? They killed half of them in clashes, ganging up on them and overrunning them. Then, they sent dragons to finish off those who escaped and tried to make a stand against them,” Maeve shot back.
“Your distrust of the McNallys is understandable, Maeve, but we can’t get through this being distrustful of everyone. The McNallys did us all a favor, even if not all of us want to admit it. We have one prime goal now. It is to rebuild our clan. That means that we have to have a leader, and since there are no men left of age, then we will temporarily have to be run by a woman.”
“You?” Rebekah replied, glancing about the room, and rolling her eyes.
“It doesn’t have to be me,” Karla replied, bristling at Rebekah’s tone, but not commenting on it directly.
“Then who? I’m not fit to lead a clan, and, no offense, I don’t think you are either, Karla. You’re too soft, too nurturing. We need someone strong, someone who will stand her ground in negotiations when this so-called council meets. Who in this room can hold her own in a room full of men?” another of them asked.
Several of the women turned toward Maeve. She wasn’t sure who they expected her to recommend that they couldn’t choose themselves. She shrugged and motioned with her hand, extending it, and turning it over as if to indicate she didn’t have anyone in mind.
“What about you?” Rebekah asked finally.
“I haven’t a clue who should be the leader here,” Maeve replied.
“No. I mean, what about you being the leader yourself?” Rebekah replied.
“Me? What do I know about running a clan?”
“A lot more than any of us. You’ve been in the inner fold of the Maguire clan long enough to have picked up on some things. Surely you know more than any of the rest of us do. You’ve seen what their operations were like, how they did things,” Rebekah continued.
“Aye. Both are true, but surely you aren’t suggesting that I run this clan like the Maguires ran theirs. That’s what landed us in this little clan with no Alpha situation. This whole McNally-Maguire feud of theirs.”
“It was no feud. The Maguires laid waste to anyone who got in their way. The McNallys were just as much a victim as anyone else. They just decided to do something about it,” Karla said.
“Whatever it was, the McNallys sure finished things up nice and tidy now, didn’t they? Cleaned out the Maguires, except Duncan, who only managed to escape their wrath by licking their arses,” Maeve replied.
“Duncan didn’t escape either. We just got word that he’s been found dead in London,” Karla said.
“Dead? How?” Rebekah asked.
“Shot by someone in an abandoned building. No news other than just that,” Karla replied.
“Who told you?” Maeve asked.
“Word of mouth. No idea who found out first,” Karla told her.
“Sounds suspicious,” Maeve replied.
“Perhaps, but who knows what he was up to these days. May have just dealt with the wrong people and they caught him off guard,” Karla replied.
“Maybe,” Maeve said, not convinced.
“Anyway, Duncan is not our concern. Our concern is for ourselves, Clan Omega,” Karla said, trying to sound authoritative.
“What of the three of you? Do you have any comments? You’ve said nothing all this time,” Rebekah asked the other three women at the table.
They mumbled and said nothing that contributed to the conversation, which was no surprise. You’d find another dozen or so women just like them that weren’t in this meeting. They were Omegas. Their job was to marry, bear children, and take care of their families, not lead a clan. They had no ambition beyond what they were groomed to do in this life. It was disgusting how the women who were sent to join Clan Maguire, either through marriage or servitude, came away so cowed and complicit.
“Well, I guess we’ll take nominations and vote,” Karla said.
“Fine. I nominate Maeve,” Rebekah replied.
Karla shot her a look of surprise, obviously expecting that everyone would just let her remain at the head of the table, and honestly, Maeve was fine with that. Still, there was something in her that was sparked by the possibility of going toe to toe with some of the male Alphas in this council of theirs, especially the McNally punk, Ronan.
“Okay. I nominate myself,” Karla replied. “Anyone else?”