“How badly did you downplay the reaction that bringing me here would create?” She lifted a finger. “And no trying to downplay things now.”
Making a face, I looked away.
“That’s what I thought.” She shook her head. “I should just leave. It would be easier that way.”
“Not for me it wouldn’t,” I said, enjoying the look of excited panic that never left her eyes, never creased the rest of her face. But it was there. I could see it. “Besides, there are two voices because there are two sides.”
That was true, but what’s more, and what I did not mention, was that Sylvie leaving now would turn everyone against her. They would see it as a surefire sign that she was evil, and did not respect or fear the wolves. It’s not at all how she would intend it, but it’s how they would see it.
At least if she went out there, people could see her. Meet her. Talk to her. Then, perhaps, the smarter among them would see that shewasn’t evil. That shedidn’t mean us harm. Perhaps they could see what I saw within her. That she was beyond terrified, and had been completely unaware of our world until recently.
A world I brought her into. Which could raise another set of issues if I let things get too out of hand.
“This is a bad idea,” Sylvie said, but she let herself be guided through the doors and into the meeting grounds.
Almost immediately the noise tripled in volume. There was shouting on all sides, crossing aisles and jumping rows. People shouted at one another, at the top of their lungs. Fists shook and fingers were pointed. Faces were already red, and only grew redder as we appeared at the top of the stairs behind the rearmost row.
There were a lot of detractors out there along with a few friends. Most, however, would be waiting in silence to see what happened, and which way they should jump. Those were the most dangerous because they alwaysthought about it. I had to hope they could be made to see reason.
We walked down the stairs, and I eyed the Elder Council, clumped together off to one side, as usual. Also as usual, they all wore looks of disapproval, etched into their features like a mask. Perhaps it was. Did I have that to look forward to as I aged? Becoming a miserable old bastard?
The closer we got to the front, the more the shouting intensified. My few outright supporters were drowned out by the torrent of hate directed Sylvie’s way.
All of it was led by Noel. He hadn’t been sitting when we came in, and he stood and raised hell, shouting for all sorts of things to happen. I let it go on. They were just words. They could speak their part. Then I would speak mine.
Instead, I focused on Sylvie, making sure she followed me up onto the center stage. I had her stand behind me, where I could step in front of her just a bit, shield her, keep her safe, as my wolf demanded.
There I waited. Solemn. Stoic. Unbending. Letting the hate be thrown. The fear swirl. The uncertainty grow. I waited for it to turn to silence while they waited for me to speak.
But that never happened. Noel was intent on stirring the pot until it overflowed. He kept up his hyperbole while calling for me to be expelled and Sylvie to be imprisoned, among other things.
Finally, I’d had enough.
My wolf burst forth and I fell onto all fours. The growl that filled the amphitheater was horrible and furious. It drowned outevery other conversation and shout, overwhelming them all with the promise of blood and violence to any who disagreed.
“
That
,” I rumbled into the shocked silence as I shifted back, “is enough.”
My hand came up immediately, stopping Noel dead in his tracks. “I promise you, and everyone here, that wewill get to her presence among us. You have my word. First, however, we must discuss something more urgent and time-sensitive.”
Confusion reigned supreme. I hated it. So many of them, caught up in the hatred fanned by the elders and Noel’s group alike that they had forgotten what was right in front of them.
“The storm,” I reminded them.
A few had the good graces to look embarrassed. Noel’s followers did not.
“Roman, what word from the scouts I had you send out?” I asked, glancing at my best friend in the first row, sitting between the elders and the Noel’s dissenters.
Looking like he’d bitten into an onion at the prospect of being called to speak in front of such an angry crowd, Rome stood. “We could only scout an hour. The storm does appear to be centered over the forest as best we can tell. None of our scouts reported finding an end before being driven back by increasing winds. We may indeed be trapped here.”
He sat abruptly, looking anywhere but at me. Like he didn’t want to be associated with me.
“Thank you,” I said to a chorus of muted whispers.
“She caused the storm,” Noel said, surging to his feet.
I laughed in his face. The unusual and anger-inducing response had its intended effect. Noel turned bright red, trembling with fury.
“I was with her all morning. She did no such thing. On our way here, the storm nearly killed her as much as it did me. I smelled her fear.” I cast my gaze out over the rest of crowd, ignoring Noel and incensing him further. “It was genuine. I do not doubt that.”
“I wonder why,” Noel said quietly, under his breath, but in the silence that followed my words, it was heard by all.
Moving slowly, I pulled my gaze back to Noel, fixing it on him with as much weight as I could manage.
“Noel,” I said, addressing him in front of the vast majority of the pack. Singling him out. Isolating him. “If you challenge my word one more time, I will remind you why
I am alpha, and you are not. Is that clear?”
I let the threat hang in the air as the silence grew deafening. Perhaps it was a cheap shot, a reminder of how he had lost to me in the fight to become alpha after my father’s death, but that didn’t matter. Sometimes such things were necessary to remind those who had forgotten.
“The storm has the stench of the Chained about it,” I said to the rest of the pack, speaking louder once more. I had hoped not to bring the Chained up with Sylvie around, but the more I’d planned for this meeting, the more I’d determined it was impossible otherwise. Not if I was to deflect blame from her to it.
“The Chained?” scoffed Elder Jackson. “Don’t be absurd. It doesn’t have the power to do something this big. It’s still bound at the heart of the forest.”
“Itdidn’t have the power,” I corrected. “And I doubt it can sustain this. But I have smelled its rotten stink before, and I am telling you it is behind it. The bonds holding it there are not as strong as they used to be. And there’s more.”
The final word echoed through the chamber, repeated by more than one mouth. Whatmore could there be?
I told them about the tree-thing. How it was sent to kill Sylvie, and that I battled it and defeated it but did not kill it. I showed the wound on my side, evidence of its prowess in battle.
“Be alert,” I told my people. “Nobody leaves the pack lands for the time being. It will be back. It will come for her again. Try to engage it in pairs.”
Noel spoke up, trying to rescue his pride and strength. “By bringingher here, you have also lured it to our home. You have put our people in danger.”
“Yes!” Elder Germander said, latching on to that. “We were safe until she came to town and you started spending time with her.”
“Safe?” I barked, sarcastic laughter following. “Safe? Do better. We are dire wolves. We have adragon for a neighbor. Fae as extended kin. We havenever beensafe. Nor have we ever run from danger,” I added with a growl, glaring at Noel to make clear my feelings on those who turned and ran.
I didn’t have to call him a coward. But everyone knew I had.
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply