Tangled

Chapter 227

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227 Lucas: War Is Here (H)

227 Lucas: War Is Here (II)

Knowing Ava is relatively safe, even if I have to rely on strangers to keep her that way, lifts a giant boulder of worry from my

shoulders, @

My wolf, of course, paces in the back of my mind, snapping at the air, frustrated with me. With her. With everything.

She's too far, he growls. We should be with her, not here.

The same complaints I've heard since I let her return to Blackwood. It's like a madness in my mind, the desire to rush to her side and drag her back home, damn the consequences.

The only reason he kept quiet during the Council's visit is because he didn't want any of those alphas near her. He's still upset over Clayton, though our wolves seemed to have reached some sort of truce between us.

The fact that Clayton's given way with such grace probably helps.

Alpha, there's another group of wolves moving in from the southwest. I've dispatched scouts to check on them, but I have a feeling that these are Whispering Pines wolves, not rogues. Ryder's voice intrudes on my musings, quieting my wolf for a moment.

Got it.

Frustrated, I rub my hands over my face. The Council had met one last time, to work over the logistics of moving forces and how to handle the distribution of our fighters and leaders to avoid conflict. Instead, Alpha Talon had come in with a declaration that the Council had overstepped, throwing a verbal bomb into the

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127 Lucas War is Hote (1)

middle of an already volatile situation.

With the suspicious timing of multiple rogue wolf raids on my people mere hours after he denounced the Council and said his pack would no longer be a part of tyranny, we've had no rest. It's like a leaking boat, only we can't find the damn leaks.

my phone into my pocket, my jaw clenched tight, as I head for the large office where the Council has been meeting. My wolf paces restlessly in my mind, agitated by the distance from Ava and the looming

surprised to see Alpha Twilight Ridge already there. Her silver hair catches the light as she leans over the large map spread across the table. She looks up, greeting me with a polite nod, but I can see the exhaustion etched

of her face.

44

"A pack of scouts

of

the area."

her at the table, I

from the Blackwood territory. It's

landmarks, we both trace the likely path of the newcomers, and I feel a growl building in

mutter, frustration coloring

her

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Lucas, there's no going back. This will be

never trusted the man, but this level of betrayal is more than I ever expected out of

Ridge asks, her keen eyes studying my face. "Alpha

I thought him capable of. I never thought he would side with Renard over the established territories. It seems too risky of a move for someone who claims to be

our territories on the map. "I can't in good conscience approve a war without absolute

I growl, meeting her gaze with a hard stare. "If you can't handle the blood on your hands, go. I won't wait for

rising to the challenge. After a long moment, she sighs, her shoulders sagging slightly. "I apologize," she

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nod, accepting her words without comment. She turns back to the map, her fingers tracing the borders

shifter society," she murmurs, almost to herself. "I wonder what he did to get into Alpha Talon's head.

sound harsh in the quiet room. "Talon's neutrality was nothing more than a disguise for his greed for power. He's always wanted more, always been waiting for his chance.

"And you

nod, my mind racing through the possibilities. "It makes sense. With Blackwood in chaos and Westwood distracted, he probably thinks he can make a move. Expand

a risky gamble," she muses. "If he fails, he loses

he's ever had," I counter. "For someone like Talon, the potential reward outweighs the risk." My wolf growls in the back of my mind, urging action, demanding we protect what's ours. It takes effort to keep him in check, to think rationally

move, Lucas?" Alpha Twilight Ridge asks, breaking the

Whispering Pines to our borders, my

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