Page 19 of Season of the Wolf

I pushed the thought from my head.

“We haven’t been sitting idle either,” Hilda sighed. “You’ll find that Seaton Falls’ population has become a bit …shifterheavy,” she smiled.

“They brought in others?”

When she nodded, I breathed a sigh of relief. No, we weren’t out of the woods, but higher numbers was a step in the right direction.

“There were clans that refused, but most showed up without the Council even requesting their involvement,” Elise added.

That didn’t surprise me. The lycans were tired of being ruled by a tyrant.

“He has to know by now how deep this rebellion against him has spread,” Hilda stated. “And you know as well as I do, he has no tolerance for insubordination.”

The man had an ego that barely fit in the solar system, so yes, I had an idea of how something like this going on right under his nose might be frowned upon.

I glanced up at Dallas where he stood at the foot of my bed, reading the heavy concern on his face.

“What areyourthoughts?” I asked, aiming the question at him.

A deep surge of air swelled his chest and, letting it out, he answered. “I believe we’re in the calm before the storm. And, historically speaking, that means any day now … all hell will break loose.”

As much as I wanted to argue with his logic, I’d seen enough war in my lifetime to know he was exactly right.

Chapter Six

Nick

This was the closest night I’d had to a normal one in so long I couldn’t even remember.

Just me, Chris, Lucas, a box of pizza, andMaddenfired up on the Xbox.

Like old times.

Not so long ago, I didn’t think I’d ever lay eyes on them again—onanyoneI cared about. Because I was always aware of how close I came to that being my reality, I learned not to take so many things for granted. First free night I got that Roz couldn’t break past her father’s coercion, I invited the guys over to the estate to hang out.

“Are you freakin’ kidding me?” Lucas yelled, feeling zero shame for getting emotional over an ugly loss, thanks to a well-timed, last-minute touchdown.

I tossed the controller to the floor, celebrating in his face just to piss him off.

“Nowthat’show it’s done.”

He shoved me aside before reaching for another slice.

“Yeah, whatever. Just keep in mind thatI’mthe one who taught you to play,” was his comeback.

I shrugged, settling in my seat again with a brazen grin. “On Xbox … maybe, I’ll give you that. But I’mdefinitelythe one who schooled you on therealfield.”

“Are you serious?” Lucas protested over Chris’s laughter, sounding more like a howl. “Last I checked, our stats were nearly identical.”

“Then you must not have checked since sixth grade, because my statsownyours, boy!”

Chris was nearly on the floor, out of breath as he pointed at a very irritated, very red Lucas.

“Whatever, just run it back,” Lucas concluded, abandoning his food for another round.

I picked up my controller again, and happily obliged.

Beside me, my cell chirped, and Chris grabbed it before I had the chance, reading the incoming text aloud.

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