Page 3 of Country and Clove
“Today we’ll be addressing—”
The door opened and a flustered-looking Darren came rushing in. “Apologies, Alpha.” Darren quickly seated himself next to Lance. His black hair was disheveled and his tie was barely passable as knotted. Aaron took in Darren’s tense expression. His golden eyes glowed nearly constantly lately. Aaron supposed it was the increased protective instincts of his wolf now that he had a baby. Lance had two young kids of his own and assured everyone it would pass as Aspen grew older.
“Fatherhood will get easier,” Lance offered Darren, reaching over to straighten his tie before clapping him on the shoulder.
“I’ll take your word for it,” Darren said.
“How is our newest little pack member doing? And his mom?” Gideon asked, a surprising amount of warmth in his tone.
A broad grin spread across Darren’s face at the mention of his mate and pup. “Aspen is as healthy as can be. He’s a bundle of energy and already releasing a magical signature that has us both wondering how soon his powers will emerge. And Nova is as perfect as ever.”
“Spare us the mushy mate stuff,” Lucas teased and the whole room shared a round of laughter.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Gideon added with a hint of mush in his own tone. With Dahlia pregnant, fatherhood was soon to be Gideon’s fate as well. “Let’s get to the business at hand. Things have been quiet since the last attack.” A few eyes shifted Aaron’s way and his stomach churned. As the sole survivor, they would always associate that dark day with him. “Based on Romani and Lark’s information of the creatures in the Veil, we are dealing with one of the worst possible scenarios. The dark creatures mentioned the Forgotten God, Fjor. Fjor is not to be taken lightly. Now that we know he’s a player, we need to be extra prepared.”
Gideon rubbed his fingers across his jaw before releasing a heavy breath. He continued, “I believe it’s time we spread the word and begin recruiting other packs to our cause. We have two teleporters on hand. Lark and Romani have both agreed to transport reinforcements here in an emergency situation. That being said, we need to secure allies if we want any chance of handling a larger-scale attack. Based on what we know of Fjor, something bigger and more destructive is likely unavoidable. Lark, if you wouldn’t mind sharing what you know about Fjor from your time in the Veil?”
A low growl resonated in the back of Aaron’s throat. How the hell had that freak ended up in Gideon’s inner circle?
“Of course, Alpha.” Lark stood as lithe and graceful as ever. Sure, he was Aria’s mate and he helped save the pack on more than one occasion, but Aaron still didn’t trust him. “As we know, the Veil is the shadow world, an in-between for both life and death. It houses lost souls and dark creatures of all types. Fjor is unique to the Veil, as he was once a Celestial. You’ve seen the immense powers of the Celestials here in the pack. We have no way of comparing how strong he was at the height of his power in comparison to Nova, Dahlia, or myself. We also have no way of knowing how much of his former power he’s been able to retain while remaining locked away in the Veil.”
“But how are the creatures getting through?” Darren asked, a dangerous edge to his voice. In charge of the complex’s safety and security, he now had more to protect than ever before. “They aren’t just sprouting from the ground,” he finished.
Lark kept his tone even. “The recent attacks combined with our previous encounters with the shadow creatures indicate that it’s quite possible there is a rip in the Veil, allowing these creatures to sneak through. Usually the shadow monsters, Durucai, Dolgurs, Veil Wraiths, et cetera are quite incapable of thinking on their own. They attack out of instinct. The coordinated strikes against us from two or more Veil monsters at once may indicate there’s someone controlling their actions.”
“Which brings us back to Fjor.” Gideon’s tone was grim.
Lark’s eyes flashed red for a split second. Aaron wondered if anyone else noticed. “I’m not sure why Fjor hasn’t attacked directly or what he wants with Mountain’s End. I can only assume he’s buying time as he builds his strength, or while he probes our ranks for weaknesses. We should be on constant guard. An attack could happen at any time.”
Gideon’s aura was dense with power. “We’ve yet to face the strength of this dark Celestial, so we have no idea what to expect. If he’s anything like the Celestials we know, his power could devastate our pack. We need allies. The more packs we can sway to our side, the better chance we have of surviving a large-scale attack when it comes. I’m open to suggestions. If you have strong connections with any packs outside Mountain’s End, this would be the time to speak up.”
“What about the London pack?” Lance asked. “Our two new transfers have family connections with the Alpha and his inner circle.”
Gideon nodded. “Liv will be our contact with the London pack. Though with their recent shift in power and a new Alpha, it may be tough to expect them to be unified enough to run into battle if we need them.”
“How about Graham?” Leah offered. “Has anyone discussed a possible alignment with the Scottish packs?” Leah’s dark hair fell down nearly to her waist and cast shadows over her stern face.
“Great idea,” said Gideon. “We’ll have Laurie meet with him to explore that avenue.”
The rest of the group called out their suggestions, listing off close ties and possible allies. Aaron just sat back with a pissed-off look on his face. No chance in hell he would contact his old pack. That place was a nightmare. He’d transferred the second he was old enough and left all thoughts of Texas and his former packmates behind.
Aaron growled under his breath, glaring daggers at Lark for the remainder of the meeting. An hour passed before Lucas’s hand on his shoulder snapped his focus away from Lark and back toward his friend.
“You’d better back your wolf down before Gideon notices. You’ve been bristling for a fight since the meeting started.” Lucas gave his shoulder a meaningful squeeze to the point of pain.
“I hear you,” Aaron breathed out, willing his wolf to recede. “Hard to relax when that monster is around.”
“Let’s go out tonight. You can have some beers and find a pretty girl to take your mind off things. What do ya say?” Lucas smiled at him.
“Fine.” Aaron could use a night of heavy drinking and a quick, meaningless fuck. “Luna + Lupine it is.”
* * *
Le Crepe was decorated in a garish array of pink and blue balloons. Clove took it all in, her gaze skimming across the excessive amount of confetti that had been scattered on every table. Pink roses crept up every trellis and decorated the center of their massive table. The rest of the girls settled into their private area. And to think, this was all just to celebrate a baby announcement, not even a baby shower.
A squeal of excitement drew Clove’s gaze to the door. Aria waltzed in wearing a puffy pale-pink dress that looked like something made for a princess in a fairy tale. Her long hair was braided over one shoulder and stuffed with small clusters of baby’s breath and spray roses. No doubt the handiwork of Dahlia and her Celestial earth powers. Now that Gideon and Dahlia were married, she and Aria were sisters-in-law and had grown incredibly close.
“Dahlia! Everything looks perfect!” Aria squeezed Dahlia’s hand and grinned.
