Page 31 of Fate Awakened

His response has me sitting up straighter. While the entire council meets monthly for summative pack information, having an emergency session with all members means there are decisions to be made, and Dante wants to appear diplomatic in his response.

They must have found her!

My wolf stirs, excitement and relief flooding me simultaneously.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

I remind him, but inside I know there must be news if we’re bringing the full council together. Even as I let my mind wander, I hear chatter down the hall and know others are joining us.

Elijah and James stroll in looking weary after waking up earlier today and getting no time to rest in the last nineteen hours.

“Erik will be just a minute. He stopped at the kitchen in the lobby for a snack,” James relays with a bit of humor in his tone. He knows Dante hates it when Erik brings food to our meetings.

“Fucking child,” Dante states, rolling his eyes. Erik tiptoes in, an entire submarine sandwich in his hands, two bags of chips, and a prepackaged cookie. He sits down in his usual spot, crunching his bags loudly in his attempt to get everything situated.

“Alright, I’m here. We can begin,” Erik announces, winking at Presley and then diving in to take a large bite of his sandwich.

Dante stares at Erik, and I feel the power thrown into the mind message he sends him. Erik jumps a good foot out of his seat before straightening up and sliding his food to the side, presumably for a later time.

“Now that we’ve completed the theatrics,” Dante looks pointedly at Erik before continuing, “we have several issues to bring up, and some are more time-sensitive than others."

My body feels like a live wire, buzzing just under my skin. I try not to fidget as the news is delivered.

“Since some of you missed our last gathering, let’s start with the facts so everyone is on the same page. First, we recovered Presley’s program, the Humanitarian Unification Network for Trafficking Elimination and Recovery, or as she calls it, HUNTER, from when it went ‘missing.’ We believe all functionality has been recovered, thanks largely to our warehouse team a couple of weeks ago. The witness from our first attempt to recover HUNTER is now our focus.” Dante pauses to ensure everyone is paying attention. His eyes sweep to me, and I can tell he’s waiting for my permission. Letting out a heavy sigh, I nod.

“Brielle DelaCourt is our witness. Through our time trailing her, we’ve discovered several things. First, she’s Unawakened.” I see Elijah and James react in perfect unison, jaws falling open. Erik tenses, and his eyes grow wide.

“While that in itself is unbelievable, we’ve also ascertained that she’s Cain’s Mate.”

Every head in the room focuses on me except for Jake and Dante. I focus my energy on staying still and remaining calm so that regardless of how they react, I can stay in control.

Presley’s face is where my attention goes first. Her initial shock slides quickly to understanding before I see her guilt creep back in. I shake my head, a small quick gesture that I hope sends the message that this isn’t her fault.

My eyes glide back over to our ambassadors. Both of them are older than me by at least a decade, which I know has to make this news difficult to hear since neither of them has found their Mates. It must be frustrating because they travel to other territories far more often than most wolves ever get to. It’s hard to explain the depth of emotion I read on their faces. Hope? Admiration? Jealousy? I can’t be sure, but neither says a word, so I nod and turn to the final member of our team. Erik is the one I’m most worried will say something to break the firm grip I’ve been holding on my wolf.

Erik spends no energy trying to cover up the shock he feels. His crystal blue eyes are wide, and his tall frame is jolted upright. I wait as he processes the news, seeing the questions fly across his expression. After a moment, he surprises me by coming to stand by my side.

“My apologies for the comments at our last meeting. I vow my allegiance in bringing your Fated back to you and will protect her with my life. For the Pack.” He throws his right fist to his heart and holds the posture waiting for my response.

“Thank you, Erik. I accept your allegiance. For the Pack.” I copy his movement, pressing my fist over my heart. One by one, each member of the committee makes the same proclamation. All except for Dante, who, by ceremony rules, cannot pledge a higher allegiance to any member of the pack. He does, however, complete the motto with his fist on his own heart before allowing the meeting to continue.

“Brielle has been kidnapped. She was taken by our mole, Hudson. He gave away the shipment location, which contained Presley’s code for HUNTER. That’s how it was stolen from us in the first place.

"Hudson has taken her north, and we believe he’s trying to make a deal with the Reno Pack. A deal with Deacon Marlo.” After this statement, Dante turns to Elijah handing him the floor.

“Thank you, Alpha,” he says before turning to the rest of us. “Dante asked me to reach out to David and Rachel Healy's new pack down in Florida to ascertain what information I could on what was going on with their son, Hudson, and we discovered a few things. First, they left the Fort Lauderdale pack almost four months ago. According to their Second, Amari, they got along well there, but David got mixed up in some underground fighting ring. He made a bet with the wrong kind of people and had to leave town. The Healys told Bronson, the pack’s Alpha, they were moving to be with their son, but we know they never returned here.”

Dante nods, taking in the information and processing his questions. I use this opportunity to ask mine.

“Do we know who David got mixed up with?”

“Amari’s looking into that for me now. She knows some of the big players down there. The ones David got involved with aren’t from her pack but are stronger rogues that live on the outskirts or are members of the Mancini’s Pack further south.” He finishes, and Dante interjects.

“We believe their disappearance is somehow tied to the Marlo pack. Either through an alliance or some deal, and that it’s the reason Hudson turned on us.”

“It’s no excuse. He could’ve come to us. We would’ve fought to get them back. Instead, he let them use him to try and ruin us, and he took her knowing she mattered to me,” I growl the last word, not allowing Dante to finish. I feel no sympathy toward Hudson. He was dead the moment he touched her. No sob story would change that for me.

“Cain.” The one word silences me before Dante continues, “Hudson has no idea Brielle’s Unawakened because he isn’t an Alpha and only some of the council was informed. Additionally, he can’t know that she’s Cain’s Mate. Since we retrieved HUNTER, we assume he had no other bargaining chip, and he only knew she was important to the pack and Cain. At this point, Hudson’s desperate. Once we find out who’s holding the cards, we’ll be able to locate Brielle and negotiate her safe return.” His last statement breeds confidence in my wolf and me.

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