Page 75 of The Cursed Wolf King

I leaned down, murmuring so only Eve could hear. “Sit.”

She hesitated before obeying, folding into a chair with a grace that didn’t quite mask her nervousness. Raina rose, her movements slow, and crossed the room to place a hand on Eve’s shoulder. The gesture was simple, but the sensation through the bond told me it was a deliberate show of support. Eve glanced up at her, surprised, and Raina’s presence seemed to settle her.

The collective anxiety was weighing on me, and I didn’t like the atmosphere in the room. Mariyah’s declarations were taking a toll on me too, and I needed energy from the pack to get me through.

“Glad to see you’re all here. However,” I straightened, “I can feel your nerves wound up like a shot, and right now we need focus. Onme,” I added, seeing several of them glance over at Eve. “Everyone in this room has earned their place. Now we act like it.”

The tension hung for a beat longer. Rhys broke the silence with a dry snort. He leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed. “You always know how to warm up a crowd, Logan.”

A huff of air resembling a laugh escaped my lips and the tension broke.

“Let’s settle in,” I said, pulling up a chair and straddling it. “We have a lot to cover.”

The others followed suit, chairs scraping softly against the floor as they sat down one by one around the table. Only Killian remained standing, looming by the door, as was his job.

I glanced at Eve again, watching as she sat rigid in her seat. Her hands rested in her lap, her knuckles white as she gripped them together. Our bond hummed faintly, her emotions flickering through me. I offered her a small nod, trying to reassure her, before I turned my focus to the others.

“Isabelle,” I said, gesturing toward her. “What have you got?”

She stood, smoothing her shirt and clearing her throat. “Alpha, I think I’ve figured out their next move.”

“An attack.” I nodded.

“Not so much.”

Everyone leaned forward as Isabelle continued.

“I’ve been tracking activity—ticket purchases, travel itineraries, private flights. At first, I didn’t think there was a connection but I cross-referenced them with information from our allies in the east. All signs point to a meeting.”

“A meeting?” Alden asked, frowning. “What kind of meeting?”

Isabelle drew in a breath. “While I can’t access the personal details of those traveling, it seems to be a conclave.” She looked at Eve and said, “That’s when thealphas of the big packs under the Shadow Moon get together to discuss issues that concern all of us.”

Eve flashed a smile, and I felt her sense of relief at Isabelle including her.

For the rest of us, the news was not good. Raina broke the silence with a soft, knowing exhale. “It certainly could be a conclave. Where?”

Isabelle bit her lip. “I don’t know yet.”

Things were accelerating. Grayson wasn’t stupid—his son had been killed, his oracle had defected, and it could very well look like Orion was behind it.

To call a conclave was a big move.

To exclude Orion was an even bigger one.

Alden stiffened, gripping the armrest of his chair. “A conclave, of all things. And Orion hasn’t been invited?”

Isabelle looked at me as she said, “No. We have not.”

The room erupted.

“That’s impossible,” Blair snarled, surging to his feet with a growl rumbling deep in his chest, his wolf riding dangerously close to the surface. “Orion alwaysleadsthe conclave. That has been our role since the Shadow Moon passed hundreds of years ago! Heraclid wouldn’t dare?—”

“They would,” Killian cut in from where he stood by the door. His expression was grim, his wolf barely contained. “If they think we’re no longer worth following.”

His words hit the room like a physical blow.

Eve’s emotions spiked through the bond. She buried it quickly, but I could still feel the edges of it, like glass against my skin. I looked at her, and saw no sign of what she felt.

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