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.

strongest ally in the Council, isn't convinced that there's a concern to the entire territory. Oh, he believes

boundaries in Blackwood and Westwood. As sending a few troops of

inside of me, inside my wolf, screams that

wrong.

who isn't ready will be slaughtered without a chance to fight back. We've already

as brass, are just the beginning. A first strike in a war that can bring us all to

prideful, territorial cats, who'd

baritone cutting through the murmured

back on track. We've argued enough.

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aga,

to my feet, the chair

to me.

needs

ener mment on

incident. It's calculated. Deliberate. A test of our defenses, of our ability to react. It's the first steps of war.

end of the table-neutral party in Alpha

Blackwood,

Even so, it's a testament to his power that no

attack on Blackwood. Of course,

both sides of the story, refusing to

neutrality is

benefits his pack the most, instead of acting in the

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

202 Lucas: Council (0)

been holed up in their little sanctuaries for so long, I'm surprised they haven't all turned into dust. With our numbers and strength,

a moment."

my fists, biting back the growl building

time," Clayton interjects smoothly. "They're able to move without detection, to appear and disappear at will. They're striking without warning, and we have no way of fighting back.

argument that we've been making for two goddamn