Page 4 of Smoke and Moon

The group shifted in their seats to stare at Aodh, yielding the floor to him.

“Chanin.”Aodh leaned forward in his chair, resting his forearms on the table.

“We need to discuss a matter of some rogue wolves entering my territory and stealing more than a couple of livestock.”

“Is that allowed?”Armaros pushed forward in his seat, his eyes going red.

Marceline licked her fangs behind him.

Aodh slowly turned to the dhampir leader and gave him a stern look, allowing red flames to dance in his eyes, making his threat to them clear.

Liekki shifted behind Aodh.

Marceline gasped.

Armaros’s lips curled in the corners as he banked his hunger.“Simply an inquiry.Don’t get your scales all up, dragon boys.”

Aodh chose to ignore the nettling leader and instead focused back on the wolf-shifter.

Chanin’s frown was deep, and his words came out rough.“I will look into the matter and deal with the rogues personally.”

“Never doubted you would.”Aodh declared.Waiting for a beat before he continued, he asked.“Is there an issue with your Pack's food supply?If you need assistance—”

“My Pack is nowhere near starving if that is what you’re implying.”Chanin’s words were barely audible as he forced them through a growl.

“We’re all separate, but we’re all still one in the battle of survival.”Aodh shared, then let the discussion drop, trusting his Thunder would not have any more problems.

“If there are no other issues, we’ll start with the numbers reports.”Iskah changed the subject.

“My coven is growing in numbers, slower than usual, as you know.But since our laws forbid us from being invited into the human encampment...”Armaros rolled a thin shoulder beneath his blood-red-and-black-striped suit jacket.“What are we to do but wait our turn.”

Marceline, the Vampire’s second, let out a loud hissing sigh as if she could not contain her aggravation.

The dramatics of Vampires.Aodh shook his head as he heard his brother’s low chuckle behind him.

“Armaros, your coven got the last two transports.Since it only takes a bite and a day to add another to your kind, we don’t need your fucking complaint,” Chanin growled.

“It’s only right since no one here has suffered in numbers as we have.”Armaros slammed his fist down on the table.

It was true.When the humans detonated their missiles, the flash of multiple nuclear bombs was akin to throwing the Vampires into the sun.Their numbers decreased exponentially in seconds.Whenever the Vampire master brought it up, Aodh sympathized with the bloodsuckers.

However, Bleddyn, the wolf’s Beta, lowering his canines at Armaros's gesture, proved that the civility treaty between the mortal enemies of wolves and Vampires remained tenuous.

“My Pack suffered in numbers, too!”Chanin barked.

“Only because so many in your Pack tried to prove their strength by remaining above ground during the fallout and consuming the meat of wild animals affected by the falling poison.In effect, neutralizing the wombs of every female Lupine,” Dov cooly stated as he leaned on the table with his hands clasped.

And there it is,Aodh thought.

Bleddyn shot up from his chair and took a step but was stopped by Chanin’s lean, muscular arm acting as a retraining bar.The beta looked right at Dov and then across the space at the two Vampires, appearing as if he didn’t know who he wanted to attack first.

Even though bear shifters could easily rip the Lupine in two should he even think of going Dov’s way, if Bleddyn got a hold of a glamoured, reed-thin vamp, it was another story.

“Sit,” Chanin commanded his beta before he looked to his right at the calm bear-shifter.“Don’t pretend your females don’t have infertility issues, too, Dov.”

Dov folded his thick arms over his barrel chest.“True.They rarely conceive and only provide one cub, but add that to the twin births of our marked mates, and our numbers are climbing.

Chanin’s top lip twitched.

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