One by one, they started sharing the stories they had been told, and they were oddly similar—as though one person had given a book to every Alpha and told them to pass it on. They all said the same thing, how the Emberclaws were vicious and hungry for blood and power.
“My grandfather told me that if they ever rose again and came back, it would be the end for the werewolf species,” Gabriel said.
“And I’m telling you that they have risen, and they are back.” Their eyes turned black and yellow, and their bodies couldn’t be still. They were clutching their hands so hard that the table began to shake.
“So we kill them,” Tristan growled.
“I admire the confidence but not the stupidity,” Danielle spoke, and everyone turned to her.
Tristan was holding back his wolf, and I was starting to see what they meant by strong. As a human, he was a puny sight, but his wolf was strong and had more of an Alpha aura than himself.
“How dare you,” Tristan growled and stood up. His chair flew back, and his eyes started glowing as he looked at Danielle like she was prey.
She slowly pushed her chair back. With unwavering confidence, she stood and took soft steps around the table. She got in front of Tristan and touched his arm.
His eyes widened and turned back to their green shade while his shoulders stiffened.
She smiled and looked into his eyes. When they came back, too, she raised her head with a quizzical look. Tristan looked mortified.
“I’m sorry, but you choose your own reality, not him,” she said.
Tristan fell against the table. Danielle picked up his chair and helped him down on it.
“If I can do that, see the memory of a strong Alpha, what do you think their king is capable of? What do you think he’ll do with an army of Emberclaws?” she asked him with a silky soft voice.
“You’re one of them?” Gabriel asked and turned to me in distress.
“She is, but it’s okay. She’s with us now,” I said.
“Yes, but she was with them,” he said.
Danielle nodded and walked back to her seat.
“I was, which is how I know that whatever you think you’re up against, it’s nothing compared to the truth,” she said as she sat down.
“Did you say king?” Tristan asked.
“The Emberclaws don’t have an Alpha. They have a king whom they follow blindly. Anything he asks of them, they will do,” she explained.
Perhaps that demonstration of power was what they needed.
“What’s the plan?” Tristan asked, utterly conceived of the imminent threat.
“The first thing I need to know now is that we’re all on the same page. Have any of you heard from Alpha Sebastian?” I asked. Matthias laughed, and his head rolled around. He dramatically wiped a tear from his eye.
“Former Alpha, you mean. I heard this wonderful story about you, Kade walking in and taking over from that little shit,” he said.
I nodded.
“That is true. I now lead the pack, but I don’t know where he is. He is in possession of information that shouldn’t get too far away,” I said and scanned their faces.
Matthias furrowed his brows and shook his head.
“Haven’t you heard? He and his family have sought sanctuary at Alpha Riley’s pack. The only place he knew he could go without being turned away at the border,” Matthias said.
Fuck. Alpha Riley was a hippie and a love-all bullshitter, but he was also insane, and so was the rest of his dirt-worshipping pack.
“Shit,” I groaned and looked at Mason. His face contorted in disgust, and he slammed his hand down on the table like a frustrated child. I didn’t dismiss his frustration, though. I knew where it was coming from. Going to see Riley was the last thing either of us wanted to do.
“Why, what’s the information he has?” Gabriel asked.
I cleansed my head of all other thoughts and focused on one problem at a time. Just because we would help each other didn’t mean I trusted everyone here any more than I trusted Sebastian with the information he had.
“Do you need help retrieving him, Alpha Kade?” Gabriel said when he saw my disoriented expression.
“No, let us come up with a plan against the Emberclaws. My brother and I will handle Alpha Riley,” I said and heard Mason groan in displeasure.
The window was open, and a breeze swept in through the room. Matthias was tapping his foot against the floor. Tristan was racking his head around the previous events and slowly eyeing Danielle, and Gabriel was scratching his beard as he sat in deep thought.
A brach outside scraping against the window as the wind blew past kept getting louder in my head. I looked down at the table, my fingers flexed, and the scarping got louder and faster.
The Alphas’ advisors started giving their opinions and ideas. The Betas chimed in with useless information, and it was clear that they were handling this like any other attack. The Alphas and their advisors were the ones who knew the situation’s seriousness, and they snarled and growled as their Betas tried to add to the conversation.
“That won’t work. They’re too strong,” Matthias said.
“They’re not rogues,” Tristan seethed.
“This is not any other pack. It is not just another attack. This may very well be the last war any werewolf ever fights. We need to handle it like a threat unlike any other we’ve ever come across because that’s precisely what it is,” Gabriel said calmly.
Everyone turned to him, and it seemed the Betas finally understood as they leaned back and knew they could add nothing to the conversation. The advisors were well aware of the Emercalws and the powers they possessed, which resulted in actual helpful conversation.
“How do we prepare for something that we don’t know anything about? Where will they start? What is their plan? How are they planning the execution of the plan? There are far too many questions for us to be planning for an eventuality,” Malik said snidely.
The scraping sped up and was consuming my mind. I heard their voices and concerns turning into far-away echoes. The table seemed to be coming at me, and everything else was moving away as I got tunnel vision.
Her hand moved slowly across the table, gracing the surface before sliding over my own. Her fingers entwined with mine, locking our hands together and squeezing as her delicate hand covered half of my own.
Her manicured nails disappeared into the filing of our fingers. Her mint-scented breath fanned my neck as she leaned in. “Come back,” Danielle whispered and nuzzled her nose into the crock of my neck.
Suddenly, all the noise went away. Left was the frustrated chatter of Alphas arguing. I felt their wolves surfacing. Their eyes started to glow as the tension rose in the conference room.
I turned my head, which was as heavy as lead, and looked at my brother. Mason’s eyes were narrowed to slits on Danielle’s head. Her face was covered as he nuzzled in further. His eyes followed our arms down to where our hands were linked together, and I saw the anger start to swirl inside of him, but her touch did bring me comfort. It did fluctuate some of the chaos that soared within me.
“Let’s take a break. Dinner is being served in the dining room, and we’ll continue this later.” My words barely landed before everyone pushed their chairs back and stormed out of the room.
Gabriel stayed behind. He looked over his shoulder and threw me a glare of indifference at seeing me with Danielle. Gabriel knew the story of us as well, and he knew about Layla. However, he did not know that Layla was an Emberclaw. He nodded, and his eyes gave away a quiet warning. Then, he walked after the others into the quiet corridor.
Mason stood slowly. He, too, was watching with care and judgment. His head shot to the side, and his eyes widened a fraction when he took in the person standing in the door frame.
“What the fuck!” I jumped, unable to deny the guilt that filled me when I heard Anna’s voice.
