Page 189 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

I couldn’t help but wonder if everyone knew why Azbogah wanted us dead. He knew we contained the power to rally the races and ensure the angels never gained control again. But this was a piece of information that could hurt us if shared. We needed more alliances before the members got nervous, thinking whatever plans they had would be thwarted. These people didn’t want to unite the land—they just wanted to gain power of their own.

“Opinions?” Azbogah's jaw twitched. “What I say is the law.”

“No, it’s not.” Pahaliah shook his head as he pushed his seat back. “Your influence has been fracturing, and the whole point of this council is for everyone to have a voice. I agree with Yelahiah. No harm can come to Sterlyn.”

Griffin’s hand tightened on mine.We need to get out of here before things get worse. You being here is going to make others act irrationally out of fear.

That didn’t make sense. Why would they fear me? I was here to make things better.We can’t. That wasn’t how an alpha handled problems. Everyone needed to take a step back and think things through. “Why is it so important to kill us all? We’ve been living for centuries, and now that you learned we survived, you’re determined for us to die again?” I wanted Azbogah to admit to everyone that we were part angel. It seemed that our heritage had always remained a mystery, and there had to be a reason. But I was already rocking the boat enough. I’d leave it alone…for now.

“Wolves aren’t meant to have powers beyond that of any shifter.” Azbogah shook his fist at me. “The fact that you do means that something got perverted. Your kind should never have been created in the first place. The only way to purge the world of silver wolves is to kill each and every one of you.” A scary grin flitted across his face as if he relished the thought.

My stomach revolted. Could he have partnered with Dick and planned my pack’s slaughter? But if that was the case, then he couldn’t have known that they had meant to spare me and use me to breed more of my kind. He wouldn’t have been okay with that if he believed everything he said. And I hadn’t smelled a lie.

“Well, there’s only one way to make that call, because the council was formed for situations like this.” Yelahiah scanned every member of the council as she continued. “A vote on whether the silver wolves should be protected.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Griffin spat as he spun toward her and glared. He growled as he took a menacing step in her direction. “My mate’s life depends on a vote?”

Be careful, I warned. I didn’t like it either, but this was how Shadow City operated. The last thing we needed to do was piss them off even more—they’d be out to kill Griffin as well. I had to trust that Yelahiah knew what she was doing.Don’t insult them, or we’ll be on even more dangerous ground.

This is yourlife, Sterlyn.Griffin’s shoulders bunched.Not some vote on what movie we’re watching tonight.

I almost smiled despite the seriousness of our situation. Sierra always made us vote on what to watch because there were three women to two men. Needless to say, she got to watch whatever she wanted each night because Rosemary and I didn’t want to hear her whine about girl solidarity.

I get that, but if you act out now, they won’t keep Dick out of the city. Even worse, they’ll probably put him back on the council. He’ll pretend to play by their rules.I hoped I wasn’tmaking a mistake, but regardless, the suggestion was out there, and I could already tell that Azbogah approved by the corner of his lips tipping upward.If they agree to kill me, we’ll go from there.We couldn’t think about the worst-case scenario and be defensive until we knew we needed to be. Otherwise, we’d be creating a problem that might not exist.

“Fine.” Azbogah pressed his lips into a line and nodded. “That is an excellent idea. All of those in favor of killing the silver wolves, say aye.”

“Aye!” Erin shouted with such enthusiasm.

Wow, that was eager. I had no clue what we’d ever done to her, but she was going on mykeep an eye out forlist. Maybe Griffin had been right, but it was too late now.

Diana raised her hand. “Aye.”

“Agreed.” Gwen rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “No way in hell am I talking like that.”

Azbogah scowled but didn’t say anything. Most likely because she’d voted in his favor.

Then silence descended, which didn’t make sense. I figured the vampires would jump at the chance, too, but both men glanced at the floor as if they would rather be anywhere but here.

“What the...” Erin leaned over the table in Breena’s direction. “Girl, if you don’t—”

“Fine.” She blew out a breath, making her bangs puff out of her eyes. “Aye.”

“Wait.” Rosemary jumped to her feet, not able to remain silent any longer. “Does that even count? She got bullied.”

“Rosemary, shush,” Yelahiah scolded. “We’re in the middle of a count.”

“Who else?” Azbogah asked through gritted teeth. “Including me, that’s five in favor. Only two more votes needed for a majority.”

No one made a noise beyond their breathing.

“Only two more votes are needed.” Azbogah rubbed his fingers together and tapped a foot on the ground. “You have to say aye for it to count.”

When everyone remained quiet again, I was ready for the dark angel to throw a tantrum. Maybe roll around on the floor like a toddler. Given how his face twisted, that might not have been a crazy possibility.

“I’m thinking the final tallies are in.” Yelahiah beamed as she patted my arm. “Which means Sterlyn and her wolves are protected.”

“For the time being,” Azbogah retorted.

---