Violet grinned and patted the table. “Well, my goodness, I thought for sure it would take longer than that. You gentlemen work quickly.” She winked.

Her compliment did something funny to the Elders. A faint blush touched the cheeks of the oldest two, while the younger answered her praise with a surprisingly brazen grin. I wasn’t sure how it happened, but Violet had apparently won the hearts of these older gentlemen. This just solidified my decision to have her at my side when I dealt with the Elders.

As much as I wanted to savor the moment, I thought again about Night. I would nominate him, of course, but he could be killed during the challenge. It was true that he would be much stronger this time, but that meant that a lot of pressure would be on Night’s shoulders. If both packs were going to have peace, Night needed to win. The futures of both packs were resting on him alone, and that wasn’t fair to him.

I would of course do what I could for him because he was my mate and this was technically his birthright. But until that time came, I’d have to channel my energy into being the best Alpha the Kings had ever had, even if I would only be in this position for a month.

“I have something else I’d like to talk about,” I said. “I see that there are a lot of buildings that were destroyed during Troy’s rule. I’d like to get started on reconstructing them.”

“We have men working on that now,” Elder Queene said.

“And how are they doing? Do they need assistance?”

“That…I’m not sure about. They haven’t checked in with us since we gave them the project.”

“How long ago did you give them the project? The day after I won the challenge?”

He nodded.

“Who’s in charge of the reconstruction? I’d like to meet with him.”

Elder Queene paused and looked to the other Elders. None of them seemed to have an answer.

“I’m sorry, Alpha Hunter,” said Elder Forsythe. “That, too, is something we just don’t know. We haven’t had to concern ourselves with construction projects before, so we’ve left that to the elites to figure out.”

“I see.” I glanced at Violet, who didn’t seem the least bit surprised to hear that the Elders had dropped the ball on this project. “Well, I’ll figure it out myself then. Could you give me one of their names?”

“Yes. You might want to speak with…Tyrell. He lives on the south side of the compound.”

According to Elder Forsythe’s directions, Tyrell’s cabin was just a quarter mile from the cabin where Violet and Tavi were staying.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Violet asked as we walked together out of the Elders’ cabin.

“No, but I really appreciate your offer,” I said. “I want to go with Night, but I know that he won’t be done with pack business until the night of the Alpha ceremony.”

Violet frowned. “Well, I don’t like the idea of you going by yourself. Maybe you could take your mother.”

I shook my head. “I think they might see me as weak if I go with Mom.”

“Maybe you could take one of the Wargs with you. I’m sure that Night left one or two here.”

“I don’t know...”

There was some strategy to my hesitance. Walking around with one of Night’s wolves could give the Kings the impression that I was afraid of them or that I needed a Wargs bodyguard with me wherever I went. Tyrell might even think I was trying to intimidate him if I showed up like that, and that was not the message I wanted to send. Then again, I could give the same impression if I brought Night with me. It was difficult to know what to do.

“Do you think Tavi would agree to go with me?” I asked.

“Tavi?” Violet considered. “I’m not sure. You’ll have to ask her, but I might be able to help convince her to head out with you.”

“Okay.” I didn’t know what I’d do if she said no. It suddenly seemed to me like it would be too late if I waited for Night to get back.

We reached Violet’s cabin soon after our conversation, and I went inside with her.

“Wait in the living room,” she said. “I’ll talk to Tavi.”

I nodded. While she went upstairs, I looked around the cabin. Because this was just a generic cabin for a family to live in, the furniture and walls were standard, unpainted, unstained pinewood, and there were no decorations. Violet, I knew, preferred more colorful decor, so it was a bit surreal to stand in the home, knowing it didn’t have her preferences or specifications. The only indication that she was living here at all was the lingering smell of chamomile and lavender tea.

I heard voices murmuring upstairs, followed by a closing door. Violet came down the steps, followed slowly by Tavi, who was dressed in an oversized sweatshirt and jeans.