Tangled

Unshift 202

Unshift 202

202 Lucas: Council (1)

Alphas arguing with alphas is nothing but a waste of time.

The dregs of cold coffee stick in my throat as I set my mug down with a thud. Fuck. I'm exhausted. My eyelids feel like sandpaper against my eyes, and I rub at them with the futile hope of easing the discomfort.

Forty-eight hours.

Two damn days since I've seen the inside of my eyelids for more

then a blink

I haven't had a chance to even speak a single word with Ava. Not

even a text

It's impossible to keep her a secret forever, but without knowing how far I can trust these other alphas-bringing her into this mess

is a risk I refuse to take.

The last thing I need is for the Council to push back and demand that Ana be returned to Alpha Blackwood in order to prevent any more vampire attacks.

Jericho's worries have set root in my belly, growing an entire forest of doubt and concern. He's right. Ara's not enough of a reason to Breach the peace we've upheld for so long Far longer than any of our lifetimes

There's something else there. Something I was too blind to see. And we need to act. *

Now. Before any other tragedies come to be.

The stink of unrest taints the air, setting my teeth on edge.

I glance across the conference table, meeting Clayton's steely gaze. He's been the ally in my corner, standing steadfast beside me in my

concerns.

Council, isn't convinced that there's a concern

Westwood.

everything inside of me, inside

wrong.

fight back. We've already

crossing into Westwood territory, bold as brass, are just the beginning. A first

convincing the rest of these stubborn old bastards? It's like herding cats. Suspicious, prideful, territorial cats, who'd rather bury their heads in the sand than

clears his throat, his rumbling baritone cutting through the murmured side

on track. We've

34:52

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request aga, and we'll vote

to my feet, the chair groani across the floor.

to me.

stalemate needs

mment

A test of our defenses, of our ability to react. It's the first steps of war. We are all at risk. Westwood is nothing more than the first step to whatever

of the table-neutral party in Alpha Ezekial Talon of Whispering Pines.

bastard Blackwood, with his

fully gray in his hair with wrinkles and scars all across his face. Even so, it's a testament to his power that no alpha challenge has unseated him in

his true colors of late, despite having helped Xavier during my attack on Blackwood. Of course, then we

sounds moral. Waiting to hear both sides of the story, refusing to take sides in

neutrality is also

the most, instead of acting

Westwood," he diawls. "A few Unregistereds step out of line and suddenly it's Armageddon? We've dealt

202 Lucas: Council (0)

been holed up in their little sanctuaries for so long, I'm surprised

a moment."

biting back the growl building in my chest. Shortsighted

and disappear at will. They're striking without warning, and we have no way of fighting back. No matter how strong we are, it's like

making for two goddamn days, falling