Page 81 of It All Started with a Bite

Victoria hesitated. “They want to monitor Abby.”

The mate bond hummed with a sudden burst of rage that made me draw a sharp breath.

Samuel noticed and inhaled raggedly, his knuckles white on his glass.

The fury I felt from him abated to a dull, red thrum.

“Because she’s a white wolf?” he said between gritted teeth.

“Yes. Or at least, that’s the excuse some are using to try and put a leash on her.”

“They have no right—” Samuel growled.

“They’re scared, Samuel.” Victoria’s voice turned weary. “They’re terrified of the power that a white wolf, especially a white luna, can wield. There hasn’t been one in generations. Not since Elizabeth.”

My pulse quickened at the name. “Was Elizabeth your great-great-grandmother? The one who united the New England packs during the Shadow War?”

“Yes,” Victoria replied.

Samuel placed his glass on Victoria’s desk with more force than necessary. “The Council is overstepping. They have no authority over pack matters.”

“We do when it comes to white wolves,” Victoria said quietly. “The power to influence other packs is not one to be taken lightly. It’s an unwritten rule we have to abide by, whether we like it or not. After all, it’s what Elizabeth herself wanted.”

A chill ran down my spine. “What?”

Victoria pinched the bridge of her nose. “Elizabeth didn’t just unite the New England packs during the Shadow War. She worked with other supernatural species to establish towns like Amberford, where we could live in open secrecy among humans.”

“She also helped create many of our modern supernatural political structures and the organizations that maintain law and order among our kind,” Samuel added grudgingly. He hesitated. “Making sure a white wolf didn’t abuse their power is something she would have worried about.” He prowled over and poured himself another drink.

I was tempted to ask him for a second one myself after everything I’d just learned.

Samuel sensed my stare and met my gaze. The amber fire that sparked in the depths of his eyes made me shiver.

“The Council can go to Hell,” he growled. “Abby is under our protection.”

I heard the hiddenminein his sentence and flushed.

“I agree,” Victoria said, surprising me all over again.

I stared at her. “You do? But you just said we had to?—”

“It doesn’t mean we have to dance to their tune. There are ways to interpret what they say and want.” Victoria exchanged a meaningful look with Pearl.

The cat smirked.

I could see why those two got on so well.

“There is something that worries me.” Victoria wrinkled her brow. “Priscilla seemed particularly interested in Abby’s abilities.”

Samuel’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “Priscilla Holt has always been ambitious.”

“She gives me the creeps,” Bo contributed. “And not in a good way.”

Samuel gave my dog a dubious look. “There’s a good way to get the creeps?”

“Yeah,” Bo huffed. “Like when you watch true crime shows.”

We all rolled our eyes, Pearl included.

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