They finished lunch and then they gave each other hugs. To her surprise, her whole family wanted to go to the Council meeting. They might not be permitted inside the Council chambers, but she appreciated that they wanted to give her moral support in any event.
"Thanks, I appreciate you all being there for me," Selena said, getting into the car.
"If they hassle you in any way, we'll all jump in to make sure they understand what a bad mistake that would be," her mother said.
Both her parents were excellent fighters, so were her brother and sister. She was certain the Council wouldn't want to lose all five of them as hunters in one fell swoop.
Then they drove over to the League's office building and she thought there was a little more security there than usual. Maybe she was mistaken. She knew there had been when she went to testify concerning why she had killed the hunter. Otherwise, she rarely visited the Council headquarters.
She was glad to have her family with her when here she thought she would be going it alone. Maybe Daniel would have dropped her off for the meeting and picked her up when it was done, but all of them actually coming in with her?
When they reached the third floor where the Council chambers were, the secretary rose from his seat and inclined his head to her, but he looked surprised to see all the family members there.
"Let me ask the president of the League if you can all go in or if they want just you to go in, Selena," the secretary said.
"All of us, if we can," her dad said.
She was proud of him for speaking up and not just leaving things to chance.
"Right."
"The family needs to hear what's being said, in case there's any doubt," her dad added.
"Uh, yes, sir." The secretary disappeared into an office behind him and quickly shut the door. Normally, he would have just called back to the president's office.
She figured he was afraid of how they might react if they didn't have their way.
He ought to know them better than that. They weren't going to make a scene. At least she didn't think so.
A few minutes later, the secretary reemerged. "Sorry for the delay. Yes, you can all go in." The secretary was perspiring.
She hoped that he hadn't been afraid of how she would react.
Then he said, "You may proceed."
Selena was going to lead the way since this was all about her, but her dad and mom did instead, as if they were protecting her. And her brother and sister followed her in. The conference room was huge, thirteen Council members presiding, one the president, and an uneven number so they couldn't have a tie vote. They had decided long ago, no one Council member had any power over the rest of them. The president just gathered the collective votes, made the final decisions based on the voting of each Council member, so he wasn't a president who dictated to the others.
"We understand your situation, Selena. We've gotten several reports from various groups, fringe hunters, fringe vampires, the regular clan vampires, and our own League hunters," the president said, motioning for them to take seats at the table across from them.
She couldn't believe they'd been gathering information on her all this time. At least she didn't have to explain everything that had happened to her. It seemed they already knew.
But then the president said, "Tell us in your own words what had happened."
She again explained everything that had gone on, but this time her mother didn't cry, and Selena felt better about that. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have a daughter of her own and know she'd been brutalized by a vampire.
"Okay, well, based on your testimony and the reports we've received," the president said, "We have a proposition to make."
She was going to ask to see the reports. After all, she should have those so she knew exactly what people had reported. But she would wait until after she heard the Council members' verdict.
"We had thought of having you join the Council. One of our Council members would retire. This was acceptable to all within."
Becoming a Council member could help both sides, Selena thought, but she wanted to fight still and take down the rogues. When she was older, maybe when she was ready to retire from hunting, then she could do that.
"But then we believed you would be more useful in the field. We've never had anyone reach out to the fringe hunters before. We would like it if you would continue to do that. Maybe with your brother and sister helping you, so that you're protected should you need to be. We are prepared to pay a considerable sum to have you serve as special agents working with the fringe hunters. It doesn't mean you're required to recruit them. Just let them know we're on their side if they need our help with anything. We need the rapport like what Atreides has built with the fringe vampires.
"But we also would like you to work directly with the vampires, as their representative, with the fringe huntresses who have been turned, and anyone else who ends up like them, male or female, Selena. Also, you will get special pay for this work. It's something none of us can do, which makes you highly qualified in the scheme of things."
Wow, she couldn't believe it.
"Now, we’ve learned for certain that Cliff has a contract on you and intends to take you out. He is on a rogue list for termination, and so are three of his hunter friends. We can't have hunters killing vampires indiscriminately. If you need an additional bodyguard to watch your back, we'll pay for it."
"I am mating a vampire. When I have night work, he and his people will be there for me." She might as well let the truth come out about that too.
"Well," the president said, rubbing his head, "we had hoped to find an acceptable hunter mate for you, but I suppose that will work as well."
"He's Atreides, prince of the vampire clans and their sub-leader," Rosa said as if she was proud of Selena's choice of mate.
Everyone just stared at Selena, then a few of the Council members smiled at her.
"Well," the president said, "that is great. Just great. Does Daemon know?"
They'd lost Tezra to the vampire clan, though she still helped the League when she could, but she had immersed herself in vampire issues, being Daemon's mate. But Selena was different, and she had a mission to do. She hadn't been a borderline rogue, not really, and she was happy to be with the League, as long as they policed their own hunters.
But Daemon was an unknown.
"He doesn't. He has been off on a vacation with Tezra. When he returns, Atreides will tell him what has gone on."
The president gave a small smile. "Atreides is in charge and he doesn't want his brother to know about all the problems we're having because he'll return and take charge."
"His brother deserves a vacation after all the hard work he puts in while taking care of his people. And Atreides can handle things," Selena said, speaking on Atreides’s behalf.
"With your help," the president said.
"Yes," Selena said.
"And with ours," her dad said, and the president looked over at him as if he'd forgotten he was sitting there with the rest of her family.
"All of ours," her mother said.
The president nodded. "If the conditions of your new employment are acceptable, we'll have the contracts written up and you can sign them. All of you. We look forward to working with you and hopefully making better choices in the future."