Page 64 of Bitten, Marked, Obsessed

Just cause.

“Nice of you to show,” Elias mutters, pushing off the wall.

“Nice of you to start without me,” I shoot back.

He grins, but it fades fast. “You okay?”

I shrug. “Define okay.”

“Yeah,” he says. “That’s what I thought.”

I face the group, all eyes on me now. Waiting. Hoping. Or doubting. Could go either way.

“I know we’re here under risk,” I say. “So I’ll get to it. Typhon’s Brood made a move. Again.”

Devon stiffens. “How bad?”

“Human casualties,” I say. “Four dead. Two turned. One missing.”

Sura hisses. “Fuck.”

“They want war,” I say. “And they’re getting real close to starting one.”

One of the wolves—tall, lean, pale eyes like broken ice—narrows his gaze. “And you think you can stop them with handshakes and peace talks?”

I meet his look without flinching. “I think we can stop them by not falling for the same trap we always do—in fighting.”

“Easy for you to say,” he snaps. “Your pack’s not the one being hunted by rogue shifters with torches and propaganda. You don’t have wolves turning up gutted in alleyways because someone thought they ‘looked Bolvi.’”

That word lands hard. Even Elias winces. I feel my whole body tense. “Don’t bring her into this.”

His mouth twitches. “Didn’t say I was.”

“You didn’t have to,” I growl. “You said enough.”

Elias steps between us, palms raised. “Hey. We’re not doing this. Not here.”

“Thenwhat are we doing?” Sura asks. “We talk circles. We say we want peace. But meanwhile, the Brood’s building an army and we’re—what? Drawing chalk lines in the dirt?”

“They’re moving faster than we thought,” I admit. “Recruiting in broken districts. Offering power. Revenge. Freedom. I don’t think anyone thought one awakening was going to trigger all of this. It’s brought courage to those we had hoped to stay low. Only bring risk to themselves.”

“They’re offering war,” Devon spits.

I nod. “And we’re going to stop them before they light the whole damn world on fire.”

“How, Callum?” Elias asks. “Because I’m with you. You know I am. But if you’ve got a plan, now’s the time to drop it.”

I take a breath. Let the weight of the night settle into my bones. Then I speak.

“We divide. Quietly. No more Hollow meetings, no council alerts. We send scouts—not soldiers. Eyes in the outer rings. Wolves who trust wolves. Shifters who trustme. We find where the Brood’s planting roots, and we cut them out before they flower.”

“And the girl?” the wolf asks coldly.

My jaw clenches.

“She’s not a liability,” I say. “She’s not a weapon. She’sa person. One who didn’t ask to be dragged into this, but who’s stuck in it anyway.”

“And you think you can protect her?”

---