Page 37 of Season of the Wolf

…Iwas.

Chapter Eleven

Evie

The sky dimmed to the perfect shade of royal blue. Soon, stars would dot the heavens and another beautiful evening would be ruined by clan drama.

Tonight’s event, a meeting with the Council to update us on the latest tidbits they saw fit to share. I believed, deep down, we all knew the details were being spoon-fed to us, but I could attest to their being a marginal increase when it came to trusting them. Yes, a bit more transparency would have been nice; however, I no longer doubted their intentions. They truly did have the clan’s best interest at heart, but simply didn’t trust their ability to process or apply deeper knowledge than what had been given.

Proving that, perhaps, the trust issue lie with the Council itself.

“Will it just be us tonight?” Elise asked, doing her best to pretend things were normal, when things were nowhere near that.

As I sat on the steps gazing out the front window, a witch howled just beneath the foyer, locked in a basement room I hadn’t even known existed just a day ago. It’d been built behind a false wall, some sort of safe room I guessed.

I did my best to ignore the wailing.

“Dallas said he’d be down in a bit,” I answered, leaving it at that.

Elise stared, but I wouldn’t dare meet her gaze. I knew what she was thinking, that I forgot to mention one other member of this household. Hilda would be staying behind to babysit our houseguest, but we definitely expected Liam to attend.

I couldn’t say for sure he didn’t plan to, but we barely said two words to one another when I came in from Beth’s. He greeted me, said he wasn’t feeling well, and then went to lie down. The one time I tried to check on him, he simply stated that he was fine, but never invited me in.

Elise gazed up the stairs, tension in her brow evident, although she tried masking it.

“Well, I suppose we’ll just bring him up to speed when we return.” She forced a smile and pivoted quickly, most likely to hide what I already knew.

She was worried about him.

After the drama with the witch the night before, he’d been different—quiet, distant. Toward us all. I was being patient, giving him space, but it wasn’t easy. I hated seeing him like this, hated knowing he didn’t feel whole. I wanted nothing more than to make it all go away, but as I found out on my failed attempt back to the U.P., this problem was bigger than me.

I followed Elise to the car and Dallas joined us shortly after. The ride to the library was mostly silent as two SUVs trailed us. I felt ridiculous having guards present wherever I went, especially having three stationed outside Beth’s when I stayed over. I wanted to protest, wanted to make a fuss about it being over the top … but I’d seen enough lately to know that wasn’t the case.

The dangers around us were real, and they were only closing in with each passing day.

The lot was full. Even more than usual. With all the new shifters, the chamber was sure to be packed to capacity, too. Looking around at how our numbers had increased, I stepped out and trailed behind Elise and Dallas. We entered through the back as usual and descended the long, stone staircase to the meeting hall.

I was right. There were bodies everywhere. Nearing a thousand, maybe surpassing it. What I always perceived to be wasted square footage had been put to good use tonight.

Even with so many in the space, it was still almost silent. That must have been protocol. Dragons, wolves, witches—every faction was represented, and from what I observed so far, all came in peace. I suppose in times like these, it’s easy for people to put their differences aside, putting their energy toward fighting their common enemy.

An enemy he certainly was.

The door behind the Elders’ table opened and the ritualistic entrance began—witches first, our local Elders next, followed by the visiting members of the Council. All filed in in a single line before dispersing to either their designated seats, or their posts against the back wall.

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke. Baz stood after setting down a paper he glanced at when first entering the room.

“Good evening,” he began, the crowd echoing the greeting before he continued. “I would like to first state that I, as well as the other members of our sacred Council, have been quite pleased with the reception of our visiting shifters. You all have been quite gracious to make accommodations in your homes, in your businesses, and it goes without saying that your loyalty to Seaton Falls is greatly appreciated.”

There were a few muffled responses, all positive from what I could hear.

“Tonight’s meeting was called simply to keep you all abreast of the latest information.” He lowered his head for a moment, and although his face was hidden, I imagined a trace of remorse might have been found there with what he said next.

“We are aware that our lack of forthrightness in the recent past created more confusion and distress than we realized. For that reason, we are doing our best to share the knowledge we’ve been given, as we’ve been given it.”

That came as a surprise to me, and probably to everyone else as well. Especially if their impression of the governmental system of the lycan populace aligned with mine. I initially thought of them as being shady as heck, and probably corrupt to the core. However, as I stood here today, I realized I’d been wrong. They operated in secret for the most part, but only because that had been their way for so long. Now, as Baz prepared to share the latest news, it seemed a new day was dawning.

“Some of you may have already been informed that our Canadian constituents have decided it would not be in their best interest to stand against the Sovereign,” he expressed.

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